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A better, brighter DSF lineup idea

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A better, brighter DSF lineup idea
Well, I know this is a long shot but I'll chime my idea in. I'm not claiming this idea is flaw proof but it's just something I thought up.

First off, I personally do NOT think you can eliminate line up for DSF pins.
There... I said it.
Even with a lottery system, I can still see people lining up at the time the store opens to get their names in the lottery lest they miss their chance completely. Sure, it may or may not be a big line but there would still most likely be a line of those eager pin collectors to get their names in first. That's just how this hobby is. We pin collectors are die hards. Lines are just an inevitability. That's my personal belief. Yeah, in a perfect world there'd be no lines and everyone would get a pin and there'd be no practice of resellers bringing masses of people.

But we don't live in a perfect world.

So, that being said, I actually may be in the minority here when I say that the current system is not too bad. However, I like the idea of a sign up sheet complete with ID and here's how I would implement it...

Let's say a popular pin release falls on Saturday as they typically do. The sign up sheet would be available as early as Wednesday. PLENTY of time all week for people with all kinds of schedules to hop on over, step into DSF, and put their name in and (hopefully) in this way, the line up probably would not be too terrible. Probably on par with the lottery idea line up.
When you put your name in, you are put down by numerical order (much as they do now with wristbands) by a DSF staff member.

You MUST present a valid ID at the time of signup and at the time of pick up/purchase.

Everyone in your party MUST be present at sign up with a valid photo ID (no signing up anyone who isn't there).

Children must have a valid ID as well (either state issued photo ID or some other valid form of ID that the parents can provide) and children under 5 years of age will NOT be permitted for sign up. (Sorry I know this seems rough but if you are a parent, the two pins per person limit covers a pin for you and your child under 5 years of age. Realistically, how many children under 5 years of age are die hard pin collectors? I'm not saying there are none but I think it's more likely that the extra two pins that child would get would be more for you, the parent, than them. Most children I know under 5 don't know the difference between an LE Belle pin or an OE park edition Belle pin....they just like who they like.)

So, you put your name in the sign up sheet and just take off from there. No camp out. The ability to sign up is only during DSF store hours and is monitored by DSF staff. No camping will be permitted or needed.

On release day, you have security and staff monitor line up as they do now. Everyone lines up according to the number they were assigned at sign up. To be permitted inside to purchase the pins, you need to present your ID at the door. Any party members with you who were not present during sign up or fail to present a valid ID will not be allowed inside to purchase pins.

Anyone who signed up but fails to show up at the designated time of sales, your spot will go to the first/next person in the stand by line.

That's my idea. Again, it isn't fail proof but it allows DSF staff to keep a tighter count of who is really there. It essentially eliminates line cutting and those who may be shepherding their kids into line at the last minute using the "They were asleep in the car" excuse. It basically eliminates the need for camp outs also.

Just my two cents.
 
How about to do periodic surveys online to know how many people are interested in certain pins, a month before the actual release and then to increase or decrease the edition based on that.
 

just FYI for anyone. The online WB still made you go to the park to get your pins. I got a WB but could not make it to the park that day so i didnt go get a pin. But it is one of the best ways i have seen to do a pin that lots of ppl want.
 
rik1138 said:
(and another reason the DMV example doesn't work: you can come back the next day for the same thing... Or the next day, or the next one...)
Click to expand...

You have a point with that one.

it's about making the pin release more _fair_ to everyone. There's a big difference... More fair means giving everyone an equal chance. If you don't honestly believe that it should be fair for everyone
Click to expand...

I do think that first come first serve is FAIR. that is how supply and demand works. If you or I choose to take time off for one release but not another, we put a more of a value on one pin but not the other. Is that a fair statement? If you show up at 8 am and I show up at 10 am, should I be allowed to buy before you, No! When they put out the announcement for the calendar surprise release, I went Saturday morning and they had plenty, there were no crowds or angry hoards. The staff was HAPPY because there was no mob to contend with. it was smooth sailing and the pin sold out by COB on saturday. So where in that is the downside? word of mouth got out and 150 people came and bought, had ice cream (or not but got the pins) and left. No drama, no fighting, no cutting. That is my stance and my point. That is what is fair imo.
 

