Hmmmmm...........Will "Pin"Fever go the way of "Beanie Baby" Fever??
I think a telling sign is that the What's HapPINing Blog that used to be updated daily, or at least 3 - 4 times a week, is not getting about 2 - 3 updates a month. Meanwhile, the vinylmation blog is getting updated fairly often. Disney is just as aware of the cycle in collectibles as anyone else. They know the hobby is on a downward spiral. Why do you think the big push was made with vinyls? Why else would the same staff that are creating or promoting vinyls used to be doing pins exclusively.
Remember in the 1980's and early 1990's how many people said they were savind baseball cards for their kids college. Well, there kids are college age now, and you can buy their entire collections, tens of thousands of cards, for $50 - $100 on craigslist. If you are collecting pins for investment purposes, I know its harsh, but wake up and realize that most of the pins will be worth just a little bit more than the going price of scrap metal within a few years.
The stamp hobby faded. The sportscard hobby is dead. We all know what happened to Beanie Babies and Boyd's Bears. The only thing that keeps the coin market floating is the artificial value created through the price of various metals. If you think it won't happen to pins because it is a Disney product, well, then I am not sure you can be convinced.
That isn't to say that some pins won't be worth something one day. A 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card is always going to have some value. Some pins will always have some value. But yes, the hobby is fading.
That doesn't mean you don't have to stop collecting though. The downward spiral is a good time to pick up some nice pins as others get out of the hobby, espicially for those of us (like me) who are trying to finish some collections out to display.
If you are collecting pins for investment purposes, I know its harsh, but wake up and realize that most of the pins will be worth just a little bit more than the going price of scrap metal within a few years.
Collect for love, not for money or you will be disappointed.
I don't know, getting people interested in the shiny pieces of metal doesn't seem to be that hard. I'd like to learn more about the reasons that people give it up.
We can all do our part to keep pin trading going by recruiting "newbies"!
I tell everyone and anyone who will listen about my hobby. When others ask me advice on planning their Disney trips, I always make sure to tell them about pin trading and sometimes even provide a couple of traders.
When I see young kids at the parks looking at my pins inquisitively, I tell the parents and kids all about them. My last trip, I kept a "Happy Birthday" pin to give to the first person with a bday button that I saw and told them all about our hobbby. (I later saw that family of 3 all with lanyards on!) On same trip, two young boys were starting pin trading with THREE traders on their lanyard (all brand new OE, at that!). I gave them 3 more.
Recruiting is where it is at...for the survival of pin trading. Don't you think??
I always carry birthday pins, award pins, good sport pins, etc. in my pockets and backpack. When I see someone with a celebrating button I always give them a pin. I give them to kids on buses, kids helping with other kids, folks standing in line, and anyone who looks like their day needs a highlight. I wear my "special keeper" lanyard which is wide and has a lot of unusual pins. When people ask about it I tell them about my hobby and give them a pin to get started. I carry my little "business cards" and DPF cards and hand them out also. It's work to keep the hobby going, but worth it. I got an email from someone I spoke to in a store about three years ago. He now has a wonderful collection of Donald Duck pins and wanted me to see a picture. It was great.
Rache!
und ich reiss das Herz aus deiner Brust
Rache!
weil du für deine Sünden büssen musst
Can you tell me what this says? I can get most of it - Revenge, my ??? for your heart in your breast, Revenge, because you repent for your sin
That's what I'm guessing it says. How close am I?
Almost:
Revenge
And I will pull the heart out of your chest
Revenge
Because you have to pay (bleed) for your sins
Rather difficult to go from german to dutch to english but I think this is it.
Do you ever play the games at paradise pier? I know you said you don't have much money to buy pins and stuff,but if you do indeed play the games for the fun of it,give the plushy prize to a random kid somewhere in the park ^_^ my wife does this all the time,and it gives them huge smilesWe need more like you out there. I wish I could do that, but with a teacher's salary (which it seems EVERYONE wants to slash) I can barely afford to buy pins anymore at all. Currently my entire collection is keeper's, I might have a total of 5 pins to trade, and I don't see myself purchasing much in the forseeable future. My wife and I spend out tax return money on annual passes every year. We go to the parks about twice a month. We see lots of people in the parks with lanyards. Hopefully the casual collector market will remain strong!
The economic situation makes things particularly a little wobbly right now. I don't think people are as willing to buy a ton of expensive pins as they were 5 years ago. Disney seems to be trying to close the gap, by increasing prices and cutting costs making things worse for attracting people to buy things. I think the pin design/event teams are being asked to do more with less people and so we're getting frustrated by the lack of info, while they're struggling to get their designs in on time. Not dealing with the scrapper/counterfeit situation. All providing reasons for people to just get out.
Yeah the prices killed me when I saw the sci-fi academy pin list...especially the mystery sets...thats alot of cash to not know what you're getting,especially when not many people may be into the retro atari cart look,making em lousy traders if you get doubles.
If pin prices keep sky-rocketing, pin collecting and pin trading in general will be smothered. Disney is raising the cost of pins expecting traders to buy at the same rate they did even five years ago, which is unrealistic especially when this recession may double-dip.
Despite rising cost, pins still continue to be one of the most affordable keepsakes, and that's what pins will continue to be for me—keepsakes. My pin collection will most likely continue to be small, but I enjoy online trading and cute new designs. I'm rocking my Flower and Garden logo pin hardcore because I love spinning the center flower!
I will continue to liesurely trade, but Disney is effectively preventing my pin fever from fully taking hold with their price increases! I wonder if iI should be thankful in some weird, quasi-way.
~Gargress
Amen to that. I love my pins and collect them for my own enjoyment and no other reason. It's not my fault I like so many of them
I, however, know the true value lies within my feelings. No, you can't have my Kermit pin collection, no matter how much cash you have.
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