Comments:
Hi guys & Gals,
Real good postings, I'm glad to see some level heads for a change. Keep up the good work, Yes Ive got a copy of COLLECTORHOLICS its a great mag.
By the way, there are now only 7000 planes. This HAS been confirmed. The rest were destroyed on the 1st of October as they were not selling. Fact.
Bye 4 now, Rob.
Mike - 10/15/98 01:46:18
My Email:austcoll@nectar.com.au
Subject: Patience
Country: Australia
Comments:
Well done Matt, very nice posting. We all have to be very careful of how
much to pay for pins, first thing we should remember is how many of the pin
that we are looking for was ever made. Usually pins with the mintage of over
2000 are not very valuable pins. Pin collecting should really be treated as
a hobby and not a quick get rich scheme, but if one really want to collect
pins as an investment beside the fun of it, which I believe it is very easy
to get burnt as the prices will drop dramatically after the games, one at
least have to look for the rare pins, the rarer the better and try to trade
for them not to pay high price for them. A few weeks ago I had an Ansett
plane pin on eBay Auction and one of the very keen pin collectors paid
almost $180 for it. Well, what can I say or do, should I refuse the sell?!!!
It was an auction and my starting price was $9 with no reserve price. He
liked the pin as much as $180, but would that pin worth that much in real
market or not?!! There are 14,000 of that pin made, a pin with such a high
mintage is not rare at all and for me it is just an ordinary pretty pin. I
was actually expecting that pin to go for around $40 to $50. :)
My advise to the collectors is to collect or buy pins as a hobby and before
you pay for them see if you would like the look and the rarity of that pin
for the amount that you are paying for it or not?! The price may go done,
would you still like it if it happen?! A few months ago "Energy Australia
Tower down" pin was sold US$800, (a pin with 2000 mintage!!!!!) but in the
last pin swapmeet some one else sold it for A$250. WOW, what if you paid
US$800 for that and a few months later you see it for A$250 or even less?!
Australian pin collectors are very new in this new game, we got a lot to
learn. But remember, DO NOT GET PARANOID, if you haven't got it now it will
come around later and plenty of them.
By the way I like to take this opportunity to thank Matt for publishing his
excellent magazine, called "COLLECTORHOLICS", it is available in news
agencies at $4.95 each. It is a very useful and educational guide for the
pin collectors as well. Matt keep up the good work.
ALWAYS TRY TO BE FARE TO THE OTHER PARTY WHEN YOU ARE BUYING, SELLING OR
TRADING. THAT IS THE FUN PART OF IT.
Happy Pin Collecting
Mat Maurer - 10/14/98 14:05:34
My Email:Collectomaniacs@msn.com
Subject: Patience
Country: Australia
Comments:
For those collectors who are worried about the price of Sponsor pins, may I suggest that we are all a part of the problem. What I mean is that the reason pins are priced so high, is that there are some people out there who are prepared to pay the prices t
at dealers are demanding.
The buyer is the one who should set the price of a pin....If a pin is being offered at $500, the buyer has the choice of paying this ridiculous amount or not. If more buyers reject the price, the dealer will have to drop the price to get the sale. It all
oils down to supply and demand: If fifty people all want to get a pin and a dealer only has one or two of that pin, then he calls for the highest bidder. The person who wants the pin the most pays the highest price.
It is here that collectors need to learn the art of patience. Do you really need the pin? If someone comes to a swapmeet with a new pin, everyone goes "wow!", but it's highly likely that many more of those pins will show up somewhere along the line. We ar
two years out from the Olympics, and Sponsors haven't even touched the surface as far as making pins goes. If previous games are to go by, then Sponsors will produce enough pins to keep everybody happy.
Have you thought about what will happen in October 2000 and November 2000? How much will your pins be worth after the games? Will your $300 pin rise or fall after the games? Just take a look around the internet to see if any Atlanta, or Barcelona, or any
ther Olympic Games pins are worth hundreds of dollars. Keep looking....because very few pins can maintain their price after the games. Choose wisely and think about the reason you became a pin collector in the first place. It's fun and you get to meet lot
of great people at swapmeets and over the internet, but it can all come crashing down on you if you spend thousands of dollars on those tiny bits of metal that get pinned to your lapel or your pinbag.
I have heard many collectors already saying that they can't keep up with all the pins that are being released! Well folks, if you were trying to do that, by the end of the games in October 2000 you would have purchased about 15000 pins and spent well over
$200,000! So start thinking about which pins you might specialise in, like countdown pins, mascot pins or event pins. It makes it so much more affordable and the kids might start remembering what it was like to eat again!!!!
