My current To Do list:
1 - Build a time machine.
2 - Go back in time.
3 - kill Hitler Get DLC pin.
4 - ?????
5 - Profit! Silence the brain squirrels.
Step 4 could totally be kill hitler...just sayin', is all.
Pin Trades:2x Full Prime Core Sets, Core Set 2012, Chandra East, CTS Gabe (2013), Zombie Tycho(2013), Merch(2012 or 2013), Prime Kemper, Pigglesworth, Pinny Arcade Logo(2013), Hanna
Pin Needs:Tabletop Tycho, Pax East Kemper, Pax East Logo, Aus Core Set
And that is the plot of the highly anticpated upcoming feature film, "Pin Pals 2: Pinvasion of Normandy Beach" Join us later for a sneak peek.
...
...
...
Hitler: " You'll never steal my DLC pin, pin pals, and with it, I shall rule the world!"
Johnny Pins (portrayed by Mark Wahlberg): "Yeah, whateva you say Hitla. You didn count on a ragtag team of time travlahs with one goal in mind: stopping you!"
Samuel L. Jackson (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson) : "And gettin that pin, motha fucka!"
Johnny Pins: "Aight, two goals."
Narrator: Pin Pals 2...This time...it's pinsonal.
EDITED for added humor.
Weary Traveler on
Pin Trades:2x Full Prime Core Sets, Core Set 2012, Chandra East, CTS Gabe (2013), Zombie Tycho(2013), Merch(2012 or 2013), Prime Kemper, Pigglesworth, Pinny Arcade Logo(2013), Hanna
Pin Needs:Tabletop Tycho, Pax East Kemper, Pax East Logo, Aus Core Set
We can all just unanimously agree that year variants are irrelevant and all our lives will be happier. I know they have been an absolute pain to deal with on the site, I wish they printed nothing on the back but the logo, forget the year, series etc, they're all superficial numbers really.
I like genuine differences, like derpy eyed staff pins due to miss prints
Anyway, I know that's a pipe dream :P
It's not a pipe dream for me. If the pin doesn't look different when mounted, then it's not different. The PA folks don't really care about variants, so neither should we. (My humble opinion, of course, but I just don't want to worry about getting effectively identical pins.)
Couldn't agree with you guys more. To me, yearly variants are just going to be taking up space in a frame or something. I mean, if they never change the enforcer pin, what's the point of having 8 of the same?
I'm hoping that the yearly variants are just a kink in the system that will be worked out before PAX East. With them scrapping the Series idea and just going with the Year, there should be fewer variants.
Not everyone will be collecting the variants anyways. Some people find them important, others don't. Whether there are or not will really only affect the few people who plan on getting them all. ^.^
It's all going to depend on if they have to do a print run that year or not though. They can't predict exactly how many pins they will need for the whole year for the ones that go to every PAX event(i.e. Staff, CTS, ZT, ect)... so while I don't think they will do it on purpose, there will most likely always be several variants every year. They have already said they will put what year it's printed and they can't control if they run out of a pin and need more.
We can all just unanimously agree that year variants are irrelevant and all our lives will be happier. I know they have been an absolute pain to deal with on the site, I wish they printed nothing on the back but the logo, forget the year, series etc, they're all superficial numbers really.
I like genuine differences, like derpy eyed staff pins due to miss prints
Anyway, I know that's a pipe dream :P
It's not a pipe dream for me. If the pin doesn't look different when mounted, then it's not different. The PA folks don't really care about variants, so neither should we. (My humble opinion, of course, but I just don't want to worry about getting effectively identical pins.)
Couldn't agree with you guys more. To me, yearly variants are just going to be taking up space in a frame or something. I mean, if they never change the enforcer pin, what's the point of having 8 of the same?
I'm hoping that the yearly variants are just a kink in the system that will be worked out before PAX East. With them scrapping the Series idea and just going with the Year, there should be fewer variants.
Not everyone will be collecting the variants anyways. Some people find them important, others don't. Whether there are or not will really only affect the few people who plan on getting them all. ^.^
It's all going to depend on if they have to do a print run that year or not though. They can't predict exactly how many pins they will need for the whole year for the ones that go to every PAX event(i.e. Staff, CTS, ZT, ect)... so while I don't think they will do it on purpose, there will most likely always be several variants every year. They have already said they will put what year it's printed and they can't control if they run out of a pin and need more.
I'm hoping that they will control when they run out. Non-limited Pins they sell throughout the year can be monitored and ordered as needed. The sales figures from previous PAXes and the vendor feedback from Prime Pins should be sufficient to accurately estimate the number of Pins needed at each PAX this year (for Pins entering the 2014 cycle at East) and next (for Pins that will straddle the 14/15 cycle, such as Mike's and Jerry's new Pin at Prime '14).
It isn't hard to work out that if you "sell" and average of 2,000 Pins at East, 1,500 at Aus and 3,000 at Prime per design you need 6,500 of a design to cover three instances of PAX. So if a Pin is introduced at Prime and then the following East and Aus before being retired, just print the 6,500 before Prime so they all have the same year.
I am hopeful that next year is the last year that we will see year variants outside of permanent Sets, and possibly even those will just be a single year.
We can all just unanimously agree that year variants are irrelevant and all our lives will be happier. I know they have been an absolute pain to deal with on the site, I wish they printed nothing on the back but the logo, forget the year, series etc, they're all superficial numbers really.
