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Hello, a newbie.

Hello, a newbie.

germanshepardmama

New DPF Member
Rating - 100%
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Messages
48
Location
California
Pin & Pop
germanshepardmama
Hello, I am germanshepardmama! I am a newbie into pin collecting. I have started collecting stitch and mulan. I do have more stitch pins than mulan. I have a few random ones like marvel, pixar, and etc. Please give me any advice of collecting and trading. I want to start trading but I don't know where to begin. Right now I am trying to do it an affordable way (or just slowly on building). So please, let me know who I should keep an eye on so i can trades the ones I found to a loving home.

Also, please let me know if there is pin trading in SoCal/ San Diego. I would love to go even if I don’t have pins to trade. I love to see people’s collection.

Also, have a wonderful day!
 
Hi, there! I'm the mama to 2 German Shepherds myself! I'd have more if I could, but the city only allows 2 dogs per household, haha.
I think you're going about it the right way, starting slowly and affordably, and with just a few main collections. It's good to have a focus, otherwise you can end up in pin jail (for spending too much) real quick!
Are you on PinPics yet? It's really handy for keeping track of your traders, wants, and collection, and more importantly, traders can see what you have and if you have any trade matches. Pin & Pop is another useful database, and they host online pin trading events every month or so.
There's lots of knowledgeable people here on DPD, so don't be shy about asking questions! We were all new once.
 
Hello and omg same but my german shepard loves to be the only dog. She loves to be spoiled.
Yeah, I don't want to be in pin jail right away lol I definitely try to do deals like in Hot Topic or Box Lunch (like their hot cash deals or there random sales).
I have heard of them and was debating on one of them. Between the two which one do you prefer?
Thank you for your advice. It helps a lot and I will definitely ask questions.
 
Welcome. Have a white German shepherd, a Pomeranian, two cats, and a host of other animals.
Anyway there are tons of Stitch and Mulan pins. Choose the ones you like. Read up on how to spot fake or scrapper pins before you begin trading. When you begin trading, let the other person know you are new to trading. Most will try to be helpful. As in every endeavor there are those that, let's say are not. Do not let them get you down. There are more good people than bad.
Check out the gathering forum for a list of pin events in your area.
 
Hello! Nice to meet you! I love you that you have your own little zoo.
Yes there is and I know I can't get all of them but we will see what I get and the people I meet!
I definitely am trying to learn and spot some. I did a little of trading at the parks, literally yesterday, not too bad of spotting fakes but I might have two I am not sure of but I will post on here to get some opinions. I think they are real but I am still learning.
I will check; it's kinda hard to check on events since I quit on social media a year ago. (Yeah no IG, Facebook or even Tik Tok lol).
Thank you for your help and tips!
 
Hi and Welcome!
The best advice I can give a new pin trader is not to be afraid to ask questions. Remember that even the most experienced pin trader once was new and I think the best way to learn is by asking. I'm reasonably confident that at least a few of our members will answer them for you.

When you say you want to start trading, are you referring to trading in park with cast members or trading with other guests, either in person or online? Or both? It'll be easier to advise you once I know the sort of trading you have in mind.
 
PinPics is better for older pins, cause it's been around for years and years. But if you have mostly newer pins, I'd vote for Pin & Pop. There is trading that happens on PinPics, but not as much as there used to be. That's what it feels like to me anyway.
 
Hello! Definitely will ask questions because that is how I learn and I do not want to assume. Trading like with cast members and/or people at events. I want to try online but I can hold off since I want to learn the in person first before moving online.
 
Oh okay thank you! I will still look into to both but it seems like I am leaning to Pin & Pop more but we will see. I do like Pinpics to organize my collection and always have a digital collection on hand.
 
I agree with focusing on pinandpop trading. Both work (pinpics and pinandpop), but attending P&P TA weekend events will likely allow for more active trading.

Per your DPF activity, it appears you found the Carlsbad event listed in the DPF calendar? If you go, would love to hear about the event. I wanted to attend, but my schedule is looking incompatible with the date.

There are so many Stitch pins... I am not surprised you have more Stitch than Mulan. Do you collect only those characters or the entire moveis they were featured in?

Welcome! And hope your day is wonderful also.
 
Welcome to the forum and collecting!
I agree with others that P&P is a great place to start. I suggest holding up on going to in person events until you are more comfortable/familiar with trading. (Though certainly nothing wrong with going to look at people's pins and learn more.) For any trading you do, I suggest first getting familiar with the value of your pins and the pins you want (looking at ebay sales, etc). While there are lots of ways to trade, if you are going to trade away your rare $100 pin for a common $10 pin, you should know you are doing that.
 
Okay, great. Trading with cast members and other guests can be extremely fun, but both come with their own challenges that can be navigated through a combination of education and experience. It might seem daunting and overwhelming at first, but just be patient and give yourself grace; remember that many pin traders have been in this habit ... er hobby ... for years.

