r/DisneyPinVents

I’m not sure if this is allowed here. But I was at the Anaheim Marriott hotel on Sunday to do some trading after the D23 event. I brought my hydro flask water bottle with me and a set it down in the pin trading area and totally forgot about it. When I got home I remembered and called the hotel to give them my number when it was turned into lost & found. And I just called them today and they said no one turned in a water bottle. Seriously?! I’m actually shocked, how can someone be so low down and nasty to keep someone else’s water bottle! Like wtf, I’m been using it for years. That person doesn’t know what kind of germs I have. I’m honestly appalled 🤢🤮.
Anyways to keep it about pins, I got good trades that night.

Friday:

Got backup group for MOG #23 and was pretty excited since I felt this meant I did have a shot at some pins. I assumed there were 15 spots per BG (I think I heard someone mention around that number for the 2024 expo) and with each spot +1s that meant there could have been 660 (15 X 22 x 2) people purchasing before me. I figured there could potentially be some pins left at that point ONLY because a lot of the MOG pins were more expensive than usual so maybe some people wouldn’t be buying one of everything; POVs and Dining with Character “plates” were $80 each. 

I wasn’t hovering near the store entrance but as soon as my BG was called I was in line fairly quickly but still had to wait 45 minutes to get in to actually shop. In line everybody seemed to have a plus 1. I did not try for a plus one for a couple of reasons, I wanted to give the opportunity for somebody else to be able to get a spot and I wasn’t sure if the person I was attending the expo with would be there in time to be my plus one. I wasn’t interested in selling a plus one spot to the highest bidder/reseller because I just didn’t feel that's fair to others who genuinely want the pins for themselves or to use for trade. When I got in line at MOG, I noticed several big name resellers. I was surprised, but also not, at this because earlier in the day these same resellers had lamented on IG they did not get spots and were looking for plus 1 opportunities. 

While in line it was clear other people knew each other in line because the people behind me were asking the people in the “shopping” area what was still available at that point. 

I was able to get a decent amount of pins. None that will probably go into my personal collection. But I figured if I got the opportunity to buy pins at retail, I should buy what I could for trade purposes. 

I would say I was a little disheartened after the experience only because it did take up a lot of time and energy throughout the day. For reference BG 23 was called back at 2:51PM when it seemed like it would have been called much earlier based on how groups 15-20 had been called. 

Saturday:

Woke up at 5:55am and tried for WDCS and got BG 67 (I think) and I knew there was no way I was getting in with that number. And I was right since later in the afternoon I think they were calling BGs in the 20s (I could be wrong) and then I got a push notification saying the store was ending groups for the day.

Sunday:

I didn’t even try. I didn’t want to. Honestly it was one of the best decisions I made of the weekend. And after reading all the comments of how things went down on Sunday and possibly the other days, I’m glad to have skipped out. I was able to get a bit more uninterrupted rest and did a full day of expo activities. When I walked by the stores and the pin trading area, the energy just seemed so tense and stressful, I was glad not to be around that.

Changes I'd make:

As most everybody else is saying for future expos, absolutely get rid of the plus one situation. One thing I think they could try to implement is instead of an RSP which I know many people want, is instead of giving everybody the opportunity to buy every pin released for the day, split up the release throughout the day. For example, if there’s three sets being released for the day have a different VQ drop for each. That way more people can get pins. And you can only get one BG per day across all three pin stores. There were people in the MOG line with me who I saw on IG had also been either in the DEC line or DSSH line earlier in the day. So the easy fix for that would be you get your badge scanned similarly to how its scanned at every other activation at the expo and if you've already scanned in, you can't get more pins but that could also require a bit more coordination between badges and VQ's accounts.

So say there’s a drop at 6am for Set #1 of Princesses, then drop at 11am for Set #2 of Villains and last drop at 3pm for Set #3 of Cats and Dogs. This would probably require a bigger footprint for each store but at least this way more people could get pins and then in theory actually trade more. Because say I get Set #1 of Princesses and somebody else gets Set #3 of Cats and Dogs, then in theory we can actually trade pins if I need a Marie pin and they want a Moana pin. 

