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GRAIL Splurging on a Grail: How do you decide?

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GRAIL Splurging on a Grail: How do you decide?
I think the key to splurging and to getting your grails is to occasionally make sure your most wanted is something else no one else wants too, for example I splurged this week to, on one of my most wanted, didn't think I'd ever get, never seen it on ebay before pins, but my splurge was a whopping $20 including shipping to the UK. Why so little, you ask? I collect Chicken Little when no one else does
 

I remember when those sat on ebay for $20 BIN without any takers, LOL.

But, to get back to the original discussion, you have to answer a few questions and then you will know:
1. How often do I see this pin(s) for sale?
2. Can I afford it, right now, for that price?
3. If I can, do I want to wait to see if it will go down?
4. If I can, will I regret buying it now and seeing it for less later on?
5. If I can, will I regret not buying it now and seeing it for more later on?
6. If I can't, well then, there's your answer.

I just splurged on a big grail for sis (BatB masterpiece pin from Jabberwocky) earlier this month, even though I had sold at least half of my traders and was supposed to cut back this year. I splurged even more on some good deals for pins I kind-of liked, but will probably eventually end up in my traders pile (yay, I find it hard to resist a good deal even if it's for a pin that I don't collect).

For the BATB masterpiece, I haven't seen it for sale or trade in my few years of collecting (although I am told it popped up for sale 2-3 years on ebay for a hefty price so I must have missed seeing it then). I had to decide whether to splurge that price (yes, it came with in a "lot" of pins, but unless I sell/trade those other pins away for pins for my collection, I don't count those yet.)

And, I'm about to buy some more pins for another side collection. I almost bought them today but wanted to think about it. Fortunately, I have the seller's phone number to make arrangements to buy them in a few days

I set aside funds for pins, vacations, etc. Different funds for different items and I don't dip into one for the other.
 
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I just bought a pin set that was one of my grails...terribly expensive... but so lovely!!! I'm sure I won't regret it! Never! So if it's really something you wish for and if you have the funds...than go ahead and make yourself happy!!!
 
A little OT...I love reading how people collect different sets or characters.

For instance, I would never collect Alice because I was never fond of that character. But reading someone talk about their collection of her pins, etc, while not making me want to collect her, helps me appreciate the beautiful pins of her. And reading, here or on another thread, of someone collecting Chicken Little...how cute! It reminds me of my love of Boo from Monsters, Inc, and my collection of her.
 
starry_solo said:
I remember when those sat on ebay for $20 BIN without any takers, LOL.
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I remember when it sat for months on the rack at DSF. And I didn't get around to going to get one for ages because who ever wanted Beloved Tales pins much less an Alice one? I was waiting for it to wind up clearanced. And of course by the time I eventually did go over to try to get it - it was sold out - and then I had to go track one down for my collection.

And I say again, I never regret the pins I got - I only regret the ones I didn't!
 
starry_solo said:
I remember when those sat on ebay for $20 BIN without any takers, LOL.
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You. Are. Killing. Me. That must have been before I fell into the delightful and at times expensive hobby of pin collecting, ha ha. I've never seen a BT for $20. I mean, I've seen that DSF/DSSH sells them for less than $20, actually, but this is not something I have ever witnessed in person or on the secondary market.

But the mention of BIN *also* raises the point that sellers can attempt to control market value with BIN pricing. If I cave and spend $200 (or more, gaaahhh) for an Alice BT, I'm reinforcing the idea that the pin is worth that much. And then the next time someone wants to sell one, they can point to the previous transaction for a justification of their asking price. (Yet another conversation that has been had on this forum in various formats.) There is a part of me wavering on the splurge; should I wait for the next AUCTION of an Alice BT and let the bidding determine what it's really worth? I might get it for less than $200 ... and if I win with $200 or more, a) I'm no worse off and b) I know that the market supports that price point, at least. Again, it's not a matter of "resale value" for me ... just what I can afford and how stupid I'd feel if I spent "too much." Mostly I just wish I'd gotten into this hobby sooner, so I could have snapped up the pins I want at closer to normal prices. (I *have* managed to pick up some pins as they've been released at "reasonable mark-ups" that I've subsequently seen been sold/won at much higher prices. So ... at least I have that comfort!) But of course my grails and most wanteds are predominantly pins from "before my time" as a collector, are limited edition, and don't come up for sale every other minute. Hmmmm. The debate continues!!!

But definite congrats on the BatB masterpiece!!! I wish Jabberwocky had some high-end Alice dupes that she wanted to part with, ha ha ha.
 
Addicted to Alice Pins said:
I wish Jabberwocky had some high-end Alice dupes that she wanted to part with, ha ha ha.
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:redface: Well actually... lol I did have a lot of Alice pins that I was considering putting up for sale along with the other lots. But really, I wanted to sell more of the pins I wasn't as attached to as the ones I *am* attached to.

Maybe if I can actually sell a few more of the other lots I have for sale, I'll list the Wonderland lot.
 
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CALL ME!!! Ha ha ha. Actually, I hope that really would be a "lot" of pins you have doubles of. Because if you start selling off any of your very-near-completist collection, I am considering that the First Sign of the Apocalypse. In which case, I don't need to buy any more pins, grail or otherwise, because the End Is Nigh.
 