I like genuine differences, like derpy eyed staff pins due to miss prints
Anyway, I know that's a pipe dream :P
It's not a pipe dream for me. If the pin doesn't look different when mounted, then it's not different. The PA folks don't really care about variants, so neither should we. (My humble opinion, of course, but I just don't want to worry about getting effectively identical pins.)
Couldn't agree with you guys more. To me, yearly variants are just going to be taking up space in a frame or something. I mean, if they never change the enforcer pin, what's the point of having 8 of the same?
I'm hoping that the yearly variants are just a kink in the system that will be worked out before PAX East. With them scrapping the Series idea and just going with the Year, there should be fewer variants.
Not everyone will be collecting the variants anyways. Some people find them important, others don't. Whether there are or not will really only affect the few people who plan on getting them all. ^.^
It's all going to depend on if they have to do a print run that year or not though. They can't predict exactly how many pins they will need for the whole year for the ones that go to every PAX event(i.e. Staff, CTS, ZT, ect)... so while I don't think they will do it on purpose, there will most likely always be several variants every year. They have already said they will put what year it's printed and they can't control if they run out of a pin and need more.
I'm hoping that they will control when they run out. Non-limited Pins they sell throughout the year can be monitored and ordered as needed. The sales figures from previous PAXes and the vendor feedback from Prime Pins should be sufficient to accurately estimate the number of Pins needed at each PAX this year (for Pins entering the 2014 cycle at East) and next (for Pins that will straddle the 14/15 cycle, such as Mike's and Jerry's new Pin at Prime '14).
It isn't hard to work out that if you "sell" and average of 2,000 Pins at East, 1,500 at Aus and 3,000 at Prime per design you need 6,500 of a design to cover three instances of PAX. So if a Pin is introduced at Prime and then the following East and Aus before being retired, just print the 6,500 before Prime so they all have the same year.
I am hopeful that next year is the last year that we will see year variants outside of permanent Sets, and possibly even those will just be a single year.
This is true, they can make the estimate. The problems that may arise with doing this are:
1. Do they wan't to have 6500 pins on hand for every design that will have that many(for a whole year)?
2. You aren't calculating the added growth to the pin collectors, as I think the next few years there will be an increase by 2,3,4,5x what there is now(and I know if they see next year this is happening they can try to figure that in also).
3. What if they think a pin will be a 2 year design. That would mean they would have to double that number of pins that they order and keep on hand.
I'm not saying it's not completely doable, I'm just saying that there is more work involved then just a simple calculation. I definitely agree in the sense that the less year variants the better for everyone, I just don't see them going away as there are always things that will come up that will require a new 'reprint' of certain pins.
I'm hoping that they will control when they run out. Non-limited Pins they sell throughout the year can be monitored and ordered as needed. The sales figures from previous PAXes and the vendor feedback from Prime Pins should be sufficient to accurately estimate the number of Pins needed at each PAX this year (for Pins entering the 2014 cycle at East) and next (for Pins that will straddle the 14/15 cycle, such as Mike's and Jerry's new Pin at Prime '14).
It isn't hard to work out that if you "sell" and average of 2,000 Pins at East, 1,500 at Aus and 3,000 at Prime per design you need 6,500 of a design to cover three instances of PAX. So if a Pin is introduced at Prime and then the following East and Aus before being retired, just print the 6,500 before Prime so they all have the same year.
I am hopeful that next year is the last year that we will see year variants outside of permanent Sets, and possibly even those will just be a single year.
This is true, they can make the estimate. The problems that may arise with doing this are:
1. Do they wan't to have 6500 pins on hand for every design that will have that many(for a whole year)?
2. You aren't calculating the added growth to the pin collectors, as I think the next few years there will be an increase by 2,3,4,5x what there is now(and I know if they see next year this is happening they can try to figure that in also).
3. What if they think a pin will be a 2 year design. That would mean they would have to double that number of pins that they order and keep on hand.
I'm not saying it's not completely doable, I'm just saying that there is more work involved then just a simple calculation. I definitely agree in the sense that the less year variants the better for everyone, I just don't see them going away as there are always things that will come up that will require a new 'reprint' of certain pins.
Sure, solving a problem can create a new one. But if you can squash more problems than you create, eventually it's all solved.
So, if they can solve the year variant problem this way, what other problems does it create, and (a) are they actually problems which (b) can be solved.
1a. I 've already said that I think they get the manufacturer to ship direct to each PAX. That means any design that straddles two years needs shipping somewhere or storing, but if it doesn't straddle two years, this isn't a problem. So there are two solutions: 1, don't have Pins straddle two years; or 2, arrange storage. This could be the manufacturer, the convention centres, PAX HQ or a 3rd party.
1b. Printing in advance will mean paying in advance unless the manufacturer is willing to do the work on credit outside the usual terms. That is solved either by a conversation with the manufacturer or PA being willing to tie up the cashflow. That's quite a chunk of cash, but it's a possibility.
2. Calculating growth is a simple sales/marketing discussion. I think that between the soft-opening of the Merch in 2012 and Hanna recently, there has been enough data to gauge growth over the next year or two. A slight surplus is remedied via Blind boxes, a slight shortfall with the fact that previous Pins ran out at PAX before the final day. Rayman went on Saturday, Second Son ran out on Sunday so I am told. I don't see growth calculations as a problem.
3. I believe I have covered two year designs already. These are thoughts only on the temporary Pins, which I don't see them keeping in rotation for longer than 24 months. Permanent Sets, I still don't know about. How permanent is permanent? Mike said the Halloween Set is permanent, and so does that mean it will be sold year round, for several years?