The most important thing to remember is when you trade with cast members, they are not trading with their own pins. The pins that are on their lanyards or the pin boards either next to them or behind the counter 'belong to Mickey' and are traded in compliance with his rules. Traditionally (keeping in mind that these rules are very old and may have been updated), a guest is permitted to trade a maximum of two (2) pins per cast member per day. The offered pin(s) must be authentic Disney trading pins not already on the cast member's lanyard or pin board. Good pin etiquette states that a pin would be offered to the cast member with the pin back on unless otherwise requested by the cast member. And of course, never touch or grab a lanyard or pin board without permission. If you can't see it clearly, ask and a cast member will bring it closer so you can see it better.

The most important thing to remember - and this applies to all pin trading is that you do NOT have to make a trade if you do not want to. The cast members will not be offended if you do not see anything that you want and sometimes they even will ask if you are looking for something in particular. A polite 'no thank you' is just as acceptable an answer as a 'yes, I would like to trade for this pin, please.'

The biggest risk in trading with cast members is, as you might have guessed, trading for scrapped or fake pins. To be completely direct, they're everywhere and it's really annoying. The best defense against this is self-education and learning how to identify legitimate from dodgy. To that end, Pin Comparison might help you. But even then, don't be too hard on yourself if you accidentally make a mistake. I've been doing this for years and I still sometimes trade for a fake pin. Sometimes that can happen for reasons including but not limited to:

1. Dim/insufficient light
2. A rushed trade
3. Not knowing what to look for to distinguish real from fake
4. Sometimes the fakes are such good quality, you need a side-by-side comparison with a real pin to be sure

Anyone who says that they have never traded for a dodgy pin either has not been trading very long or is lying.

If you're interested in collecting mystery sets, they've started doing shadowbox trading. It has its own unique pros and cons because it runs so differently. The shadowboxes are kept behind the counter, I know of two locations at Disneyland that have this type of trading. The boxes are divided by the types of pins contained; that is, the way they're sold. There's a box for the five (5) pin mystery bags, one for the two (2) pin box, and so on. You trade like for like, but one of the locations requires you to trade series for series. However there's a caveat: you have to purchase the pin set, open it up in front of the cast member, and make the trade THEN AND THERE. You can't make a purchase, come back later and trade. And you can only make ONE trade per bag/box, which can make it get expensive very fast. It's great if you're only after one or two in a series and that pin is in the shadowbox; you buy a bag/box and you either get the pin in your purchase or trade for it. It also virtually guarantees that you will not get fake pins because all pins are opened directly in front of the cast members and instantly traded.
 
Trading with guests, on the other hand, is very different. Cast members are required to trade pins on a one (1) for one (1) ratio. Because guests are trading with their own pins, they can ask for whatever they want in trade, regardless of whether it's fair. It's up to you to determine whether the trade the other person is offering you is fair to you. And this is the tricky part: pin values ultimately are highly subjective. At the end of the day, a pin only is worth what a person is willing to give up, whether in pins or monies, to acquire it. So how do you actually trade?

The best thing you can do is educate yourself on the value of both your pins and the ones for which you want to trade. Know how much you have invested in your pins. Look at how much they have sold for recently; I look at the last few month's of completed sales, discard the highest (desperate buyers who would overpay), the lowest (poorly listed auctions), and average what's left to give me what I consider the most accurate, and also factor in how badly I want it and what I would give up to get it. And I also use an enormous amount of common sense; if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Ask questions; if the trader is getting defensive, there's probably a reason and it likely isn't good. A good trader will want you to be comfortable and happy with the trade.

And just like trading with cast members, you don't have to accept every trade offer that comes your way. A polite 'no thank you' is just as acceptable an answer as a 'yes, I would like to make this trade, please.' And an honest, respectable pin trader will accept that 'no' also is a complete sentence and not push.

And once you're comfortable with trading in person, you'll find that trading online really isn't that different. The biggest difference is that you don't see the physical pins in advance. But you can ask for detailed photos before agreeing to anything and it's poor etiquette not to disclose any significant flaws, so that's not really an issue. But the negotiation is exactly the same.
 
Omg! Thank you for this! This is helpful and wish I had this a couple of days ago lol I tried trading with cast members and tried to look at it and use whatever knowledge I had to believe it is an authentic pin. I will post it for opinions later. There are two that I think it is but I could be wrong. Anyways, I really appreciate it!
 
Thank you for this advice! Will continue to grow my knowledge about pins.
 
I think I will go even though I might not have pins to trade yet, I would love to see people’s collection and just meet new people.

I would get more mulan pins but every time I go to parks I miss the new drops for Mulan but they would drop new stitch and angel pins XD Eventually it will get up there. For now just the characters including Angel.

But I do want to collect Cars and Ratatouille since my husband and I enjoy watching those movies and cannot stop watching them. Also, those movies always put us in happy moods after a busy day at work or school.

And it was nice meeting you!
 
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