DSF Quality Rate Opinion

I've brought this up before, and I know others have as well, but the QC on DSF pins is really starting to frustrate me again. Whenever a release happens with something that I want, I tend to buy the pins (either from someone here or from eBay) on the first day, hoping to get something decent before all the good ones make it into collections.

Now, I would say that about 4/5 of the pins that I get from DSF always have either dips, holes, a bit of over-fill or bent posts, or a mix of issues.

Is this really that common? Should I stop caring so much about perfection? Do other people expect these issues or am I just unlucky? I never have these problems when buying pins from other sources (Paris, Tokyo, etc..).

Literally, I've been buying multiples of DSF pins at a time just with the hope that one of them turn out okay.

Edit: And again, I'm talking about on release day from trusted people - not scrappers!

I've been to 4 releases at DSSH since I started collecting a few months ago. Started with the Tomorrowland/Princess release (just missed the Avengers one).

That first time I didn't even think to look at my pins for any sort of damage and for the most part lucked out. My Tomorrowland Logo Surprise release has a few marks on it, which in turn has made me wary to trade it.

After that, I examined every pin handed to me over the counter. I'm not sure if you know their policy, but if you don't like the appearance of your pin, they will give you three more of the same pin to look at and choose from. If you don't like them you can stick with the original pin you received.

Every release after the first (and I would have done it the first time, had I not been a foolish noob), I've had to exchange for a different pin. Not every pin, but at least one. And some times, the options you get are worse than the one you started out with, so you have to make a judgement call. Some times I may that call quickly, because the store is really busy, other people want to make their exchanges, and you don't want to hold things up for too long.

Overall, I think the DSSH pins are gorgeous. The Cutie Villains looked much better than I had imagined, and requests for Maleficent have blown up my PinPics. It can just get tricky trying to get the best pin sometimes, though.

JacobsenWithAnE said:

My Tomorrowland Logo Surprise release has a few marks on it, which in turn has made me wary to trade it.

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This is probably the worst part of it for me. I have a bunch of pins that are authentic that I do not need, but I wouldn't feel good trading them away either.

Thanks for the information about how people make the exchanges! I guess in a way they have made the buyers the QC, lol!

JacobsenWithAnE said:

. . . if you don't like the appearance of your pin, they will give you three more of the same pin to look at and choose from. If you don't like them you can stick with the original pin.
. . .
And some times, the options you get are worse than the one you started out with, so you have to make a judgement call. . .

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When all 4 pins contain unacceptable noticeable manufacturing defects, a person can also just request a refund.

I have done this at least three times. And I have seen others also requesting refunds.

this_and_that said:

When all 4 pins contain unacceptable noticeable manufacturing defects, a person can also just request a refund.

I have done this at least three times. And I have seen others also requesting refunds.

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I think I may have read that in their rules, and just completely forgotten about it. I've only been to four releases there but I don't think I've run across a pin so bad that I had to request a refund.

I also wonder what they do when they get to the end of the edition size for those people at the end. For example, on a LE 400 pin is the 400th person in line stuck with the pin they get? That would be a bummer, but if you really want a pin I guess you take it, factory defects and all.

JacobsenWithAnE said:

I think I may have read that in their rules, and just completely forgotten about it. I've only been to four releases there but I don't think I've run across a pin so bad that I had to request a refund.

I also wonder what they do when they get to the end of the edition size for those people at the end. For example, on a LE 400 pin is the 400th person in line stuck with the pin they get? That would be a bummer, but if you really want a pin I guess you take it, factory defects and all.

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I think someone once said that there are actually more pins than the edition size available, they just wont sell more than the edition size?

It could be false information, but I remember reading that.

Hmmm. That's interesting.

I was wondering if there might be some APs sprinkled in. To sort of inflate the Edition Size.

While the designs have been pretty good (aside from the same four or five themes constantly being used), yes, the overall QC on the pins has done a horrible nosedive. I've only been collecting from there for about a year and a half, but even at that point there wasn't as big of a problem. It came on fast though, and is constant. I think I really started to notice it around the time of the Jessica mirror set from last year.

Pretty much every release nowadays, the exchange line seems to be longer than the purchase line.

Those pins that get exchanged are just given to the next person in line to buy them. The quality has been terrible, and in my opinion you should not expect to get a "Mint" pin from any DSSH pin, sometimes it's just hope for a pin that isn't as bad as the others. They no longer let you open the bags to examine the pin for exchanges, they only offer you one pin to look at for a PTD, and you need to exchange all pins at the same time. Even those that try their best often end up with pins that they are not happy with once they get them home, I know I have.

Look for pictures of the actual pins if you can, though even with those it's hard to see dips or swirls.

Seconding what was said above, when you reject a pin it just goes back into the box that they pull from at the counter for the next buyer. So someone eventually will buy it.

Regarding PTD exchanges, I was told that I couldn't because there were less than 25 left. I'm not sure if this has changed, but due to the new rules, I haven't bought many recently.

Yes, even for regular releases, they will not exchange if there is less than 25 pins left. You can either accept it or ask for a refund in that case, and then it is offered to the next person until they all sell.

I should add that I have noticed the PTD quality improve somewhat. I don't have to exchange those nearly as much as I did a few months ago.

The PTD quality seems to vary by manufacturer, as they have several that make them. The ones that come in the sealed package seem better to me than the ones that come in the ziploc baggies.

I think the PTD you can only exchange once and you cannot take it out of the bag to inspect it