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About LinkBacksWhat evidence do you have that they are making more of a pin then they say they are? Couldn't these pins that you see being sold by resellers be fakes, or a pin that the reseller bought on clearance? If not, why not?
What evidence do you have that they are making more of a pin then they say they are? Couldn't these pins that you see being sold by resellers be fakes, or a pin that the reseller bought on clearance? If not, why not?
Because a "limited edition" pin with a release of supposedly less than 1,000 units that is cited online by reputable sources as being "sold out" but is listed at significantly less than retail value by several long-time reputable sellers with no negative feedback and who are clearly not selling fakes, would not be a clearance item.
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Well that makes a bit more sense. Could you show me an example or 2 of this? Maybe post a link from ebay or something? That way I can see what you are talking about.Originally Posted by TheHatboxGhost
Just go look for yourself. They're all over Ebay — and elsewhere. It's not that hard to spot the people who may be selling counterfeits vs. the honest sellers, because one simply uses a picture of the pin that was nabbed from a Disney or other website while the other uploads photos of the actual item for sale.
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so is your argument that Disney is making extra of an LE pin, then reselling to ebay sellers at a discount?
Is it possible that they have been unable to sell the pin they bought and are selling at a loss just to get rid of it?
Not "a" limited edition pin, ALL of them and for a long time. And not just to Ebay sellers. But again, and as expressed by me several times now, these are only my suspicions, based on what I've observed. I have no hard evidence, just my own reasoning and logic. But I don't think that my conclusions are far flung.
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Well it could be I guess. I certainly am not convinced of it. I think there are other more likely answers, like some of those that I have already posted. Like you said, it would be pretty hard to prove your theory.
A sold-out pin??
A popular sold-out pin???
No. Not at all.
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A sold out pin? Yes
A popular sold out pin? I would need a specific example or 2.
No one is going to relist repeatedly a popular sold-out pin at below retail cost. And that has been the case with pins that, on close examination, appear to be authentic and are sold by established vendors who stand behind their merchandise and have glowing feedback. Once, I asked a seller how he could do this and his reply was that he gets his pins at below cost so he passes on the savings. Some of these pins are WDI release pins with supposed limited editions of 300 units only.
So, what does that tell you?
Before you ask me again for an example, I'm not going to point my finger at honest people who are supplementing their incomes during tough times. As I said, all you have to do is look for yourself. You will find what I'm talking about. And, in my opinion, it is evidence that Disney is likely producing a far greater number than they claim of their limited edition pins.
Last edited by TheHatboxGhost; 11-02-2009 at 11:05 AM. Reason: grammar.
H. B. GHOST wants YOU to be one of the 999 who sign:
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It tells me that what you say is possible. Still I would need some specific examples, links to actual ebay auctions with popular sold out pins a a significant reduction in price. How much of a discount are we talking about? 10%? 25%? 50%? more? If it is only a dollar or 2 i can see that happening. If it is like $6 for a popular LE300 $12 pin, then I might just agree with you.
Edit: Just read your post about not posting an example. Don't worry about it.
I've seen some start as low as $0.99 with no reserve!
H. B. GHOST wants YOU to be one of the 999 who sign:
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Yes, but popular sold out pins are often started at $0.99 to generate interest, since the seller knows people will bid. This is obviously a calculated risk that occasionally back fires on a seller, but these volume sellers typically come out ahead over the course of hundreds of such auctions.
I want to clarify an earlier comment. I have never seen something with very low edition size (WDI LE300 for instance) sell for less than original retail UNLESS it is old and someone just wants to clear it out of inventory, or they got it in trade for a good deal. For instance, having spent a lot of time in the park recently trading, I have observed quite a few traders who get people to trade them LE pins from the stores for pins they clearly did not pay as much for as the pins they are getting. These people are obviously trading with the intent of reselling the pin later. They can justify selling it for a low price because they did not pay retail for it themselves.
I tend to agree with Mellonballer. I can't imagine Disney risking the legal ramifications of making and selling more than advertised on Limited Edition pins. They make Millions every year on the legitimate sale of pins, partly because of the fact that people like owning something that not everyone can own.
Just my humble opinion.
I have been thinking Disney has been doing this since June of this year. There was a Haunted Mansion Doombuggy set with 200 full sets of ten pins available. They were placed in mystery boxes limited to 1000. Shortly after opening the boxes I found there were both silver and red versions of the same pin. Very odd...Disney did not advertise in any way there were two sets as part of the edition size. It was later confirmed by Disney there were 40 red sets (40th anniversary of the Mansion). But what was never confirmed, although asked, was whether this 40 was part of the 200 or in addition to the 200 making it 240 sets and 1010 boxes total.
From what I observed that weekend at the Pin Trading Event I know of 15 confirmed red sets of doombuggies plus scores of all-silver and mixed sets. 15 sets among close friends is too massive a number for the odds of obtaining an LE 40 random set. Not only that, but two of the above mentioned friends were able to put together multiple sets of red. So 13 people put 15 random LE 40 sets together.
For me this is beyond any inconceiveable notion of Disney producing the said amounts.
In addition to the doombuggies Disney produced a few LE 999 pins, who in their right mind actually believes this edition size??
I have been trading for nearly five years now and I have never questioned the legitamacy of pins before this year but as prices rise, edition sizes inflate, with more pins being shared with more locations (DLR, WDW, Burbank Studios get the same pins) it makes it very tough to believe the edition sizes.
But the point is: Prove it! It cannot be proven without rounding up every single pin of an edition size. Odds are in Disney's favor to produce more because no one person will ever prove that is what is happening. It's beyond me to even try.
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