Pin Trading Database
A Guide to Pin Selling on PTDB - Printable Version

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A Guide to Pin Selling on PTDB - starry_solo - 08-28-2013

These are my thoughts only about buying pins on DPB (and anywhere else, other than ebay). Remember, past performance is NOT a guarantee of future results.

Paying with a credit card (US sellers & buyers)

If you are in the US and the seller is in the US, pay as goods with a credit card. That way you have PayPal buyer protection and, if they don't side with you, you have protection with your credit card company. Make sure you have a CONFIRMED shipping address. Make sure to add extra money for the fee if you pay as goods.

Sellers ask for buyers to pay as gifts so no fee is incurred but if you're already paying with a credit card, you would click the "sender pays fee" (because a fee is charged by PayPal when paying with a credit card) so you might as well pay as goods and send the extra fee along.

If you pay as goods, make sure you are verified and have a CONFIRMED shipping address (this is for seller and buyer protection.)

How to Calculate The Fee

Use the fee calculator at this website:
http://www.thefeecalculator.com

Paying with a credit card when one person is not in the US

If either party is out of the country, then you will need to determine whether you want to pay for trackable shipping (the only way the seller will take PayPal as goods). Trackable shipping is pricey (can be $10-20) so think long and hard as to whether the pin is worth it (if you pay as goods). Otherwise, if it’s a small amount that you can "afford" to lose if the pin doesn't show up, then gift should be okay.

Paying as a gift

If the seller insists on getting payment as a gift to avoid the fee and you are okay with it (again, I wouldn't recommend it), pay with a credit card and click the portion that says "sender pays fee." That way, you still have your credit card company to fall back upon.  You do not need to calculate/send extra money to the seller to cover the fees since you will be covering them yourself.  Make sure to also put in the "notes" section what you are sending payment for, along with your user name and mailing address.

International shipping

This is very pricey: 

A customs tag is used and a value has to be declared. This value is subjective when trading (original retail price versus what it is selling for on ebay) but when selling, it is usually the price sold for. There are customs duties (to the recipient) that is associated with obtaining the item so this needs to be taken into account as well. There is a customs tag/receipt that we are provided with a trackable number that is ONLY trackable within the US. This trackable number is not meant to be used as a substitute for actual trackable shipping (trackable outside the US.)

Check Feedback as a Seller

Check feedback and his or her posts on DPB (use the search feature). A lot of people have no qualms about complaining about their treatment by other DPB members so this is a good tool to use.

You can check feedback left for a specific individual as a seller and as a buyer. The cumulative feedback score is for sales, purchases, and trades! Also, check to see how recently the feedback was left from buyers.

Again, remember, past performance is NOT a guarantee of future results. It is better to be safe (pay as goods with a credit card) than sorry.

Communication is the key

Be communicative and before agreeing to send payment, make sure you get a timeline for when the pin(s) will be shipped. Always ask for a delivery confirmation or signature confirmation number. If the seller wants to charge you extra for either option, look at the overall price and if you're okay with it for the pin, great; don't penny pinch for these added costs.

Delivery Confirmation (DC) or Signature Confirmation (SC)

Use delivery confirmation or signature confirmation (explanations below). You can get delivery confirmation for free if you use PayPal Shipping Assistant or USPS Shipping Assistant (aka Click ‘n Ship for Business), which requires you to download the program onto your hard drive/desktop.

For the seller, there is also the option of using a pre-paid label (you can do this through PayPal Shipping Assistant and possibly stamps.com)! Plus, for some odd reason, shipping costs using one of these methods is cheaper than going to the post office.  

With PayPal Shipping Assistant (click on Multi-Order Shipping to pull it up), you get a receipt which the post office can stamp with its postmark.  Some postal workers will refuse to stamp it because it's paid for online but make sure you get a scanned receipt for pre-paid mail acceptance.

The seller can also use Click 'n Ship for Business (a downloadable program from the USPS), formerly known as USPS Shipping Assistant, and get free DC as well (but pay for postage in person). If the seller uses PayPal Shipping Assistant and/or stamps.com, I recommend the seller take the package to the post office and get a scanned receipt for pre-paid mail acceptance. With Click 'n Ship for Business, you get a receipt which the post office can stamp with its postmark.  But, the seller should still be able to get a printed receipt which shows the items were scanned for acceptance.

