A question to ponder

[NHMickey]

Yes I have another one...

Okay I was thinking over the last few days about pins and my other Disneyana stuff. Well I was wondering why Disney does what it does with other collectables and not pins. Then I came to realise that I don't even think Disney does consider these a collectable. Do you? Do you think Disney puts Pins on the same level as Tee Shirts or as Snow Globes and Figurines?

I get frustrated at how they do things with edition size and figure they owe no explination to a pin person but if it was a LE Figurine or piece of Art Work they would bend over backwards to explain any misunderstanding. I'm not just talking about the fiasco with the MK LE 1000 Walt pin but even Disney Auction selling all 100 LE pins and sending out 2 or 3 to some people that only won 1 pin on an auction that was sold out. I know of 3 people who this has happened to. It is just my opinion but I think Disney needs to give a little more thought to the collector and treat pins as a serious collactable?

Or am I wrong and not seeing it correctly. If so please let us hear (read) your opinions. So what do you think?


I would like to also add that while I say Disney I do not mean the folks at the parks. They do a fantastic job what I mean is Disney's head people. Those that make policy.

 

[BeautyLLM]

OK, I'll go first....I can't compare pins to snowglobes because I don't collect them...or WDCC figurines for that matter...but I do have an opinion about the pins. I don't think Disney considers pins to be collectibles in the same was as it does snowglobes, figurines or even cels (although I suppose cels would be considered to be art rather than collectibles). It appears to me that they see a good thing in all of us pin collectors and are going to run with this as long as they can. I think that if pins were as valuable as other collectibles, they wouldn't be flooding the market as they do. Don't get me wrong, from a business point of view, I don't blame them for churning out pins like they do...we are helping to keep earnings up. But if you look closely at the pins and are honest, in many cases the quality just isn't there any more. For instance, the Beauty and the Beast pins that were recently on the auction site were of poor quality in my opinion...they cost some people alot of money! The snowglobe pins from MK are another example, they look like seconds....I am surprised that they are even on the racks. And this LE question has been bugging me for the longest time...how do we really know how many pins there are out there? From a purist point of view, if the edition size is 3000 and they only sell 2000 because 1000 break, then what is the true edition size?

OK, enough rambling...no, I do not believe that they are the same as snowglobes or figurines. They don't seem to appreciate in value, if you wait long enough, you can get almost any pin you want at a decent price. Oh, rambling again....bye!

 

[Buzz2001]

I agree about the snowglobe pins. I saw them for the first time in person on Saturday and was not impressed by them. They could have been so much better. I collect many of the framed pin sets as well as snow globes. I feel the quality of the framed pins are much better.

 

[SueEllen]

Just a guess, but I think that because the price point is so much lower than other collectibles, they don't see the need to spend the money on the authenticity. You get a numbered certificate with most LE collectibles (okay, almost all of them) but not with pins. Heck, only the individually numbered ones give us more of an assurance of the edition size. I know that with any LE, there are usually production overages, but with high dollar collectibles, those are destroyed and not sold. With pins, we just don't know now do we?

Nat, interesting question.

Sue Ellen

 

[buggin']

Nat...why do you ask me questions like this...you know that I dont like to think too hard!

Buggin'
Amber

Though that is a good question...but then again, theres some things that will never be answered about Disney...not sure I wanna know anymore either!

 

[TIGGERSMOM]

I have to go with Nat on this. I think Disney has no idea.

Sometimes I believe the LE is just a ball park figure for them. If Disney thought of them as true collectibles I would imagine most LEs would be number stamped like snowglobes, figurines, cels and even the commerative plates I have.

I also do think that the quality on some runs has slipped otherwise how do you explain so much breakage. If Disney had 100 out of an LE 1000 Snowglobe break I think they would be on it pretty quick.

 

[ScottakaMickey]

Another point to remember is in which department Disney used to start developing pins. They came out of the Jewelry area. I am pretty sure that is one area that didn't have any experience with collectible items. Memorable, Yes, but not collectible. As with anything they learned over time.

I would also speculate that they probably make extras of a snowglobe or figurine. I am not really sure if they are destroyed or not. We will never really know the answer to that one.

As for the auctions. I used to get Disney Auction Certificate of Authenticity with the pins I was getting from the Auctions. I haven't seen these sent out in a long time. Again, these are done by a different department, so this is another case one hand not really knowing what the other hand is doing.

 

[Dom13]

I do not think Disney considers these true (major?) collectables like the WDCC or animation art. If they did you would not be able to get your DC discount on them. I think they classify these as a minor collectable along with the $6-$20 ceramics. There is always more made than needed. It is cheaper for the manufacturer to make them all at once than to have re-make the 5% that had problems. From having pins and patches made in the past I know they just send these out with your order. What Disney does with those is anyone’s guess. I would suspect that they use these to replace the ones that made it through inspection or got damaged afterwards.

Will these ever become that level of collectable? I doubt they will ever reach the level of animation art and to reach the level of the WDCC they would have to stop pushing out so many pins. Stick to one, or an occasional two, holiday pins per park instead of ten. I do not think that is what Disney wants these to become with the possible exception of the framed sets. Unfortunately many of the framed sets leave alot to be desired.

 

[shirley 38]

Hi Nat, this is what I know as a cast member.
Anthing that is condisered a collectable we are not allowed to give a discount on.
Such as Beanie Babies are considered a collectable. Your Disney Club card would not be accepted for them.
The pins we do give the discount. They are not in that catagory.
You know how I feel about the LE.
I think give or take a few hundred that would be a close enough figure for disney.
And you know what that is not right.
I think they estimate but do not guarantee that the edition size is written in stone. shirley38

 

[Luv2Roam]

I think if they were truly a collectable the price would be much higher. However, the quality would be too. And with a higher price, collectors would expect more. I think that is what the AK pin event is about. It is for the true collector$. We have all discussed that it really isn't a typical Disney family outing type of event, due to the cost.
They may simply be testing the waters to see how much REAL collector intere$t is out there. However, if that became a trend, then pin collecting as we know it would surely die.