Starting a Collection

[Ambercrystal]

Hello everyone!!!

I would love to start a collection of Disney pins, but living in Australia this is very difficult.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what they think the best way to start a collection would be. I don't have a lot of money, and shipping to Australia from America can be pretty expensive... but I have my heart set on this.

I did find an ebay seller with relatively cheap shipping, but all of their pins are around AU$3, which makes me worried that maybe they are counterfeit, based off of websites that I have read.

Thank you very much : )

 

[docfish2u]

First off, welcome!!! I hope your time here is a lot of fun!!!

Chances are if the seller has the same pins over and over again, they are selling fake pins. You might be best off saving your money and buying pins you like best and just get fewer. Buying pins here is also a really good way to get some pins!!!

 

[Propita]

The best way (to me) to start a collection is to pick a movie, ride, theme, etc...something that will let you limit your collection so you're not racing around trying to collect EVERYTHING. You'll go crazy.

since you're in Australia, see if you can make contacts with Japan and Hong Kong for real pins. I know, still very great distances, but much further than the US. And if there are any Oz-only pins, you're in the right place to buy extra to sell/trade to support your habit...uh, collection.

 

[Vackra]

A lot of times people on this forum sell a lot of similar pins at once, like all of their Pinocchio traders for example. So if you saved up a little and bought several pins from the same person at once, you could probably save a fair amount on shipping!

 

[Ambercrystal]

Thanks everyone!

I didn't know that you can buy pins on here, so I will have a look into that.

I have decided that I want to start by collecting Mickey and Friends pins (I love Mickey!)

I am going to Tokyo Disneyland in January, but they don't trade over there. Can you still buy them there though?

 

[Ambercrystal]

Wow...

I have no idea where to start... all I know is that I want to start with Mickey. But there are so many pin designs, and shipping is often very offputting...

Did anyone else have this problem when they started collecting pins?

 

[Snoffsan]

Hi! Welcome!

I live in Sweden and have the same problem. We dont have any pins here. But I bought some pins here and some pins on ebay from sellers that I have heard is good and trusted. Of course I did get a few scrappers but mostly good pins. I recently went to Disneyworld so I bought some pins there as well.

I try to buy pins from "local" ebay sellers. If I dont find any in Sweden I try europe. And when I trade with people in USA I try to trade several pins at ones to save shipping.

I also joined a few games here at the forum in the beginning to have a chance to win some good traders.

 

[Anya]

Wow...

I have no idea where to start... all I know is that I want to start with Mickey. But there are so many pin designs, and shipping is often very offputting...

Did anyone else have this problem when they started collecting pins?

Perhaps you should decide exactly what type of Mickey pins you want to collect, it really helps if you can limit your collection down at first. Maybe you might want to collect just pins of Mickey by himself, or in his usual outfits, or of Mickey with other characters ect... I found this helps a bit with my own collection, though I initially only wanted Aurora pins with her in her blue dress and then that went out the window, so if you can stick with it then that's good. I also found that making a list of pins you really want to obtain soon really helps, I try to mainly get pins off the list, and I limit it to a certain number and add one pin to the list everytime I obtain one.

I also suggest making yourself a PinPics account so you can keep track of all the pins you own, want and have for trade.

 

[Ambercrystal]

Hi! Welcome!

I live in Sweden and have the same problem. We dont have any pins here. But I bought some pins here and some pins on ebay from sellers that I have heard is good and trusted. Of course I did get a few scrappers but mostly good pins. I recently went to Disneyworld so I bought some pins there as well.

I try to buy pins from "local" ebay sellers. If I dont find any in Sweden I try europe. And when I trade with people in USA I try to trade several pins at ones to save shipping.

I also joined a few games here at the forum in the beginning to have a chance to win some good traders.

Thank you : )

Unfortunately I am having a hard time finding sellers outside of the UK and US, but I will follow your advice about combining shipping. Some prices aren't too bad.

I am worried about buying from a questionable seller, but I have only been looking at 100% feedback sellers, so I am hoping that will keep me safe.

I will be going to Tokyo Disneyland next year. They don't trade there apparently, but they still sell some.

 

[Ambercrystal]

Perhaps you should decide exactly what type of Mickey pins you want to collect, it really helps if you can limit your collection down at first. Maybe you might want to collect just pins of Mickey by himself, or in his usual outfits, or of Mickey with other characters ect... I found this helps a bit with my own collection, though I initially only wanted Aurora pins with her in her blue dress and then that went out the window, so if you can stick with it then that's good. I also found that making a list of pins you really want to obtain soon really helps, I try to mainly get pins off the list, and I limit it to a certain number and add one pin to the list everytime I obtain one.

