More Disney Greed.....MVMCP pins

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

I realize that Disney is in business to make money. I realize that there is a lot of profit on pins. What makes me not so merry about the MVMCP pins is that the edition size of the pins have been blown up to LE 4000 this year, which is up from LE 2000 from recent years, including 2007.

In 2001, the pins were LE 2500 and cost $8.50
In 2002, the pins were LE 2500 and cost $8.50
In 2003, the pins were LE 2500 and cost $10.50 (I bought lots of these!)
In 2004, the pins were LE 2000 and cost $12.50
In 2005, the pins were LE 2000 and cost $10.95 (I bought lots of these!)
In 2006, the pins were LE 2000 and cost $10.95
In 2007, the pins were LE 2000 and cost $12.95
In 2008, the pins are LE 4000 and cost $12.95

Same price as last year and only half as rare.

I am very much a collector and I dabble at trading. But, this just ticks me off to no end that they are jacking the prices up like this and cutting the trade or collectible value of the pins. There are LE 250's on Disneyshopping.com that cost the same as these LE 4000 pins are going to cost!

I have looked at the pins and found none of them to be worth spending my hard earned money on. This pains me to say, because I had $200 set aside for MVMCP pins.

The jumbo this year is an LE 750, they priced it at $45, which isn't that horrible. The last couple of years, it was an LE 1500 and cost $25 in 2006 and $35 in 2007. We usually do buy the event jumbos, I am still not sold on the design yet. I will have to see it in person.

To look at the pins that are coming out, you can check them out on Disney's site at http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/eventPins?id=40279 and the purchasing details can be seen on Disney's site at http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/event?id=40279

Of course, Dizpins also has them listed at http://www.dizpins.com/pinventory/wdw_mvmcp_2008.htm

Is anyone else kind of bummed that the MVMCP pins are being devoided of value, but still have the high pricetags? Is anyone else tired of being nickeled and dimed to death?

 

[WaltD4Me]

I know just what you mean, but believe me, this is happening with all kinds of collectibles. They all keep raising the production numbers so nothing is "rare" anymore. Many companies have ruined their collectibility IMHO.

I do pins, not a ton, but I do like them and always buy a few each trip. I especially like event pins, MNSSHP, MVMCP, Food & Wine, Flower & Garden, ect....but I only bought one MNSSHP pin last week because they were $12.95I thought that was ridiculous. In the past I have gotten at least two, sometimes 3 or 4 depending on the pins. But Disney continues to make money. The line at Uptown Jewelers for MNSSHP pins was very long.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I realize that Disney is in business to make money. I realize that there is a lot of profit on pins. What makes me not so merry about the MVMCP pins is that the edition size of the pins have been blown up to LE 4000 this year, which is up from LE 2000 from recent years, including 2007.

In 2001, the pins were LE 2500 and cost $8.50
In 2002, the pins were LE 2500 and cost $8.50
In 2003, the pins were LE 2500 and cost $10.50 (I bought lots of these!)
In 2004, the pins were LE 2000 and cost $12.50
In 2005, the pins were LE 2000 and cost $10.95 (I bought lots of these!)
In 2006, the pins were LE 2000 and cost $10.95
In 2007, the pins were LE 2000 and cost $12.95
In 2008, the pins are LE 4000 and cost $12.95

Same price as last year and only half as rare.

I am very much a collector and I dabble at trading. But, this just ticks me off to no end that they are jacking the prices up like this and cutting the trade or collectible value of the pins. There are LE 250's on Disneyshopping.com that cost the same as these LE 4000 pins are going to cost!

I have looked at the pins and found none of them to be worth spending my hard earned money on. This pains me to say, because I had $200 set aside for MVMCP pins.

The jumbo this year is an LE 750, they priced it at $45, which isn't that horrible. The last couple of years, it was an LE 1500 and cost $25 in 2006 and $35 in 2007. We usually do buy the event jumbos, I am still not sold on the design yet. I will have to see it in person.

To look at the pins that are coming out, you can check them out on Disney's site at http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/eventPins?id=40279 and the purchasing details can be seen on Disney's site at http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/event?id=40279

Of course, Dizpins also has them listed at http://www.dizpins.com/pinventory/wdw_mvmcp_2008.htm

Is anyone else kind of bummed that the MVMCP pins are being devoided of value, but still have the high pricetags? Is anyone else tired of being nickeled and dimed to death?

IMHO, Nothing will CHANGE until people STOP buying them!

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

IMHO, Nothing will CHANGE until people STOP buying them!

Well, they lost my money, except maybe for the jumbo pin. I don't need another useless, high priced, event pin that will never be worth anything and can't be traded away for anything more than a Sedesma piece of junk.

