Fantasy Pins

Hello,
I just started getting really in to pin trading, and I've been wondering about something. When pin shopping I often stumble upon a few fantasy pins, and most are actually more expensive than official pins. I don't know how much it cost to produce pins, but is it really that expensive? Or do you just earn a lot producing these pins? I definetely prefer the real pins myself, but I have seen a few fantasy pins that were really nicely done

It's another way people make money.

Fantasy pins don't cost that much to make but when the LE size is smaller than 50 (and that's how some of the more expensive ones), there are less pins to spread the cost around.

Also you have to factor in that you're probably looking at resellers too .
So say I paid $10 to get it made , I'd add on say $5-7 as profit for myself then each further person might add on another $5-10 so it soon escalates .
I should point out my figures are entirely theoretical , I've never been tempted to get one made for me , and until recently never purchased one .

So I have some experience with this, while I have never seen or physically made any fantasy Disney pins, I have been commissioned by different companies and groups to get pins made for their event or mascot. So let's say a person wanted to get 100 pins made. For one that is good quality Cloisonnie Hard Enamel like the Disney pins it will start at around $4 per pin. If you go lower with Die Struck Soft Enamel, photo pins, or other lower quality pins for around $2 each they won't look as good and will feel very cheap. The cost per pin does not include the cost of the mold/die, which is very expensive because a custom die will have to be constructed for just your pin. It pays off for bigger runs, I think there are companies that make the die for free for runs over 1000 pins, but for something around 100-500 it will cost as much as $150 to $400 for just the die depending on how complex. Then there are additional costs for the type of metal, different types of color, and other effects which add $1-3 per pin. And then that doesn't include 3-D designs, pins with layers or danglers (in which new dies have to be made), and the cost of shipping the order from overseas (metal pins weight a lot). So if we do just a simple design of 100 pins it can end up costing anywhere from $700-900 with all these fees added up, so the raw cost is then roughly $7-9 per pin. Then you will have to also calculate the cost of commissioning an artist for art, shipping costs if selling them online, travel and booth cost if vending at a convention, etc. So I can realistically seeing them go for as high as $20 just to make a reasonable profit. However I doubt anyone should pay more than that. If someone is selling them for $100 then that is way to much and they are trying to make a big profit.

In my experience with fantasy pins, most of them are "pre-sold" at around $20-25 each, so once the maker meets a certain number, they put the pins into production. Naturally, that price will be a little higher for the more complicated or massive pins (some fantasy ones are HUGE!). It's in the after market that the prices skyrocket. Just like regular pins, really.

~Merlin

Indeed. By pre selling the maker avoids losing money on the deal. I've paid $40 for a presale on a pin that now is sold out. Huge pin at that, and completely suits my twisted sense of humor. For a smaller pin $25-$30 plus shipping is pretty fair for a small run of 50 pins.