New collector - totally demoralized
Welcome to the newbie's let down - we've all gone through it. Please know that we've all felt what you're going through now, and though it may seem like a crapshoot when trading with CMs, sometimes, it's not always about the pins - but moreso the interactions and stories behind them. Some of my husband and I's favorite times to look back on are associated with scrapper pins, and the search to find the real deal, and the sometimes eventual "I don't friggen care anymore if it's a scrapper or not, so long as it looks alright!" just to finish off a set. (I realize some of those reading this will shudder in horror that I just admitted to that, but in reality, if we come across a scrapper version and a real pin version of the same pin - we'll put the scrapper in our collection, and retrade the real one. . we're not too picky about scrappers being in our collection - so long as it's not obviously horribly a scrapper pin. *commence shaming process here*)
All of that being said, it can be discouraging to know that the real pins you purchase will most likely result in scrappers from CMs - but this is where time invested in educating yourself about the basics and "give away clues" of scrappers comes in, as sometimes you can avoid them just by looking a lil more carefully at them. Give it time, any hobby has it's learning curve, as does this one. And in that time, not only will you learn more than you thought there'd be to pins, but will probably also make a few new friends who can help you along the way.
Welcome to the forum. . . And just remember - have fun, and ask yourself if at the end of the day, was it worth the smile you/the kids/the family had on their faces when they found a really neat pin, or one they had been searching for, or one they never knew they wanted. Chances are, it will be.
I see your point and I think the same thing might have happened to us as well. Based on our past experience, this is what we plan to do. When we take pins to the parks, I buy grab bags from here since I know they are authentic. My dd does most of the trading and personally I don't expect to add much to my Tbell collection from the parks. I enjoy watching my dd trade and she loves doing it. Once we come back, she keeps most of the pins in her collection. What she does not want, I go through them and if any of them are fake, I dispose them. If they are real, we keep so that we can trade them in parks with our next visit.I think I more disappointed by the fact that I spent good money trading for counterfeit. I'm definately going to examine trades more closely and probably get even tighter on pins I collect, most of them coming from purchases I made myself.
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