Struggling to narrow down exactly what I want to collect.....

I have been struggling with what I want to collect. I know for sure I am collecting Toy Story, Cars & the newer hidden mickey sets..... My boyfriend collects anything aviation related, monorail or Jessica Rabbit. But I always get drawn to random other things that are *pretty*. Does anyone have any advice on how to choose what you collect to help your wallet out?!

Oh, and can't forget UP

This is a question we get a lot, and really, there's no way to answer it FOR someone. After all, we can't be in your head

Just collect what you like! If a pin has a really strong pull for you, go after it first, regardless as to whether or not it fits into a collection "mold".

If you're not really in love with a pin, you'd just end up purging it from your collection anyway.

If I were you, I'd do searches for each of the things you love best and make sure you've seen the pins for each group. Print your Wants list, and decide which ones you like best!

I collect Figment, Fox and the Hound, Sleeping Beauty, and Holiday pins, but I have another page completely dedicated to pins that Iike that don't fit in my collections. I call it my "Random Character" page.

I collect Beauty and The Beast, Bambi & Lady And The Tramp .

Aside from not being able to resist anything Peter Pan/Peter Pan's Flight, I just collect whatever I happen to like. If it doesn't fall into a category, I don't care!

My main collection is Aladdin, but I also collect whatever I like, so that ends up being The Aristocats, Kingdom Hearts, Tangled, Jessica Rabbit, Star Wars, Goofy, and just recently Treasure Planet (Jim only) Really I don't know how to STOP collecting other things, but I stick to one rule, and that's that Aladdin is my first and foremost priority.

These are all really good answers and definitely something to think about!

Tangled, Ariel, Belle, Jessica Rabbit and that's me.

UP is way too hard for me to collect.

I dont think there is any pin collector out there that can stick to what they like and not think *ooh thats pretty, I want that* as everyone is like that. I think im in the very few traders who do infact keep to what I intended to collect and have not peered off to collect random pins (yet) I only start something new when Im finished with another theme. I know that can takes its time and I might pass up on other pins I want but I found it can be effective in sticking to one set theme till you have all the ones you want as can spread the money more to 1 theme than to say 7 at a time.

but I guess I could be the only one with that way of thinking. oh and for me I only need 1 version of the pin I want, for example, I have a stitch as devil pin so I dont need any other stitch as devil pin. So for me I save money by not buying multiple versions of a pin thats just in different poses. The only theme I do that for is UP but other than that 1 pin for each design keeps my wallet nice and happy XD

That is an impossible question to answer. No one can decide what you want to collect but you. I started off with the movies from my childhood and once I realized that they collection was going to be way too big, I picked out Alice in Wonderland because I like the characters and the story. But I couldn't give up "other" pins that caught my fancy. Good luck figuring out what to collect. It's a very personal choice and a difficult one to make. Just remember to have fun and enjoy the hobby.

I have a ton of random OE pins I have pulled off of lanyards. I think in my head they are more valuable than a hidden mickey trader so I take it. But honestly I struggle with letting it go if it's not something I would usually collect. I think I'm going to take a bunch of these oddballs to the pin trading event at DLR this weekend and see if I can get rid of some of them for stuff I actually want. Turns out if it's on a lanyard, chances are noone is really collecting it. But I have to believe that every subject matter is collected by someone. Whether they have it already or are willing to trade me is another story.

I try to shy away from Stitch and Jessica just because there are so many expensive pins I'd never get anywhere. I am try to get more into Pixar, the movies are newer and the pins aren't terribly hard to find except a some of the UP pins that are hot right now. I like aviation and Sci-Fi..Star Tours stuff. It's pretty easy if your patient to get that stuff at a reasonable price/trade. I find success in trading newer DLR LE's to WDW folks for their older LE's. I'm excited for Cars Land. Something new for me to collect and I have the same chance as the sharks and veterans at getting what I want.

You should collect what you love. Thats what I do. I do have a little collection of 'what nots' that may end up on my traders at some point. You should always get the pins you really want though. Like theres a pin coming out this week that I don't even remotely collect characters from but I want one any way. I do mostly stick to my collections though, I only deviate a little bit when I reallyreally want a pin!

Good luck choosing your themes, I am sure you will have lots of fun doing it.