What's everyone's TDS pin shortage theories?

[Luv2Roam]

The stores started out receiving 24-48 of each pin per store. Now they may receive 12 - 24 of each one, if the early birds are lucky. Now we are seeing 0 to 5 or 6 of one type of pin per shipment.
What's going on?
I have heard some say Disney didn't want to be glutted with extra pins, like the other TDS series. I have heard some say Disney is creating this to develop interest and pin trading. Others say bad planning/merchandising/distribution.
What do you think is going on and why?

 

[epcotfan]

I believe it is to create interest and demand. By short shipping pins every week people scramble to get the whole set These actions force buyers to visit others stores in order to collect more pins thereby increasing their chances of purchasing other merchandise as well.
A collectable that is "exclusive" or "hard-to-find" is much more appealling that something that can be found anywhere at any time.

 

[Lynn-Marie]

This is just a guess, but I'm thinking that they produced fewer pins for the middle of the series. If memory serves me correctly, I think that the pins that came out at the middle of the Countdown to the Millennium series were not as in demand. I might need to pull out the binder from that series and double check my memory.

I just hope they have huge supplies for the pins coming out from 12/1, on.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

I'm not sure if this is particularly my favorite theory, but here's one more.

I think they may have determined the quantity of each pin to be produced based on some popularity quotient. Unfortunately, like most estimates of this type, they miscalculated. They probably overlooked the fact that some people will collect all the pins, regardless of subject. Or, they may have just been plain wrong about which would be the most popular pins.

So, if you go forth with the theory that they never intended to produce the same number of each pin, it would easily explain the disparity in the shipments each week.

Or not.

 

[hopemax]

I think they are trying to clear their inventory faster by creating a frenzy. Look what happens...as soon as we find out which pins were short-shipped, we buy our limit of 2 instead of just 1 in case a buddy didn't get one. They are intentionally creating a situation where the customer's reaction is "I need to buy an extra, just in case" instead of "I only need my 1 set."

A few months ago, LaughingPlace.com did an interview with Lee Zoppa who is in charge of WDCC. In that interview she talks about a concept called "managed scarcity." I see no reason why that concept would be limited to only one section of the consumer products division.

"Managed scarcity" is a term that is very common in the industry and is something that Disney is now becoming aware of. Actually, someone even mentioned the phrase to me recently -- a Disney person. It was then that I realized that Disney is starting to understand the concept, because with collectibles, it’s all about "less being more." Really, managed scarcity is about limiting pieces. In doing so, the only way a collector can obtain a certain piece is to possibly buy it from another collector who purchased it when it was first introduced. In other words, they have to hunt for it.

I don't think they (meaning corporate as a whole, yes, I realize individual front-line CM's really care) care how difficult the situation is for people or unhappy it is making people, except with regards tohow it affects future sales. If they can upset a customer without getting it to a point that they will start limiting the money they spend at the DS, I think they think that is fine, especially if it means they can sell $326,400 worth of merchandise in 30 minutes (that's 400 stores, selling 24 sets each of 6 $4 pins and 2 $5 pins).

 

[nsmia]

i'm just guessing here but maybe it has something to do with the new "pin trading" in the disney stores. Is it a coincidence that that the pin sets starting getting shorted after week#2 when the i first heard a rumor of pin trading in TDS? people are wondering what pins are going to show up on TDS CM lanyards, well it makes perfect sense to hold back a good amount of 100YOD pins to show up on TDS lanyards in the coming weeks and months. Seeing that pin sales have been going so well in most of the stores i'm sure a new series is already in the works to come out after the 100YOD series is over.

Maybe i'm wrong here but aren't the CM lanyards replensed in the various parks by pins that come from those respect parks, ie... you dont find many DL pins on WDW CM laynards. because TDS does not have any old pins to stick on lanyards (all the extra millenium series pins were sold to BELZ outlet) they need to create a stockpile of pins. hence the missing pin sets!!!