How can you value pins?

[dbm20th]

I have been buying, not trading, pins since 2000. How do I know which ones ar valuable and which are not? I went to E-Bay and saw one going for 100+ and want to make sure I hold onto all others that are like that. Any suggestions?

 

[daber]

It's hard to do this. E-bay depends on what people on line wish to bid, and can get swept up in the moment, so I don't put too much credence in that (IMHO)

I go more by pinpics and how many people have it for trade vs. how many want it. But I know that is also flawed since people don't always update their traders and wants.

Tomart also publishes a "guide" which some rely on. pins are given an alphabetical code as to their value range.

 

[EpcotMatt]

While I agree that sometimes Ebay’s prices fluctuate based on various factors, it’s the most up-to-date marketplace for buying & selling pins, so I personally use Ebay as my barometer. I love PinPics too. But simply relying on the number of people wanting & trading certain pins can be misleading. I’ve seen pins on many people’s want lists that would sell on Ebay for $5 or so. Since you mentioned that one of your pins went for $100+ on Ebay & you want to see if you have any others, I’d check Ebay. Books can be misleading as well since in the collectibles market, prices can fluctuate much more frequently than the book gets updated{most of the time annually}.