If you really want to have the most expensive pin out there, you should look at the mintages of pins. The lower the mintage, the higher the price (generally speaking)but in most cases the best way to get a high priced pin is to do a trade. For instance...
Joe Citizen comes to a swapmeet with an IBM Champions pin (roughly 100 were made) which his father gave him for nothing (his dad is a bigwig at IBM). He wants big dollars for this pin because he knows it is the number one pin to get. (he has two!) Another
collector Billy Bobb has a good collection of swaps in his pinbag and offers Joe eight pins. Lets say for example he offers a Westpac reserved seating, a westpac Champion team pin, a Westpac Launch pin (his mum works for Westpac, so all of these pins were
free) and five Fairfax pins that also happen to be reasonably hard pins to get. Joe Citizen likes the idea of getting eight good pins and does the trade. Now Billy has in his possession, the number one pin that was worth around $5-600 for eight pins that
ost him next to nothing!!!! and Joe Citizen just scored himself eight pins!(also for nothing). The moral of this story is to try and keep "actual" prices out of it. There is a difference between price and value and that difference is "YOU" and how you far
you are prepared to go to make a swap.
So the next time someone comes to a swapmeet with a swag of high priced pins, remember it is you who can decide whether the price is too high ("if it's too high-don't buy") and sooner or later the price will become affordable.
Until next time.......
Mike - 10/14/98 03:44:47
My Email:austcoll@nectar.com.au
Subject: Kmart selling countdown pins
Country: Australia
Comments:
Robert, the 700 Days to Go pins meant to be released on Friday 16th October. They are around 50 different retail outlets going to sell them, but some of the new retailers such as K-Mart are not familiar with it and their staff may incorrectly sold them ea
lier! It happened before with the "2 Years to Go" pins as well! They will learn!!?
Happy collecting
Mike
Robert Zalud - 10/14/98 03:29:35
My Email:rzalud@hotmail.com
Subject: 700 days to go pins
Country: Australia
Comments:
Hello all,
I found out yesterday that K-Mart stores had received a batch of 700 days to go pins but that they were sold out on the first day. Does anyone know what day that was? Also, does anyone know where release dates are published in relation to K-Mart sales of
lympic Pins. Were the 700 days to go pins meant to be released on Friday 16th October like the Olympic Store and K-Mart staff incorrectly sold them earlier?
Regards Robert
Rob Lowe - 10/14/98 00:55:45
My Email:roblowe@accsoft.com.au
Subject: Dummy spitters
Country: Australia
Comments:
Hi everyone,
It appears to me that the people that can't get or haven't got certain Pins appear to be the one's that want to spit the dummy (I'm not referring to the people that live outside of Sydney, they are finding it hard enough).
I think if the people (the majority of them live in the Sydney area) that are constantly bagging certain Pins (simply becouse they don't have them) pulled thier heads in, they might get thier hands on these Pins.
I have been to some of the trade meets at the Pin Workx and at times found it to be a bit of a joke the way some people carry on. I am looking for a lot of Pins, however I'm not going to spit the dummy or bag someone's Pin and carry on like a bloody kid a
out it.
Even our Pin friend from the states, Bob , his comment in relation to the cost of certain Pins, I think is a bit of a joke.
I am in cantact with people in the U.S on a weekly basis in refernce to a number of issues and from the information I'm getting it appears to me that the only thing that has changed from past Olympics is that its Sydney's turn.
P.S: I have a "Line 7" Pin I would like to trade for a "1000 days to go" countdown Pin if anyone is interested.
Bye 4 now & happy trading,
Rob.
Bob - 10/13/98 17:24:25
My Email:BobCath@CompuServe.com
Subject: Sydney Pins
Country: USA
Comments:
It's been with great interest that I've read the postings regarding the
madness going on with Sydney sponsor pins. Being from Atlanta, I'm quite
familiar with the artificial "pinflation" which seems to precede the games,
followed by an audible >>pop<< of the balloon afterwards. These Sydney pins
have been inflated way beyond any reasonable worth, probably discouraging
many from even trying to get into pin collecting. Well, as sponsor employees
start putting those pins into circulation, they are going to find that they
are not worth quite what they thought. Too bad--it takes the fun out of it.
Muhammad Gamal - 10/13/98 13:00:21
My Email:gamalm@dot.net.au
Subject: Limited production/edition
Country: Australia
Comments:
Hello to all. I 'd like to attract your attention to the "Get free pin"
copmpetition published in the Sun Herlad last Sunday.There were 250 pins to
be won by calling a 1900 phone number. The newspaper advertised the phone
competition to get a 700 days to go pin for free by describing the pin as a limited production. There was also
a free 699 sleeps pin to be won and the advertisement said "limited edition".I am under the impression that the term "limited" production or edition means a mintage of up to 2500
pins only. Does anyone have concrete information on the exact mintage of the countdown pins the 700 days and the 699 sleeps. My information is that production is going to be 5000 or higher. Was it a journalistic error (ie, the term "limited" used loosely)
or is it really a limited edition/production of both?happy collecting to us all.
