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I've been tossing and turning on how to approach this, so here is my question, to pin makers specifically: how do you feel about the current market revolving around whose pins resell the best? Because I think we have a(n interesting but bad) problem on our hands.
I think a lot about the thread on reddit (now deleted) commenting on the current dmca situation with a lot of people going "these fans are just making these pins out of pure passion, it's nothing to the companies" and all I can think is "you don't buy anime pins huh."
Pins went from $8-10 average to $12-15 to now, for a very nice pin mind you! You can see them going for $25-35 as a baseline, depending on detail, methods used, etc. I've seen higher. I know of artists who ask for $100.
And on the one hand: pins are a huge up front investment, I would know. The risk of duds is high. And also artists should get paid for their work because hell yeah.
But.
But.
Look, my pin resale is ultimately beans. I'm not a heavy hitter pin maker. Which is a weird statement but my work doesn't get marked up to $65-90 PER PIN via third party.
PER PIN, HOLD THIS NUMBER IN YOUR HEAD.
PER PIN, HOLD THIS NUMBER IN YOUR HEAD.
If I asked that price of my work, that I didn't even make by hand, just designed, I would get roasted. But resellers often ask these prices (started with Disney pins!) And get them because of intense fandom, fomo, and collector mania which has been here for centuries.
I find it all fascinating and...depressing? It's an artificial scarcity created to not draw attention, which in turn creates MORE attention. You make low amounts in order to not risk leftovers, resulting in further stress over pin drops. You can crank up the price as a result.
And because of these limited amounts to try and play by perceived "rules" the third party market value goes up because who would part with such a rare thing?
People who know they can resell it to desperate fans who will pay double.
People who know they can resell it to desperate fans who will pay double.
And suddenly you have created an entire economy of large amounts of money going to everyone except the IP holder. If they asked for 90$ a pin they'd be roasted too, and yet thousands on thousands of dollars are swimming around right now just for pins.
I'd be pissed too.
I'd be pissed too.
In trying to "respect" IP boundaries we created a system with items higher valued than official goods and that's wild and also where "it doesn't hurt the companies" turns to dust and floats away in the wind and that's a lot to think about. And it's pin specific!
And like look don't get me wrong, destash is one thing. People get rid of stuff they don't need all the time, I've sold pins I've cleared out of my collection.
I'm just looking at the math and feel like I'm losing my mind.
I'm just looking at the math and feel like I'm losing my mind.
I'm already seeing confusion on if I'm talking about resale or IP and the answer is: both, because it's becoming more and more tangled up and a Big Mess. Everyone plays by the "rules" until they decide not to. I wonder how long this can be sustained.
At this point I'm more curious what other people think because I don't really have a leg in that market in that way and I want to see if I'm just overthinking it. We've come a long way from random collective of kitsch soft enamel to "this pin has LEDs and a cup holder."