I second this. I think first come, first serve is pretty fair. I was in a job that was pretty much 7 days a week (my day off changed weekly but I almost NEVER had Saturdays or Sundays off naturally). In my job, I was literally one of only two people who could do what I did. However, I could still request time off with at least two weeks notice. No, I couldn't request EVERY Friday and Saturday off but that's life. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Point is, even in the most demanding job, I never worked a job that would not allow you time off requests with enough notice.
 
The DSF LE sizes are too small for online wristbands. With the Disneyland ones most of the pins were LE 1000 or more. The smaller numbers were the box sets. Since they are a large LE a few people not showing up doesn't mess with the system too badly. Remember the height of Alice madness? There were so many no shows for those pins that everyone in the standby line could get everything. With the DSF pins being mostly LE 300 it would be too easy for someone to flood the system with fake entries. 50 fake winners will marginally affect a LE 1000+ but that's like 1/3 of a DSF release. Mark's idea of requiring a "shopper card" would work much better but would be a huge hassle for them to set up and I can't imagine Disney investing in such a system for just DSF. They could offset creating the system by charging a fee to join the "pin club" like Hard Rock used to do, but I'd imagine quite a few complaints about paying for a chance to buy something.
 
Aquata, You just suggestion is exactly how the wristbands were first done, you show up on friday for a saturday release, and they give you your wristband. your not there, you get no wristband. you get there first, you are number 1 you get there 51st, your are number 51. what was flawed was making everybody stay the first time they did the wristbands, then it mutated to come, get your wristband, then stay or go home. then it turned into times to give out wristbands that were completely awful to ANYBODY who had a job, then the hours were tweaked to make it more worker friendly, and finally it is what is has been the last few times. now we are camping out for the wristband instead of the pin and have come full circle to when there were no wristbands. since they continue to do the wristbands, they should go back to: show up friday, get your wristband, be back in line 1 hr before sales start.
 

I just like the idea of presenting ID so that everyone is accounted for by staff themselves personally (the ultimate authority) instead of pin collectors having to stand in line and constantly recount/keep an eye out for line cutters (which don't get me wrong, I appreciate that people do that for each other. I'm just saying it would be nice if it wasn't a concern)
 
First come, first served -- every couple of hours randomly come out and put wristbands on people that are waiting until you are out of wristbands -- no line-up mess, no overnights -- easy as can be!
 
You are 100% right, and if they gave out wristbands as people showed up, that would eliminate that. and you would only make the one trip instead of two. Some people would leave and come back, but some would not because of the distance to drive
 
My own; lye solution involves napalm ....and I don't think the way things are now are too bad I say leave it be no matter what scalpers will win . So I say just try hard and get the pins I know its a lot of work and stress but I think no matter what there will be some way someone will find a way to get ahead in it all so I say leave the current way people are used to. I think its nicest to believe we live in a perfect world where everything is always superspecailawesome and that everyone is superspecailawesome lol
 

I think first come, first served is very fair, for the people in line. If the line was to start at a specific location at a specific time, that would make it more fair (but you have to find a way to eliminate unofficial lines, sneaky lines, etc... Or just a huge mob crashing the line location at the start time).

But it's not fair to anyone else, where the lottery system is equally fair to _everyone_. No one is excluded, everyone has the same chance.

I'm not trying to say one way is the perfect solution over the other, just expressing what I think is the differences between the two.

And, to me this is more important, it makes it MUCH harder for anyone one person to pad the line to get a lot of pins just for themselves. You get TWO pins (if they stick with that). That gives you one to keep, one to sell (or sell both if you don't care about it). But bringing 5 friends (and bribing homeless people) so you can have 10 more pins to sell just isn't fair at all. Sure, it happens in every market like this, so it's nothing new. And there's no guarantee that a lottery would even help that very much, just throwing out ideas...

Someone else mentioned something earlier in the thread that would be interesting:
Announce the dates things are released, but don't reveal what the pins are until the day of sale as people get their wristbands... I'd be curious to see how that would be received. I guess it'd probably be a lot like the Tangled BT release... Panicked phones calls/texts brings down the cell towers in the area, and the mob descends as fast as possible...

