Aloha Laura and Welcome! :wavey:
I believe you asked for advice on how to start collecting pins. First, let me start by saying that there are no silly questions, just silly answers. Please keep in mind that even the most experienced pin trader once was new to this habit ... er ... hobby and also had to learn everything at one point - and the best way to learn something one doesn't know is by asking questions (even questions that might seem 'silly' to some; but if you genuinely don't know the answer and would like to, how can a question be silly?).
So getting on to your question of how to start collecting pins, the first thing to do is decide what you want to collect (which you already have done). I'm guessing from your screen name that you live in the UK, so I would recommend purchasing pins from Disney Store UK (both the physical stores and the online service); even if all of those pins don't fit your collection, you should be able to trade them for pins you *do* want. If you feel more comfortable, you can arrange pretrades in advance of purchasing pins (just let the other person know that it is a pretrade in the event that you are unable to get the pin).
You also can purchase pins from the sale boards here, although the only way to *guarantee* a pin being authentic is to purchase it directly from Disney. I don't know if you'd ever want to visit DLRP, but if and when you do, definitely buy pins there. Also, DLR and WDW will ship pins to you through DelivEars (although maybe not international?) and you'll have to wait a month following their release if you want Limited Edition pins. You also might be able to order from the American DisneyStore.com, but the European shipping is extortionate. Bottom line, if you want American pins, your best bet is to find a pin pal and make arrangements, either as a personal shopper or as a swap arrangement, those pins for the European Disney Store pins.
I hope this helps and, again, welcome! 🙂
