OK, now I've got a dilemma...

[Doctor P]

I've been trying to collect a set of pins and am down to the last few I need (which are difficult to find even on Ebay). Now the whole set is up for auction on Ebay. Now...do I buy the whole set (and pay for more than just the pins I need), or do I keep working on gettin ghte last few pins individually? Ahhhh.... the dilemmas of an (income-constrained ) pin collector.

 

[MeanLaureen]

LOL Doctor P.. what pin set are you trying to complete? If it's a popular set I would say go for it because the duplicates will make great traders!

 

[Luv2Roam]

I'm figuring you have tried trading for the missing pieces.
I would say it depends on if you can buy them cheaper than what it would cost you to trade, the cost of the pins, and how good of traders the extras will be.
Dh has an extra WDW Hamm and Rex, which he acquired the same way. But frankly, as high demand as these are in, we haven't been getting any offers worth trading for.
Seems like when I have had pins that are HTF *good traders* I have a heck of a time finding anyone who wants to trade past a common to fairly easy to find rack pin. And I have often found it's cheaper for me in the long run to watch the auctions close for a wanted HTF pin than it is to trade for it.

I say it just depends on the money involved and how much you want them and are willing to spend. On the other hand, they will probably come around again sometime. If you are diligent about searching various ways on the auctions, it's amazing what you can find at good prices.
Good luck! And let us know what you decide!

 

[LynniethePooh]

Doctor, Doctor......we are living mirrored lives! I have been in the same dilemma recently.....actually bid on the set, but got outbid....so is that a sign I should just try for them individually? Who knows! It IS so hard to know!!!

 

[Doctor P]

Well, I bid on the set multiple times, but the seller's reserve never got met. Turns out that the seller's reserve was $80.00 more than the highest bid in the auction. Would have worked out to about $15.00 per pin, which is very hefty considering what the individual pins have been going for on ebay. The reason I know the seller's reserve is that she emailed me and asked if I would be interested in the pin set for $30.00 less than her reserve (more than $50.00 more than my highest bid). Though the seller has good ratings, there was something fishy about the person who was bidding against me, and the seller's email confirms to me that there is potentially something wierd going on (I should note that I wasn't the highest bidder when the auction ended, even.) Anyway, I plan to walk away and try to get the pins individually or in another auction for the set. Can't justify paying roughly $10.00 per pin for the duplicates in the set that are only mediocre traders.

 

[LynniethePooh]

Doctor P
I think you made a good call. It does sound a bit fishy to me. I have had similar situations where the same person kept putting in a new bid if I went higher. It just didn't feel right to me so I stopped bidding on that particular auction.
In the particular situation I spoke of earlier, the seller sent me an email and offered the set at about $30 less than the highest it had gone for in 2 different auctions of his. (I had bid on this set 2 diff times...he apparantly had several sets available). His offer price was also about $8 lower than my highest bid, so I felt comfortable with this. It worked out to just cents over $8 per pin.
I hope it all works out for you!