Pin Trading - Here to stay or going away

Great discussion. Maybe we should have a poll to see where the majority of traders fall into the category of how long have you been a trader. Since 1999 for us.

2008 for us

The hobby is evolving, but not disappearing, not yet at least. Now 5 years deep in collecting and trading, it definitely feels different than at first. In part to the newness wearing off for me, but also the collecting community. It feels as though the "trading" part of "Disney Pin Trading" is dropping off. There seems to be more of a focus on buying/selling privately, and at the parks people appear gunshy about trading because of how many fakes are in circulation (at least I know I am). I still love to trade, at the park, by mail, or at local meets. My wants list is shrinking, yet so are my traders, but I do not see either disappearing any time soon, nor do I see the hobby...
It is up to all of us though to keep the hobby in perspective, keep it fun, make it inviting for collectors of all ages and experience, and most of all keep it magical to a Disney level.

I'm a fairly new pin trader, and honestly I find it rather hard and disheartening at times to try to stay with trading. It seems that prices are just getting nuts for a lot of pins and while people say that the prices are dropping, I'm having difficulty seeing it. I'm gonna try to hang on, but I wish that maybe disney would open up edition sizes a little more since it's become such a bigger thing over the last couple of years.

As the generation now continues to join the pin trading world, they will continue to get ever more frustrated when they can't get it "now." If you want Tangled pins now, you have to wait hours upon hours. You have to take your chances with random draws. It used to be easier. There are too many "now" people that want to buy and flip for money now. Then buy what it is they want now. They don't want to wait and hang onto a pin and trade it in person when they can actually trade the pin they have for the pin they want.

I don't think it's going anywhere, but I agree it's changing. With the rapid inflation of day 1 pin prices, the hobby is attracting more people. People that have no intentions of joining the hobby, they just want to profit off the opportunity. The hobby organically accepted the number of resellers we used to have. The larger number of resellers we see today I think is a problem. Some pins have crashed because of it. Brave Opening day for example, lots of those pins went to resellers, they thought it would be a $40 pin right away. The pin still doesn't do well. Worse than it should I think for a Pixar princess movie opening day pin. Same for the Pirates and Haunted Mansion keys to the kingdom. After the gold castle key & Ariel were $100/$40 respectively, everyone got the next two thinking they'd skyrocket. Well they didn't. Too many offered for secondary market, flooded eBay. They were untradeable after the first week. Not enough people are willing to buy an LE3000 pin. DSF has somewhat stayed above this because their pins are so limited and those willing to buy exceed the amount sellers can get their hands on. But I think soon, as more and more simple resellers/profiteers enter the DSF random chance line, even their pins may become so overpriced people avoid them and in turn they become undesirable. Only time will tell.

markheardjr said:

As the generation now continues to join the pin trading world, they will continue to get ever more frustrated when they can't get it "now." If you want Tangled pins now, you have to wait hours upon hours. You have to take your chances with random draws. It used to be easier. There are too many "now" people that want to buy and flip for money now.

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It just took on a different form and different characters. Now we have DSF Rapunzels, way back when we had DA Stitch pins. Of course DA didn't require going anywhere, it just required a fast internet connection and fast fingers. Yet that also took some luck to win. Even in the DA days the Stitch pins were flipped on eBay pretty fast as well, but not nearly at the amounts today that we see. I do agree that one unfortunate result of what is going on today is that the profit potential has brought in way more secondary markets sellers into the hobby. So it creates a false demand which benefits them by raising prices even more. I would be sad to find out the amount of people that don't even collect pins, but are just doing it for the money.

me and my mom began pin trading 1997

Tealke said:

I would be sad to find out the amount of people that don't even collect pins, but are just doing it for the money.

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It's easy to tell. The people with no pins (Lanyards on or traders or show pins.) They don't know the characters well and often confuse them (Besides Aurora and Cinderella, everyone confuses those two.) They don't talk to anyone. If they do talk they just marvel at the last price XXX pin sold for. And they usually bring numbers, like 3 or 4 family members, some who come all the time, some who have never been.

