buying souveniers early

[Alexandra]

I just got on ebay today and started purchasing some disney stuff to give my son when we get to Disney instead of spending all that money in the parks. So far I've purchased 2 tee shirts, some finding nemo toys and a mickey mouse glow wand for a total of $20. Yipee I was in a bidding war and lost on what was probably a really cool toy. i felt like I was gambling I wanted to win win win so bad and I really felt bummed when they won. Does anyone have any good tips for bidding on ebay? I'm new and open to suggestions. Thanks
Alexandra

 

[HookdonWDW]

I think I must be missing the point here. These posts always puzzle me. Going to WDW is gift enough. We give each of our kids $20 for souveniers when we get to the parks, and offer to double whatever they have left when they get home. We've taken them between the ages of 4 and 18, and we've yet to have a problem with someone begging/screaming/crying for a souvenier. They also have yet to come home completely broke (although, as they've gotten older, they have supplemented the money with some of their own).

So what is the point? A souvenier is supposed to be a reminder of your vacation... not a reminder of how good the deals were at the Dollar Store or on E-Bay. If you were going to Paris, would you buy a mini Eiffel Tower before leaving home so you'd have that to give out too???

I'm really not trying to be rude. I just don't get it.

 

[Alexandra]

Hey there Hookdonwdw I'm not sure if there is a point especially since my child isn't the kind who carries on about getting things. We my dh and I just like to give little gifts on the way there to add to the excitement and i don't think thats so awful.

Alexandra

 

[HookdonWDW]

I don't think it's awful... I just don't get it - I guess that maybe it's my cheap gene!

 

[mad4themouse]

Alexandra,
To get back to your question about bidding hints:

• Look for items that you're interested in.
• Place them on your eBay watch list.
• Check your watch list each morning to see if anything you're interested in is ending that day.
• Log onto eBay 5 to 10 minutes before the auction ends and load up that auction's page.
• Keep refreshing the page every few minutes. When the auction has 1 minute or less to go, place your highest bid...and I do mean your highest bid.

If you get the item, great. If you don't get it, you will have the smug satisfaction of knowing that the person who got it paid more than you were willing to pay for it.

 

[Alexandra]

Thanks so much for the bidding hints it's all so new to me thanks for the help.
Alexandra

 

[rogers803]

I buy gifts for my kids early . I hide them in an extra suit case then
I place the gifts on their beds each morning after they (with Dad) leave the room. The maid will place the gifts on the bed . My daughter believes Tinker Bell deliveres the gifts. My son just enjoys getting a present. I still buy stuff from the parks but I believe this helps with expenses and provides a little magic for my kids.
Good Luck Ebaying

 

[HookdonWDW]

Originally posted by rogers803
I buy gifts for my kids early . I hide them in an extra suit case then
I place the gifts on their beds each morning after they (with Dad) leave the room. The maid will place the gifts on the bed . My daughter believes Tinker Bell deliveres the gifts. My son just enjoys getting a present. I still buy stuff from the parks but I believe this helps with expenses and provides a little magic for my kids.

AHHH!!! Thank you! That makes sense... I knew that I was missing something! I thought people were just buying all of their park souveniers ahead of time...

 

[InstImpres]

I basically do the same s Rogers803 except that I have pretyped notes that go with it and have scanned in signatures from a previous trips autograph book.

One day they might get a note - "It was great seeing you a Chef Mickey's agin Love, Chip" or "I hope you saw me waving at you in the parade. Love, Cinderella" This makes it really personal. The kids, now that they are older, run ahead to the room to see what might have been left for them. I also get a great Pixie Dust feeling as I still have them believing in the Magic.

Each of these goes with a dollar store type Disney item. I only prebuy pins on ebay. The kids all get the dollar store items, pressed pennies and pins as soveniers, they really don't need anything else.

That leaves extra money for Mom at DTD, as I need several hundred for World of Disney, alone

Sandy

 

[HaleyB]

The advice for bidding from mad4themouse covers it pretty well. The only thing I have to add is this. We have a saying around my house- there is no such thing as one of a kind. I know that is not 100% true, but when it comes to 99.9% of the things on ebay it is. And knowing that helps to keep me (and the rest of my household) from over bidding (at least part of the time).

I am really glad I read this thread. I am not nearly creative enough to think of leaving notes and gifts on the bed. Now I have another thing I get to plan!

 

[Grand Canyon]

One of the things we always bring with us are the glow light necklaces. We take a handful in with us when we know we'll be there at night. We order on ebay and the place that ships them is in Vegas. They run about $.50 each on ebay as opposed to about $3.00 each in the park. The boys love to share them with kids around them. We've started a game of trying to get to the parking lot at the end of our night with none left - the boys look for other children who look sad and give theirs away. They love to see the other kids smile. We took 150 with us last year and came home with some. The ones we buy are brighter and last longer than the ones you can buy in the park. We also try to purchas some of our disney clothes ahead of time (I have mickey hats sitting in the chair next to me that I ordered for our next vacation).
Our boys earn a daily amount of money and they can spend it or save it up for something they want. If they want something truly stupid (and expensive) I remind them that it's their money they're spending and 9 times out of 10 they'll decide not to purchase the item.
My dh and I love the idea of leaving the pressies and notes on the bed - it's too sweet.

