Pins!!!

[ChrizJen]

I was at a local mall earlier this evening, (one I haven't been to in a while) and I happened into the Disney Store. Since the last time I was there, they have relocated and COMPLETELY remodeled, and while it is nice, they don't have nearly as much product as they used to. MUCH less clothing, not as many "little" items, no jewelry, and NO PINS!!!! While I'm not an avid trader, I remember reading (somewhere) on these boards that if you bring pins purchased from the Disney Store and/or the parks, that you can trade them onboard the ship. I didn't do this on my last cruise, so I thought it might be fun on my next cruise. So I was going to start buying a few here and there when I had a chance. But they had none! I asked one of the employees, and he said that they were not going to carry them. Can anyone tell me if this is true at every Disney Store? Or maybe just the one at that mall?!?!? It was quite a disappointment.

 

[PinClubs]

Disney pins have been around almost as long as Disney itself, but Disney officially kicked off pin trading in October of 1999 to celebrate the millienium. It was called Disney Store - Countdown to the Millennium (101) Series

At the time Disney was selling pins in the parks and at the stores. There were two more major series that were released at the Disney stores: 100 Years of Dreams and Magical Musical Moments

By the time the third major set of pins had been released most pin traders believed that Disney had flooded the stores with too many pins. During the end of 2002 the Disney stores had slashed prices on the remaining pins just to get rid of inventory. Pins selling for $4 & $5 were being sold at under a dollar.

At the same time Disney had decided to team up with Ebay to sell pins online. At first they were exclusive pins that were mostly limited edition pins of only 100. They could be hard to get and sometimes very pricy.

To alleviate the problem of having very limited pins being priced out of the range of the average consumer Disney started their PINS promotion with Ebay. PINS stands for Purchase It Now Store where pins were not bid up but purchased at set prices. The editions are usually 250, 500, and 1000 and selling for $14, $12, and $10 respectively.

Disney in the last two years has moved away from selling pins in the store and there doesn't appear to be any change in the future. You may occasionally find pins at a Disney store, but most of the time you will have to purchase them either in the parks, through the Disney catalog, or online.

I hope this wasn't too much information.

Jeff

P.S. I have some pin trader links on my website - Pin Clubs - that you might find helpful.

 

[CruisingCA2005]

Pinclubs: Thanks for the interesting information!!

 

[mum of two pirates]

Can you tell me how much the pins on the ships are? Just trying to decide how much money to say for gifts. Thamks Mum

 

[DenverVal]

Most of them are $6, same as at the parks, but they run up to $12 for larger, more elaborate pins.

 

[Jaydebs]

We are going on the August 12 Wonder and I got my grandaughter a lot of pins to trade on E-bay - anywhere between $2.50 and $6.00 (with postage). Give it a try - it's a lot of fun even if you don't win all the auctions.

 

[PinClubs]

Pins on the ship come in a few different categories. There are "rack" pins or "commons" as they are called. These pins usually sell for $6.50. They are not limited in any fashion hence the name common or rack. Sample: Goofy and Ship

Another category are holiday pins. DCL will release pins in the parks and the ships for most holidays like Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. This pins are normally between $8.50 and $10.50. Samples: Castaway Cay Bahamas - Happy Easter 2004
Valentine's Day 2004

Some pins fall into another category called "Artist Choice" which are the most expensive and hardest to get since they are limited to 750 (375 Magic & 375 Wonder). The pins are $10.50 - $12.50; are released approximately one for every month, and make great traders. Samples: February 2004 Artist Choice Locket (Ariel)
June 2004 Artist Choice (Minnie Mouse)

There is one other set of pins of interest. They are called the "Captain's Choice". The set is supposed to be six in total; so far there have been three released
August 2003 Captain's Choice (Goofy)
Captain's Choice - Hades
Captain's Choice Pin - Donald Duck

The idea behind these pins is that there are six captains for the two ships so each captain would choose their favorite character and the pin artist would create a pin based on the "captain's choice".

Happy Pin Trading,

Jeff

 

[ChrizJen]

Thank you so much! That was not too much info, and it was great info too! Like I said before, I'm not planning to become an avid trader. But knowing where to start getting some before my next cruise is helpful. I really look forward to getting in on the trading fun! Thanks again!!!

 

[PoohJen]

ChrizJen,
My kids LOVE trading pins w/ the CMs, kids and even other adults at WDW.

So...I just ordered a BUNCH of pins on sale at www.disneystore.com. We were at WDW in March, the pins started at $6 or $6.50. The pins I just ordered on clearance averaged about $2-$2.50 a piece (ordered in sets). For my guys the fun is just in trading, so it doesn't matter whether they like the pins I bought or not, they'll have a great time trading them away for ones they fancy!

Have fun!

 

[ChrizJen]

Thanks a lot! I'll go look at the Disney Store site!