I started Disney pin trading in 2000, back when I was still in high school. My parents took us to WDW almost monthly (and bought my pins.) I LOVED walking the parks and trading with cast members and finding interesting pins. Remember the summer they had monthly free events at Wide World of Sports where the pin boards were covered in limited edition and artist proof pins? The lanyard pins came out and the questing got even more intense. The first few years of the EPCOT pin event were amazing. And Disney Auctions? I loved clicking F5 waiting for the pins to load.
But then I went off to college and Disney trips became less frequent. And pin trading changed in the park - lanyards were a mine field of Sesdmena and scrapper pins. I quit trying to collect cast lanyard hidden mickeys. And college, then a job, kept me away from the parks. I had never had much of an online pin trading presence, so that couldn't keep pin trading a part of my activities. So my pins got put away. But never forgotten. I still considered myself a pin trader and a Snow White Prince completist. So every few months I would check PinPics to make sure no new Prince pins had come out, and if they did, I would add them to the Group I maintain.
In the past few months, having moved into my first house, I have been able to put my pins on the walls. Looking at my pins everyday has really put the pin trading fire back in me(unfortunately my husband doesn’t share my fervor.) So I’ve found this community and I hope to get involved.
Wow, that was a long post! To actually answer the question, I think pin trading will always exist in some form, but how big it is will ebb and flow.

I'm so happy to see this thread is a real, meaningful discussion of the pin hobby. I got hooked on Disney in 1953 and I've been loving it ever since. Pins really became a big thing for me in 2005 and I just cannot see myself ever getting out of the hobby. Keep talking, peeps, it's good to know how you feel about the hobby and might just keep someone involved who was planning to exit stage right.

One thing I think affects the newer traders is that most seem to have very high/over valued pins as their wants and not very many easier ones which leaves lots of people in the very discouraged pile-

As much as we all would love a 'grail' I think for most traders it is and should be a small step process to acquire higher and higher level pins to work towards obtaining said grail-

When I see people wanting a pin I have in my traders that say is a $30 dollar value pin (I rarely play higher than this) and all they have in their trades are $5 dollar value pins its near impossible to make a trade- They need to work to get say $10/ $20/$30 dollar value traders so that those who are willing to help out have something of value to get in return...

Started out in 2010 primarily trading in the parks, but since have moved at least 1000 miles from each park. I've taken to collecting(tradings out of the question pretty much) a few themes that I am still interested in, afterwards I'll probably be done with the hobby entirely...

Margaret, I am on a self imposed pin buying/trading hiatus. Been collecting since 2005 but not happy with the way things have been with the hobby lately. I am not selling my collection but am at the point where I am considering selling the traders as they aren't doing anything for me sitting in a closet. I don't want to touch the collection yet because I may get back into it after this break.

I do still like to read the boards (sometimes) but don't post so much anymore as most of the people I really know have either left or also do not bother posting here anymore.

My suspicions are that they hobby will continue as long as new pins are released. Even when someone leaves, they usually eventually liquidate their collection putting some previously unavailable pins back into the market. If Disney stopped releasing pins altogether, I think people would lose interest. A lot of new traders used to be initiated by a trip to the park and buying a few pins but I think there are some now that have gotten into it via word of mouth from the DSF shenanigans. Either way, I think Disney stopping new releases would be the death knell for the hobby.

We've collected since the late 1980s, but took a prolonged break during the 90s and 00s due to Hubby's going back to school and a general disappointment with the increased number of dealers/re-sellers. We've returned a bit, but our traders are not on demand--too "old." But that means that our older pins are not scrappers, since we got them at the park.