Muhammad
Andreas - 10/13/98 12:39:48
My Email:aoknudse@online.no
Subject: ISRAEL NOC`S
Country: NORWAY
Comments:
Hello fellow collectors.
I have a response conserning the Israel Sydney NOC`s
___________________________________________
"But now I am interested to know for fact is that if the Israel/Sydney 2000 NOC pins are
approved by Israel NOC or not?!! There are many collectors who believe these pins are a
definite fake. So if any of you know any thing about them please fell free to post your opinion."
POSTED BY : Mike - 10/13/98 02:49:43
__________________________________________________
That same question has been raised in SLC , and if you go to this address below, you will find a very good article about it:
http://collectpins.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa100697.htm
"It has been confirmed that this pin was legitimately produced for the Israel Olympic Committee at the committee's request. Thus, it isn't bogus or a fake.
It is a real pin, regardless of what the SLCOC thinks about it."
BY LESLIE CHAFFIN; MININGCOMPANY
I belive, though I havent spoke to the Israel Olympic committee, that its the same about the pins produced for SYDNEY 2000.
This was also confirmed by an pintrader and friend from Israel.
I hope this could help :o)
Best regards
Andreas
http://home.sol.no/~snoopie/pin
Les Gaffney - 10/13/98 10:58:50
My Email:ubique@bit.net.au
Subject: Pre order of pins
Country: Australia
Comments:
The Olympic Store in Sydney won't take pre orders
at least,not for us in Brisbane.But Pinworks have
been very good in that regard and I for one
apprecitate it very much.
Les
Grant W. Brookes - 10/13/98 04:44:18
My Email:gbrookes@sanderson.net.au
Subject: Pins outside Sydney
Country: Australia
Comments:
My gripe, up until a few days ago, was that NO pins were on sale anywhere outside Sydney. I can see that there are a few providers on the 'net that attempt to show all the pins that are available, but there is nothing like seeing them first hand. Sure Syd
ey is staging the event, but all of Australia is participating. There was an absolute void down here in Melbourne. I have since found out thet K-Marts are providing a limited number of pins from a limited number of manufacturers. Why is this so?? I joined
the Olympic Club as soon as memberships became available as I want to know everything about the games, events etc, but I may as well be on another planet. Surely the sponsors of the club must be able to see that the memberships are not only in Sydney. I a
very disappointed with the lack of merchandise that I am able to get my hands on.. . There, I've said it... . . . . Oh I feel much better now!!
Grant
Mike - 10/13/98 02:49:43
My Email:austcoll@nectar.com.au
Subject: Fake pins
Country: Australia
Comments:
A few of the collectors have been asking me about the fake Sydney 2000 pins.
Well, so far there have been around 400 official sponsor and 500 generic
pins released within and outside Australia, and not to forget the few fake ones.
There are a few facts that we all should know and consider before buying,
selling or trading pins.
First is to find out who are the official sponsors
or partners of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. If you see Hard Rock Cafe,
Goofy or any other similar pin with Sydney 2000 logo on it, that is
obvious that most probably the pin in not official as they are not even
sponsors of the 2000 games. It is also very unusual to see a combined pin
with few different sponsors, unless they are related such as McDonalds and
Coke (McDonalds sell Coke at their restaurants).
Other point is that not all of all the pins have to be approved by
SOCOG (Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games). Such as the Kodak
Sydney 2000/Nagano bridge pins, which last month Peter brought a few back from
Japan. A few of the collectors were believing that they are fake pins,
but as Kodak is a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games they do not need to
obtain approval from SOCOG, they made that pin to use them for a promotion
in Japan. The same rule will apply to NOC's (National Olympic Committee) of
different countries, as they all belong the same family and are part of the
IOC (International Olympic Committee) they have the right to use the logos
of other members of the Olympic Committee.
Only pins made inside Australia have to get approval from SOCOG
before releasing and it doesn't apply to the pins made outside Australia.
They have to follow the guide lines of SOCOG and they will send a copy of the
pins after making, well SOCOG may get upset later on, but that is the way it works.
But now I am interested to know for fact is that if the Israel/Sydney 2000
NOC pins are approved by Israel NOC or not?!! There are many collectors who believe
these pins are a definite fake. So if any of you know any thing about them please
fell free to post your opinion.
