What are you into right now?

[hopemax]

The last month or two have been a bit of a whirlwind between the D23 Expo and the annual WDW Disney Pin Celebration. I came home needing to detach from pins for a bit. Disney, as usual, had other plans by releasing a bazillion Muppet pins. Anyway, I am now in pin jail 🤣 which is giving me some time to reflect and refocus. Even before this mini break, I had reworked my Pin & Pop ISOs to remove a lot of my Movie / Character wants and replaced them with park pins. I am trying not to buy so much new (basically no PALM, Box Lunch or other Licensed pins for a bit) and look for deals on old pins that everyone has forgotten about because they are chasing D23 Expo pins and other newer releases.

I also built myself an Access database! This is something I've been wanting to do for awhile because Excel can't do everything I want, but there is a bit of a learning curve. Before pandemic, I had used OpenOffice to build a database using their version, but I added so many fields I wasn't motivated to actually add my pins. This one still has a lot of fields, but it makes sense for my brain and so doesn't feel too overwhelming. The overall goal is that I can add pins I both own or are ISO, and then I can make reports for like a specific Series and then PRINT! the results to have hard copies to take to events and such. The databases can be good for tracking this stuff online, but they fail at making hard copies.

So I am into "Park Pins, especially older pins," and Organization.

 

[GeraldineWH]

I'm currently focused on getting my pins out of boxes and bins and bags and putting them on pin boards/display. I'm now seeing which pins I love and which pins I can let go and put into my traders especially with characters/themes for which there are a ton of pins and that I am not trying to be a completist. I do have a few pin themes I collect that I am trying to be completist but that is very few and it isn't essential. Spending the time organizing, and trying to organize online trades has help me reduce my buying, which is good. I'm trying to focus my buying on pins that are either a great deal or that I can get direct from Disney online or in the parks, and sometimes boxlunch/monogram and use those to trade for pins that are trading/selling for 2x-3x purchase price rather than buying at 2-3x (or more) retail price. I've done a lot more online trading this year than ever and I'm now hoping to get a thermal mailing label printer to make mailing easier so I need to figure that out. If anyone reading this has a thermal mailing label printer with a small footprint that they they love or hate, let me know - perhaps I'll make a separate post about this. I'm reorganizing my trade books, always. Always in search of the best organization for me and never quite finding it. I had been organizing by value and recently switched to pin origin, but think I'm going back to value. It was easier for my brain to organize by origin but I think for in person trading events by value makes more sense.

 

[dznycrzyfmly]

Buying less due to a ton of factors and trying to organize what I already have bc I can't enjoy what I don't see. Plus, I'm trying to convince myself to purge collections for future pin events I've got lined up this year and for Pin City next year in April. Going after higher end pins as well through bulk trades.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Trying to push myself to go to outside trade events more often since Disney ruined park trading for guests at DLR. I didn't really realize how great it was to trade regularly and usually come home with at least one or two pins for my collection until I've gone all summer and gotten none. 🙁

I just hate the sharky vibe at local events that have me leaving with some pins but regretting some of the trades I made for them.

 

[Pidge]

Puzzles. With lots of cats 😻

 

[Ghosthostchelsea]

I'm currently focused on getting my pins out of boxes and bins and bags and putting them on pin boards/display. I'm now seeing which pins I love and which pins I can let go and put into my traders especially with characters/themes for which there are a ton of pins and that I am not trying to be a completist. I do have a few pin themes I collect that I am trying to be completist but that is very few and it isn't essential. Spending the time organizing, and trying to organize online trades has help me reduce my buying, which is good. I'm trying to focus my buying on pins that are either a great deal or that I can get direct from Disney online or in the parks, and sometimes boxlunch/monogram and use those to trade for pins that are trading/selling for 2x-3x purchase price rather than buying at 2-3x (or more) retail price. I've done a lot more online trading this year than ever and I'm now hoping to get a thermal mailing label printer to make mailing easier so I need to figure that out. If anyone reading this has a thermal mailing label printer with a small footprint that they they love or hate, let me know - perhaps I'll make a separate post about this. I'm reorganizing my trade books, always. Always in search of the best organization for me and never quite finding it. I had been organizing by value and recently switched to pin origin, but think I'm going back to value. It was easier for my brain to organize by origin but I think for in person trading events by value makes more sense.