We just don't want to get too caught up in the "latest and greatest" phase that's going on right now with pins, and it seems we're not alone. But we do try for what we can get, whether on eBay or trades.

i think that the reason some collctors go for the newer characters is because, with some luck and definitely lots of money, it's possible for them to get ALL pins of that character. Or try to, at least.

I guess I'm more of a completist--I want ALL pins of a group: Boo, Magic Music Days, Minnie's Moonlit Madness, and Club 33.

Stay... Most are addicted and can not stop... Like me lol. No matter what you do there will be bad people or people complaining.... But there are those others that are awesome and fair that make it all better.

My own relationship with pins is complex (kind of)... While a few odd pins came into my possession before, I really started seriously collecting after my last visit to Disneyland USA in 2012. What prompted it was seeing SO MANY people sporting lanyards... I wanted to join the club

For me, though, it is very much about collecting. I tend to see pins more as a form of cultural affiliation than as a "hobby" as such... I'm overthinking what people wear and why. On the one hand, they serve as mnemonic devices through which we symbolically associate with the things that capture our interest. The clearest example are pins like the Piece of Disney ride and movie history pins... You are literally carrying a scrap of Disneyland or a Disney film with you.

On the other hand, these objects at once identify a person as a serious Disney fan while communicating one's own distinctive interests within that fan community. It's not only an internal association with Disney's creative products, but also an external association with Disney fandom. At once I'm showing off that I'm "one of you" while sharing my own individual identity within that broad community. That in turn opens up dialogue: we're all checking out each other's pins, sharing our love of the different variations within the larger connecting theme of Disney fandom. (This is also why I think Vinylmation will never replace pins... Vinylmation lacks the ability to show off)

So in that spirit, I maintain two collections: my souvenir collection of pins from parks and tours and other Disney places I've been to, and my thematic collection of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea/Jules Verne pins. One reminds me of and communicates about my travels, the other associates me with and tells others about my interests. However, because my interests are so obscure, I resort to having to buy what I want.

Except for a couple pins bought online after the fact because none were available at the time, my souvenir collection was bought on-location because that is kind of the point. Many of my Verne pins were also bought on-location (my Tokyo Disneysea ones even predate when I started actually collecting... originally they were in my souvenir collection), but I've had to purchase the rest. I've only ever successfully traded for one pin, on that 2012 trip to Disneyland.

So I guess in a sense I'm a good example of the transition from a trading ethos to a collecting ethos. I think one of the most conflicted developments in Disney pins are the mystery packs. Personally, as a collector, I object that trying to make people buy things without knowing what they are is an tacky attempt to make money without actually providing anything. It's like they can't sell as many pins honestly anymore, so they're trying to trick people into buying lots of these boxes so they can rack up sales. However, I can also see where all these duplicates floating around and the thrill of the hunt might actually help foster trading activity... At least, it might if not for scrappers. Disney's unwillingness to pursue the issue is problematic for us, because knowing that that you're entering a minefield of counterfeits is daunting to any prospective novice.

Anyways, enough of my prattling on. I think Disney will always sell pins so long as there is a market for people who want relatively inexpensive ways of identifying with the Disney brand and fan community. What shape pin trading may take in the future is anyone's guess.

Corytheraven, I agree about the mystery packs. I tried it earlier this year with the Epcot 30 Figment packs, but spent a ton of money and only got 5 of them. Many of my extras had serious manufacturing defects that I would have seen if the pins were visible, so now Im stuck with a couple that I couldn't trade out. There was another collection from Epcot 30 (reveal/conceal) that I really wanted, because the concealed pins were retired attractions, but I couldn't stomach the risk. Now those pins are going for silly prices on evilBay. The whole mystery pack thing is too scam-like.

^ Very valid points about the mystery pins, but I always thought of them in the same way as baseball cards - it's fun to open them and see what you got. (If you LIKE what you got. If you DON'T want the ones you got, NOT so fun).