I like to color my label to correspond with what the post office uses. For example, for the DC label, I use a green highlighter. For the SC label, I use a pink highlighter. Those are the two colors that the post office labels are (DC used to be green.) I don’t know if it causes the post office to remember to scan them, but that’s why I do it.

Pre-sales

There have been a lot of people asking for pre-sales and pre-trades on the forum. This is a great idea to help others who aren’t close to the parks to get new pins. However, it is a good idea to have everything in writing so that there are no disappointments.

For sales: Does the “seller” want the money up-front? If so, how many days in advance?

Types of Pins – Mystery Boxes

For example, mystery pins/boxes are non-refundable and non-returnable. If the buyer wants to try to get the whole set of mystery pins, does the buyer want them unopened? Does the buyer want the box intact? Does the buyer want the seller to open the boxes and try to trade for the missing pins at the park?

Piece of Disney Movies

Another example is the Piece of Disney Movies pins. For a long while, we at DLR have heard that the ratio between the two parks is 1500 at WDW and 500 at DLR. But it appears to have shifted with the Steamboat Willie release so that the pins are equally distributed (1000 per park). Is the seller offering you a specific scene for the price? Or is it just random? If random, the buyer should determine whether he or she will be happy with whatever scene he or she obtains for the agreed upon price. If random and the seller has multiple sales, perhaps the seller can just “blind box” them. That is, each is wrapped up and sealed in their own individual bubble envelopes, jumble the envelopes together and randomly select an envelope for a label.

As mentioned above, communication is the key.

For those who aren’t charter members, we are limited in the number of PMs we can keep in our boxes. So, it might be a good idea to exchange email addresses.

Pre-trades

If pre-trading for mystery boxes or any other pin that is non-refundable/non-returnable, what do you do? Is this a pin that you could “live with” if the trade doesn’t go through?

If pre-trading for PODMS, make sure you communicate well as to whether the recipient of the PODM will get to choose the PODM amongst the scenes the other gets or whether it is random. And, make it very clear so that neither party is upset at the end.

What I do

I rarely pre-trade because my collection is limited and I don’t like to be stuck with a pin that I don’t want if it is a non-returnable pin or is too late to return. I will sometimes pre-trade with pins that I can get at the parks that may be good traders, but again, I don’t like to be stuck with a pin I don’t want, so that is rare.

I have no problem buying someone a pin at the park as long as they pay the cost of the pin, tax & shipping to them. I expect payment at least one business day prior to the release, by a set time (because I stop checking email, PMs, and PayPal after a certain time and there’s no guarantee that I’ll have time to check the day of the release). I typically only do this for US residents only.

For payment, I prefer PayPal gift but will also take PayPal goods and charge an amount to cover the fee that PayPal charges (I usually round up to the nearest whole $). Payment as goods requires a confirmed shipping address in the US. For payment as goods, if I am unable to deliver, I refund the money promptly. However, I have since learned that even for refunded payments as goods, PayPal will still charge the 30-35 cents transaction fee and only reverse the 3% added fee. So, the buyer is informed of this information and is willing to risk the 30-35 cents, then I provide my information for PayPal payment.

Shipping

It is a good idea to communicate to the person immediately to let them know when you will be shipping. 

I think my feedback speaks for itself.  But, if it's a high dollar amount and you're buying from someone that's not local to you and may have had issues in the past here on DPB, it's better to be safe than sorry and pay as goods!

Shipping Supplies

If you are shipping in bulk, you can get inexpensive supplies from eBay or other online stores.  You can usually get 0, 00, or 000 envelopes for a very good deal (500 of them for $30-40 shipped, which comes out to no more than $0.08 per padded envelope!).  I prefer to use the manila colored padded envelopes, instead of the grey ones.  You can also re-use any padded envelopes you may already have from trades and/or purchases.

