Editor’s Note: This blog was reformatted in 2022 to include a link to the pin collection and photos of the pins mentioned in this blog.
Every few days I pop open the eBay app on my phone and do a few searches. I search “roller coaster pins,” “amusement park pins,” and then I do the same searches, but replace “pins” with “enamel.” I have found a good number of them this way, which has helped pad my ever-growing collection. Well, earlier this week, I found 34 pins that are now going to be part of my collection.
Before you judge me, this not my norm. Usually I’ll find myself a rare gem that pops up that I have never seen listed and I’ll nab it. This happened with a Texas Giant pin a few months ago. Now if I could just find a New Texas Giant pin, that would be awesome.
International Flavor
Anyhow, I did my search and saw a pin for Nemesis from Alton Towers. I have rarely seen any European park pins pop up, but on that night, I was seeing dozens and many of them were all from one seller. I swiped down on my phone over and over and went through a long list of Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, and Drayton Manor Theme Park pins. Most were focused around their roller coasters, with many different designs for each one. While the price per pin was about what it would be to buy them from the parks, it was the shipping that made me hold off from making a purchase. It would have cost me about $20 shipping for a pin that was only costing me $10-15. That’s when I decided to message the seller.
I asked the seller if I were to buy a bunch of his pins if he’d be willing to combine shipping. That’s a standard thing on eBay, so I figured it would be possible. When the seller got back to me, however, the idea was even more enticing. He told me that if I bought a bunch of them, he’d knock 15 percent of the total cost off the pins in addition to the combined shipping. I was good to go. I just needed to get him a list of the pins I wanted.
Putting Together My List
That night I put together a listing of over 30 of his auctions. I sent him the list with all the descriptions and item numbers and waited for him to reply. He gave me a great price and even noticed I had asked for two copies of the same pin, so he pulled it off my list, figuring that I did that in error. I did. That’s when I read the next item that made this whole deal even sweeter!
Since I was purchasing so many items, he told me that he’s going to throw a few surprises into the package for me. I thanked him, but didn’t ask what it/they would be. Maybe it’s a few more pins? He had some slight variations on the park logo pins that I didn’t order. They were just too close and I do prefer the ride pins. Speaking of ride pins, however, he did have some non-coaster pins from Alton Towers and Thorpe Park listed for sale as well. Maybe he’s going to toss some of them in? I have no idea. I kind of want to be surprised. It could be something not even from one of his many listings. The anticipation builds!
Pin Collection Page Status
For those of you wondering when the Pin Collection page on this site will launch, I don’t have an estimate at this time. I want to buy a small light box to photograph each and every pin in my collection. My plan is to show them off in a small gallery, organized by the parks from in which the rides are from. I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on the progress of that upcoming section on this site. Until then, I have some plans to visit Camelback Mountain Adventures (CMA) and Dorney Park this coming Monday with Renee. I’m looking forward to getting her on a mountain coaster, her first, as well as her first visit to Dorney. It will be good times!
