Hey everyone! I went to the pin trading event today in Florida, and despite my concerns I have to say it was a big success! I was worried about only being there for an hour but I traded all my high value pins within like 30 minutes lol. It took me 2 booths before most of my pins were gone. Staying longer only would have tempted me to open up the wallet, as there were lots of pins I'd had my eye on - as well as new dreamies I'd never even seen before! I'd never thought I'd even lay my eyes on some of these pins let alone posses them.
The atmosphere was noticeably different than park trading, while the parks are largely unfiltered emotionally driven trades for low value pins, the event had lots of massive binders, calculators, and tallying up retail values. It felt like a business negotiation rather than a friendly trade. Still, the other trader were super nice and were more than willing to help out! I came in feeling like I had nothing these traders could possibly want, but I was able to make some really fun trades. (It turns out my collection is worth more than I though it was, and I even had a trader take one of my scrappers cause they thought it was cute)
Without further ado, here's the new pins I took home!
I'm especially happy with the Figaro Food-D, I first saw it in the trade arcade but was unable to get it. I was super happy to not only find it here but add it to my collection! Figaro's such an adorable character lol can't get enough of him. I also really love the Figment FARTS pin, as I've been seeking 2024 FARTS pins ever since I arrived in Florida. Most of the other ones were ones I thought were super cute or special looking. Some might also find their way onto next month's trade arcade if anyone's interested!
I also saw the REAL Simba soft serve loungefly available, and knew I had to get it. Not just cause I love Simba soft serves but because it'll make a great study piece! The one on the left is the real one, and the one on the right is the fake. In the front pic, you can see how the colors are different, and the real one is a lot more sparkly. (the sparkle difference is most evident on the lion symbol)
The back of the real one has those crown symbols and the fake one doesn't. If anyone wants to point out other differences please do!
Now unfortunately this was a trade, and I had to say goodbye to a lot of my pins. These were the ones I gave up in the first trade I made: (the topsy turvy day and alley cats showtime were ones I recently bought at Epcot)
Honestly, the only one of these I'm feeling regret about giving away is the World Wildlife day one. I love Meeko, and might add that back to my ISOs at some point. The Max pin was the scrapper I was referencing earlier.
Here's the second trade I made (some of these pins I traded for in the first trade so they were in my collection for maybe 10 minutes lol)
Overall, I think I did pretty well! Some of the pins I traded for I thought were rarer than they actually are, but I feel like I got a pretty similar overall value. I'd love to know what y'all think.
After the event, I went to the parks for some fun trading, and was lucky enough to find a lanyard with some new pins on it! I got a new Star Wars series pin (Obi Wan) and a new Stitch pin, though I later traded the Obi Wan pin with a park guest for one that's 99% a fake/scrapper (what can I say I'm a sucker for cute pins and this one was too cute to pass up) I also acquired another real Mickey expressions pin off another park guest. (today seemed unusually good for park trading)
I'm pretty sure the cat is fake, but it's too friggin cute to not keep. Stitch is brand new, and the Expression pin has that weight and thickness to it.
As you can hopefully see in the terrible quality photo, there's a border on the cat pin (on the left). There's no broder on the Expressions pin, (on the right) and it has the orange serial number. That plus the weight makes me think it's real, but I'd love to hear y'all's thoughts on them.
All in all, I'm super happy to add all these to my collection!
Thanks for sharing your pin journey with everyone - it’s fun to see the next generation start this crazy hobby! Will be following closely to see your collections grow! Happy Trading