How does one start trading in the "big leagues"?
watzshakinbacon
B for Belle or B for bacon?
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- Los Angeles
How I legitimately started out was buying small lots of movies I collected. Sometimes you luck out with an awesome pin or two for your collection. And when you buy a few of those you'll end up with a few traders because you get duplicates. For me it was the best way because I was focousing on making myself happy and not what I needed to trade, and I branched out from there.
I notice with most collectors they'll usually have a good amount traders in the same genre as what they collect because of this.
Later I started buying other things I liked new (I was working at DLR so I was ther all the time). But then I traded alot of those left because I was still discovering what I truly loved and what I would be able to honestly part with.
there are quite a few traders/resellers who will take smaller pins for bigger pins, since smaller pins are easier to sell. Find resellers looking for lower end pins and trade a bunch for higher end pins. How I started, I would have to trade nearly 100 HMs for one big Beloved Tales. But everyone loves Beloved Tales, so I was able to trade those for grails. As for pin budget, the best way to purchase grail pins or higher end traders, do pick ups. buy pins at cost and sell them for aftermarket price. consider that money as "pin money" and use that to purchase higher pins. in the end it'll be as if you spent $15 (cost) for a higher end pin.
It's probably better to buy the grails you want.
Agreed!
Every once in awhile I'll luck out with a trade but my collection grows much more quickly when I hunt to buy vs. hunt to trade. And as stated, when you buy to trade you run the risk of ending up with pins people don't really want, not necessarily OE/HM either, but LE, too. I could list 10 OE pins on my wants list now that I'd be willing to trade LE's for, so don't rely too heavily on trades having to be entirely LE to LE or OE to OE. If I am in a position to buy a pin at cost that I absolutely adore and cannot live without regardless of edition size then I try to get a second one to trade later on. Otherwise, I just stick to spending money on pins for my collection now, and not some other possible-but-maybe-not futuristic trade later.
The flip side is, if you ignore the trade aspect entirely, you miss out on the opportunity to meet and interact with some truly wonderful people. Just take it slow and enjoy the hobby. Spend what you can, fawn over what you can't acquire at the moment and Pin-On!
i was fortunate enough that when i started collecting "traders", disney was offering many pins at good discounts online and was able to purchase multiples. There are also sellers on dpf who you can trust that sell lots. This still happens occasionally, and there are other sites if you look hard.
Things have changed a lot. This is the best way at present...
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