Prototype/LE Pins Value: is there a guide?

[jonbon]

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Jon, and I recently came into a large collection of mostly limited edition, Disney Auction, and a few prototype pins when my uncle passed. I'm helping out the family by selling the stuff for them.

I was wondering if there are any resources out there for the values of more hard-to-find pins. I've researched PinPics, which is a good starting point but doesn't have stuff like prototypes. Here's an example:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58631997@N06/5565314347/

Here are three prototypes: Buckingham Palace Guard Mickey, Plane Crazy Mickey, and Donald and Nephews picnic, all with COA. All three are gold-finished prototypes that preceded limited edition releases. Only four each of the Buckingham Palace and Plane Crazy prototypes were produced, and those preceded editions of only 100 for the actual pins sold.

So my question is, for a prototype that was limited to only four (and the actual run of the pin was still only 100), what might be the relative worth of something like that? I know it really depends on what a person is willing to pay, but what's a general ballpark figure?

Any advice is much appreciated. Also, if anyone actually wants these prototypes or other pins on my PinPics (MANY more to come), feel free to message me. Thanks!

 

[heyyouwannatrade]

Sent you an email about a few pins I am interested in.

Prototypes are hard to price... if they are of a really good pin they may be worth a good bit but if they are of not so great pins then it being a prototype does not seem to add as much value.

 

[erudolf]

Prototypes all depend on the pin in question and every pin is different, even if they are of the same LE.

My suggestion would be to do your homework before you sell or price anything. The best resource is ebay. Look for the pins in question and what completed auctions brought. If you can't find the exact same pin, look for similar ones. And when in doubt, price it high. You can always come down in price, but you can get back that which you have already sold and if you price too low, you will know because you will get flooded with emails.

Just be careful. If you don't have the time to research prices then your best bet might be to list them on ebay because then the market will determine the price for you.

 

[jonbon]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've been looking at ebay, but it's just hard to find closed auctions on some of these more limited pins. Patience and ebay seem to be the way to go with this endeavor.