Question for those SLR Owners AND Pin Collectors

[annnewjerz]

So...I have been trying to pick up a new hobby besides photography. I recently started going to the shooting range (strange hobby, I know) and also realized that out of all my trips to WDW, I never bought a single pin. My goal for WDW in December is to have a couple of pins I really like and some not-so-much that I can trade with CMs.

Now...for all of you who bring your SLR to the park and collect/trade pins, do you wear a lanyard AND a neck strap, or do you keep the pins right on the strap and skip the lanyard?

Stupid question I'm sure, but just something I was curious about when deciding how I would display said pins.

Thanks!
Ann

 

[spinetnglr]

I usually have my lanyard rolled up and in my backpack because it was never comfortable to wear it along with the camera strap and 90% of the time the camera is out of the bag and the strap around my neck. I almost alway buy two or three fairly common pins as soon as I get in a park so I have a few to trade should I see one I want on a CM. I tend to look for pins I like and I do have a few "theme" pin collections such as Jiminy Cricket my favorite Disney character. There are soooooooooooooo many pins its overwhelming so focusing on one type, theme or character gives you something to look for when trading with the CMs.

 

[annnewjerz]

I usually have my lanyard rolled up and in my backpack because it was never comfortable to wear it along with the camera strap and 90% of the time the camera is out of the bag and the strap around my neck. I almost alway buy two or three fairly common pins as soon as I get in a park so I have a few to trade should I see one I want on a CM. I tend to look for pins I like and I do have a few "theme" pin collections such as Jiminy Cricket my favorite Disney character. There are soooooooooooooo many pins its overwhelming so focusing on one type, theme or character gives you something to look for when trading with the CMs.

Thanks for the advice!! Maybe I'll roll up the lanyard in the bag and display my favorite 5 or so on my neck or bag strap.

The ones I have decided I want are the Disney Vinylmation pins. Here is what they look like:

I bought about 5 of them on e-bay so far...they're previously traded but hopefully in good condition. They're so cheap on e-bay (got one for $1.99) that I may pick up an extra of each to up my odds of getting one that looks newest. The extra, I will bring with me to WDW to trade. I could have purchased the whole set new on e-bay for $195---but that seemed like a little much.

I am also bidding on a Haunted Mansion set of Hidden Mickey pins and would like to get some for Splash Mountain since those are my two favorite rides.

I can see how this would get out of control very quickly, especially while in WDW where they are almost $10 each!!

 

[YesDear]

A big word of warning! DW got hooked on pins because we were at Disney the day of the first pin celebration in what seems to be 8-9 yrs ago. If you think NAS is bad!!!!!!!!!!!! We have spent the night in the parking lot of Epcot waiting for pin events in August. Boy that was fun!

I would estimate she has in excess of 5000 pins. She has paid up to $100 pins for very limited edition pins. While she had great fun doing it, it did consume several vacations looking for THAT pin.

Fortunately she has slowed down in the past year or so.

Do beware! It can be really addictive and you already have a proven propensity to another addiction!!! LOL

 

[oogieboogieman]

Thanks for the advice!! Maybe I'll roll up the lanyard in the bag and display my favorite 5 or so on my neck or bag strap.

The ones I have decided I want are the Disney Vinylmation pins. Here is what they look like:

I bought about 5 of them on e-bay so far...they're previously traded but hopefully in good condition. They're so cheap on e-bay (got one for $1.99) that I may pick up an extra of each to up my odds of getting one that looks newest. The extra, I will bring with me to WDW to trade. I could have purchased the whole set new on e-bay for $195---but that seemed like a little much.

I am also bidding on a Haunted Mansion set of Hidden Mickey pins and would like to get some for Splash Mountain since those are my two favorite rides.

I can see how this would get out of control very quickly, especially while in WDW where they are almost $10 each!!

I don't mess with pins anymore (well let's say somtimes). DW and DS loves to trade pins but it wears me out. Lets stop at every CM check out their lanyard and then move to the next. Don't forget we have to stop at every shop along Main Street and look for lanyards.

