A Tale of Trades

Pin Trading

The year is 1999. With the millennium approaching, Disney introduced to the world pin trading. I don’t know if they were aware of how big that would become, or it would fizzle out like other fads. But this one has still stayed strong!

What is so cool/unique/fascinating about pin trading?
With Disney pin trading, you can collect pins from either your favorite movie, Disney attraction, and even character. So your collection can be personalized to what exactly YOU want. Also there are special Hidden Mickey pins that you can only acquire by trading with Disney cast members.

Trading Tips

• Buy starter packs. Buying single pins can cost you a pretty penny, starter packs give you a little more pins for a grouped price.
• You can trade with any cast member that has a black lanyard around their neck, or  hip lanyard. Green/teal lanyards mean the cast member can only trade with kids 12 and under.
• You can only trade 2 pins per cast member per day. For example, you can only trade 2 pins cast member Suzy in any one day. After your two trades with her you can move on to another cast member.
• You can ONLY trade Disney pins. (Seems obvious enough, but just in case the question arrises.)

Disney has pin trading etiquette available.

Also on their website are pin trading FAQ.

Vinylmation

There is now, a new neighbor in the town of trading. These are Vinylmations. While they are not as easily transported as pins are able to be (Can you imagine trying to carry around like 12 of those of your neck all day?), they are unique in their own way. They are the little Mickey Mouse figures that are designed all differently to represent something else.

Vinylmations come in series, like groups, and they are classified by the specific series they are in. For example one of the “on-going” sets are the Park Series, which, like the name implies, are things taken from the parks. There are 12 different Vinylmations in a series 11 of them being known and 1 mystery chaser. The thing is that the sets are limited, and the mystery chaser is even more limited than the individuals in the set.

How do I know what I got? 

You don’t. Until you open the box, and you can’t open the box until you buy it. So it’s pretty much the luck of the draw. There are also sets that are open box, which means there is a little window in the box so that you are able to see which Vinylmation you are choosing.

How big are these things?

They come in the sizes. The normal series come in 3 inch figures, with each series a couple of 9 inch figures are released, and there are also the Vinylmation Jr. which are 1.5 inches and have the ability to be a keychain.

Can I trade these?

Yes! You can trade the regular Vinylmations and in some places even the Vinylmation Jr.’s. There is no trading on the 9 inch figures.

Soooooooooo how do you trade them?

There are two options for this. Clear and blind box trading. Some stores have these large black boxes numbered. You pick a number and then whatever is behind that door you trade for. Again, luck of the draw. The clear boxes contain 3 different figures that you can see and can pick to trade from.

So who is the better of the two? I can tell you that for years the big breadwinner is the pins, but they’ve also been around for years. I honestly like them both though. I have pins and vinyls. They both are different and unique in they’re own way. For example in pins I collect ALL figment pins, with Vinylmation I collect only the ones that I like or mean something to me. My friend Nicole on the other hand also collects a specific character in pins, Minnie Mouse, and with Vinylmation she likes to pick a set she likes them all and then tries to complete the set. So your collection can vary depending on your specific tastes.

What’s in your collection???