Pin Collecting at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Hello Collectors!
Time sure flies when you are having fun.
Some of you are currently making plans to attend the 2010 winter Games. In preparation for that, some of you have been scouring the world for pins to trade while there. Well now a days scouring the world is easier than it used to be with the help of some of the sites out there. My two favorites for buying are ecrater.com and ebay.com. You can find good deals on all types of pins from all over the world. You just have to be patient and look for the bargains.
I have been to two Olympics, but the summer games is my thing. I can't see standing for several hours in the cold to see something pass by for three seconds in front of you since they are going 100 miles an hour.
One of the things that I learned pin trading in the previous Olympics is that people always like collecting more of the stuff they already have. For instance, someone that collects coke, will usually trade you any pin for just about any coke pin which they don't already have. The same thing with sponsors or organizations. If they are in to a specific sport, then they might want different pins from that sport. I did really well trading USA Federations pins from the different sports for other pins that I wanted. I also had individual sports pins from other venues such as Commonwealth Games, Goodwill Games, and Pan America Games. It is always easier and more fun to trade pins that were easy (and cheaper) to come by, that way you can be more flexible in your trading. Remember, the person you are trying to trade with probably has pins that were easy for them to get, too. So keep the trading light and low preasure. Enjoy the experience. Make some new friends.
Until next time, happy hunting!