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I always see them at tables displaying all their pins... and they have THOUSANDS of them. Binders and binders full of pins, it just doesnt look fun to me. I'll buy a couple cool pins I like each year, and because of this I can tell you which trip all my pins came from. I looked at one of these people once, and they had like 3 copies of every pin ever made! Why do they need that many copies of everything? Buying bulk pins just seems like a waste of time to me, and not fun at all.
I saw them for the first time last year. Some of them were kinda rude to us. Half of them were smoking up a storm. They did have some neat pins though. I kinda do the same thing as you Willie. I buy a few pins on our trip. But I do buy some from eBay.
i think when it comes to pins there are 3 schools:
1- those who buy pins because they like them. they might trade if they see something they really like, but chances are they're keeping it.
2- those who buy lots that they like, and lots that they love, and enjoy trading but don't have to own everything.
3- the hardcores, they want everything. they are collectors through and through, and if a new pin comes out, they must own it.
i personally fall somewhere between one and two. most of what i buy is for me, but i see something cute that someone's willing to trade, i'd do it. i also might buy a set for just one pin to keep and have the rest to trade.
I was having dinner at the Pop Century when a guest approached a cm who was standing at my table. The guest was looking to trade with the cm, and we chatted about pin trading and my lack of willingness there of, to trade. I am definitely in group #1a - buy what I like and never part with them. :grin:
I was at downtown Disney this July. While in the pinstore, I noticed the lady in front of me spent over $300 on a pile of them. That seemed totally nuts to me. I hope she was buying them to sell because she's got problems if she meant to keep them all herself. That behavior must be a form of OCD.
We have been buying pins at WDW since before pin trading started in October 1999. We avoid the traders at DTD at all costs.Quote:
Originally Posted by SteamboatWillie
I personally feel that some of them have been the reason for negative pin trading stereotypes that you often hear about. Some of them are unscrupulous in that they trick people (kids - a lot of the time) into making lopsided trades.
If you want to get a better idea of how the majority of the pin trading/collecting community really is you should check out a pin trading event sponsored by Disney or go to one of the pin trading nights that are held at the Contemporary Resort. The next one is scheduled for August 29th from 6-9 p.m.
elvistelth - Just because someone enjoys their hobby doesn't mean that they are OCD. For all you know, this person only gets to WDW once a year and they wanted to get all the pins they could while they were there. They could have been for gifts, too. We generally put 5-10 of them in the kids stockings every Christmas. Many of the pins are not available through Disney mail order so you have to buy them in person.
I try to aviod the pin traders at DTD also however I come educated and even though im younger I know when to walk away however I have meet some very nice and unselfless traders there
often if I see a "pin shark" rip off a kid I give them a pin they want from my collection
Nice rationalization.Quote:
Originally Posted by wdw4us2
If you have the money, why not spend it on something that you love? It's no different that people that spend all their money on baseball cards, collector coins, or whatever their passion may be.Quote:
Originally Posted by elvistelth
I don't collect Disney pins (I have four... one of them is a REALLY old Adventureland pin that my friend's dad gave to me)... but I know that next time I go to Disney, I will probably spend a few hundred dollars on pins. In my family, it is tradition for godparents to give a child a regular present and then a then a regular collectable that adds up through the years. I decided on disney pins.... so each year, my godson gets five disney pins for Christmas. I don't get to go to Disney every years, so I know I will need to stock up.
When my sister and I went at the beginning of July I spent a lot of time at the DTD pin trading area. To me it's a lot of fun. I spent about 300 on pins in just a week.
Some of the people there where ripping off little kids. If the kids are being ripped off they should probably only trade with CM. There's less of a chance of rip offs there.
The whole smoking thing bugged me too. I talked to this one guy who said that since it was outside he smoked there, but if anyone complained he put it out. I'm sure a lot of people think they should be allowed to smoke since it is techniclly outdoors, but you should be curtious. Some people have asthma and can't handle the smoke. Smoking at Disney seems to be becoming a major problem.
yes we looked some nice pins but never bought from them.
I try to avoid those people. I fall in 3 quarters of the way to #2, but I buy the pins I love, and buy cheaper ones just to trade for fun. I don't trade with anyone except CMs, because I'd have no idea if I'm getting ripped off, or getting an amazing deal. I just don't think trading with one of those people would be right for me. I love my pins, but I'm not too serious.
I've only actually traded with these people once. To me, the guy I traded with was fine, he made a fair trade (I looked it up when i got home, and I knew beforehand that it was a fair trade) and was actually pretty cool. He didn't smoke and was pretty nice, so I wouldn't be so quick to judge the people that trade there...not all of them are "Pin Sharks".
That's true, but i'd say that unless I looked up the trade, etc. beforehand, or unless you really want one of the pins they have, I'd stick to CMs who have to trade and be nice.... haha. I also find the big cases a little overwhelming. Kinda like standing in the middle of pin trader's central in DTD and being told to pick out 1 pin.
P.S.--Those new monthly D23 pins are awesome!!
My wife and I tried doing that a few times over the summer, but we got there at 8 in the morning, and all the tables were already taken, so it got old really quick. Plus one of them tried to argue with me for 'cutting into their customers' by mentioning I had a pin one of the kids at his table wanted that he didn't have.
I haven't seen them for a while though....did Disney put a stop to that activity?