I've gotten in and out of collecting so many things in my lifetime. To some extent everything is still around. Beanie Babies are still popular enough that Ty is still coming out with new designs on a regular basis. Baseball cards went from something every boy collected to more of a specialized thing for sports fans, but they're still around. Heroclix went from every other booth at Frank and Sons to having fewer vendors than pins now. Collectible card games have faded, but Magic The Gathering is still going strong. Comic books were supposed to die out due to over-speculation (sound familiar?), but they're arguably stronger than ever now. Pogs are probably the only thing I know of that just completely went away.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that most likely pins will always be around although there will definitely be some evolution. Look how much has changed in just a few years. Other collectibles have gone through the same ups and downs and they're still around (well, not pogs). As they say on Battlestar Galactica: all this has happened before and will happen again.

OMG Pogs! I used to be addicted to those as a child XD you sir has just given me flashbacks lol I remember getting big chunky slammers or metal slammers, Had Tazos as well XD oh the good old days. I also had heroclix was big into them as well them they got more costly with buying by the brick and making them rarer, when wizkids cancelled them me and my friend stopped and then they got bought and brought out alot more haha I stopped collecting comics as I moved to Ireland and the prices were stupid nearly €5 per comic and I was reading Blackest night so had to stop but that led the way to pins in 2010.

Even when we still had disneyshopping/disneystore.com pins they were not overly priced with resellers, I had a reseller who helped me get all my UP pins as she was quick and the prices were only about $30 above cost on the UP 6 pin set for example or about $10-$15 above cost for single pins so there were resellers that didnt gauge so much, plus I felt like the community was a lot tighter and more involved with each other if people missed out on a pin and other people got 2 they were more inclined to help people with those hard to get releases.

For me personally I don't like how the whole buying pins NOW mentality has crept into the hobby as I would say that started with the Rapunzel BOOM and people had to have them all! As I remember when she was not popular and DSF had pins in discount bin, I had 4 ptn Rapunzels for trade as was at that PTN, couldnt trade her away, offered people the booster set as it was out on my trip 7 people took that.. so soon as she became what she is now I think the community was better off. Then when DSF was the only constant for low LE's after disneystore.com going that added to the growing tension and that to brought in alot more newbie traders and thus BTs and Marquees went higher.

So its like a Domino effect, one result equals another.

Pin collecting will be around. As others have mentioned it goes through peaks and valleys. LE 20000s years ago. Then 9/11 caused people away form the parks to reevaluate. Disney auctions and PINs era was another boom era. The economic crash made people reevaluate again. Today people are buying again. Look at DSF, D23, and even Reflections of Evil being two hard ticket days that both sold out. Eventually we will see a valley. It is the nature of anything that is collected. Disney collectables have staying power because people are emotionally attached to memories.

I think as long as Disney is around, there will be pin trading. I feel like the recent PTN at WDW was an indication of this, as well as the d23 expo...people are interested. And while recessions/economy plays a bill rollin secondary market value of the pin, the pins are here to stay.

tiggeriffic said:

^ Very valid points about the mystery pins, but I always thought of them in the same way as baseball cards - it's fun to open them and see what you got. (If you LIKE what you got. If you DON'T want the ones you got, NOT so fun).

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But packs of baseball cards don't cost $15-$30 each

I started collecting in 1999 with the Millennium series, and bought what little Jessica Rabbit pins came after that. It wasn't too difficult for me back then. In 2003 is when it started to explode and there were Jessica pins all the time. I the pin quantity has been dramatically decreased. In 2007 alone I think there was some 100+ pins of Jessica released. That was a bit too much but now it's way less than half that number. I think if Disney starts selling pins on their website again like they used to, it can garner more interest. I've not gotten any pins in a while since they are only available at DSF. At least online you had a chance at getting them at their regular price. I don't think its going to disappear any time soon but to a lot of people who've been at it a long time, they can tell the quality, designs, events, art, quantity, selections of pins have all changed considerably.