While trading pins is fun, it can get out of control very quickly. We don't purchase of of Ebay anymore. Too many counterfeit pins!!!

The sets that you are looking for are easily traded for in the Parks. DS has all of those sets he collected from CM's.

I separate my pins into 2 bags, one for keepers and other for traders. I keep them in my camera bag.

Good Luck

 

[annnewjerz]

Do beware! It can be really addictive and you already have a proven propensity to another addiction!!! LOL

You know me too well. I can see that it's addicting already. I spent last night sitting on the couch looking for the Vinlymation pins on E-bay. Ended up finding all of them but two and also purchased two of the mystery boxes...so maybe I'll find the missing two in there.

I don't think I'll go as crazy as your wife...5,000!!! My DH won't tolerate another addiction. I got the pins on e-bay for less than $5 each and for now, those are the only ones I'm buying

 

[spinetnglr]

I agree with everyone here that it can get out of hand very quickly. I have an album type case I keep mine in at home. I dont have 1000's but I know I have 100's and I have slowed with buying the past few trips because I am getting too many. Now I just collect only those for certain sets or if it has Jiminy Cricket on it. My last trip there was during the "Year of a Million Dreams" celebration where the "Dream Team" would go around and pick people at random and award them a dream come true. Apparently my dream was a Dreams pin lanyard with 2 limited edition dream pins. Someone forgot to tell them my dream was really to visit all the Disney parks around the world but I was very happy with my lanyard and pins.

 

[annnewjerz]

I don't mess with pins anymore (well let's say somtimes). DW and DS loves to trade pins but it wears me out. Lets stop at every CM check out their lanyard and then move to the next. Don't forget we have to stop at every shop along Main Street and look for lanyards.

While trading pins is fun, it can get out of control very quickly. We don't purchase of of Ebay anymore. Too many counterfeit pins!!!

I separate my pins into 2 bags, one for keepers and other for traders. I keep them in my camera bag.

Good Luck

A few issues:

1. I'm not really interested in the trading part, is that wrong?? I just wanted to collect and display the ones I thought were puuuurdy. I wanted to trade only if I couldn't find the ones from those Vinylmation set and Haunted Mansion set that I wanted.

2. I bought those Vinylmation pins last night on e-bay for around $5 each from "Power Sellers" that had really good feedback about being genuine Disney pins---now you have me worried!

3. The storage of the pins was what I was most concerned with. It seems like the general concensus is that people wearing cameras don't wear the pin lanyards as well and instead keep their pins in their camera bags. This is something to consider. I think anything extra around my neck would get annoying.

Thanks!!

 

[WVDisGeek]

DW and I don't really trade pins anymore. We were quite addicted when they first came out and I can remember camping out for hours before Disney stores opened to get pins...not fun.

Anymore, DW and I usually just look in the shops for something that really catches our eye. Last trip, I found a cool pin that was a Mickey head dashboard in a car. I am a gearhead so it was perfect. I also tend to look for the ones with cameras (surprise, surpise! ).

I may display one or two on a hat or my neck strap, but rarely trade anymore.

 

[ssanders79]

I tried to put pins on my camera strap but they tend to get in my way. My wife typically wears the lanyard. We are casual pin collectors. We only get the ones we really like and put then in a display case on our wall. I've been on the hunt for a Mickey Photographer pin for my camera bag, but I do not think it has been made yet.

TIP: go to the disney outlet stores and buy pins for 2.99/3.99 for trade. You can get big pins too for really cheap to trade with the CM for the pins you really want.

 

[oogieboogieman]

The pin lanyard gets in the way of the camera strap and that gets in the way of the camera bag. Too many straps across my chest and then add the heat and humidity from going the first part of August I tend to loose patience of chasing every CM with my DW and DS.

My wife bought alot pins from Ebay for the purpose of trading and we got alot of scrappers and counterfeits. Last trip we each had a gallon ziploc bag with approx. 300 pins each just for trading. We put the bags in our carry-on luggage and were stopped by airport security and had to go thru the metal detectors twice.