Kevin - 10/12/98 05:54:19
My Email:BQMOS@busiquip.com.au
Subject: Countdown Pins
Country: Australia
Comments:
I refer to David, Les or any other pin collector, which is interested in
countdown pins. You would be able to pre order Sydney 2000 countdown pins by
calling the following Sydney telephone number, call (02) 9262-5225 ask for
Ken, I am sure they will keep some or they may even send you if you give them
your credit card information, I know Pinworkx and Olympic Stores will or use
to pre order as well.
Good Luck,
David Power - 10/11/98 10:08:02
My Email:david.power@hunterlink.net.au
Subject: Olympic Pins
Country: Australia
Comments:
I have to agree with Les that Sydney gets the Lions share of Olympic Pins. I live only 2 hours from Sydney and last year we were good enough to get the 3 years to go pin but this year they only came as far North as the Central Coast. I rang the Sun Hearld
to complain but was greeted by an answering machine.I left a message but it was never returned and the e-mail I sent also went unanswered. I think that ALL pins should be evenly distributed through out Australia. I have trouble obtaining all the "Days to
o and Sleeps" Pins when they are released and when the RTA pin was released I managed to get one and only one. I went to a swap meet the other day and one man had 6 RTA pins to swap. I asked where he got so many and he said he brought them on the day of r
lease and at recommended retail. How fair is this? This week they will open the Stores at midnight and what chance do I have of getting any if they only take an hour to sell out and the stores will be open for 2 hours? Some of us have to work you know! We
l thats my winge for the time being. Until next time Happy Collecting.
Les Gaffney - 10/10/98 08:19:08
My Email:ubique@bit.net.au
Subject: Australia, Swap Meet for Queensland
Country: Australia
Comments:
Thanks for publishing my letter. It is really
great to have a forum to talk about different
issues. Now that Sydney has a venue for
collectors to meet and swap pins with other
collectors, can we organize one for Brisbane?
I am sure there are many collectors up here,
who would like the opportunity to meet other
"pinheads", swap some pins and even some
"horror stories"of swaps gone wrong or of
traps to be avoided when dealing on the
internet.
Please feel free to give me a buzz either
through this forum or e mail me direct.
Les
Les Gaffney - 09/29/98 10:04:23
My Email:ubique@bit.net.au
Subject: Australia, Sydney's Lion share of Pins
Country: Australia
Comments:
I would like to comment on the fact that
Sydney seems to get the lion's share of
Olympic Pins. For example, the offer of pins
by a Sydney tabloid paper, was only
available to people in N.S.W. for the cost
of a paper, but in Brisbane, if one has the
internet, we could pay 10 dollars for the
pin. Also, only Sydney members of the
Olympic Club wre given the opportunity
of obtaining the special pin on offer
on a particular shopping offer.
Anyway, now that is off my chest, I refer to
an article where someone was quoted as
saying they would sell there pins to
Americans for $1000 each. That is pure greed
and that person should be told that
someone will probably put a warning on the
internet so the miserable so and so won't
be able to sell them and it will serve him
right!
Peter Forrest - 09/28/98 02:17:23
My Email:ericorp@ozemail.com.au
Subject: Australia, Why are sponsor pins so hard to get in Sydney?
Country: Australia
Comments:
Every new collector in Sydney is told that "sponsor pins are hot". So naturally they go chasing the sponsors for pins.
What they find is that all sponsor employees have also been told that "sponsor pins are hot", and tenaciously they hang
on to them. I have seen sponsor pins on cards which tell the recipient to "hang on to this valuable item as they will
skyrocket in value during the Olympic Games". Internal memos to employees also encourage this hoarding mentality.
The Australian sponsors have no experience to guide them in this.
My daughter and I once visited the office of a sponsor at Homebush after they had produced a pin to commemorate the
demolition of a tower. "Could we trade for one?" we asked. "Are you crazy, I've got 10 of them, and I'm going to sell
them for $1,000 each to Americans during the Games", came the reply. We struck the same attitude even from
Australian employees of a US based sponsor near the airport only to find we could get the same pin much easier by
writing to their HQ in the States. So, (through no fault of their own) Sydney collectors are finding it very tough to
obtain enough sponsor pins to start pin trading hobby.
My daughter and I started collecting late last year have managed
to scrape together a reasonable bunch of sponsor pins to trade, but at the swap meet on Saturday, we could only do one
trade. We were approached many times by new collectors (and some dealers) wanting to buy pins. It is because of this
difficulty of obtaining sponsor pins that many Sydney pin collectors have turned to countdown pins.
At the Olympic Games, if you are American pin collector, be prepared for a lot of sponsor employees approaching you
with their pins chasing you for a fair few of those valuable US dollars, that is unless we Australian collectors can't
shake them down and put a lid on the spiral first.
http://www.forestconfectionery.com