If you have heavy items, consider using Priority Mail through the United States Postal Service (USPS) and you can get FREE Priority Mail supplies at your local post office or via USPS's website at: http://www.usps.com.  If your buyer is located within the same zone as you (postal zone), you may consider using the non-flat rate boxes (check your post office for supplies as most of the ones available on the USPS website are flat-rate only).  Flat rate is a good deal IF you ship heavy items and the package is being mailed across the country.

The USPS also offers free priority mail flat rate padded envelopes!

Final Thoughts

For the most part, I will send as goods because I always pay with my credit card. I rarely have any funds in my PayPal account

Remember, past performance is NOT a guarantee of future results.


RE: A Guide to Pin Selling on DPB - marshim - 12-30-2017

Any chance that these thoughts might get update as things have changed since 2013


RE: A Guide to Pin Selling on DPB - starry_solo - 04-12-2019

(12-30-2017, 01:04 PM)marshim Wrote: Any chance that these thoughts might get update as things have changed since 2013

Of course


UPDATED: A Guide to Pin Selling on DPB - starry_solo - 04-12-2019

These are my thoughts only about buying pins on DPB (and anywhere else, other than ebay). Remember, past performance is NOT a guarantee of future results.

Paying with a credit card (US sellers & buyers)

If you are in the US and the seller is in the US, pay as goods with a credit card. That way you have PayPal buyer protection and, if they don't side with you, you have protection with your credit card company. Make sure you have a CONFIRMED shipping address. Make sure to add extra money for the fee if you pay as goods.

Sellers ask for buyers to pay as gifts so no fee is incurred but if you're already paying with a credit card, you would click the "sender pays fee" (because a fee is charged by PayPal when paying with a credit card) so you might as well pay as goods and send the extra fee along.

If you pay as goods, make sure you are verified and have a CONFIRMED shipping address (this is for seller and buyer protection.)

How to Calculate The Fee

Use the fee calculator at this website:
http://www.thefeecalculator.com

Paying with a credit card when one person is not in the US

If either party is out of the country, then you will need to determine whether you want to pay for trackable shipping (the only way the seller will take PayPal as goods). Trackable shipping is pricey (can be $30 minimum for a guaranteed tracking method, not just using the customs number) so think long and hard as to whether the pin is worth it (if you pay as goods). Otherwise, if it’s a small amount that you can "afford" to lose if the pin doesn't show up, then gift should be okay.

Paying as a gift

If the seller insists on getting payment as a gift to avoid the fee and you are okay with it (again, I wouldn't recommend it), pay with a credit card and click the portion that says "sender pays fee." That way, you still have your credit card company to fall back upon. You do not need to calculate/send extra money to the seller to cover the fees since you will be covering them yourself. Make sure to also put in the "notes" section what you are sending payment for, along with your user name and mailing address.

International shipping

This is very pricey: $14 minimum, using the customs tag/number as a "tracking" number which is not always reliable.

A customs tag is used and a value has to be declared. This value is subjective when trading (original retail price versus what it is selling for on ebay) but when selling, it is usually the price sold for. There are customs duties (to the recipient) that is associated with obtaining the item so this needs to be taken into account as well. There is a customs tag/receipt that we are provided with a trackable number that is ONLY trackable within the US. This trackable number is not meant to be used as a substitute for actual trackable shipping (trackable outside the US.)

Check Feedback as a Seller

Check feedback and his or her posts on DPB (use the search feature). A lot of people have no qualms about complaining about their treatment by other DPB members so this is a good tool to use.

You can check feedback left for a specific individual as a seller and as a buyer. The cumulative feedback score is for sales, purchases, and trades! Also, check to see how recently the feedback was left from buyers.

Again, remember, past performance is NOT a guarantee of future results. It is better to be safe (pay as goods with a credit card) than sorry.

Communication is the key

Be communicative and before agreeing to send payment, make sure you get a timeline for when the pin(s) will be shipped. Always ask for a delivery confirmation or signature confirmation number. If the seller wants to charge you extra for either option, look at the overall price and if you're okay with it for the pin, great; don't penny pinch for these added costs.

Delivery Confirmation (DC) or Signature Confirmation (SC)

If one is shipping directly from the post office, tracking is now free!  Signature confirmation still costs money (approximately $3) so it may be worth it to use for high valued items....however, INSURANCE is better to use, in case of loss.