My wife went to a Disney Outlet store a bought a "bulk quantity" at a discounted price to get the cost per pin down to $2.00 ea.

Anyways, it was fun to collect and I want my wife and son to continue. I'm just going to save my money for my " new and upcoming" lens purchase.

 

[annnewjerz]

I'm just going to save my money for my " new and upcoming" lens purchase.

I think that is a very wise thing to do. I know the Sigma 30 is calling your name (and after getting mine, I can totally understand why). I don't plan to spend maybe more than $100 or so on them---but we all know how plans work.

So far I think I've spent around $70 on e-bay and have gotten all 10 of the Vinylmation (hopefully official and in good condition), and the Haunted Mansion set that I had mentioned wanting, along with a few misc. ones I liked (about 18 pins in all). If I can find some Splash Mountain themed that I like, as well as maybe a few "photographer" pins---I think I'll be set.

 

[JR6ooo4]

A few issues:

1. I'm not really interested in the trading part, is that wrong?? I just wanted to collect and display the ones I thought were puuuurdy. I wanted to trade only if I couldn't find the ones from those Vinylmation set and Haunted Mansion set that I wanted.

2. I bought those Vinylmation pins last night on e-bay for around $5 each from "Power Sellers" that had really good feedback about being genuine Disney pins---now you have me worried!

3. The storage of the pins was what I was most concerned with. It seems like the general concensus is that people wearing cameras don't wear the pin lanyards as well and instead keep their pins in their camera bags. This is something to consider. I think anything extra around my neck would get annoying.

Thanks!!

I do not trade either. I only buy pins with special meanings to me so why would I want to lose them? Here is my collection, assembled on a Mickey bulletin board:

I started with the free pins they gave out with vacation packages a few years ago. Then moved on to pins of rides that are no longer around, but only the rides I had been on before they were removed. They even have a tiny little piece of the attraction in a bubble on the pin!
Then of course our backstage tour pins, and a few that I just liked the style.

Mikeeee

 

[annnewjerz]

I do not trade either. I only buy pins with special meanings to me so why would I want to lose them?

My thoughts exactly. Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain are my favorite rides, so I would like to collect those---and if there happen to be any with special meanings (like a Christmas pin during our trip this December) I might pick up those---but why buy them if you are just going to get rid of them anyway?

I'm just going to consider buying a "lot" on E-bay of 25 pins or something, ones that I don't particularly care about. Those will be my traders in case a CM has something suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper cool that I want.

 

[jann1033]

i don't trade them either, i have them on one of my camera bag and buy ones for the places we have stayed at some time or other

 

[boBQuincy]

So...I have been trying to pick up a new hobby besides photography. I recently started going to the shooting range (strange hobby, I know) and also realized that out of all my trips to WDW, I never bought a single pin. My goal for WDW in December is to have a couple of pins I really like and some not-so-much that I can trade with CMs.

Actually, shooting firearms and shooting cameras have some similarities. For deliberate shooting of both it is good to pull the trigger/press the shutter button smoothly; take the shot while exhaling; and try to get it between heartbeats! Jedi have less trouble with this.

Pin trading, now that is a strange hobby!

 

[annnewjerz]

Actually, shooting firearms and shooting cameras have some similarities. For deliberate shooting of both it is good to pull the trigger/press the shutter button smoothly; take the shot while exhaling; and try to get it between heartbeats! Jedi have less trouble with this.

Pin trading, now that is a strange hobby!

You make an excellent point, as always. Although this is coming from a man who wears a tinkerbell pin on his camera bag, right?? Don't for a second think you've fooled all of us into thinking you are one of those "normal" folk.

 

[boBQuincy]

You make an excellent point, as always. Although this is coming from a man who wears a tinkerbell pin on his camera bag, right?? Don't for a second think you've fooled all of us into thinking you are one of those "normal" folk.

Yep, a Tinkerbell pin on my Crumpler $4M home.

I have been to Bloomington, which is not far from Normal. That's as close as I get!