I think part of what saved the calender release was a reduced amount of interest compared to a Tangled/Up combo release (with Stitch thrown in for good measure). I'd be willing to bet it would have been a different situation if that surprise release was the Tangled BT vs that calender. But it still probably would have gone smoothly(ish) since it's really not possible for 150+ to descend on the store and arrive at the same time (look at how long it took for 150 more people to show up last Fri for the BT). They should probably do more completely unannounced surprise releases like that...

I wonder if they'll release the Feb pin before Friday, or wait until after the event... (Or maybe during the event...)
 
I don't see a problem with online sign up. Yes it is a retail location but that is why you draw past the number. You will still get 200 people to come, you just have 50+ that aren't guaranteed the pins. Or like I said, make it higher edition size, and then you can have say 10am for 1-150 and then maybe 12pm for 151-300. Spread it out a little. Get some people in there for lunchtime and revamp that bad food menu to some better options. <-THIS!!

And Bombardon3, there have been wristbands at the parks for LE250 and LE500 pins. Both Gears Up and Sci-Fi Academy had lower LE sizes.

I can't stand this up and back thing at DSF now. There is no point. They have to deal with us twice now. Just make it first come first serve or something else. This double back and forth thing is just annoying. If they do keep the wristbands I like 1-50 at 7am, 51-100 12pm, and 101-150 at 7pm. At least then another 50 people can go home at noon and not stay till 7pm.
 
after review, I have some idea's taken from here and there....

But first let me say that the reason I started this thread was so much to make it more fair, because no-one will ever feel its fair if they dont get a pin. BUT I did it because of safety concerns presented.

so, what about this:
  • a club card like the lego VIP or Ralphs club or whatever. Call it the DSFVPcard or whatever...
  • only 240 of the LE300 pins will be available via club card sign up. (or 300 out of a le400?)
  • only 1 per club card.
  • you sign up with your club ID card online,sign up starts 1 week prior to release and closes 3 days before release
  • A random drawing dictates which club members get the pins. 48-72 hours prior to release.
  • if randomly chosen, you show up at 6am the morning of release with club card, confirmation number, AND photo ID required.
  • at 9:30am, if you have not shown up for your pins, they go back to open availability.
  • at 10am. the remaining pins (the designated 60 and any that were not picked up via the club reserve) are available 1 per person to the public.

for releases:
  • no more 1 month flyers. the only releases announced more than 1 week early would be ones related to movie releases.
  • 1 week prior to the release, the announcement goes out via email to club card members, including pins to be released and any important info for this release.
  • keep the standard releases at le300.
  • bump up movie releases to 400. ((500 was to many, 300 doesnt seem like enough))


Idea's, thoughts, opinions, maniacal laughter, or outright rejection?
 

I don't know if you even need a card. Just a member number. A DSF number. I don't see an issue with showing pins way early. Make a yearly flyer so people can plan to fly in if they want for all I care. I don't think there should be any line up for 2nd chances or pins devoted to said line. I think there should be, for say a LE300 pin, 150 names drawn, and another 50 for standby. Then if it makes it all the way past those 200 people, then people waiting in line can get them. But that's gotta be close to the max of how many will come and will discourage excessive stand by people. And for Tangled or UP ANYTHING, LE is 600. Jessica, Stitch, Brave, other Princesses, other popular pins LE500. Random characters, scenes, Fab 5, C&D, Goofy, Alice, etc, accompany'ing theme pins can be 300. So for example, like I said, the chocoloate boxes. Make Up & Tangled (I'll add Ariel) LE600's. Draw 300 names, they can get Up & Tangled. Make the others 300 and only the first 150 people are for sure getting them. Wave B of people will get Tangled and Up for sure and some may get the others. Then you set two times. Wave A come at 10, wave B come at noon. Any 3rd chance line, I'll call it now, wouldn't need to be in line until after 1pm for whatever may be left over. Boom, done.
 