I found a thermal printer on offer up a while ago for $10 with a bunch of labels included. I just the label expert app and connect to the printer via Bluetooth. Took me a bit to get it all set up since I didn’t have the original instructions but now it’s been perfect. I can look up the brand when I’m home next week but I think it was originally from Amazon.

 

[Ghosthostchelsea]

Trying to push myself to go to outside trade events more often since Disney ruined park trading for guests at DLR. I didn't really realize how great it was to trade regularly and usually come home with at least one or two pins for my collection until I've gone all summer and gotten none. 🙁

I just hate the sharky vibe at local events that have me leaving with some pins but regretting some of the trades I made for them.

I’m feeling the exact same. I’ve been going to the San Diego group and it’s been nice but it’s the same people so starting to get a bit stale. But I also hate the kraken events and weeding through the bad to find the good traders. I wish the MyD pins trading took off on Tuesdays, that would have been nice. I think I’m in town for the next DLP event that they restarted at a church so I might try that. And the PALM Halloween event.

 

[Ghosthostchelsea]

I have been spending more time finding ways to display my pins so that I can see them. And in doing that, I am finding a lot of pins that I loved when I started collecting but I don’t anymore.

So I have been putting a lot of pins in my trader collection. Now I’m trying to figure out how to organize those to bring to in person events without buying more books to hold pins. I am thinking I want to figure out a rotation of pins to put in my different binders that I already have and rotate those to different events. And maybe a small book of OE sets and HDs to try to bring to DL again and see if I can do any trading without security getting mad.

I also found a few libraries close to me with 3d printers and a glowforge, so I am thinking of experimenting with those to make some fun displays for my monthly sets and hidden Disney sets that I did keep. I love what I see online but they aren’t exactly right for my pin collections.

Would love to hear more about the access database or how others keep track out their collections and ISOs outside of P&P, that is another thing that I need to get under control while I am going through all my pins anyway. I’ve been slowly taking photos of my pins that I know are authentic so I have them for the future if they are faked, and that photo storage is also a mess right now. But keeps me busy when I need a distraction from work.

I think a goal for me for the rest of the year is to see how many OE sets I can complete without buying boxes, mostly sets that I can’t get at DLR myself. And only buying the exact number of pins I need for a mystery set to complete it, at least until my trader collection is a little more reasonable. Tokyo Disney being the obvious exception, while
I am there I am going to get some traders to use for the next year 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

[Pidge]

I found a thermal printer on offer up a while ago for $10 with a bunch of labels included. I just the label expert app and connect to the printer via Bluetooth. Took me a bit to get it all set up since I didn’t have the original instructions but now it’s been perfect. I can look up the brand when I’m home next week but I think it was originally from Amazon.

Agreed. If you ship regularly, a thermal printer is a game-changer. This is the one I have. I have never used another to compare it to, but it is small and easy to set up. A bit more than $10 though.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Core-Innovations-CTP800BD-Bluetooth-Thermal-Label-Printer-Label-Bundle-for-Small-Business-Android-iOS-Windows-Compatible-New/5373842677?clickid=2i7SAjTbFxyZR1sU6p0IcTB%3AUkrwQIQ-I1Jvws0&irgwc=1&afsrc=1&sourceid=imp_2i7SAjTbFxyZR1sU6p0IcTB%3AUkrwQIQ-I1Jvws0&veh=aff&wmlspartner=imp_150372&affiliates_ad_id=1279115&campaign_id=9383&sharedid=STD

 

[figment919]

After 20+ years as an "all Villains" collector I have narrowed down my collection needs. Limited to Scar, Hades, and their sidekicks. Just too many releases with mystery sets and pin manufactures to deal with. Plus, the cost of pins has gotten just crazy and out of hand. Eventually I will be offering for sale many of my DA and similar pins that are outside of my collecting needs nowadays.
Still a great hobby and wonderful folks to deal with!

