How much are you willing to spend to get one pin?

If its the one I want, its not about the money its about geting the pin into the collection,

I don't think anyone here was expecting original cost for grails...

And yeah, it's unlikely that certain pins will go down to whatever our comfortable level is. But then again...

I purchased Patriotic Tinker Bell for $300. At the time, it was one of my most wanted pins. A few had sold for that, so when another showed up after a long absence from ebay, I snatched it up. Since then, I've watched it go down and down...$225, $175, and finally, $66.

I also expected to pay $300 for my Tinker Bell in Japan, and I got her for $128.

I think the point is that while we expect them to be high (and yes, $150 is still high for me, even though I'm willing to pay it), sometimes they're listed too high; or they're trending high, and will come down again.

Right now, we're in a boom, especially for Princesses. 5 years ago, it was Jessica and Haunted Mansion. Some of these prices will come down, others won't. So never say never as far as getting a pin that's trending for $300-500 for $100-200...because I've done it several times over again. Especially where DA LE 100s are concerned.

The value people assign to different items is always a fascinating subject. Here are a few random things that cost a lot more than most grails & are very commonly bought. But no one really ever debates whether they have "wasted" their money on them, mostly because the items are associated with "status":
Luxury cars (Mercedes, BMW)
Designer handbags
Houses larger than needed (4 bedroom house for a family of 3 or 4?)
Motorcycles (when one already owns another vehicle for primary transportation)
Diamond engagement rings (especially since the entire "tradition" of having to have a diamond for engagement was an advertising campaign from the DeBeers corp generations ago)
And my #1 waste of money.....
Bottled water (one of the most successful advertising campaigns in the history of mankind. Ever.)

So, if anyone ever criticizes a pin collector for "wasting" their money on a grail, I would tell them to take a closer look at how much money they themselves waste. Everyone wastes money on something......... I do not think anyone really has the right to criticize others on the topic.

Okay, I will get off my soapbox now

dopeydoc3 said:

look at the early Beloved Tales….. prices will stay high because of supply and demand. look at Tangled marquees, Up marquees, maybe some others (marquees). DSF Tangled pins. those prices will simply stay high. and they should. it rewards those lucky enough to have gotten them when they could.

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The first BT pins were $12.95 and were still available 3 months after they came out. I know because I bought 7 of the first 9 in 2009--AND THEY HAD LOTS OF THEM!! Had I known the future, I’d’ve bought half a dozen or more of each!

I think the most so far is still $20. or what ever the movie pins were with the ap discount.

heyyouwannatrade said:

The most I have spent on one single pin is $250 (twice I think). I have spent $200 on a few occasions, esp what i spent on the darn Designer Couples set but it was just eating me up not to have it. I have paid $500 for an le50 frame set once. These are all pretty rare occurrences though. For me it really depends on the pin. RIght now there are only 2 pins I could ever fathom $500 for and I will never get them for that price -

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Yup, what she said! LOL....the Ariel pin on the left is my ultimate of ULTIMATE grails, but it commands a price of over $1000 when it does become available. I never like paying too far over retail if I can help it, although I do value the time and money it takes for someone to physically get the pins, so I do not mind reimbursing for that as well. I would say that my absolute limit for ANY pin is $500, including that beauty on the left. With 2 kids and being a stay at home mom....I would like to keep my house.

Abyssinian28 said:

I don't think anyone here was expecting original cost for grails...

And yeah, it's unlikely that certain pins will go down to whatever our comfortable level is. But then again...

I purchased Patriotic Tinker Bell for $300. At the time, it was one of my most wanted pins. A few had sold for that, so when another showed up after a long absence from ebay, I snatched it up. Since then, I've watched it go down and down...$225, $175, and finally, $66.

I also expected to pay $300 for my Tinker Bell in Japan, and I got her for $128.

I think the point is that while we expect them to be high (and yes, $150 is still high for me, even though I'm willing to pay it), sometimes they're listed too high; or they're trending high, and will come down again.

Right now, we're in a boom, especially for Princesses. 5 years ago, it was Jessica and Haunted Mansion. Some of these prices will come down, others won't. So never say never as far as getting a pin that's trending for $300-500 for $100-200...because I've done it several times over again. Especially where DA LE 100s are concerned.

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I agree, I believe they do eventually come down (obviously not some of the most sort after though!) There is a BATB pin ive wanted for ages and it usually sells for about £50 - £60! I was willing to pay £30 and everytime it went past the £30 mark i pulled out! But about 2 weeks ago I got it for £12.50 !!! Was so stoked haha

It all depends on the disposable funds I have at the time a pin is for sale; unfortunately, most of this year, I cannot even think about spending anything on a pin! :banghead: It has been a rather difficult year is so many ways for my family and I, including financially. :sad:

Well an update for you guys ... I just literally spent $60 for the Jessica Rabbit as Ursula pin from the soda fountain shop. This is actually going to be one of my first soda fountain pins (besides the Olaf pin I'm getting from my friend). I mean I'm really excited for it but I was really sad that I got outbid on eBay on Aladdin pins I wanted to get so badly. They were literally selling all 59 pins for the whole auction! But back on topic for how much you're willing. I mean those Jessica Rabbit pins were recent when they were sold from what I was reading. I just didn't know about it till like a week ago. I mean I only wanted it because it's part of Little Mermaid & Jessica Rabbit is actually one of my favourite characters from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" So it was perfect! I just wanted to get it now before it comes twice as much in the near future.

I paid $200 for my cast member opening day Tangled pin

I collect Tangled; however, I paid $550 for a lot of the older ones such as the marquee, all the dsf pins, the compact mirror etc. I practically tripled my money.

I just bought my most expensive pin at $75. However, I would go up to $200 for the right pin..

I got my Designer Snow White for $110 I believe, last year I think? Or maybe earlier this year, I can't remember. But look how much all of those have shot up in price. That was the most I've ever spent on a pin, and I still can't believe I even did that. Luckily for me, the eBay seller was also a DPF member and let me pay in payments. I actually think that's happened with all the DPs I've bought. It probably wasn't the smartest move for a college student with a part time job, but now I try to avoid buying as much as possible. The most I've ever spent at once was $75, and that hurt. I really can't think of a pin I'd spend $100+ on, but I think it's just the timing. Maybe next year I'll be a little more flexible with it.

I just think it all depends on how much you want it, how long you've been looking, details of the pin, and how often it comes up. Everyone has their limit mine sure would be higher if I had the funds. I mean, I'm half-tempted to spend a bunch of money on the DSF Elsa, but I know I shouldn't.

If I had the money, I'd see no problem in spending $100-$200 on a grail pin every now and then... However, even if I was a millionaire, I don't think I could spend thousands on ANY collectible... And I have a LOT of collections :lol: For other people though, if it makes you happy, and you can afford it, go for it . For me personally, the highest I've spent so far on a single pin, is in the $30-$40 range. The one exception being my Peter Pan PoDM grail scene, which I spent $70 for

I'd never pay close to that. General rule my max is $30, but if it were a grail pin of mine, I might stretch that another 5 or 10.

$449.99... I'd rather spend that on time spent in WDW