I also suggest making yourself a PinPics account so you can keep track of all the pins you own, want and have for trade.

Hmmm... that is a good idea. I suppose I would start with Mickey by himself. Though that may be hard to stick to, because I have seen some gorgeous pins with Goofy, Donald and Minnie too : /

One pin, I found on the Disney Store site. The Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse Hinged Pin. I think it is probably my very first grail, as I believe people call it. The pin itself doesn't seem too expensive, but shipping from the Disney Store to Australia will cost about $40 for that one pin... Maybe I can find it on ebay. Thanks for the advice!
[h=1][/h]

 

[Snoffsan]

Dont trust the 100% feed back too much. I would try to keep away of sellers that sells lots of pins. Like 50 pins for 50 dollar. Those are almost always scrappers. And look at pinpics and see if the pin has a scrapper warning before you start bidding.

But mainly I would buy pins from people here. Then you can feel safe.

Maybe you can fins some Disney stuff that is limited to Australia? That stuff you can always sell here or trade for pins. Same with Tokyo. They have a lot of exclusive things that I know many people here would trade for pins.

 

[Ambercrystal]

Hmmm... maybe I will browse the sales forum here to start with. Hopefully people will ship to Australia.

On ebay, I have only been looking at single pins, because I read about all of the scrapper warnings. Seems I will definitely be visiting Pinpics a lot in the future.

Maybe while I am in Tokyo I will buy some extra pins to use for trading. I would love to take part in trading, but it seems a lot of people are a little hesitant about international trade...

 

[Snoffsan]

I found some info about pins in Tokyo:

The best place (and only place with a rack) to purchase pins is Pirate Treasure in Adventureland (see map). I would argue that this store has the best pin selection between both of the parks in Japan, even. Here you can get pins that are exclusive to events in Tokyo Disneyland, as well as any current holiday pins (Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc) or you can just pick from the current rack pins. Be careful though because many rack pins in the Tokyo Disney Resort are the same OE pins that can be found in Disney World or Disneyland.

There is also a game section located by the Arabian Coast (see map), and here you must pay 500 yen to have a chance at winning some fabulous stuffed animal prizes. However, if you are reading this article, I am guessing you want to lose. Why? If you lose they will take out secret hidden pins which you may then choose from, and actually you have just paid 500 yen for a pin of your choice! There is no telling what the pins will be that day unless you pay to play! It is my personal recommendation that you make your way over to the games earlier in the day, as quite a line can form later on.

The Disney Store, with locations all over Japan, also has its own unique variety of pins. Depending on the size of the store, you may be lucky enough to enter one that has its own spinning rack of pins. Here you will find rack pins with designs that are unique to Japan. You may also occasionally find a limited edition pin or a pin set for sale in the Disney Store. I have never seen pins that are sold in the Disney Store being sold in the parks, or vice versa.

Looks like you can have a quite good shot at finding some great traders. Limited edition pins and pins that are exclusive to Japan is always better as traders of course. There are a lot of people who would trade internationally to get those because there is no other way to get them Look after pins that are popular to collect on, such as: Tangled, The little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, UP! and so on.

Hope this helps. I started collected in january so Im still very new but you will learn quick if you hang here a lot

 

[Ambercrystal]

I found some info about pins in Tokyo:







Looks like you can have a quite good shot at finding some great traders. Limited edition pins and pins that are exclusive to Japan is always better as traders of course. There are a lot of people who would trade internationally to get those because there is no other way to get them Look after pins that are popular to collect on, such as: Tangled, The little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, UP! and so on.

Hope this helps. I started collected in january so Im still very new but you will learn quick if you hang here a lot

Thank you so much for this great info!!! I will definitely keep it in mind. I am hoping to spend four days at Tokyo Disneyland, so I can check everything out!

 

[Snoffsan]

Glad I could help!

 

[vickichip7]

I'm in the UK and so can definitely sympathise with you over this!

I built my collection through varoious means-mostly eBay (but this was 7-10 yrs ago), through trading & through visits to Disney (recently limited to Disneyland Paris). You should find that Tokyo Disney pins trade well, if you can bring some back with you!

You don't mention if you have a Pinpics account, but if not, do join and then you can investigate the option of trading and also get ideas of what you wan to collect within Mickey Mouse pins

Multiples: purchasing or trading is a great way to save on postage as many people said. definitely browse the sales threads here, many people sell great pins at really good prices. In all of it: remember to have fun!

 

[Ambercrystal]

Thanks : ) I definitely want to have fun with this hobby!!!

There seems to be a lot of nice people in this hobby. When I was collecting Beanie Kids (an Australian teddy bear), there were so many rude people to deal with!