I'm hoping that they will control when they run out. Non-limited Pins they sell throughout the year can be monitored and ordered as needed. The sales figures from previous PAXes and the vendor feedback from Prime Pins should be sufficient to accurately estimate the number of Pins needed at each PAX this year (for Pins entering the 2014 cycle at East) and next (for Pins that will straddle the 14/15 cycle, such as Mike's and Jerry's new Pin at Prime '14).
It isn't hard to work out that if you "sell" and average of 2,000 Pins at East, 1,500 at Aus and 3,000 at Prime per design you need 6,500 of a design to cover three instances of PAX. So if a Pin is introduced at Prime and then the following East and Aus before being retired, just print the 6,500 before Prime so they all have the same year.
I am hopeful that next year is the last year that we will see year variants outside of permanent Sets, and possibly even those will just be a single year.
This is true, they can make the estimate. The problems that may arise with doing this are:
1. Do they wan't to have 6500 pins on hand for every design that will have that many(for a whole year)?
2. You aren't calculating the added growth to the pin collectors, as I think the next few years there will be an increase by 2,3,4,5x what there is now(and I know if they see next year this is happening they can try to figure that in also).
3. What if they think a pin will be a 2 year design. That would mean they would have to double that number of pins that they order and keep on hand.
I'm not saying it's not completely doable, I'm just saying that there is more work involved then just a simple calculation. I definitely agree in the sense that the less year variants the better for everyone, I just don't see them going away as there are always things that will come up that will require a new 'reprint' of certain pins.
Sure, solving a problem can create a new one. But if you can squash more problems than you create, eventually it's all solved.
So, if they can solve the year variant problem this way, what other problems does it create, and (a) are they actually problems which (b) can be solved.
1a. I 've already said that I think they get the manufacturer to ship direct to each PAX. That means any design that straddles two years needs shipping somewhere or storing, but if it doesn't straddle two years, this isn't a problem. So there are two solutions: 1, don't have Pins straddle two years; or 2, arrange storage. This could be the manufacturer, the convention centres, PAX HQ or a 3rd party.
1b. Printing in advance will mean paying in advance unless the manufacturer is willing to do the work on credit outside the usual terms. That is solved either by a conversation with the manufacturer or PA being willing to tie up the cashflow. That's quite a chunk of cash, but it's a possibility.
2. Calculating growth is a simple sales/marketing discussion. I think that between the soft-opening of the Merch in 2012 and Hanna recently, there has been enough data to gauge growth over the next year or two. A slight surplus is remedied via Blind boxes, a slight shortfall with the fact that previous Pins ran out at PAX before the final day. Rayman went on Saturday, Second Son ran out on Sunday so I am told. I don't see growth calculations as a problem.
3. I believe I have covered two year designs already. These are thoughts only on the temporary Pins, which I don't see them keeping in rotation for longer than 24 months. Permanent Sets, I still don't know about. How permanent is permanent? Mike said the Halloween Set is permanent, and so does that mean it will be sold year round, for several years?
Touching base on what you were saying.
1a. I didn't see that you had said that. If they could find a supplier that would hold the pins for them that would definitely help with the storage issue.
1b.No matter what they do it is going to tie up the cash. If they are printing the full portions in 1 run even more so. I think that they can handle this though, knowing that they can make up the balance.
2. I don't think that you can base it primarily on Prime for several reasons. First, that was the very first rollout of pins. As years go on they will definitely have an exponential number of people interested in collecting pins. Second, since they haven't had a full roll out for East and Aus yet with the pins, who knows if it will be more or less popular there.
While I do agree that they can put the remainder in blind boxes if they have extra, you don't want to just write it off as no matter what they have left over shouldn't be a concern. If they overshoot by 5,000 pins for a year, that is a large number of pins. If they undershoot, and they printed the pins before Prime of the previous year(say they only have 200 left of a pin before PAX Aus), should PAX Aus suffer because they don't want to make a another run, therefore causing a year variant? As I said, there are always going to be things that arise.
3. With sales/marketing discussions or no, it will be hard to forecast how many pins they will need in a 24 month period without completely over/under shooting....which could arise in the issues above. I agree on the permanent pins fully. I'm personally hoping they change the Halloween Design every year but who knows.
Overall, I think you are right. I think that if they TRY to go for printing what they need for a "X" period and use the calculations to do so that will definitely help to not have year variations. I just believe that especially the next few years they will have some year variants because they won't have the data to predict accurately. On top of that, I'm still not even sure they will be worried about if there are variants or not as they said in one of their FAQ's that wasn't intentional. With that said, they may view it as a 'collect what you want, but we are going to do the best business model for us'. If they did that, and there were continued variations because of it could you blame them? It really is us, as the collectors who WANT all the variants, who are creating any fuss surrounding them.
1a. I didn't see that you had said that. If they could find a supplier that would hold the pins for them that would definitely help with the storage issue.
1b.No matter what they do it is going to tie up the cash. If they are printing the full portions in 1 run even more so. I think that they can handle this though, knowing that they can make up the balance.
2. I don't think that you can base it primarily on Prime for several reasons. First, that was the very first rollout of pins. As years go on they will definitely have an exponential number of people interested in collecting pins. Second, since they haven't had a full roll out for East and Aus yet with the pins, who knows if it will be more or less popular there.
