Central Jersey Pin Trading / General Newbie Questions

[BeccaGrace]

When we started planning our Dec. '05 trip last year I bought everyone in our family lanyards and pins--my dh got really into it and I turned him into a Disney pin collecting addict. Notice I said collecting though We planned on trading when we got to WDW last year but were kind of nervous about it because we didn't really know what we were doing, dh is kind of shy and because we made the mistake of buying all pins we really liked Our only trade was in the WL lobby with the book of traders they had out!

Since we got back dh has still been buying pins on disneyshopping.com and looking at ones on ebay and other pin websites and he has amassed a good amount for someone who has only been doing this a few months but obviously not nearly as many as some of the traders we saw in WDW.

I told him about Central Jersey Pin Traders--I've heard about the group on here and know they meet not too far from where we live (we're in Milltown/East Brunswick). I think it would be good for us to get involved so we can learn more about the pins, see trading in action and maybe learn some tips that will help in building his collection. He thinks that we don't have enough pins and are so clueless that we would stick out like sore thumbs and end up making fools out of ourselves (he's a bit of a pessimist ).

Does CJPT welcome helpless newbies like ourselves or would we need to get more experience under our belts (and more pins--we maybe have 100) to get involved? I think it would be such a fun way to keep our hobby active since we don't get to WDW too much (we'd love to go back this year but financially don't think it will happen to '07 or '08).

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on whether CJPT might be good fit for us or of other ways we can get more involved with pin collecting/trading without a trip to WDW in the near future?
Thanks for any help!

 

[Parkhopper_Vince]

Hopefully someone from the CJPT will chime in here and answer your question directly, but I am sure they would absolutely welcome you to come to one of their pin meets and join in as much as you would like and get more familiar with the trading side of Disney Pin Collecting.

I know that everyone who is a pin trader/pin collector has had to start somewhere with a few pins....I do still remember those days when our entire collection of keepers and traders would fit in one trading book. It was our interaction with other traders that hooked us on this hobby. We have made friends all across this country and beyond!

Don't be afraid of sticking out at a pin meet. You may not always be able to trade for a specific pin at this time, but by going to a meet and talking with other people you will learn more about the hobby and hopefully make some friends.

I know that it wouldn't be nearly as convenient as attending the CJPT meet and I can understand if the distance is a little too far to travel for a pin meet, but I would like to invite you to a pin meet that we are hosting in Rockville, Maryland on Saturday February 25th. We usually have a pretty good pin trading group at our meets and new pin traders are always welcome. Some traders trade a little, some trade a lot, and some just come to socialize with other Disney fans, but if you are interested in trading and learning more about Disney Pin collecting and trading it might be fun. You might also enjoy seeing the Disney Pins on display. I don't think I would be stretching too far to say that we do have a significantly large number of Disney pins which are on display in the location where we are having the pin meet.

 

[lovethattink]

I am not a central Jersey pin trader, but I have a friend who is. Here is the info she gave me

Their pin meets are at the Hampton Inn in Sommerset off of 287. She didn't tell me the time. I think it's free, but not sure.

They meet every 3rd Friday of each month.

They meet 1st Saturday of every other month.

They have 2 overnight meets a year, usually spring and fall.

 

[BeccaGrace]

Thank you both!

Parkhopper Vince -- Thank you SO much for the invite to the MD meet and all the advice! Not sure if we can make the trip (3 1/2 hours each way) but I will run it past dh & see what he says The allure of that many pins might convince him

lovethattink--The meets are only 15 minutes from my house! And I went to school right down the street from there (Rutgers Prep--a few blocks down Easton Ave.)

 

[Dom13]

C'mon down! Although I'm from CT I've been to both the Central Jersey meets and the Parkhopper meets. Both are GREAT meets and ALOT of fun!! local meets are a great place to get started as the people there are generally there to mingle and have a good time as much as trade pins.

I should be a the Central Jersey meet in May, their overnighter, and trying to work things out to go to Vince's but $$ are tight and so is time off so I may hae to miss another one.