With PayPal Shipping Assistant (www.paypal.com/shipnow), you get a receipt which the post office can stamp with its postmark. Some postal workers will refuse to stamp it because it's paid for online but make sure you get a scanned receipt for pre-paid mail acceptance.

I like to color my label to correspond with what the post office uses. For example, for tracking, I use a green highlighter because that is what the post office used to use for delivery confirmation. For the SC label, I use a pink highlighter. Those are the two colors that the post office labels are (DC used to be green.) I don’t know if it causes the post office to remember to scan them, but that’s why I do it.

Pre-sales

There have been a lot of people asking for pre-sales and pre-trades on the forum. This is a great idea to help others who aren’t close to the parks to get new pins. However, it is a good idea to have everything in writing so that there are no disappointments. 

For sales: Does the “seller” want the money up-front? If so, how many days in advance?

Types of Pins – Mystery Boxes

For example, mystery pins/boxes are non-refundable and non-returnable. If the buyer wants to try to get the whole set of mystery pins, does the buyer want them unopened? Does the buyer want the box intact? Does the buyer want the seller to open the boxes and try to trade for the missing pins at the park?

As mentioned above, communication is the key.

Pre-trades

If pre-trading for mystery boxes or any other pin that is non-refundable/non-returnable, what do you do? Is this a pin that you could “live with” if the trade doesn’t go through? 

What I do

I rarely pre-trade because my collection is limited and I don’t like to be stuck with a pin that I don’t want if it is a non-returnable pin or is too late to return. I will sometimes pre-trade with pins that I can get at the parks that may be good traders, but again, I don’t like to be stuck with a pin I don’t want, so that is rare.

I have no problem buying someone a pin at the park as long as they pay the cost of the pin, tax & shipping to them. I expect payment at least one business day prior to the release, by a set time (because I stop checking email, PMs, and PayPal after a certain time and there’s no guarantee that I’ll have time to check the day of the release). I typically only do this for US residents only.

For payment, I prefer PayPal gift but will also take PayPal goods and charge an amount to cover the fee that PayPal charges (I usually round up to the nearest whole $). Payment as goods requires a confirmed shipping address in the US. For payment as goods, if I am unable to deliver, I refund the money promptly. However, I have since learned that even for refunded payments as goods, PayPal will still charge the 30-35 cents transaction fee and only reverse the 3% added fee. So, the buyer is informed of this information and is willing to risk the 30-35 cents, then I provide my information for PayPal payment.

Shipping

Due to my work, I can typically only ship 1 or 2 days a week. If for some odd reason, I cannot ship during these times (meetings or something), I communicate to the person immediately to tell them that something came up and let them know when it will be shipped. I now use the PayPal Shipping Assistant so I have to wait until the label prints out before I can provide the tracking number.

I think my feedback speaks for itself. But, if it's a high dollar amount and you're buying from someone that's not local to you and may have had issues in the past here on PTDB, it's better to be safe than sorry and pay as goods!

Shipping Supplies

If you are shipping in bulk, you can get inexpensive supplies from eBay or other online stores. You can usually get 0, 00, or 000 envelopes for a very good deal (500 of them for $30-40 shipped, which comes out to no more than $0.08 per padded envelope!). I prefer to use the manila colored padded envelopes, instead of the grey ones. You can also re-use any padded envelopes you may already have from trades and/or purchases.

If you have heavy items, consider using Priority Mail through the United States Postal Service (USPS) and you can get FREE Priority Mail supplies at your local post office or via USPS's website at: http://www.usps.com. If your buyer is located within the same zone as you (postal zone), you may consider using the non-flat rate boxes (check your post office for supplies as most of the ones available on the USPS website are flat-rate only). Flat rate is a good deal IF you ship heavy items and the package is being mailed across the country.

The USPS also offers free priority mail flat rate padded envelopes!

Final Thoughts

For the most part, I will send as goods because I always pay with my credit card. I rarely have any funds in my PayPal account 

Remember, past performance is NOT a guarantee of future results.