While I do agree that they can put the remainder in blind boxes if they have extra, you don't want to just write it off as no matter what they have left over shouldn't be a concern. If they overshoot by 5,000 pins for a year, that is a large number of pins. If they undershoot, and they printed the pins before Prime of the previous year(say they only have 200 left of a pin before PAX Aus), should PAX Aus suffer because they don't want to make a another run, therefore causing a year variant? As I said, there are always going to be things that arise.
3. With sales/marketing discussions or no, it will be hard to forecast how many pins they will need in a 24 month period without completely over/under shooting....which could arise in the issues above. I agree on the permanent pins fully. I'm personally hoping they change the Halloween Design every year but who knows.
Overall, I think you are right. I think that if they TRY to go for printing what they need for a "X" period and use the calculations to do so that will definitely help to not have year variations. I just believe that especially the next few years they will have some year variants because they won't have the data to predict accurately. On top of that, I'm still not even sure they will be worried about if there are variants or not as they said in one of their FAQ's that wasn't intentional. With that said, they may view it as a 'collect what you want, but we are going to do the best business model for us'. If they did that, and there were continued variations because of it could you blame them? It really is us, as the collectors who WANT all the variants, who are creating any fuss surrounding them.
1a. There are a few possibilities here that would cost nothing to PA. The manufacturer could store them and ship them later, or someone in the convention location could take delivery early. I'm sure the Enforcer army could put them somewhere, if they aren't storing other stuff already. Maybe PA is already storing a lot of stuff in Boston and Australia, and they have some space available.
1b. Possibly, I have no insight into their business like that.
2. I would say that they can make an educated guess by using the PAX Exclusive Sets from each as a baseline, and the Chandra/Elspeth Pins. I don't think you need to worry about them radically underestimating demand, or overestimating by a lot. Given that most vendors ran out at Prime but not on the first day, I would say they have a good handle on this.
As to your example, it wouldn't happen like that. The stock for each PAX is regionally allocated by default. If they run out of Pins at East too quickly, there won't be enough time to rush more there from Seattle, let alone Australia. The problem of not enough Pins would hit both systems equally. The idea is not to print 6,500 Pins and take them to each convention in one lump. It is to print in one lump, and split that lump into three pieces, as opposed to printing three times. Both systems have the flaw that "not enough Pins at PAX xxxx means running out of Pins at PAX xxxx" but neither has an adverse knock-on effect. Should the growth be so large as to prompt a reprint, then there would be a variant for that particular time. But better to have a minimal number of variants than a consistent one.
3. Well depending on the first Drop of the Pin, there is a modicum of correction allowed. If they print just before East '14 and decide to have more for Aus '14 and Prime '14, they can do more printings without any issue. And if a Pin released at Prime '14 sells amazingly well, they can print more before year end with no issues. But I think that numbers are something Brian and Robert do very well.
As to your example, it wouldn't happen like that. The stock for each PAX is regionally allocated by default. If they run out of Pins at East too quickly, there won't be enough time to rush more there from Seattle, let alone Australia. The problem of not enough Pins would hit both systems equally. The idea is not to print 6,500 Pins and take them to each convention in one lump. It is to print in one lump, and split that lump into three pieces, as opposed to printing three times. Both systems have the flaw that "not enough Pins at PAX xxxx means running out of Pins at PAX xxxx" but neither has an adverse knock-on effect. Should the growth be so large as to prompt a reprint, then there would be a variant for that particular time. But better to have a minimal number of variants than a consistent one.
I didn't mean to say they'd rush back to get more....but I was thinking more of bringing the massive number to say East and then running low. I didn't think of it the way you said in your example. This is very true. As far as the number of variants that would be optimal, I think we have never really disagreed on the fact that the less variants the better. We have just debated the logics behind being able to eliminate variants from the equation. ^.^
As far as Brian and Robert being good at numbers, I don't doubt that. I'm just saying to run numbers very very well it helps to have numbers in front of you. More PAX events will give those numbers and will make it easier to be precise.
As far as Brian and Robert being good at numbers, I don't doubt that. I'm just saying to run numbers very very well it helps to have numbers in front of you. More PAX events will give those numbers and will make it easier to be precise.
Of course. And whilst I am a fan of precision, I have no problem with them being slightly over (Blind Boxes would help new Pin collectors catch up) or slightly under (adds an element of urgency to PAX) provided they are reasonably accurate for the most part.
Obviously knowing more about numbers of "sales" and numbers of production would help move this along. I hear lots of unofficial numbers for things from various people, but in the main it seems to be that each Pin has between 1,000 and 3,000 produced. How accurate that is we might know soon, but the original question of "how to minimise variant years" does seem to be answered. I'm not saying that it will happen immediately or at all, but it is possible and if it occurs to us then I'm sure it occurs to them as well.
Just don't print the year, problem solved :P Print however you want, whenever you want.
Anyway I think year variants are largely insignificant, some people will collect them and that's fine, most people it seems are happy to ignore them, on display you can't even tell unless you feel like pinning them backwards. So really, the production of how they're made isn't really something I think PA needs to put a lot of effort in to.
Minimising it is counter-productive, that only increases the likely hood people want to collect them, if there's only small calculated overlaps, the variants will be rare. Letting it happen naturally would be more effective in lessening the impact of wanting to collect them.
Just don't print the year, problem solved :P Print however you want, whenever you want.
Anyway I think year variants are largely insignificant, some people will collect them and that's fine, most people it seems are happy to ignore them, on display you can't even tell unless you feel like pinning them backwards. So really, the production of how they're made isn't really something I think PA needs to put a lot of effort in to.
