Bit behind in posting here, but our first (and so far only) International trade finally came through. The concise story is . . . Back in April 2020, we were approached on PinPics by a member in Japan who wanted to trade. Well, she had an Anna and Elsa pin set that we *really* wanted. Real grails, to be honest. We decided that we'd swing the postage and do it. It went along fine, and we agreed on a multi-pin trade and when to ship. We took ours in and shipped them. She told us she took hers in and the Japan Post told her that she needed to order a form and it would be a week. Ours arrived to her and she responded with a full response saying they were great and she was so happy. I heard form her through May 2020, as the form didn't arrive and then she said that Air Parcel was shut down to the US because of COVID. In June 2020, correspondence thought PP and private email ceased. I emailed every week, never heard back. Her account never stopped changing, though, with pins coming and going. No gap. We were really disappointed, to say the least.
I kept at it, emailing every week. Watching Japan Post and they didn't open up Air Parcels to the US. They were open to Germany, though, and I arranged with a friend from the military forum who lives in Germany, and he was willing to have it sent to him, and then we could pay to have it shipped to us from Germany. No response from Japan, when I kept sending that offer. Nothing. Then in March 2021, I had posted on here in the PinPics Traders thread about trading with a Japanese member, and I got a message on DPF from
@echoharmony who said she had just had a really good trade with a member from Japan on PP, and asked what was the username of our trader. It was the same! So, she generously offered to pass on a note, which I wrote and sent to her, and we waited.
I heard back the next day, from the account saying that it was a relative, as the original account owner had passed away. (Now, just my thoughts --- Very sad. However, if it was true or not, there was no excuse for not answering my repeated emails over the past 11 months and for continuing to use PP and change pin listings and to do other trades. So, I don't know what to think overall.) She said the pins were still there and please give her a week to mail them. Surprise of surprises . . . they arrived the next day - mailed by FedEx Express International.
So, after all that, I was really happy that they did arrive in the end, although the stress of the trade was really sad. But . . . here they are! Sis and I were over the moon with Anna and Elsa, as they were even cooler than we thought! Many thanks to
@echoharmony for the help and to
@TheMickeyMouseRules for helping us with International trading advice back in 2020!
They came in these really cool Mickey head bubblewrap baggies:
Here are all the pins:
After Anna and Elsa, we were really excited about the Rescue Rangers (kind of sentimental from our early years) and that B&tB pin, which doesn't look like any other pin type we've had before! The Dalmatians are for trade and some of the Disney On Demand pins, too.
Here is a close-up of our A&E gems!
So, there's the story and the fabulous pins, which finally made it! We are so excited! Haven't found the best place on my Frozen board for A&E yet, but it is a matter of just rearranging enough! -grin-
We are super happy with them. They feel very different, too. They feel more like a "souvenir" rather than just a "pin", if you know what I mean. 
