When did they get so expensive??

So, I'm coming up on a year of being back in the pin game. 2 of the pins I've wanted since I came across them were the Lucifer and Figaro ptds. I never bought them because I wanted to trade for them. I used to see them for like $50. All of a sudden now I'm seeing them for like $100+. I can get an Olaf ptd for cheaper than Figaro! How the heck did that happen?! Inquiring minds want to know!

IDK but the PTD prices are out of control....

Crazy!!!

Why are they so expensive?

Because a majority of PTD people are fools and raised the prices on themselves. It was/is the hot set of pins right now, and everyone wants them. But with the break in PTDs, we're seeing people selling their collections off. Hopefully you can find a good deal soon!

They have definitely been the "it" pins lately. I've noticed that a lot of PODMs don't sell for what they used to, so it seems their moment is "over" (or at least waning a bit). Now/recently, it's been PTDs. I have a bunch of Alice characters, including both Alices that have been released, and I didn't pay more than $25 for each of them. (I'm pretty sure Alice sitting on the stool with an ice cream cone only cost me $19.95.) Now I see them for $125 and $150 and I'm glad I didn't wait to get them, because I sure as heck wouldn't pay that much for them. Eventually, this bubble too will burst; it's just a question of how long it will last and what will be the next hottest thing ...

This makes me so sad.

My grandma and I collected PTDs ever since the first time they "ran out" in february 2012. We got the stitch walk of fame pin instead and is why we started to collect them. I could take her down on the weekends, have lunch, get a pin or two and go home and she was happy.

I got Jasmine ptd, one everyone hated because she was so small, and later that day found a second one on a cast lanyard. That's how little people liked ptds then.

We now own less than 10 and the two we actyually wish to get for out collections (Mrs. Jumbo and Simba), we'll probably never own due to the prices on them.

Honestly, I think Frozen ruined pin trading. Please understand that I do like the movie, but that movie brought so many people looking for Frozen mrch for their kids into the pin hobby, video games (disney infinity), doll collecting and now there are more scalpers then ever. And it's horrible. it's not going to stop either until that Elsa PTD comes out, which was the worst thing to ever say "we're making".

I dread the day when they release a PTD of a character I collect. So far I've had good luck!

And the Maleficent ptds... forget about it!

It's horrible. I love the pins. They are great, Disney and Ice cream two favourites ! I have Snowwhite and Merlin. They are great and I would really love to get more ptd's. But those prices are insane, I like them but they are small pins and I don't value them that high.

Honestly I am loving this time right now where my Instagram feed isn't crawling with a new PTD every hour and photos of the ginormous line that never leaves DSSH. I don't think I would even miss them if they never came back.

PTD's is whats hot today, eventually everyone will do the next craze and PTD's be nothing goes in cycles, just like life

I live in NY. Don't own one and never have. I would love to have the Jack, Sally, Zero and Meeko ones because I collect pins I like for those characters (Meeko is especially important to me because that is my cats name). But looking at the prices on ebay and Facebook, yeah right! I've tried to trade for them but my pins just are not good enough. I don't think I will ever have them in my collection sadly. I'm kicking myself for not getting the Zero one when it first came out for "only" $30. Silly me I didn't think he was that popular and hoped the price would drop, except for the fact that it seems to have tripled.

It is a fairly small group of people that have the ability to spend the time and resources needed to get multiples of each new PTD. Hence the market is controlled by this group.

I remember buying both Vanellope ptds for $60 each before they went out of control. That was steep for me then. Now I look at them and they are over $120 each. Its crazy.

bombardon3 said:

It is a fairly small group of people that have the ability to spend the time and resources needed to get multiples of each new PTD. Hence the market is controlled by this group.

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This has been exactly what I have been saying for close to two years nowbut apparently at that time people couldn't process just how few people were manipulating the market, I knew. When a minuscule group of people control 85-90% of the available supply, they have a virtual monopoly, can price set at what they feel the value is and the desperate collectors that pay those prices only further the problem by establishing an example of what "we" the collecting community will pay.

I have liked the PTD's ever since I first saw them, I have a few that are either characters we collect or something I think is cute. When the latest crew of professional (unemployed)pin sellers began congregating at DSF/GSSF I closed my wallet and my eyes, before I put one dollar in the hands of those people I will literally melt my entire collection. I am ashamed to even lumped into the same category of some of these people and try to make a clear line between oporitunist resellers and true collectors. Before those daggers start flying my way I will point out that I offer at cost pick ups to any and every collectors market I visit. I do my best to help as many people as possible and it makes me sick to see even seasoned collectors going to the dark side lol.

I have/will trade for some of my most wanted PTD's but only with people that I either know pretty well so I know they are not part of that group or out of state people. Ultimately I will end up going without all DSF pins because I cannot in good conscience support the very thing I despise the most.

Cest la vie

I have always agreed with you Molly. Even trying to trade for a pin, you have to have a pin worth the value that the pin at DSSF/GSF Is going for on eBay. Per say I've seen on Facebook Have: WDI Olaf as character
Want: Jumbo DS Ralph! Dream on!!! Just using that as an example.