 

[mudnuri]

I am doing the same...matter of fact I almost got caught Friday! I had a large duffell bag, that I've been filling with stuff both for our trip down for the DD's and for gifts from characters..I had it all out on my bed, deciding what would be left what day and making sure that DD's had equal stuff..when low and behold it was 3:09 when I looked at the clock..DD's ALWAYS walk through the door betwen 3:10 and 3:12...I threw that stuff in a bag so quick and shoved it in the closet! LOL

I bought glow necklaces, and sticks early for use in the parks at night, and also bought DD's some cheap disney stuff on clearance at walmart, which I will leave out in the morning, with a note from a character.

I am hoping this will cut down on the "i wants"...we'll see! they also will have Disney Dollars to spend, they are both at 48.00 and have 4 weeks left plus easter, so they'll be closer to 100, as my mom is getting them for easter too...

Brandy

 

[mbelec]

I've bought a few things in advance myself. Yesterday at a liquidation store, I found lots of Disney stuff and got DS (7 yrs) a daffy soccer outfit for 9.99 and a sweatshirt for 4.99. I also bought my daughters Disney sweatshirts on clearance at JCPenney. Now they won't be begging to spend their hard-earned money (I slave labor it out in advance - on clothing, which give us more time for rides, etc., rather than searching for the infamous sweatshirt that falls within their daily budget.
They each have a set daily amount, and have learned from previous trips how to budget it so as to get the most for their $. I don't get much begging beyond that set amount (even from the 7-yr-old, who can visit a museum gift shop with his $4 and understand how to spend it wisely on what he really can afford). This is our once in a lifetime trip to Disney (maybe ?!) so I'm not going to expect them to come home with much of their own $ afterwards. They already contribute to their personal stock portfolios with birthday money, earned money, but like me, when on vacation, they want to gets a few things that are special to them.
I also bought a lot of pins on ebay (40 for $70, which I think was a great deal - probably not high-demand collector pins but when you don't have any . . .!). I plan to give some to the kids, but also to complete a few of the collections that are started in these 40, then come home after our trip and sell them on ebay to recoupe some of my losses! Isn't ebay addictive? And I bid the same way, counting out the seconds until I press "submit!"

 

[disneyjunkie]

The only thing I plan to buy in advance are the glow sticks.

Everything else we'll get there. For me shopping is a part of the whole vacation experience.

My son will have the money he has saved from his birthday, Christmas and his allowance ($140 so far) plus what he'll get from my parents before we leave. Once we get there I'll divide his money by the number of days we're there and let him take that amount out each day.

He's free to spend his money however he see fit. This way I don't have to deal with the I wants. He knows he can get what he wants as long as he has the money to cover it.

 

[Tigge50447]

Oh where we suppose to be buying souveniers for the KIDS? lol I'm trying to save as much as possible because I know once I get loose in those disney stores I'm going to go CRAZY buying stuff.

for my son, yeahhh that's what I ment

 

[TBLaube]

I agree that the trip in itself is a treat, but I enjoy participating in pin trading. This in itself can be a huge expense.
I did purchase some Disney pins for trading on ebay...with shipping, each pin only cost $2 so the kids and I can trade with the cast members and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

I also buy items from orientaltradingcompany.com
Shipping is free over $60 and I was able to purchase a lot with a minimal amount of money. For the price of one or two items at the park, I was able to buy glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces, bubble rings, bubble necklaces(great for when the kids are bored), misting fans, and light up fans.

I have all of these items packed away and will reveal a couple each day. The kids love it.

We also live a couple of hours from Disneyland and do this as well to save. It is a true moneysaver!

 

[S. C.]

I recently recieved a shipment of glow in the dark sticks, bracelets, & necklaces from illuminationz.com. grandsons have already played with some of them, and the rest will go to wdw & our disney cruise for GS to give away.

 

[LynnythePooh]

We just returned home Fri from first visit to WDW - each morning DS's has a Mickey bag waiting when they woke up, a great way to get them out of bed for early openings! Bags had little things I picked up from Disney Deals - great ebay store for Disney stuff and local area. Pins were their favorite items!

They would rather scout out pin trades than go on rides - DH and I were shocked!

I also ordered a cookies from Cookies by Design in Orlando and had them delivered to our hotel with a note from Mickey & Minnie - boys couldn't get over this! Even fooled DH - how did they know where to find us? And the cookies are great!

Enjoy!

 

[CheapMom]

One day they might get a note - "It was great seeing you a Chef Mickey's agin Love, Chip" or "I hope you saw me waving at you in the parade. Love, Cinderella" This makes it really personal. The kids, now that they are older, run ahead to the room to see what might have been left for them. I also get a great Pixie Dust feeling as I still have them believing in the Magic.

I think this is adorable and I fully plan on doing this for our trip.

The big conversation around our house lately is "Will Joey be brave enough to do the Haunted Mansion- I plan on making 2 notes for the next morning- 1 that says "Wow- you were so brave... and another that says "Awww, Don't worry about it, I am terrified of Haunted Houses myself- Love, Mickey"

I have a link to a site with some great Disney fonts if anyone is interested.

 

[StephMK]

What cute ideas!!! Yes, can you share the Disney font link? What is the contact info for the cookie place? I'm getting so excited, the kids are going to be so thrilled!