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So You Want To Start Collecting Pins But Haven't A Clue Where To Start Here Are Some Tips To Help You Start On Your Journey |
| First off the main thing to remember
about pin collecting/trading is that this hobby is more than just about
pins. It is about fun and it provides a great way to meet people
worldwide and make some great new friends. You may meet someone someday
that may not speak the same language as you but you will find the pins
will talk for themselves. A friendly smile, a handshake and a pin trade
is all it takes to make a new friend. Remember the main rule of trading
is not getting the better deal out of the trade but being able to
exchange pins that both parties are happy to add to their collection.
Since you are reading this you already have access to one of the greatest tools for pin collecting, the Internet. The Internet contains vast resources for everyone including pin collectors. Here we will provide you with some insight on places to visit, tips for searching the net, places to look outside the Internet and just some general advice. Lets get started with some great sites to visit. Leslie Chaffin has one of the most informative sites for pin collectors on the Net. You can find her at The Mining Company where you will find articles on tips for trading on the Internet., trading values for various Olympic related pins, the Nettiquette Guide to the rules of trading on the Internet and many more. She also offers a bulletin board where you can post messages for other traders to read You will also find some great links to pin related sites and there is also a chat room available. She also provides contact information for people who don't have a website and a list of recommended pin traders. Leslie also provides a calendar of upcoming pin shows countrywide. This site is a must for all pin collectors. The next great site is run by Larry and Susan Rosenberg. PinHeads is a fantastic site for anyone infected with PinFever. Here you will find some great tools to strengthen your Internet search for pins. They offer a variety of bulletin boards where you can post messages, a chat room that can get very busy on Sundays, links to other great sites, pictures from various pin events and an ongoing auction for various pins. Also available is their email service that you can join and receive constant email from collectors worldwide. This site is also a must for all pin collectors. Another site to check out is run by Rick Amari. Wreckme's is a great site with a large variety of Olympic related pins available for sale and trading. Rick also runs a weekly auction that provides a great way to pick up some great pins at sometimes a great bargain. You also will find links to over 100 pin related sites. Rick has a 12 year old daughter, Amy, who started collecting in Atlanata, loves the internet, and loves to trade. If you want to trade with Rick make sure you let him know you are a KidsZone pinner because he has a spot for trading with kids. Check out Rick's site you'll have some fun. Yet another site will will be very helpful is run by Bill Papa. Pintrader's Paradise is another great place to find the pins you want, beside Bill is a push over for you kids. He provides link to other great sites on the Net along with information on other collectors. He also has links to The Collector bulletin board service and if you want to keep up with news on the Olympics he has a link to that as well. A great site to visit is Bill Nelson Newsletter/Inner Circle Letter On-line. Not only is this a great site to find pins at a great price but he also publishes two great newsletters each month. Also if you email them they will send you two free newsletters. For you kids, beginning collectors and seasoned pin veterans this is a must see site and a newsletter that everyone should belong to. If you need to find a pin that you are dying to get but can't find it then you need to contact the Sherlock Holmes of pin searching. Her name is Judy Jay. Besides being able to find that hidden pin Judy is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to pins. Judy doesn't have a website but she is only an email away. So if you need information on a certain pin or need to find one give Judy a try. Here is a little trivia information her son was Izzy the mascot for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic. Another great way to find sites about pins is to use a search engine. Search engine are like an index to a book. You type in key words you are looking for and they search the internet looking for sites realted to what you type. Try to use as many keywords in your search as possible. If you just type the word pin, you will get thousands and thousands of sites. But if you use keywords like Donald Duck Pins your results will be fewer sites to check and more likely sites that will have what you are looking for. Below is a list of links to some of the major search engines on the net. 1st Search AltaVista Excite HotBot InforSeek Internet Sleuth Lycos Magellan Matilda Starting Point Super Snoop Webcrawler What U Seek Yahoo |
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