Mike S.
Figment919

 

[Ajk]

I'm currently focused on getting my pins out of boxes and bins and bags and putting them on pin boards/display. I'm now seeing which pins I love and which pins I can let go and put into my traders especially with characters/themes for which there are a ton of pins and that I am not trying to be a completist. I do have a few pin themes I collect that I am trying to be completist but that is very few and it isn't essential. Spending the time organizing, and trying to organize online trades has help me reduce my buying, which is good. I'm trying to focus my buying on pins that are either a great deal or that I can get direct from Disney online or in the parks, and sometimes boxlunch/monogram and use those to trade for pins that are trading/selling for 2x-3x purchase price rather than buying at 2-3x (or more) retail price. I've done a lot more online trading this year than ever and I'm now hoping to get a thermal mailing label printer to make mailing easier so I need to figure that out. If anyone reading this has a thermal mailing label printer with a small footprint that they they love or hate, let me know - perhaps I'll make a separate post about this. I'm reorganizing my trade books, always. Always in search of the best organization for me and never quite finding it. I had been organizing by value and recently switched to pin origin, but think I'm going back to value. It was easier for my brain to organize by origin but I think for in person trading events by value makes more sense.

I found a thermal printer on offer up a while ago for $10 with a bunch of labels included. I just the label expert app and connect to the printer via Bluetooth. Took me a bit to get it all set up since I didn’t have the original instructions but now it’s been perfect. I can look up the brand when I’m home next week but I think it was originally from Amazon.

Agreed. If you ship regularly, a thermal printer is a game-changer. This is the one I have. I have never used another to compare it to, but it is small and easy to set up. A bit more than $10 though.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Core-Innovations-CTP800BD-Bluetooth-Thermal-Label-Printer-Label-Bundle-for-Small-Business-Android-iOS-Windows-Compatible-New/5373842677?clickid=2i7SAjTbFxyZR1sU6p0IcTB%3AUkrwQIQ-I1Jvws0&irgwc=1&afsrc=1&sourceid=imp_2i7SAjTbFxyZR1sU6p0IcTB%3AUkrwQIQ-I1Jvws0&veh=aff&wmlspartner=imp_150372&affiliates_ad_id=1279115&campaign_id=9383&sharedid=STD

Why a thermal label printer? I just use my regular printer with self adhesive shipping labels (2 per standard letter size paper). What would having a separate label printer add to the picture?

 

[Ghosthostchelsea]

Why a thermal label printer? I just use my regular printer with self adhesive shipping labels (2 per standard letter size paper). What would having a separate label printer add to the picture?

It’s doesn’t use ink and the labels are super cheap.

 

[hopemax]

Would love to hear more about the access database or how others keep track out their collections and ISOs outside of P&P, that is another thing that I need to get under control while I am going through all my pins anyway. I’ve been slowly taking photos of my pins that I know are authentic so I have them for the future if they are faked, and that photo storage is also a mess right now. But keeps me busy when I need a distraction from work.

I think a goal for me for the rest of the year is to see how many OE sets I can complete without buying boxes, mostly sets that I can’t get at DLR myself. And only buying the exact number of pins I need for a mystery set to complete it, at least until my trader collection is a little more reasonable. Tokyo Disney being the obvious exception, while
I am there I am going to get some traders to use for the next year 🤷🏻‍♀️

Do you have Access experience, or no? It's easy to use once setup, but getting it setup correctly is why some people get paid the big bucks. My Dad was in software development and set up an Access database to inventory his Christmas collection back in like 2001. So I had some experience of how it should look, and definitely how to use it, before I jumped in. And I watched a lot of videos! I recently learned @MansionVault also uses an Access database to make some pretty screenshots / printouts of his ISOs and that prompted me to actually sit down and build a proper one. That and PinPics killing it's SKU field and wondering what else online DBs would eliminate or ignore. I was thinking about making another post about my DB once I feel I have everything set up the way I want and filled in somewhat, but wondering how useful it would actually be to people who are complete newbies. Excel is a lot easier if you just need to track what you own. But I want to do a ton of cross referencing.