 

[slapwhitey]

This may be the unpopular position but I really don't have much issue with it. We are casual pin collectors but usually try to get at least one special event pin if we are lucky enough to be down there for that. I don't mind paying $12.95 for a souvenir or keepsake that will always have an attached memory. Do I think approaching $13 for a pin is a little hefty...sure....but unfortunately it is what it is. If you've ever seen the pins they sell at Universal for $8-9 you will se why Disney can charge upwards of $13. The quality is far superior. The LE size doesn't bother me much either. We buy as keepers and it's not about trading or future value for us. I can't tell you how many times I failed to get pin I wanted because we happened to show up a week after release date (I'm a HM fan). For me, I'm pleased if they increase the lot sizes as it might mean I actually get to purchase one.

So now that everyone thinks I'm out to lunch I will leave it at that. Happy pin hunting to all.

A little OT but we have found jumbo pins at the Prime Outlets Character Warehouse for around $15.

 

[georgemoe]

Add another DIS'er similar to Slapwhitey. Maybe this should have been a collectors only topic.

We only collect pins that relate to our trip or resort. We are not looking to resell. And I'll second the point about larger LE means I have a better chance of getting one if it's one we want.

 

[WaltD4Me]

This may be the unpopular position but I really don't have much issue with it. We are casual pin collectors but usually try to get at least one special event pin if we are lucky enough to be down there for that. I don't mind paying $12.95 for a souvenir or keepsake that will always have an attached memory. Do I think approaching $13 for a pin is a little hefty...sure....but unfortunately it is what it is. If you've ever seen the pins they sell at Universal for $8-9 you will se why Disney can charge upwards of $13. The quality is far superior. The LE size doesn't bother me much either. We buy as keepers and it's not about trading or future value for us. I can't tell you how many times I failed to get pin I wanted because we happened to show up a week after release date (I'm a HM fan). For me, I'm pleased if they increase the lot sizes as it might mean I actually get to purchase one.

I do agree that Disney pins are better quality than you see elsewhere, Sea World's are nice quality too, but not nearly as many choices. I don't buy pins for re-sell either, but I am still disappointed in the price increase. I used to buy alot more pins, but now I am much choosier since they have gone up. I used to buy the whole set of Flower & Garden pins, now I only get two. And I think it's a shame for the kid's who collect pins. My niece found a beautiful Belle pin, nothing special, not an LE or anything, just pretty to her, but it was $15, that's alot for kid's. I also notice the detail isn't quite what it used to be. Maybe it's just me, but alot of "faces" on the pins are sort of weird. Especially the eyes.

 

[drakethib]

IMHO, Nothing will CHANGE until people STOP buying them!

Agree

 

[Mickey_Man]

Add another DIS'er similar to Slapwhitey. Maybe this should have been a collectors only topic.

We only collect pins that relate to our trip or resort. We are not looking to resell. And I'll second the point about larger LE means I have a better chance of getting one if it's one we want.

I have to agree with you two as well. Raising the LE does mean a less rare pin, but I am happy that I may have a chance to buy one now. It is the same price as last year, so it is a good compromise - Disney will get more money, and the consumer will not incur a cost increase. The one who suffers is obviously the collector, so i guess the decision was made that if they have to "hurt" the collecibility, then so be it. It is a bit of a supply/demand thing, I suppose.

 

[Madi100]

We always buy our girls a pin for each trip, even if they aren't on the trip. We won't ever sell them for money. I don't look at it as being an investment. I look at it as being a keepsake. And, I'm willing to bet that Disney has figured out that's what most of us do with them. I know there is a group of diehards, but a think the majority just buys them for the moment.

I do see your point, though.

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

Given all of the odd collections that are in our home, we don't tend to look at the purchases of these items from a monetary standpoint as a first priority either. We live among our collectables, with the exception of my baseball card collection, which is kept in boxes that are so heavy, that it feels like you are moving a stump. Everything else is out and on display. We enjoy being able to look at the stuff that makes us happy.

The pins are mostly purchased for our collection, but occasionally, we find that a pin that we liked at one point doesn't have to stick around and it might be more fun to trade it away to someone for something new that we would rather have. In the past, I have purchased additional MVMCP or MNSSHP pins to use as traders for things that I wanted from other event, that had similar edition sizes. That makes this year's pins, basically not worth the "trader investment".

FYI, for anyone interested, it seems that Disney is going to release all of the designs the first night, so that may be the reason why the edition size is so high, because they know that Stitch and Tink are going to have a much larger fanbase and will need to be made in high numbers if any are to be left for the people going to the last few MVMCP's.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I guess I really would just like the ability to actually get one while at the party so it doesnt bother me. Last time we tried they were sold out and the line was long.