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New Contribution Received at Show Me The Pins!

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New Contribution Received at Show Me The Pins!
Even if you just pay $.05, $.50, or $1, they are no longer donations. Easy as that.
 
Yeah. I just bought a lot of 6 super cute winnow the pooh character pins for less than a buck a piece so even 50 cents each would not be unheard of. Like if you found pins at a random garage sale, they would probably be dirt cheap.
 
I have a question: does shipping count towards your $100? Shipping counts in the total when buying I'm assuming, but what about trading? Do you count shipping in when trading or is that coming out of pocket? That is just a curiosity.
 
Tons of great feedback, THANK YOU! I do plan on "completing the trades" with Laurie-Ann and Marci either by sending back a pin or two or paying a small amount per pin. I'll figure that out prior to Day 1. As far as shipping goes, I'll certainly include it in any purchases or sales, haven't thought about trades. Any suggestions? Would it be "cheating" if I didn't count shipping on trades?
 
Well, if you include shipping that will add up pretty fast. If you figure you spend at least two bucks in shipping per trade and do at least 25 trades, that half your budget right there. I'd say that you don't count it but make a rule that you can't spend more than $3 plus 25 cents per additional pin per transaction. (just because some ebay sellers like to hide profit in shipping charges). Unless of course you are trading for something large, like a sculpture or tin.
 
Like Erica said, you won't get very far if you count trade postage. I am not sure that postage necessarily needs to be counted at all based on "rules" that you could make. If the $100 is designated specifically for pins, then postage is null and void. At the same time, it is included in the PayPal purchases, so it would be held accountable on the site. It is a sticky situation either way. I think this whole process is going to be a lot of work in figuring things out, but I am sure you'll have all your thoughts and rules squared away by the time it starts. At least you're discussing all of this now.

Sorry if I just confused you more. I am not sure which side I am on for postage-counting.
 
I would see if you could get 100 pins donated overall and then use the $100 in postage to see how much you could "build" the collection with that $100. If a bunch of people donated even one or two pins it would not take long to get to 100. Did I read that you are only accepting donations until the first of the year? Why stop then? I think a donation should always be accepted. Then trade them to see what you can come up with using the $100. Will you also be trading at the park or just through the mail? Having the option to sell some of the pins will also be a way of keeping a cash flow. If you truly want to see what you can do with only donations and $100, how can you justify postage and not include it in the $100? It seems to me it will be a constant revolving door of receiving donations, trading, and selling to actually be able to use only the $100. If you sell on the Bay you will have fees to deal with as well. I do not see how you can do it with only $100 without revolving everything to make it work. There will be times you need pins and times you need money. It is much the same as getting trader pins and then trading them up until you reach something you want to keep. However you choose to do this, Good Luck! Can't wait to follow this and see how it all works out.
 
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Wow, lots of great responses. Thanks again everyone! I am going to include the topic of shipping fees and how to handle donations in today's blog entry. As mentioned, at least we have a couple of weeks to work out these little snags before the project goes live. My initial inclination is to handle shipping costs out-of-pocket and not include them in the $100 budget. If I buy on eBay I'll try to buy from sellers with reasonable shipping fees and if I sell on eBay I'll try to set a reasonable shipping fee as well. Hopefully the amount I pay in shipping fees vs. the amount I pay in shipping/eBay/PayPal fees will be comparable. Realistically, I think we'll all learn a lot in the first 100 day project. Maybe by the time we start our second edition we'll have all of the kinks worked out. Keep the great ideas coming!
 
I'm still not a fan of the donations idea. I'd say most of us built our collections by scratch. Very few people start their pin collections with a pile of pins that were just given to them. And the red paper clip project didn't start with a bunch of people donating 100 red paper clips. The idea is to make something out of virtually nothing, and when it comes to pins, $100 is virtually nothing.

I'm still thinking no donations, everything must be traded for or purchased, and that shipping should not count as part of the $100. The $100 should strictly be used for the purchase of pins. So, what can $100 buy in the pin world? Do you buy a large quantity of pins with that $100 and go from there or do you buy one or two really nice pins and see what you can parlay them into? It will be very interesting to see how you do this.
 
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erudolf said:
I'm still not a fan of the donations idea. I'd say most of us built our collections by scratch. Very few people start their pin collections with a pile of pins that were just given to them. And the red paper clip project didn't start with a bunch of people donating 100 red paper clips. The idea is to make something out of virtually nothing, and when it comes to pins, $100 is virtually nothing.

I'm still thinking no donations, everything must be traded for or purchased, and that shipping should not count as part of the $100. The $100 should strictly be used for the purchase of pins. So, what can $100 buy in the pin world? Do you buy a large quantity of pins with that $100 and go from there or do you buy one or two really nice pins and see what you can parlay them into? It will be very interesting to see how you do this.
Click to expand...

Excellent, excellent thoughts. I think I will no longer accept donations. I will accept "blind", even somewhat lopsided trades if someone offers, but I will not just "take" pins from anyone. I am leaing the same way as you are as far as the $100 goes, it's sheerly for pins and not for shipping. Now strategy is a GREAT topic that I think we'll get into more as we get closer to January 1. Honestly, I'm not sure how I plan to spend the money. Thanks again for the feedback.
 
i think lopsided trades or some form of reimbursement in the form of postage paid or a certain small amount paid per pin might be a good way to handle it. that way, if you are given a great pin that fits with your collection, you can keep it without HAVING to trade it away, because under the "rules" you acquired it fairly, assuming you pay a few cents, cover postage, or return a pin to the "donor".
 
I can't thank all of you enough for helping me smooth this out. I'm in complete agreement that as long as some reimbrusement is sent then we can make "donations" into trades and avoid this situation. I'll reimburse Marci, Laurie-Ann and any other "donors" prior to January 1 as soon as the project goes live. I'm getting really excited to kick this off. I'm a little nervous about how well we'll do, but I guess that's the fun of trying, right? Even if you fall flat on your face you gave it a shot!
 
Is it too early to call dibs? I would like to buy the Hawaii pin after the project starts.

Also, I replied to a post on your blog, but I am pasting the reply here to be part of the forum:

"flaneur said...
With donations, you run the risk of the project being "saved" by a Deus ex Machina. Consider how the Twitch-hiker got that last minute plane ride via Twitter to complete the overseas leg of his journey. Lame-O.

Instead of closing the door to donations, maybe you could freely pass them along to young new traders. Create and share magic moments.

I do NOT think shipping should be taken from the $100 budget. A third of your budget could easily go to bubble envelopes, bubble wrap, labels, markers, and postage.

Good luck with your project! :D
December 14, 2010 10:30 PM"
 
Hi, and thanks so much for also posting at our blog! We ideally want to have conversations and participation there as well. I agree with your view on shipping. I also don't want donations to get out of hand but I'm considering all options still on how to handle them so they don't water down the project concept. Please remind me about the Hawaii pin around January 1. I'm sure we can work something out. ;)
 
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