Minimising it is counter-productive, that only increases the likely hood people want to collect them, if there's only small calculated overlaps, the variants will be rare. Letting it happen naturally would be more effective in lessening the impact of wanting to collect them.
This is a good point. Only the people who collect varients will care anyways.
As far as not printing the year...I disagree with this if only for a tracking record and also for a counterfeit prevention measure. The longer they make the pins the more popular it will be and aadly eventually people may try to make copies. The more identifying marks on the back the better when it comes to logo and year.
All that talk of killing Hitler gave me a great idea for my Pin Pal team name.
@Manic2k can you please update the roster to reflect that henceforth we shall be known as The Pinglourious Basterds.
I'm really mad at myself that I didn't think of that in my movie scenario. I expect better of myself.
Pin Trades:2x Full Prime Core Sets, Core Set 2012, Chandra East, CTS Gabe (2013), Zombie Tycho(2013), Merch(2012 or 2013), Prime Kemper, Pigglesworth, Pinny Arcade Logo(2013), Hanna
Pin Needs:Tabletop Tycho, Pax East Kemper, Pax East Logo, Aus Core Set
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Manic2kBrotherhood of the Squirrel [AUS]Registered Userregular
InsaneloonJefferson City, MissouriRegistered Userregular
So my first pins have begun to arrive, and I'm curious as to how others are storing/displaying their pins. The rabid collector side of me says to keep them unopened in their original packaging, but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to store them then. What do other Pin Pals do with all their pins?
Mine are in original packaging (with my loose pins pinned to a spare piece of cardboard I had lying around). I'm waiting for the official binder/whatever to be released before I rehouse my pins.
Drayven_Darko on
"Sometimes I doubt your commitment to 'Sparkle Motion'."
Currently I've got mine all on a big cork board, not in any order other than when I got them. With news that pa won't be releasing their own shadow boxes, I'm intending to get a bit more creative in the future. I've made some card backs that look similar to how they're displayed on the pinny site, different colors, a name and where they were available. Soon as I print them and set it up I'll post photos.
"Sometimes I doubt your commitment to 'Sparkle Motion'."
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InsaneloonJefferson City, MissouriRegistered Userregular
So my use of an old shoebox is not entirely out of line then. I'm excited for more official Pin-related paraphernalia - could we get a request for an update as to the status of the things Mike spoke previously of (I.e. binders, custom backers and bags, etc) added to the October FAQ?
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PedroAsaniBrotherhood of the Squirrel[Prime]Registered Userregular
I'm working on something elaborate, but it requires shadow boxes of varying sizes, some that can accommodate a print and pins, or prints and a pin. Anyone with experience in procuring these kinds of things, please PM me. Most of the ones I find are just, I don't know. Not right?
heh, my first 'display' was a shoebox lid, back when it was just core set and east pins...then it got bigger....and bigger....eventually every wall in my house will be covered in pins......after that, who knows where i will stick them O.o
So my first pins have begun to arrive, and I'm curious as to how others are storing/displaying their pins. The rabid collector side of me says to keep them unopened in their original packaging, but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to store them then. What do other Pin Pals do with all their pins?
I've got mine in a felt-lined notebook until the Pinny Arcade shadowbox comes out. And I've got most of my tradeable extras in package.
Will there be smaller shadow boxes for casual and enthusiast pin pals (e.g. that aren't built to fit every pin from a particular series)
Mike: Shipping shadow boxes is very difficult and we are nervous about breaking them. Also they are readily available in stores. What we plan to offer lanyards, binders, custom backers and bags.
Pedro: So no Penny Arcade shadow boxes (for now).
"Sometimes I doubt your commitment to 'Sparkle Motion'."
I've got mine squirreled (heh) away in various places. Free pins without a back are on lanyards, which are hanging from my cork board. Single pins with backs are living in my magic card binder, in the little pockets. Sets with backs are also living there, but I've pinned the pins through the plastic and tucked the boards into the binder pocket. It's not the ideal solution but at the very least they're secure and away from any possible danger (namely the cat, who counts knocking pins onto the floor and hiding them among his hobbies).
I'd like to do either a nice felt binder or shadowboxes eventually. I'll probably wait for the aforementioned PA binders.
ClixThis guy I knowSeattle, WARegistered Userregular
I can't believe so many people don't have their pins displayed.
I'm pretty happy with the results I got with combining colored corkboard and picture frames. Both can be procured relatively cheap at craft stores in the US. Plus there are lots of ways to customize your setup to make it look professional. I considered making a stencil of the Pinny Arcade or Penny Arcade logo to spray paint on the cork, but I ended up deciding against the idea with how close together I display my pins.
All of my pin backings and original packaging get stored in a safe location so that I can still use them in a trade if necessary.
I'm not a fan of shadow boxes though because of how large, heavy, and restrictive they are. And there's no way I'd hide my pins away in a binder either though, I've spent too much time and money not to display my pins.
When my DLC pin fell off my lanyard, my son and I joined forces and merged our collections (He scored a DLC by trade with Dave Coffman on Monday). We decided to stop pursuing two full sets and use the doubles as our trading bank.
We went through our doubles and picked the bestest and mounted them on black foam core. We framed it in a nice deep frame and it looks killer.
Now we don't have room for the next set of pins...
Any idea when the binder comes out???
Any idea when the blind boxes come out???
I think I've been infested with Pin worms...
