Pin Trading Newbie

[wavecrusherx]

I hope its ok to post a question here. My wife and I are new to pin trading and are looking for information on how to being we were thinking of going to 13 reflections of evil event but are unsure what it really is. Their seems to be such little info one what to really expect and what early registration is. is their anyone willing to explain any of this to me? I realize the event attinorary isnt released yet but maybe you can explain what previous events were like and roughly what times we need to be where for what. any info would be greatly appreciated and helpful. Thank you for listening and not flaming me for a question.

 

[dizfan]

Last year was our first time going to the WDW pin event.

They have special merchandise for purchase. You fill out what what you would like to buy via a form. Then they run a RSP (random selection process) and you will find out what you are able to buy. This year's merchandise looks like it will be much more popular than last years.

The highlight for us was the pin trading boards. They had some LE, pre-preduction, and artist proof pins mixed in with the other pins. They change out the boards every 30 minutes. We found some very nice pins on the boards.

The pin portion was Friday and Saturday last year. (My understanding is that this is normal)
Early merchandise pickup was held Thursday. If you go, I would suggest being there on Thursday, because you want to be in the trading lines as much as possible.

On Friday, they had an early breakfast (extra charge) where there was a few small breakfast tables. However, the benefit of this is they have pin trading boards during this time and far fewer people than during the main event. Those who do not pay for the breakfast cannot get in.

On Saturday, they had a dessert (extra charge) with dessert tables and again the pin boards. Those who do not pay for the dessert were kicked out.

Ask more questions and I will try to fill you in.

 

[dizfan]

Here is a blog someone wrote last year for the event. It includes several pictures. This will give you a better understanding of the event.

http://www.pinpics.com/blog/pinpics-blog/mickeys-circus-pin-event

 

[wavecrusherx]

Since we just started we don't have many really good pins we are willing to part with. we have some starter sets and some stuff we got on our honeymoon from our Cruse on the fantasy. Are the boards this like the parks where the cast member's have to trade with you? My wife is worried we will walk in and everyone will laugh us out of there if we don't have anything really good to start with.

 

[dizfan]

Yes, the boards are like the parks where they have to trade with you.
As you near the front of the line, pick two pins you want to give up. Many people choose pins from booster packs or things like that.
When it's your turn, you give the CM the two pins, then you step in front of the board. I forget the amount of time. It's 30 or 60 seconds to find two pins you want to trade for.

Believe me, I was more than a bit afraid last year, but it was a blast. We had enough fun that we tried to sign up for the Saturday dessert, but it was already sold out.

There are many levels of traders there. Some are very, very serious. Many are newbies or most casual collectors and just having a good time.

Personally, I'm not much into the pin tables, but I really enjoy the boards. It's an opportunity to find some really nice pins.

The first hour or so, I was in a bit of shock. The boards have a ton of pins. A couple times, I ran out of time and just picked a couple pins. The CMs could tell I was a rookie last year. As the day went on, many people in line gave advice. By Friday afternoon, I had no problem with the boards. On Saturday, I received even more advice. By the end, I was finding a few Artist Proof and Pre-production pins.

If you can afford it and enjoy pins, it sounds like this is a great year to go. From what people are posting, the last Villains event (years ago) was extremely popular. Many people seem to be coming back to pins just because of this years theme.

If you decide to go, send me a PM. I can give you a bit more advice. (I'm far from an expert.)

BTW, forgot to mention, I started last year by having my pins in my pocket for fear of what others would think of what I was trading. I realized there were plenty of us doing this.

 

[wavecrusherx]

Thank you for your help. I just sent pm. I appricate any and all advice I can get. We are more in it for fun. As I said we weren't hooked until we went t ok the officer pin trading on the disney fantasy and we even got a complete mystory pin set without buying a single mystory pack. It was so much fun hunting the ship for those.

My wife has been collecting muppet pin and also is on the hunt for a sir hiss from robin hood if one exists. I love just finding cool and intetesting pins from places I have been or fave characters. So im super excited to find some villans pins. We have probably doubled our collection in a year and are looking for someway to store them but keep them safe other then the comletely full shoe box they are now in.

 

[mouselike-harrier]

I will be attending this for the first time also. If you don't mind, I have some questions too and would love to send you a PM.

 

[dizfan]

I will be attending this for the first time also. If you don't mind, I have some questions too and would love to send you a PM.

If you want to send me a PM, go ahead. I will gladly try to help out.