Pin Trading

With more people from around the world coming into Vancouver, more media are arriving as well. This is also about the time pin collectors and traders show up at Olympic venues with their giant stash of pins. They setup outside with their pins on display and just hang out all day, trading pins with people. I always knew there were people that collected and traded lapel pins, but I had no idea there was such a craze for it! It's insane the amount of pins these people have, and how early the go to start. I mean, don't these people have jobs?!

Pins go for an average of $5 to $8, with larger or special ones being more. I have always collected pin, but passively. I'm afraid that once I buy one from somewhere, I'd HAVE to buy from other places. $8 each time will rack up a huge bill, fast. So I've never bought any pins, and only keep the ones that I get for free! I have a tiny pin collect, most of them from sponsors of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Many of the pin traders only collect Olympic pins, and they go to the Olympics every two years (both summer and winter) to collect and trade their pins! Now that I have seen some of their collections, I have to get in on it. I see everyone with a few lapel pins on their lanyards, and some people get them for free from people who just give it to them!! WHAT! How come I am never that lucky?! Anyway, I am searching for a Coca Cola pin that only CC staff seem to have, a CTV and an NBC pin. I'm determined to get them before the Olympics are over!

Pin trading is an interesting and cool hobby, and you get to meet a lot of great people from all over the world (they travel here just to trade pins at the Olympics!). There are also pin trading clubs you can find, where pin collectors just get together and swap pins! If you're interested in getting in on these pins while they're hot, check out this website to learn the rules of pin trading!