Enamel Pin Safe Buying and Re-Selling Guide
This is a guide for new and seasoned members of the pin community to buy in as safe of an environment as possible and avoid losing hard earned money. While we cannot know with complete certainty as to how others will act we can certainly take precautions to protect ourselves the best we can.
Note: We are not responsible if any buying goes awry as a result of following this guide.
If your new to buying pins review your Community Terminology Here.
Buying From Other Collectors
Buying from other collectors online is usually safe, but it is best to watch out for the following.
TimeStamps / Pics/ Videos: Ask for timestamps, Pics at different angles and videos of the pin. Check for damage and legitimacy.
Watch out for Photoshop and Ai video: Be careful of the legitimacy of the videos and watch for signs of fragments or inconsistencies.
Ask for a Tracking Number: Make sure that your pin is tracked and that they are sending it to the right address.
Avoid Flippers: Ask to see the back of the pin and find out the maker's original price to avoid overinflated pricing. Also seeing other posts online helps with knowing the average selling price.
Buying From Other Collectors Contd.
Community Presence: Look up the posting history of the person you are buying from. If they have a long history in the community they are generally safer because or integrity and reputation.
Fake Profiles: Be cautious around extremely new profiles without history and fake pictures.
PayPal GnS: Try to use PayPal GnS if they are less known in the community or if you have any doubts. The extra fee is worth the 6 months of buyer protection to get your money back.
Buying From Stores / Makers
Contrary to initial perception stores / makers are not always safe to buy from either. Here are a few tips to protect yourselves.
Buyer Protection: Try to purchase your pins using PayPal as you will have 6 months purchase protection.
Long Preorders: Some pre-orders may take longer than the 6 month timeline to produce due to complexity and errors. You may ask the store if it can issue a refund so you can buy again to refresh your 6 month guarantee to give you assurance your store will deliver.
In-hand Drops: For unestablished stores with little reputation, try to purchase in-hand pins as this prevents makers from taking pre-orders from people and running.
Safe Pre-Orders: Pre-orders can be safe from established pinners or ones that communicate regularly with updates from the factory.
Note: Slow production DOESN'T mean a maker is not legitimate as good work takes time.
Buying from Stores / Makers contd.
Old Scammers New Tricks: Some scam stores will come back with new names to repeat their reign of terror in the community. Can only be found through a bit of detective work.
Tracking with no product: Some stores automatically provide tracking, but no product is shipped to the carrier. Check with the store in 2-3 days if the tracking isn't updated.
Product Reviews: Treat reviews with caution. Even reviews on regulated sites like Etsy and Ebay can be paid for and forged with fake accounts. Private sites like Shopify can control their reviews and only publish the ones they feel are the best.
Factors of Store Failure: Mismanagement of financials, aggressive / poor customer service, manufacturer ghosting, and chronic personal issues. Watch out for these signs in posts and be cautious.
Note: They are not necessarily scammers but these factors can make it less likely for you to receive your pin.
Buying From Stores / Makers Ai Ethics
Vote with your wallet as a buyer to make your voice heard!
Artwork Ethics and Ai: Some stores may use Ai art to produce their designs, especially if they are not artists themselves, have a generic style or hide artists names. Make a personal ethical choice regarding Ai in this instance.
Artists using Ai as Tools: Some artists may upload their own drawing style in to Ai and utilize it as a tool to save time on creating illustrations or even animate. Alternatively you may want to consider original artwork as any writing instrument to any canvas whether physical or digital as art that is human-made being worth your time. Make a personal ethical choice regarding the delineation between an artist and their tools in this instance.
Buying From Stores / Makers Copying Ethics
Official Licensed Art and Profits: Some stores may use official or heavily referenced art in their pins. It is normally more acceptable to the community to do these as P4P designs to avoid making a profit so that the community will still have a chance at receiving a pin of the design, but this does not make the practice acceptable legally. Theft is still theft even from a larger organization. Also some stores may still choose to make a profit regardless. Make a personal ethical choice in this instance.
Traced Artwork dictionary or community: Some stores may use artwork that is traced from original or other artists directly according to the dictionary definition. Some may use art that has traced some anatomical aspects and made changes to evolve the drawing in to a new character based on the community definition. New artists that are in learning phases may be caught in this grey area and earning a living wage is difficult. Experienced artists may take an elitist stance on this grey area when it comes to making money. Make a personal ethical choice in this instance.
OC Tracing: In some cases an original characters (OC) can be traced fully or partially by some stores or artists. It is a natural part of learning and evolving artwork to utilize other artists work as a reference. The extent to which a reference is used differs from person to person as to what is acceptable. Make a personal ethical choice in this instance.
Buyer Etiquette (Pre-Orders)
Be patient with Pre-Orders: Good work takes time and many issues can arise with manufacturer production. Request updates when you can but know some pre-orders can take up to 8 months not including holidays.
Avoid Refunding Pre-Orders: In many cases your money is already with the manufacturer for that design. Taking a refund or forcing a chargeback at the bank will force the maker to put other designs jeopardy for your lack of responsibility for the decisions you have already made. Do your best not to request refunds for pre-orders as these are aesthetic products and should take accountability for you previous decisions to purchase.
Avoid Selling Pre-Orders: Address changes are administratively taxing to small businesses. Many businesses have a database with your name and address tied to it. If orders are sent to the wrong address you risk losing a future order. If orders are lost through the courier then it makes issues substantially complicated. It is best to avoid this messy situation by waiting for your pre-order to arrive or ask the business if it is possible for a Pre-Order Transfer instead.
Re-Selling Etiquette
Flipping vs Standard Markups: We are in a community with limited supply and collectors love to see the value of their collections grow. Be reasonable with the markups when reselling and try not to price gouge. (General rule is no more than 4x the drop price). Makers do not have a legal right to stop you from charging what you want, but it is part of being a good contributor to the overall community to not abuse it.
Pin Reselling Rules: Some stores put rules in place for number of units purchased or adhere to a specific timeline. These are in place to help regulate flipping in the community. Please adhere to them as best you can. Though there are no official legal consequences if you don't the community itself may shut you out as a result.
Resale Posts: Try to be clear with your posts and show pins with timestamps, pricing, condition, accessories, payment methods, cross posting, shipping restrictions, and whether or not you are open to other offers.
Who Can We Trust? 🥵 Enamel Pins
How to Buy Outside of the U.S.A?
If you're outside of the U.S. in any other country there are a few options for you as many small businesses do not have the capability or expertise to ship internationally.
For the few that do, please try to purchase directly as it reduces the chance of lost packages.
Close to the border: If you live close to the border in Canada you can have pins sent to a holding mailbox and you can cross the border to pick them up in bulk saving money. Suggestion American Mailbox
Mail Forwarding Service: If you are far from the border then you can use a mail forwarding service to get your mail sent to you after the store sends your pin to them directly. This can work with other goods as well. Suggestion Reship