PAX PRIME 2015 Status:
[♦ ] 4 Day Passes
[♦ ] Hotel
[ ] Plane Tickets
[♦]Working my ass off to pay for all this shit.
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PedroAsaniBrotherhood of the Squirrel[Prime]Registered Userregular
I can't believe so many people don't have their pins displayed.
I'm pretty happy with the results I got with combining colored corkboard and picture frames. Both can be procured relatively cheap at craft stores in the US. Plus there are lots of ways to customize your setup to make it look professional. I considered making a stencil of the Pinny Arcade or Penny Arcade logo to spray paint on the cork, but I ended up deciding against the idea with how close together I display my pins.
All of my pin backings and original packaging get stored in a safe location so that I can still use them in a trade if necessary.
I'm not a fan of shadow boxes though because of how large, heavy, and restrictive they are. And there's no way I'd hide my pins away in a binder either though, I've spent too much time and money not to display my pins.
I really want my display to be more than just "Pins I collected" so the idea is to display them in smaller sets amongst comic prints and posters. But that means I need a lot of different sized frames from ones that can hold a single Pin, to holding three comic prints and 4 Pins, up to poster sized. Anyone with ideas of where to get them in that size variety in a single style, I would appreciate it.
When my DLC pin fell off my lanyard, my son and I joined forces and merged our collections (He scored a DLC by trade with Dave Coffman on Monday). We decided to stop pursuing two full sets and use the doubles as our trading bank.
We went through our doubles and picked the bestest and mounted them on black foam core. We framed it in a nice deep frame and it looks killer.
Now we don't have room for the next set of pins...
Any idea when the binder comes out???
Any idea when the blind boxes come out???
I think I've been infested with Pin worms...
The thought of losing the DLC makes me shudder, even now.
Binder and Blind Boxes are slated for 2014. No firmer date than that right now. I'll be asking again about all things 2014 in the January FAQ.
No my friend, you have a case of brain-squirrels. They gnaw on the part of the brain that enjoys completeness, and the only relief is a complete collection. They can't be cured, but they can be sated temporarily, until the next Pin Drops.
To display my pins I just acquired a reasonably priced shadowbox at a craft store. Picked up some backing and had it cut to the proper size. Looks nice, is reasonably cheap and I can reorganize them as I see fit.
They were going to do that. They have since decided that they are not going to do that.
Ahhh, interesting.
Here's my new plan.
I'm going to consider a "Pin Year" to start and end with PAX East. So everything I'm going to get between PAX East 2013 and the day before PAX East 2014 will be Pin Year 1 for me. I think that's probably how the Powers That Be at Penny Arcade see it too. I'm going to have a shadowbox for each Pin Year, with some kind of accompanying color printout showing what each pin is.
Posts
Step 4 could totally be kill hitler...just sayin', is all.
Pin Needs:Tabletop Tycho, Pax East Kemper, Pax East Logo, Aus Core Set
especially if HE also had a DLC pin....
And that is the plot of the highly anticpated upcoming feature film, "Pin Pals 2: Pinvasion of Normandy Beach" Join us later for a sneak peek.
...
...
...
Hitler: " You'll never steal my DLC pin, pin pals, and with it, I shall rule the world!"
Johnny Pins (portrayed by Mark Wahlberg): "Yeah, whateva you say Hitla. You didn count on a ragtag team of time travlahs with one goal in mind: stopping you!"
Samuel L. Jackson (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson) : "And gettin that pin, motha fucka!"
Johnny Pins: "Aight, two goals."
Narrator: Pin Pals 2...This time...it's pinsonal.
EDITED for added humor.
Pin Needs:Tabletop Tycho, Pax East Kemper, Pax East Logo, Aus Core Set
If Hitler had a DLC pin, I'm certain one of the people here would figure out time travel.
Always looking to trade.
its late, im sorry...
edit: it was totally wearytraveler...
Not everyone will be collecting the variants anyways. Some people find them important, others don't. Whether there are or not will really only affect the few people who plan on getting them all. ^.^
It's all going to depend on if they have to do a print run that year or not though. They can't predict exactly how many pins they will need for the whole year for the ones that go to every PAX event(i.e. Staff, CTS, ZT, ect)... so while I don't think they will do it on purpose, there will most likely always be several variants every year. They have already said they will put what year it's printed and they can't control if they run out of a pin and need more.
I'm hoping that they will control when they run out. Non-limited Pins they sell throughout the year can be monitored and ordered as needed. The sales figures from previous PAXes and the vendor feedback from Prime Pins should be sufficient to accurately estimate the number of Pins needed at each PAX this year (for Pins entering the 2014 cycle at East) and next (for Pins that will straddle the 14/15 cycle, such as Mike's and Jerry's new Pin at Prime '14).
It isn't hard to work out that if you "sell" and average of 2,000 Pins at East, 1,500 at Aus and 3,000 at Prime per design you need 6,500 of a design to cover three instances of PAX. So if a Pin is introduced at Prime and then the following East and Aus before being retired, just print the 6,500 before Prime so they all have the same year.
I am hopeful that next year is the last year that we will see year variants outside of permanent Sets, and possibly even those will just be a single year.
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This is true, they can make the estimate. The problems that may arise with doing this are:
1. Do they wan't to have 6500 pins on hand for every design that will have that many(for a whole year)?
2. You aren't calculating the added growth to the pin collectors, as I think the next few years there will be an increase by 2,3,4,5x what there is now(and I know if they see next year this is happening they can try to figure that in also).
3. What if they think a pin will be a 2 year design. That would mean they would have to double that number of pins that they order and keep on hand.