My collection could not be pried out of my living, dead or undead hands. No need to worry about an apocalypse.

It's just a handful of doubles that I have. (And no BT - sorry! lol)
 
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This forum started Oct 2010. Someone posted a frame of their collection, and I fell in love. First week of Jan 2011, I bought my very, first BT. Which happened to be the Alice one (along with a DSF Pluto in a movie seat)...and for the two pins I paid a whopping $17.50. Later that month, my parents were in LA and they bought me Jungle Book, Aladdin, Sword in the Stone and Mulan from DSF, directly. But I told them "I wasn't interested in the Hunchback and Hercules." Hunchback was the 4th pin in the series and it still wasn't sold out! I rectified that little mistake, when another friend picked them up for me in May 2011. 2.5 years after release that Hunchback pin was still hanging around.

So that's my happy BT story. The sad one is when I found out my Dad traded my Mom's extra Mulan BT for a WDI Pressed Penny pin "because the Mulan was LE300, and the WDI pin was 250." Mulan was only going for about $90 at that point, but still. I bought my Mom the DLRP Mulan PTN pin to make up for it.
 
In respects to any pin purchases, I keep it in perspective. Namely: 1) it's a piece of metal with no intrinsic value, and 2) more than $30 and I start to feel guilty about the starving people that money could go to feed. In fact, minus the shipping costs, I'm not sure I've ever paid more than $30 for a pin. I don't care what pin it is, I just can't get my mind around any pin being worth more than that.

So I guess my first criteria is: is it less than $30
 

This argumentation would make even more sense if you would actually spend the money you have left to the starving people, because you didn't buy a pin for more than 30$ ... do you? Or do you spend it just for something else? Maybe another pin for under less than 30$? Sorry... I understand that someone dooesn't want to spend money for pins, it's up to every one's decision... but I hope no one will feel guilty here now because he spends money on pins and not on charity...
 
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My intent wasn't to make anyone else feel guilty. I was just voicing my opinion on the subject what I consider justifiable expense for me personally.

And since you asked, yes, there are four charities I support with regular monthly donations (one humanitarian aid organization, one ministry that works with convicts and their families, and two environmental groups) and a couple others I support with frequent one-time donations. And I have an adopted elephant in Africa
 

This is amazing and shows that you have a great big heart. Even though it wasn't your intention, but your statement sounds to me like a critique on people that spend money on their hobby instead of helping people in need. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to attack you! I believe that you didn't want to sound that way... and sorry for my sarcasm. I just thing spending money for the hobby and spending money on charity (or doing charity) are two different things and shouldn't be compared...
I think no one should feel guilty if he spends money for himself... Of course it's amazing to spend money for charity... but I don't want to feel guilty if I spend my hard earned money on myself and my hobby... Looking at it completely objective it is crazy to spend money on anything that you don't "need"... no one "needs" pins, or dolls, or figurines or anything else that is decoration or fun... But these things bring pleasure to our lifes and that's what they are about....that's what a hobby is about.
 
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No worries! I apologize for coming off like I was judging people!
 
Update: So at last I own the Alice BT and I can start whining about something else, ha ha ha. I won an auction, and it was considerably more than the $80 opportunities I passed up ... but at least I can say "this is the current market value of this pin." And it's mine. And it ain't goin' nowhere except into one of my shadowboxes. And now I'm going into my basement to dig up what pieces of my childhood I can sell on eBay to earn more money for Alice grails, because now I've got the fever again!!!
 


I haven't bought a grail pin in awhile. The last grail I remember buying was that^ pin and it was sitting on ebay for about $100 with a manufacturing error. The little chipmunks paw was yellow like Snow's dress instead of brown. I wasn't going to pay $100 for a pin that was selling for about $50. So I tried to talk the seller down and since they sell on ebay that wasn't going to happen. I let it go and about a month later it was on ebay as an auction not buy it now. I got it for around $65. Most I ever spent on a pin but it was worth it. Unlike the other pin, it was in perfect condition and is one of the most prized pins in my collection.

That being said, right now I wouldn't be able to afford my grail pin. There are a couple Snow White pins I'd love to own but they are LE100 and are incredibly pricey. They won't be in my collection for a long time. My one Ariel grail back in like 2013 sold for around $45 and I'm now kicking myself I didn't buy it at the time.
 

Congrats!
 

OMG, before BTs got hot, AIW, SITS, and Cinderella would be on ebay for $20 BIN. Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty & Pocahontas were around $30 BIN. I never saw a TLM or BATB BT sitting on ebay.
 
In 2009, we were at the El Capitan. They had the first NINE different BT pins. Lots of each. We bought one each of seven of them. $13.95+tax each.

Of course, if I could’ve seen the future, I’d’ve bought all of them. So while I do have TLM and BATB (and five others), I only have one of each.
 

WOW! I know your pain. I was at El Capitan to watch Tangled with friends and could have bought the marquee at retail. Could have also bought the infamous chair pin (8 of them since there were 4 of us) or 8 of the BatB surprise pin, but only bought 1 of those. They still had BTs there, for regular price, Jungle Book, Hercules, and one other.
 

<whimper> And today you'd be able to pay off school loans, mortgage, whatever you need to by auctioning off the "extras" if you'd bought them. Ha.
 
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