starting over

[biggins]

Hi everyone. I have been collecting pins since 2002, not seriously like sets and knowing their value but just what I loved. I lost all of my pins in superstorm sandy which was sad but I am determined to start over. I just came back from my first trip since the storm and took my 4 year old, so it was really ok starting over because now I get to have him involved and he has his favorites etc.. so I found out there are pins on eBay, and I'm not trying to malign the people who sell there, i was just looking to see if some of my favorites were still around. I was shocked to see the price of some of these now but I guess thats the reality.. I am torn between trying to replace some of my favorites and just moving forward. For example, I loved the Alice tea time grand floridian pin and I couldn't believe the price! not to mention all my stitch pins and halloween pins. Sorry for the longwinded sad tale, so my question is, are there other places to look for old pins or pin events where i could look besides eBay? I'm not looking to buy some big lot of fake pins, I'm looking for specific beloved pins that I bought myself in disney 2002-2009. I live in Long beach ny if that helps with proximity for pin events.. Thanks for any help or advice!

[kswiz]

Sorry for the loss of your pins-- that is a real bummer :-( Unfortunately, over the past several years pin "trading" seems to have become a business for many people which has resulted in unbelievable prices. But fortunately there are still a lot of good people who are traders, in it for the fun of trading. A few suggestions:

- Join Pinpics.com - you might be able to trade for some of the pins you like.
- You might want to hit the "Forum" link at the top of Pinpics and monitor those.
- There is also DisneyPinForum.com
- If you are on Facebook, there are many Disney pin trading groups there also, e.g., Pin Junkies. You can post what you are looking for and someone may sell at a reasonable price.
- I think there are also several pin trading groups in New Jersey, e.g., North Jersey Disney Pin Traders (seem to meet at Paramus Park Mall on a monthly basis, including Friday, 4/22; http://www.meetup.com/North-Jersey-Disney-Pin-Traders/)
- And, monitor eBay-- sometimes you do get lucky and find a reasonable seller.

Best of luck in your quest!

[deedee73]

So sorry for the loss of all your pins. I would definitely keep looking. Strangely have you considered sending a letter to Disney. While they get not be able to replace your old pins maybe they could spend some Disney magic your way and you might get a special pin that you could start over with. So I guess my answer is do both...start over but keep a watchful eye bc you never know when you will see a pin pop up.

[biggins]

Thank you both!! The north jersey pin events are close enough that I would be able to go sometime, and I joined their group. Again, thanks for the information and encouragement.