I'm not saying it's not completely doable, I'm just saying that there is more work involved then just a simple calculation. I definitely agree in the sense that the less year variants the better for everyone, I just don't see them going away as there are always things that will come up that will require a new 'reprint' of certain pins.
Sure, solving a problem can create a new one. But if you can squash more problems than you create, eventually it's all solved.
So, if they can solve the year variant problem this way, what other problems does it create, and (a) are they actually problems which (b) can be solved.
1a. I 've already said that I think they get the manufacturer to ship direct to each PAX. That means any design that straddles two years needs shipping somewhere or storing, but if it doesn't straddle two years, this isn't a problem. So there are two solutions: 1, don't have Pins straddle two years; or 2, arrange storage. This could be the manufacturer, the convention centres, PAX HQ or a 3rd party.
1b. Printing in advance will mean paying in advance unless the manufacturer is willing to do the work on credit outside the usual terms. That is solved either by a conversation with the manufacturer or PA being willing to tie up the cashflow. That's quite a chunk of cash, but it's a possibility.
2. Calculating growth is a simple sales/marketing discussion. I think that between the soft-opening of the Merch in 2012 and Hanna recently, there has been enough data to gauge growth over the next year or two. A slight surplus is remedied via Blind boxes, a slight shortfall with the fact that previous Pins ran out at PAX before the final day. Rayman went on Saturday, Second Son ran out on Sunday so I am told. I don't see growth calculations as a problem.
3. I believe I have covered two year designs already. These are thoughts only on the temporary Pins, which I don't see them keeping in rotation for longer than 24 months. Permanent Sets, I still don't know about. How permanent is permanent? Mike said the Halloween Set is permanent, and so does that mean it will be sold year round, for several years?
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Touching base on what you were saying.
1a. I didn't see that you had said that. If they could find a supplier that would hold the pins for them that would definitely help with the storage issue.
1b.No matter what they do it is going to tie up the cash. If they are printing the full portions in 1 run even more so. I think that they can handle this though, knowing that they can make up the balance.
2. I don't think that you can base it primarily on Prime for several reasons. First, that was the very first rollout of pins. As years go on they will definitely have an exponential number of people interested in collecting pins. Second, since they haven't had a full roll out for East and Aus yet with the pins, who knows if it will be more or less popular there.
While I do agree that they can put the remainder in blind boxes if they have extra, you don't want to just write it off as no matter what they have left over shouldn't be a concern. If they overshoot by 5,000 pins for a year, that is a large number of pins. If they undershoot, and they printed the pins before Prime of the previous year(say they only have 200 left of a pin before PAX Aus), should PAX Aus suffer because they don't want to make a another run, therefore causing a year variant? As I said, there are always going to be things that arise.
3. With sales/marketing discussions or no, it will be hard to forecast how many pins they will need in a 24 month period without completely over/under shooting....which could arise in the issues above. I agree on the permanent pins fully. I'm personally hoping they change the Halloween Design every year but who knows.
Overall, I think you are right. I think that if they TRY to go for printing what they need for a "X" period and use the calculations to do so that will definitely help to not have year variations. I just believe that especially the next few years they will have some year variants because they won't have the data to predict accurately. On top of that, I'm still not even sure they will be worried about if there are variants or not as they said in one of their FAQ's that wasn't intentional. With that said, they may view it as a 'collect what you want, but we are going to do the best business model for us'. If they did that, and there were continued variations because of it could you blame them? It really is us, as the collectors who WANT all the variants, who are creating any fuss surrounding them.
1a. There are a few possibilities here that would cost nothing to PA. The manufacturer could store them and ship them later, or someone in the convention location could take delivery early. I'm sure the Enforcer army could put them somewhere, if they aren't storing other stuff already. Maybe PA is already storing a lot of stuff in Boston and Australia, and they have some space available.
1b. Possibly, I have no insight into their business like that.
2. I would say that they can make an educated guess by using the PAX Exclusive Sets from each as a baseline, and the Chandra/Elspeth Pins. I don't think you need to worry about them radically underestimating demand, or overestimating by a lot. Given that most vendors ran out at Prime but not on the first day, I would say they have a good handle on this.
As to your example, it wouldn't happen like that. The stock for each PAX is regionally allocated by default. If they run out of Pins at East too quickly, there won't be enough time to rush more there from Seattle, let alone Australia. The problem of not enough Pins would hit both systems equally. The idea is not to print 6,500 Pins and take them to each convention in one lump. It is to print in one lump, and split that lump into three pieces, as opposed to printing three times. Both systems have the flaw that "not enough Pins at PAX xxxx means running out of Pins at PAX xxxx" but neither has an adverse knock-on effect. Should the growth be so large as to prompt a reprint, then there would be a variant for that particular time. But better to have a minimal number of variants than a consistent one.
3. Well depending on the first Drop of the Pin, there is a modicum of correction allowed. If they print just before East '14 and decide to have more for Aus '14 and Prime '14, they can do more printings without any issue. And if a Pin released at Prime '14 sells amazingly well, they can print more before year end with no issues. But I think that numbers are something Brian and Robert do very well.
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I didn't mean to say they'd rush back to get more....but I was thinking more of bringing the massive number to say East and then running low. I didn't think of it the way you said in your example. This is very true.
As far as Brian and Robert being good at numbers, I don't doubt that. I'm just saying to run numbers very very well it helps to have numbers in front of you. More PAX events will give those numbers and will make it easier to be precise.
