How would you do this (new pin trader)

[keptwoman]

When we were at DL in Sep I started trading, and I decided on collecting Minnie Mouse pins. I did pretty good, but I'm feeling withdrawls now and I want to collect more.
I don't think I have any very exciting pins on my lanyard, so I'm not sure what I want to collect really. I can't decide whether I want to stick just with Minnie or add another theme or two to my collection.
Also I live in Australia, and we are not going to be going to the parks for at least a couple of years So it's all going to be online.

So should I aim for LEs only?
Should I stick with Minnie or is it better to have a couple of different themes/characters on the go? (my other two ideas are ear pins and Walt pins)
If I wanted to build a collection that had financial value, what should I concentrate on?

TIA

 

[Figment2]

First bit of advice - do not build a collection based on financial value. Pins, like other collectibles, are only worth what someone is willing to pay. There may be a pin that you'd pay $50 yet I wouldn't. I see pins on ebay that years ago sold for $50 or more but are now selling for less than $20.

Collect for the love the attraction or character whether it be a LE or not. If that is Minnie, collect Minnie. Collect what you enjoy and if some of the pins go up in value consider it a bonus. This will never be your retirement fund.

Happy Collecting!

Cyn

 

[pixiewings71]

ITA with Cyn. Pin trading is a hobby not a money making venture. Collect what YOU like and go from there. Our next trip won't be for a couple of years either so my pin buying will be online too, probably from Disney Shopping.

 

[keptwoman]

Cool, thanks guys. It's good to know that the "values" don't hold, and I'm very happy to trade for the fun of it, but since postage is expensive to here I figured it was worth aiming for a collection that would at least hold the value I'd paid kwim. At least now I know not to worry about that.
I was looking at pinpics last night, goodness there's a never ending choice isn't there! I was a bit disappointed though to find that one I have is definitely fake, and another one I'm inclined to think it may be fake too.
I've already thrown out the Sedesma a CM traded with me and now I find that people will collect and trade them but not the one that looks absolute mint but is silver not gold in colour.

How do you deal with fakes? And how do you avoid fakes? Easier when buying on line because you can do your research, but when you are at the park its not quite so easy.

And do you look for less common ones rather than ones that everyone has and no one wants?
And lastly, I've seen bulk buys for trading on eBay. Are these a good deal or will I end up with pins that no one wants to trade for?

 

[NHMickey]

It is just a fun way to meet and great people from all over. I can not tell you all the fun it has been so far....

 

[wild.zinnia]

Cool, thanks guys. It's good to know that the "values" don't hold, and I'm very happy to trade for the fun of it, but since postage is expensive to here I figured it was worth aiming for a collection that would at least hold the value I'd paid kwim. At least now I know not to worry about that.
I was looking at pinpics last night, goodness there's a never ending choice isn't there! I was a bit disappointed though to find that one I have is definitely fake, and another one I'm inclined to think it may be fake too.
I've already thrown out the Sedesma a CM traded with me and now I find that people will collect and trade them but not the one that looks absolute mint but is silver not gold in colour.

How do you deal with fakes? And how do you avoid fakes? Easier when buying on line because you can do your research, but when you are at the park its not quite so easy.

And do you look for less common ones rather than ones that everyone has and no one wants?
And lastly, I've seen bulk buys for trading on eBay. Are these a good deal or will I end up with pins that no one wants to trade for?

I also have recently started collecting pins (mainly Stitch). My DH went on ebay to look for some and he found a couple pins that he thought could have been fakes (he was cross referencing with another website at the time). Any words of wisdom for buying pins on ebay or other online ways?

 

[pixiewings71]

Many of the bulk buys on eBay are scrappers (fakes), and since you've already got some of those and don't seem to like them I would suggest you do some serious research before buying on eBay. It's really hard sometimes to know what's real or fake, I have quite a few scrappers in my collection because I didn't know at the time but I like the pins, if it's a really bad fake I toss it, if it's passable I keep it. The list of pins is huge!!! There are just so many to chose from. I picked a few favorite characters and that's what I collect, seems to work for me.