Have they got to be kidding?

[daber]

$75 for the set of 4 park icon pins? I don't care if it is an LE of 1000, it's going to have to be something truly Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious to make me want to spend it. And with Walt's locket at TDS and his birthday pin (which is really nice) coming out 4 days later, I think I'll invest my pin $$ on some of them. Anyone else feel the same way? Is Disney trying to kill pin trading? Uping the prices to make up for lost park and hotel revenues is wrong. And that's what it seems they are doing IMHO.

 

[Dizneypins.com]

$75 is alot of money ,but I have not seen these pins and will hold my judgement until that time. Remember the 45 years of magic box set from DL? It came in a gorgeous wooden box with a wonderful brass inlay and had 5 pins. This cost $75 and I still find it one of my nicest sets.
Just My Opinion

 

[Pins O Plenty]

You know I do agree. I am being very select about what I buy anymore. I get a lot of calls from people from Tokyo wanting me to buy them pins so we can trade and I had to stop. For one reason the Tokyo pins are much cheaper. There LE pins are usually about 7 dollars and never over 8. Ours are now commonly 12.50 and have gone as high as 18.50. I just can't do it any more.

Living so close to the park, I realy injoy seeing my friends and having a good time. But I have to face facts. I am a pin Junky if I am there and a pin comes out, I can't help myself I have to buy it. So I have cut my time at the park inhalf. Only going twice a month. I hate to do it. But I have too.

I don't even want to see this pin set that is coming out. I also only look at Dizpins on Thursday night. That a way if I missed it, I missed it.

Remember just a few years ago. Pins at WDW started at 4 dollars and never were more than 6. So what are you suppose to do. Times are hard for everyone and this is a really expensive hobby. I would like to be able to continue it. But at the prices of pin I have to start slowing down.

Karen

 

[mickey2000]

It is a problem that is killing pin trading and needs to be discussed. A message must be sent to Disney. It's probably already too late. I have bumped up another thread on this.
It might have to do with needing extra income. First they closed PO now on 12/9
it will be parts DXL and the Institute!! Things are tough with Disney and business is off. Limited pins are on the racks for days or weeks at a time that use to sell out in hours. I believe pin collecting will continue however trading will die fast . Not many will have the luxury to buy expensive EXTRAS. I have SOLD off all my extras months ago and currently only buy what I like, very little trading.
I saw the writing on the wall with using ebay. I have been on it for 3 years with pins
both buying and selling. Pins are at an all time low. Very few sell, maybe 20%. It is currently a buyers market. Look at the DIZ sale board and here where many have sold off their extras even at below cost.
JMO Al

 

[luvstigger]

From what I hear, there are five pins. At $75, that averages out to be $15 a pin. Not so steep after all, if you really think about it.

 

[YenSid1222]

I don't know about all of you...but $15 a pin still seems way over priced for me. Are we just conditioned already to prices that high. I remember a time when I thought some of the $8 pins were high, now we are talking almost twice that...and the pins are really not any nicer than before nor are they any higher quality. I just think that Disney is shooting themselves in the foot with this. But lately they seem to be on a roll with doing that. JMO.

 

[webray]

I picked up one of these $75 sets for my hubby, and I really shouldn't have...it really isn't anything special, you all take a look at it. I sure hope disney does better next time! Pin prices are really getting out of control...If they can make those beautiful/large pins in CA, they can certainly do it for FL. And the pins in Paris and Japan...very nice...and much cheaper than WDW. WDW has had a captive pin audience for quite some time...they really haven't given us anything special for our collections in quite some time.

 

[pintrader]

bash Disney, but I have had pins made and there is not obvious need for these particular pins to be so rich. If times are so hard for Disney they should try to encourage us to continue with our addiction by keeping it within our hobby budget.

What will they raise if they lose our income???

 

[hopemax]

At the NFFC convention in July, they had a seminar with Becky Carter and Jim Dergin. At that time I expressed my concern that pin prices were too high to attract new fans (and keep collectors). I was concerned because at DL the attraction pins used to be $6 - $6.50 pins, but then 2000-2001 attraction pins were $10.50 (but they were 3-D ) and now the newer attraction pins are only $8.50 but they are LE. I wondered and still do, how this is supposed to be good for the hobby? I wonder how many people here were pulled in buy picking up a pin here and there with favorite character, hotel you stayed at and FAVORITE ATTRACTION? Thank goodness WDW still has nice $6.50 pins.

Anyway the response was: they are simply responding to their guests who want more bells and whistles on their pins and more LE pins, and of course those things cost money! I don't know about the rest of you, but I would much rather have a $6.50 "simple but pretty" pin, than one that lights-up, opens up and costs $18.

The cynical side tells me that Disney knows they can add a "feature" that adds 10% to the cost of the pin, but is something they can sell for double the price. The problem with adding features is even if the cost is justified by increased manufacturing costs, the price eventually gets to a point were few people can afford it. $6 or $8 pins were attractive because they fit in the classification of a "cheap souviner" but at $15.50 or $18, that = character breakfast or other neat vacation addition.

Of course when the market dies out, the answer from Disney will be "people just aren't interested" instead of "maybe people don't want to regularly spend $10.50 or more on pins, lets try working on our $6.50 or $8.50 pins for awhile."