Of course. And whilst I am a fan of precision, I have no problem with them being slightly over (Blind Boxes would help new Pin collectors catch up) or slightly under (adds an element of urgency to PAX) provided they are reasonably accurate for the most part.
Obviously knowing more about numbers of "sales" and numbers of production would help move this along. I hear lots of unofficial numbers for things from various people, but in the main it seems to be that each Pin has between 1,000 and 3,000 produced. How accurate that is we might know soon, but the original question of "how to minimise variant years" does seem to be answered. I'm not saying that it will happen immediately or at all, but it is possible and if it occurs to us then I'm sure it occurs to them as well.
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My Digital Pin Lanyard
Anyway I think year variants are largely insignificant, some people will collect them and that's fine, most people it seems are happy to ignore them, on display you can't even tell unless you feel like pinning them backwards. So really, the production of how they're made isn't really something I think PA needs to put a lot of effort in to.
Minimising it is counter-productive, that only increases the likely hood people want to collect them, if there's only small calculated overlaps, the variants will be rare. Letting it happen naturally would be more effective in lessening the impact of wanting to collect them.
http://pinmash.info - Head-To-Head battle of pins! Choose the most desirable.
http://pinnywise.com - iOS pin collection tracking app.
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My Delicious Pins For Trade
This is a good point. Only the people who collect varients will care anyways.
As far as not printing the year...I disagree with this if only for a tracking record and also for a counterfeit prevention measure. The longer they make the pins the more popular it will be and aadly eventually people may try to make copies. The more identifying marks on the back the better when it comes to logo and year.
@Manic2k can you please update the roster to reflect that henceforth we shall be known as The Pinglourious Basterds.
I'm really mad at myself that I didn't think of that in my movie scenario. I expect better of myself.
Pin Needs:Tabletop Tycho, Pax East Kemper, Pax East Logo, Aus Core Set
Done done and done
Community Pinny Arcade Trading web site: http://www.pinnypals.com
Pinny Arcade - Pin Pals twitter: @PA_PinPals
SubReddit:http://www.reddit.com/r/pinnypals
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Community Pinny Arcade Trading web site: http://www.pinnypals.com
Pinny Arcade - Pin Pals twitter: @PA_PinPals
SubReddit:http://www.reddit.com/r/pinnypals
Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/pinnypals
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My Digital Pin Lanyard
I've got mine in a felt-lined notebook until the Pinny Arcade shadowbox comes out. And I've got most of my tradeable extras in package.
Always looking to trade.
Always looking to trade.
I'd like to do either a nice felt binder or shadowboxes eventually. I'll probably wait for the aforementioned PA binders.
Looking for Pins: DLC
There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?
I'm pretty happy with the results I got with combining colored corkboard and picture frames. Both can be procured relatively cheap at craft stores in the US. Plus there are lots of ways to customize your setup to make it look professional. I considered making a stencil of the Pinny Arcade or Penny Arcade logo to spray paint on the cork, but I ended up deciding against the idea with how close together I display my pins.
All of my pin backings and original packaging get stored in a safe location so that I can still use them in a trade if necessary.
I'm not a fan of shadow boxes though because of how large, heavy, and restrictive they are. And there's no way I'd hide my pins away in a binder either though, I've spent too much time and money not to display my pins.
We went through our doubles and picked the bestest and mounted them on black foam core. We framed it in a nice deep frame and it looks killer.
Now we don't have room for the next set of pins...
Any idea when the binder comes out???
Any idea when the blind boxes come out???
I think I've been infested with Pin worms...
[♦ ] 4 Day Passes
[♦ ] Hotel
[ ] Plane Tickets
[♦]Working my ass off to pay for all this shit.
I really want my display to be more than just "Pins I collected" so the idea is to display them in smaller sets amongst comic prints and posters. But that means I need a lot of different sized frames from ones that can hold a single Pin, to holding three comic prints and 4 Pins, up to poster sized. Anyone with ideas of where to get them in that size variety in a single style, I would appreciate it.
Nusquam Findi Factionis
My Digital Pin Lanyard
The thought of losing the DLC makes me shudder, even now.
Binder and Blind Boxes are slated for 2014. No firmer date than that right now. I'll be asking again about all things 2014 in the January FAQ.
No my friend, you have a case of brain-squirrels. They gnaw on the part of the brain that enjoys completeness, and the only relief is a complete collection. They can't be cured, but they can be sated temporarily, until the next Pin Drops.
Nusquam Findi Factionis
My Digital Pin Lanyard
I only just heard about this meme, but it struck me as awesome and reminded me of PAX and pin pals. The meme is: Ameristralia!
http://www.heavy.com/social/2013/04/ameristralia-top-10-facts-you-need-to-know/
That is all. It is now bed time in Southern Ameristralia. Back to you, North Ameristralia (and Ameristralian allies in appropriate timezones).
Heroic Coaching & Consulting - Personal Development & Coaching For Nerds
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6423-4833
"Every suggestion from the FAQ with a link? Kamelon. A truly Organised Pinthusiast." - PedroAsani
Ahhh, interesting.
Here's my new plan.
I'm going to consider a "Pin Year" to start and end with PAX East. So everything I'm going to get between PAX East 2013 and the day before PAX East 2014 will be Pin Year 1 for me. I think that's probably how the Powers That Be at Penny Arcade see it too. I'm going to have a shadowbox for each Pin Year, with some kind of accompanying color printout showing what each pin is.
Always looking to trade.