Molly said:

This has been exactly what I have been saying for close to two years now but apparently at that time people couldn't process just how few people were manipulating the market, I knew. When a minuscule group of people control 85-90% of the available supply, they have a virtual monopoly, can price set at what they feel the value is and the desperate collectors that pay those prices only further the problem by establishing an example of what "we" the collecting community will pay.

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This is true. I wish people would stop paying their ridiculous prices.

Simple, people drive up the hype therefore the demand goes to the roof. You can try to wait and see if the prices go down..

So far I have been lucky enough to trade for my ptds and have had fair offers for each of them. I
agree with Molly, it is too bad that those people do control a large percentage of the ptds that are
out there. Because I live no where near LA, I have tried not to hope too much for any of the DSSH
pins. I would love to own one BT and one marquee just to see them in person, but I am not paying
the prices wanted for the pins I would want to own.

bombardon3 said:

It is a fairly small group of people that have the ability to spend the time and resources needed to get multiples of each new PTD. Hence the market is controlled by this group.

Click to expand...

Yup, pretty much. Same with the regular DSF pins - especially when they come out on weekdays.

It also goes for the regular limited edition/limited release pins. I remember when those couples reveal/conceal ring pins came out a few months ago and some guy on one of the facebook groups posted a picture where he bought over 30 boxes while also conveniently having a nicely spread out stack of $100s juuusstttt in frame.

Everything waxes and wanes. I like PTDs because I have a thing for collecting themes, and aside from Sorcerer Hats (which I also collect) there are not many consistent themes that run across many characters. I'm just glad Sorcerer Hats seem to be unpopular (for some unknown reason to me since I love them!) so I can grab most for a decent price with the exception of the hot ticket characters like Alice herself or something. (I was EXTREMELY fortunate to have an amazing CM friend get me the Frozen hats at cost from Mickey's or those would be only a pipe dream).I think PTDs will go down eventually. A friend of mine (I refer to him as the King Pin, lol) is a pretty big PTD trader. He is very well known on IG and has his thumb on the DSF crowd. He is liquidating his PTD collection and thinks the bubble is about to burst. I think the big characters, Ariel, Belle, etc. will aways be expensive because they are them, but some of the lesser coveted group will drop over time.Also, I don't think Frozen ruined pin trading. I think the recovering but still broken economy is what is making it so expensive. People actually collect MORE in poor economies in spite of what people might intuitively think. A lot of people can't afford that new house/car/vacation they want because money is so tight, but they CAN drop smaller money on something like a pin (or any other collectible), working towards completing a collection, and thus have the feeling of accomplishment and moving forward otherwise denied to them. We discussed this a bit in my undergrad work. Many collectibles (Funko Pop!s, shoes, plush, etc.) have been hitting their high dollar points over the past few years and that is not a coincidence.

There was a pin that I originally wanted but thought was "too expensive" that came from DSF, so I waited for popularity to decline as it was still fresh. At the time it was around $100 and I thought it was ridiculous as the original cost was like $12 (I forget, but it was around there). Eventually the price went up to $200 and I wasn't finding it anywhere else. People were buying it for this, too. I didn't understand, because it's not like I hear about it, and it doesn't seem to be popular. I broke down and got one even higher, thinking that I would be sorry later, that the prices would sink and I would have lost all that money - nope! Same pin was sold for over $300 a while ago and is now listed for over $400 currently.

On the one hand, I'm glad I didn't wait longer, on the other hand, OMG $450? The people who monopolize these pins are terrible. I'm fairly certain that several of the pin I am talking about was sold from the same person and they are just laughing it up with a stash of several more in their inventory.

pauly88 said:

Simple, people drive up the hype therefore the demand goes to the roof. You can try to wait and see if the prices go down..

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Yes, you can do that except a lot of people have the "gotta have it now" mentality. Waiting is a double edged sword. I remember when the Designer Princesses (first set) from D23 2011 were going for $400 for the set and that seemed ridiculous (double the price and it was only a week after the release). 3 years later, only one pin is going for that price and a lot of people (me included) are kicking themselves for not buying when it was "only" double the price.

I look at the convenience factor when buying DSF pins. Those Mulan pins that came out at 5 p.m. on a weekday? Sure it retailed for $12.95 + tax (so $14.30, the old price of a PTD). But was I going to drive 3 hours in rush hour traffic and spend $15 in gas to get one "at cost"? Um, no. So I happily paid $25 for one and it was personally delivered to me that Saturday

You also have to realize that for every person (or two people) who sells at more than retail, there is going to be one person keeping it for their collection. So, for a LE500 pin, 150-250 are probably going into a collection. The others are going for a "quick buck."

A lot of people think PTDs are going to drop in price. The reason why many newer ones have dropped is that there aren't any new ones coming out (at the moment) to keep the hype up. When the new ones come out, you will find that the prices will, unfortunately, rise again. I'm actually curious as to whether DSSH/GSF will be raising the prices when the new PTDs come out too.