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Lessons in Pin Trading 101: Please Do Not CoMingle Your Traders & Keepers

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Lessons in Pin Trading 101: Please Do Not CoMingle Your Traders & Keepers
TiggerNut

TiggerNut

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Many of you are too new to remember this, but I used to post a blog/topic on another board called: Professor Diana’s Pin Trading 101.

After Pin Trading Night at Disneyland last night, I would like to offer some friendly advice in form of one of those old lessons.

LESSON FOR TODAY

Please do not co-mingle your collection with your traders.

DISCUSSION:

Last night, this scene repeated itself several times:

Trader : Can I look at your book?
Tiggernut: Sure, here is my book. My I see yours?
Trader: Here you are.
(Books exchanged)
Trader: Ooh! You have pins I want!
Tiggernut: Great, I see some nice stuff here too. We should be able to do something.
Trader: Great! But, this, this, this and this are not for trade.
Tiggernut: <sigh> Well, what is for trade then?
Trader: These other ones over here and here.
Tiggernut: Okay…so this, this and this is not for trade?
Trader: Well, it might be for trade, but not for anything but <insert insane Holy Grail here>
Tiggernut: Oh, sorry, I don’t have that pin.
Trader: Yeah, well, I really love these and will only give them up for <Holy Grail>

My first thought in this negotiation is that it is a waste of time trying to trade. My second thought, is I can’t keep track of my own trader book, how am I supposed to remember what I can trade for from yours!?

Please Please Please fellow traders –isolate your collection/Keepers in a separate book or at least in a separate place.

I make this recommendation for several reasons and the core of the lesson today:

1) If you leave your favorite pinsat home, you won’t be tempted to part with them, and can decide without pressure (especially from friends) whether they are up for grabs or not.

2) Collections are to be admired and shown off – but it confuses the trading process when there is no clear demarcation as to which is which (i.e. keepers vs. traders).

3) If you wish to show off yourcollection –keep it in a separate book or on a ‘Not-For-Trade’ Lanyard to showcase. Thereby keeping it off the trade” table” so to speak.

4) By hiding or leaving your keepers at home, you can guarantee no one will “gun” for your hard-to get, sentimental pins. And, yes, there are people that target such pins!

5) When you leave your favoritesat home, you have to trade with what you have, and you are guaranteed to ALWAYS end up happier in the end, because you gave up nothing with sentimental value,and returned with a treasure.

6) New pins always have instant appeal because they are NEW. Wait a month and see if you like the pin as much as you did in the beginning. Then you know if it should be kept, or placed in the trader book.

And finally, the sad but true part…

7) Your good pins are in danger ofbeing stolen. If you are afraid to lose it, then leave it at home –where it is safe.

Just a couple of pointers on the trading process. Not sure if this helps or not. But it is my lesson for today.

Class dismissed.
 
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I've learned this lesson . I'm only taking my traders too WDW this trip . At one event I actually had traders take pins out of my book and I didn't even see what they took, only how many and then too look at their books and take certain amount . I was fairly new and luckily I got some nice dream pins, but then the second time, I realized they got a better deal than I . So now only my traders go . My beauty and the beast, lady and the tramp, and bambi's stay home .
 
when I was at paris I was one of these people but I kept all my newly traded pins inside one of the zipped compartments at the very back as I had no where else to put them as I was at the PTN and my pockets would overflow lol But understand your reason is different to what Ive just said but confusion for my example can also be made from traders assuming EVERY thing in the bag is for trade.
 
I take my 20 lanyards with pins to trade and my zapper bag they came from ALL real pins mind you
and thats all I take...and my GOOD traders stay on Pinpics....I basically take the ones I mentioned as I like trading
with Cast Members,and if I get extras to trade or zap,my zappers are recycled to use again.Judy
 
I am in total agreement with your post, Tiggernut. Keep the "keepers" (or for trade for an HG only) separate from your actual traders. When I make trades at a PTN, if they are keepers (sometimes I trade to help someone out, so the one I get turns into another trader), I put them in my purse/backpack (which I watch like a hawk).
 
I am new to the forum, but not to trading. HOWEVER I did manage to fill up two books fairly quick by buying starter and booster sets for trading. I recently found myself at the point I was attempting to divide wants and trades between the two books, even while sitting at the tables last night. But it got done and I did come away a very happy camper.
 