Bolded bit: This is exactly what I do to control spending. I buy the minimum and trade to complete. And yes, it is a lot easier now with Trade Arcades. I have significantly whittled down the number of incomplete sets. I do make exceptions for mystery sets that I think will also make good traders. If there is a LE Princess set I will buy minimum + 2 boxes. I also did that with the Tiny Kingdom sets because I knew I had missed complete collections due to Covid. But I definitely don't keep buying. I've also managed to do stuff like buy 2 boxes of an OE mystery set and then complete the set via Trade Arcades by trading other pins.

 

[ohanagalaxy]

Jungle Cruise, unfortunately.

My son decided that he doesn't love his Star Wars, Marvel and some of his Stitch collections but has replaced it with a Jungle Cruise affinity.

I already have been slowly reducing my number of collections (Said bye-bye to Aurora and Moana and Pirates) or being more specific (Lock Shock and Barrel now, vs any NBC pins) - but they are being replaced by Jungle Cruise and my Figment festival/Holiday pins instead. Traded one problem for another!

My major goal in Q4 of 2026 is to double down on acquiring from channels I don't have much access to normally (WDI, DEC, MOG) if any of my priority collections (Space Mountain, Hat Box Ghost, Tinker Bell, Donald Duck, Earth Day) show up. I'm realizing with the influx of new traders in the last 2-3 years, I am woefully unprepared with high value traders because so many traders Value Trade instead of Vibe Trade. I used to be able to get cool pins for pins other people found cool, and now it's all about checking values and resale and online listings. It's a bummer but I have no shot at acquiring my grails without some "high $$$ value" pins in my book

 

[Ghosthostchelsea]

Do you have Access experience, or no? It's easy to use once setup, but getting it setup correctly is why some people get paid the big bucks. My Dad was in software development and set up an Access database to inventory his Christmas collection back in like 2001. So I had some experience of how it should look, and definitely how to use it, before I jumped in. And I watched a lot of videos! I recently learned @MansionVault also uses an Access database to make some pretty screenshots / printouts of his ISOs and that prompted me to actually sit down and build a proper one. That and PinPics killing it's SKU field and wondering what else online DBs would eliminate or ignore. I was thinking about making another post about my DB once I feel I have everything set up the way I want and filled in somewhat, but wondering how useful it would actually be to people who are complete newbies. Excel is a lot easier if you just need to track what you own. But I want to do a ton of cross referencing.

Bolded bit: This is exactly what I do to control spending. I buy the minimum and trade to complete. And yes, it is a lot easier now with Trade Arcades. I have significantly whittled down the number of incomplete sets. I do make exceptions for mystery sets that I think will also make good traders. If there is a LE Princess set I will buy minimum + 2 boxes. I also did that with the Tiny Kingdom sets because I knew I had missed complete collections due to Covid. But I definitely don't keep buying. I've also managed to do stuff like buy 2 boxes of an OE mystery set and then complete the set via Trade Arcades by trading other pins.

Limited experience honestly but I am not an excel fan for things like pins. I’ll have to look back into it, I’ve got plenty of time on planes to start looking again!

I have been much better lately about lowering how much I buy unless they will be good traders. Not having access to Frontierland really helped with that, all pins were good traders there but honestly DLR did that to themselves. I’ve started selling and buying some harder to get sets in place of trading, so similar concept, just with a middleman. I’ve added a lot of traders with my culling of collections, so I think I’m going to have to have a smaller pin budget until the amount is back to a more reasonable amount. Just in time for all the new pins sets previewed at AtoZ 😅