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Hidden Mickey Valuation
ItzaPinfan
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Okay gang had a question and would love to hear your thoughts.
Again relatively new to this pin game, under a year, and my hidden Mickey game has only just emerged as I’m starting to get confident in spotting fakes/scrapper etc.
So, when I trade for hidden mickeys in park I have a handful of booster pins etc that i find on sale for about $2/pin. All are authentic and makes it affordable for me to trade for hidden mickeys on boards and with cast members. So based on this I pretty much value the hidden mickeys I have at about $2/pin since that’s what I paid for it.
So I was in negotiation for a trade, my pin was worth $30 LE, theirs worth $20 OE so I go throw in three hidden mickeys as a kicker, I thought more than generous. They got offended on the trade request I think and I wonder if perhaps I’m under valuing them? I noticed too that hidden mickeys can come in packs that are $12.99 for two pins so that means they value at least at $6.50?
So confused. Your perspective and experience would be appreciated. I asked the other trader to clarify how they value their HM but not sure they will respond. Also does it matter the set? I was looking at the diamond collection, plus i see there are these unfilled ones and then these others that I think are completers that aren’t like in the flyers to complete the sets.
I thought I had a handle of it but seems like this Padawan still has much to learn...so I decided to ask the council....
)
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I don’t know about others on the forum and this is totally my opinion on Hidden Mickeys. I value most HMs around 5-7 dollars about what they cost. I have paid $15 with shipping for the Abu completer when it first appeared in packs as I really wanted it. It is probably one of the few HM I’ve purchased. I really prefer trading for them.
I have a hard time valuing pins so I like to trade with categories HM for HM, mystery set pin for mystery set pin, and so on. I think everyone values them differently especially how new a pin is to the market affects its value. I just saw some of the newest HMs selling around $20-$25 on the auction site.
Also, I try not to get offended at offers and I hope others aren’t offended at my offers. I have certain pins that I have “earmarked” in my mind for other pins. I hope the trader responds to you and your trade works.
I do know that some pins (and sets) are more highly prized due to character or theme. Good luck.
It really depends on the pin. Some of the more popular ones can go for between $10-30. The less popular ones you can get for a few bucks. Complete sets can go from anywhere from $10-60 (maybe higher?). Like all pins, it really depends on the character.
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Agree with the usually trading "like for like," because of the variation of how people get them. I lean toward valuing them in the $5-7 range since that's what they cost for authentic ones in the packs. Some people only get their HMs that way, because of authenticity reasons. Others that trade cheap pins (or unfortunately scrappers) will probably trade them a little more freely, but I don't think we should assume that they would be valued less. So I would ask if the person got their HMs in packs, and then trade accordingly.
The completers, only found in the packs, I think are more like $10-$15 because it's not a guaranteed pull. Rarity matters in this case.
bookhugger
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ItzaPinfan
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Thanks everyone this is so helpful. I really appreciate it.
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Agree with points made. I view them around $5 unless they are older ones that you simply can't get these days. But I very much agree with the whole like-for-like rather than $ focus (within reason). Just the fact that you were offering an LE for an OE says to me they were getting the better end of that deal. Unless yours was one of those 50K "LE"s and there's was a CM-only OE, etc (or super variation in wants/trades ratios, etc). To add HMs to an already generous offer was very nice of you, and the fact that they were offended by that tells me it's a great trade to walk away from.
Thanks for asking the question. I am always interested in other people’s responses to questions about trading.
Me too!
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Also late to the party, but I agree with the points made above. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm only including the (legit versions of) common, easy-to-find, 'garden-variety' Hidden Mickey pins. Disregarding the outlying Cast Lanyard/Hidden Mickey pins that are extremely scarce and quite valuable ... here's the way I see it: Since they were purchased in the aforementioned packs or acquired in trade from a cast member with any legitimate trading pin, most likely a starter or rack pin, that's what I would value them at: the current value of another rack pin or another Hidden Mickey pin. When I trade Hidden Mickey pins, I'll either ask for another Hidden Mickey or, sometimes, any legit pin that I can stick on a cast member lanyard without having to question its authenticity. Here's the thing about pins, though; everyone values them differently. That's what can make pin trading so tricky. Person A and Person B can have each other's dream pins, but if they value pins differently, they're almost certainly never going to be able to come to an agreement and sort out a trade. And sometimes, unfortunately, traders do have a tendency to overvalue their pins and undervalue everyone else's (I have met people who have openly admitted to doing this!) When you encounter someone like this - and it sounds like you very well may have - the only thing you can do is smile, nod, and move on; if you're meant to own a pin, it'll find its way to you eventually, whether through a trade, sale, or zap!
ItzaPinfan
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Y’all are amazing! Love DPF for your openness is sharing experience, knowledge, and insight in a non judgy, supportive way. This has all been so helpful.
Also, trader responded back. He shared that he values HM at $5-6/pin for the diamond collection and that Ariel goes for about $15. Pretty much in line with everyone’s responses.
Now I’m really excited to return to the park for more hidden mickeys, Lol and spent yesterday afternoon organizing the ones I do have, lol...
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@ItzaPinfan can I share some photos of older HMs that I have to get an idea of value?
ItzaPinfan
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@ItzaPinfan can I share some photos of older HMs that I have to get an idea of value?
Yes please let’s morph this into a Hidden Mickey thread/discussion about what we have and valuation of them. I’ll share mine later.
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I'm an odd person out here. To me, they have no value unless they're a completer pin. I usually only trade HM for HM, tho. It's like 3 HMs for one OE in my mind. 2 for a mystery pin. Traders are like a dime a dozen if you're patient and live near an outlet (or sometimes a Disney Store, some stores are 40% off clearance this weekend). So, if I were to get that offer, I would have jumped on it in a heart beat. But I respect that not everyone has that opportunity and values things differently.
Yes please let’s morph this into a Hidden Mickey thread/discussion about what we have and valuation of them. I’ll share mine later.
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I have three of the new villains set but they are rather small so I'd think they'd go around five bucks....... that's all my trader HMs lol
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I'm surprised and agree with as mentioned above. I've always thought of HMs as the ones you can get off of CMs for whatever, except as mentioned completers which are more rare/lucky to find/buy.
Seeing a good amount of traders/families use anything that's stamped Disney to trade at the parks, values (to me) become more of just having FUN to find, a give away, or HM for HM trade, but that's just me(not a major trader).
For me I buy booster packs at the park, for convenience sake when I'm in the mood to trade, or it's time to go through the collection to see which ones I still want.
In reading these posts, guess I should keep my older ones, but those were the ones that got faked more often
Thanks too for this, everyone's input is very interesting to read.
Just for update sake the New HMs are out at DLR this week. Happy Hunting
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@momin.ator : the black and white lanyard ones are worth the most. I think $15-25, depending on character with Belle being the highest.
since the others are real, I would put them at the higher end, around $10-15
@KILJOY667 knows a lot about hidden mickeys but I haven't seen him around here in a while.
@momin.ator : the black and white lanyard ones are worth the most. I think $15-25, depending on character with Belle being the highest.
since the others are real, I would put them at the higher end, around $10-15@KILJOY667 knows a lot about hidden mickeys but I haven't seen him around here in a while.
Thanks.