+1

I had a good time at PTN last night, got a few pins I wanted. I did better at the barrels inside DL.

This is what I got from PTN (the first two were already a trade that was set up, but completed at PTN [exchange of pins]):

and

and a few Vinylmation Jrs for someone I know :-)


At the barrels:
pin85359


I think that's it. But, if I didn't already have the pre-trade set up, I think that PTN may have been a bust.
 
I made this mistake the first time I traded at DLR. My problem was that my pin book was full, and I had no space to put new pins except for where the old ones had been. Next time I go I will be taking two books. One will have LE's, and the other will have rack pins/ vinylmations. The last page of each book is where all my keepers will go, and I will be marking it with masking tape at the top "NOT FOR TRADE." We'll see how this works, and then I'll decide if I need to get another smaller pin book to toss all my keepers into and hide.
 
"Here, Here" Tiggernut!! Thanks for the reminder/lesson for Trading. I have 2 bags only for Trading pins & I leave my "keepers" at home. Even if you are just starting out & have only 1 bag or binder or lanyard, separate your "Traders" from your "Keep/Trade only for a Holy Grail". Put your Keepers or Holy Grail Traders on the bottom/back pages or 1 side of your Lanyard and that way you are presenting what you are willing to trade first. It will prevent confusion and pressure to trade away pins you aren't ready to part with.
 
Completely agree . . . . It stinks when you see pins you want in someones book and and they find stuff they want and it goes like this

ME: ok how about "pin"
TRADER: no thats not for trade.
ME: Ok I like "pin"
TRADER: Oh not that one either.
ME: Ok, I also like these two
TRADE: Ohhhh yeah those arent for trade.
ME: What is for trade?
TRADER: Oh this this this and these 5.

I have now started asking people before I start trading - Are these your traders or your collection? when they say both It always makes trading a little harder.
 
I've had this problem many many times. It's frustraing. To the point where I only take a lanyard of pins to trade (Mixture of LE's and HTF OE's or a POTM) All with Locking backs (I'm not dumb). And my jacket with which I display characters I collect. (Only like 3 or 4)
We're mostly after the Country bears and Tiana, but when we see either of the two in a book and we have a more than decent pin to trade, we get a stink eye or "Oh that's not for trade." It's vey frustrating and aggitating. We sometimes wonder what these guys do all day. Anyway, Its upsetting. But it's their loss We say.

No St. Patricks Day Kermit for you.
 
Could nOt agree more!!!!

There are actually a couple people I see at trading events that have their so-called keepers and their trades all together.

I will not even ask, I'll politely say I do not see anything and just leave it at that.

I say so-called keepers because some are theirs, some are their parents, some are their spouse, some are their children's, yet, if they found just the right pin, they would trade it.

Then your led over to their traders which ate usually Hidden Micke's, and easy rack pins, but they Really love my WDI hard to find pin.

Anyway, it is a great thing to keep them seperate!

Vicki
 
If there's a pin I'm even remotely iffy about trading, I don't take it to trading events but I'll leave it up on pinpics in case something comes along that I want more. Avoids many headaches!
 
I completely agree with this and thanks for posting your Lessons in Pin Trading. I hope our new and newer pin traders will find this useful, can learn from your years of pin trading experience, and as a result, have more productive pin trading nights and events.
 
Prof Diana,
I did so miss these posts! I totally agree with what you said and it makes it so much easier when people put their "keepers" on the last page of the book and mark them as keepers and leave the collection at home.

I look forward to more Pin Trading 101!
 
Bellecat22 said:
Prof Diana,
I did so miss these posts! I totally agree with what you said and it makes it so much easier when people put their "keepers" on the last page of the book and mark them as keepers and leave the collection at home.

I look forward to more Pin Trading 101!
Click to expand...


I agree, and great to meet you the other night finally....wish we could have spoke more, next time for sure.
 
OH and i only bring traders. I am actually not quite sure why anyone would lug around their collection??? I did make ONE small boo boo at my first live in person trading event this past weekend. In my excitment i had everything semi-good to go, but forgot to bring anything to put the new pins in! LOL my poor sweetheart, it wasnt bad enough i had a pin trading event on a friday night and he carried the pins and hung around bug eyed, but i gave him all my new trades to hold and stuff his pocket with LOL--that poor man. Thank God there was a bar across the road!
 
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