Each set drop for a potential LE 400 has 400 spots available, 20 BGs of 20 people. Maybe not all 400 people buy every pin from the set, then those pins get saved for a standby situation at the end of the day. Just a bit of wishful thinking. But I’m very glad I didn't let pins ruin my D23 experience. I loved most everything we did and at the end of the day, they are just pieces of metal. Just wanted to share my experience!

If we as a pin community really want to shine a light on the fraud happening this past D23 weekend, we need to call out JD Collectibles and Ryanspins for allegedly using their innocent little kids to help friends in line secure another pin set at DEC. We need to stop supporting these sellers who are constantly in the middle of drama.

So if you were in the groups that statistically were supposed to secure those coveted princess gown or cats pins and didn’t, blame people like them. Disney needs to stop being cheap and bring back registers to complete the checkouts.

I think the QR codes are horrible. But honestly, this goes beyond that — this was just morally so wrong, essentially pimping out their kids for pins. Are they really that desperate for money?!

I have been a pin trader for years.. since 2003. I feel like since 2020, everything has just gone mad. Collectors can't get the pins, people are swiping them up and are charging 2..3..4..5x the price for these pins. I'm really getting pin-fatigue at this point. I don't recall pre-2020 it being THIS bad. Maybe social media has something to do with it, or maybe I am getting older and just realizing it more. Resellers are just killing this hobby. (I am not talking about pin shoppers that are fair with pricing and just doing pickups).

The D23 event was probably the straw that broke the camels back for me. Seeing people get massive amounts of pins just to sell them gave me such an ick. The people that went to the event and actually wanted them will never be able to get them. The same "Pinfluencers" always get into the events. The same thing online... I wanted 1 pin and JR's book. I had 4 browsers open.. 1 at 13k, the others were +45k. This is insane to me.

Admittedly I also have FOMO on some of these pins and try to complete the set. But the economy, and financial priorities, I just cant see spending what some of these people do on pins anymore. I love pins but I think going forward I will really have to pull back and assess what I really want and get rid of the fomo and the need to have all the new pins.

Thank you for coming to my Pin Talk.

Why are people valuing open edition pins that is currently available online at boxlunch, pink a la mode etc. 2x their value???

Drives me crazy when people are valuing pins that costs $12 for $20 online or a $24 palm pin for $60 when anyone can just buy it on their own at retail price.

Totally get when it's from Disney and not everyone can get into the parks or a limited edition pin but this completely befuddles me.

Hello! Lifetime Disney fan here. I have been a D23 member for over a decade. I just got into pin trading in the past year because I had so many boxes of D23 pins a friend convinced me to finally start trading for things I like.

I have always followed D23 but now being part of a lot of Facebook groups dedicated towards pins, it is a bit appalling to watch everyone meltdown over pins.

The amount of people who have said D23 is a waste of money and has ruinedt heir entire weekend is insane.

I understand that not everyone got the panels they wanted, but on most of the other pages all you have to do is stand in standby and you get to go to almost anything you want.

However, it seems that the pin people feel like this is a pin event. No no. This is a FAN event. This is an event for people who like Disney for everything it encompasses.

I have never been able to afford to go to D23. I sometimes watch the panels and events on Disney+. I used to be jealous of the people going, but now I realize there’s a group of individuals who believe this event is only worth it if they can get a piece of metal with some enamel on it.

Meanwhile, there are some of the most amazing artists who paint, use pastels, use tiles and create true works of art. And those people are there signing their REAL works of art. Meanwhile the pin people are skipping right by them and ignoring everything that D23 has to offer.

It seems that so many don’t have life perspective. Maybe they really didn’t go through anything tragic. Maybe they have not experienced to loss. It’s a pin. You’re at an amazing Disney event. Go have some fun.

There are many of us who will never be able to go. So enjoy Disney because you like Disney. The amount with such narrow focus is surprising.

This is the third time I’ve flown to D23 Expo from Florida. I haven’t gotten a virtual queue for anything all weekend. And I consider myself a pro! I’m talking Rise of Resistance and Cosmic Rewind opening day low numbers!

And every time I walk past the pin lines as I go around the floor, none of those people are pure of heart.

So any tips on becoming the biggest rat bastard would be appreciated, since the queue seems to be prioritizing those people