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markheardjr said:
I don't see a problem with online sign up. Yes it is a retail location but that is why you draw past the number.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, _I_ don't have a problem with online either, I'd prefer that. But someone mentioned (and it might just be a rumor) that the reason they started with the one day wristbands and next day sale was just to get people into the store twice... If that was the motivating factor for doing that in the first place, they aren't likely to consider any new option that removes that benefit to the store... Online or sign up in store, whatever makes DSF happier...


If you aren't going to announce the pins, don't announce them until the day they go on sale. 1 month in advance or 1 week in advance won't make a difference... If there's a reason to not announce the pins it would probably have to do with eliminating an advance mob at the store (even a nice mob), or pre-sales, or people trying to plan with friends to hoard pins, etc... Don't even give 24 hours notice for any of that. You find out the pins an hour before the store opens while you are in line. Obvious drawback: If you hate all the pins, you just go home, which would be annoying for people that drive far... But otherwise you might as well just stick with the monthly flyer.

I think the releases should stay LE300. Even the movie releases had left overs at 300. If they wanted to increase based on potential demand, then maybe increase specific pins to 400 or something, and maybe reduce others to 150 if demand is suspected to be lower... I imagine trying to guess popularity of some of the pins can be the hardest part of making them...
 

There is no guessing to what will be popular. Just ask us. We'll tell you if it's good or not. We can vote on previewed art, 1-10. Make the not-so-good pins lower LE so they are slightly more desirable and only for the true collectors of that genre. Or heck, do 100 times the vote. So if it's ranks a 9, make 900. If it ranks a 3 make 300. Everything has sold out eventually lately except for the Tinker Bell fairy pins. We all knew those would tink...I mean sink... I mean tank. I knew Frankenweenie would sit, especially the bad ones, the teacher. Taffyta was a given, we knew right away she was lame. The Peter Pan hinged pins were kinda eh. No more stickers! I suppose for new movie releases it may be harder but make the main characters higher LE and the supporting cast lower. Simple.

I can't voice enough I do NOT like the idea of every release being a surprise. All that does is help people that are very close to DSF, students, retired old people, and unemployed people. Working populations need time to request days/time off for a release we really want. You have to show ahead of time. Surprise pins are fine still, just show the general them. I could care less about AIW pins, or NBC pins, but if there is a Wreck-It Ralph pin I will clear my schedule.
 
This. :bigthumb:
 

Yeah, not really my preferred solution either, it's actually kind of fun having a whole month of 'What do I want!' all planned out... That's why I was saying if they aren't going to make it a complete surprise, they may as well just stick with the monthly flyers. No point in shortening the announcements to a week or anything.

markheardjr said:
but if there is a Wreck-It Ralph pin I will clear my schedule.
Click to expand...

Haha, I love this... Gotta have your priorities, right?
 
I just don't like the idea that of people winning an online random selection process for just the second chance line. At least with the Disneyland drawings for the Gears Up or other releases you would be able to walk away with something even though it might be a LE 2000 Mickey Mouse pin.
 
Well, that's just to pre-fill the stand-by line (and you would know that going in). I wish they'd do this with the wristbands (and I think they might actually start doing this) as it is. When you hit 150, keep giving out the next 50-75 numbers right there to the rest of the line. That way after camping out all day and ending up 151 doesn't mean you have to camp out all night to stay #151...

If it was guaranteed that the 150 people that were picked would arrive and buy all the pins they could (or were required to buy two complete sets), then you wouldn't need the stand-by line at all...

And, if they release an LE300 surprise pin, that's guaranteed to be available for numbers 151-300 since they are always one per person... So you are still guaranteed to get some pin...

Also, there was speculation about the sharks trying to flood the drawing with fake names so there'd be a lot of no-shows, and they'd still just camp in the stand-by line... Help reduce that as well (although using an ID to sign up would also help eliminate that...)
 

I like this! We collect tangled because my daughter is special needs and tangled was the first thing she related to. The first toy she grabbed for was a rapunzel plush. She loves the music and Max and Flynn. We always say we are looking for her magic golden flower since the doctors have not nailed down her condition. As she gets older and modern medicine moves forward they are slowly putting the puzzle together.
 
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