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Note: Disney Auctions and Disney Deals no longer exist, they've been rolled into DisneyShopping.com, but because collectors are always interested in the history of how items were sold or distributed, this article is kept up for historical reference.

I'll be the first to admit it, I've gotten confused with all the different online Disney offerings. There's Disney Auctions, Disney Deals and The Disney Store! Stephanie Ayars, Marketing Manager for Disney Auctions and Disney Deals, recently talked with me and helped explain the differences.

We later rolled out Disney Deals in the Fall of 2002 offering closeouts direct from the Walt Disney Company.

What's The Disney Store (online)?
The Disney Store Online is completely separate from Disney Auctions and Disney Deals.

Where does the merchandise for Disney Auctions come from?
The bulk of our merchandise comes from internal divisions of The Walt Disney Company, but we also do product development for new items offered on Disney Auctions. Disneyland® Resort and Walt Disney World® have been great partners with well-received merchandise -- everything from parking lot signs to actual ride vehicles. Other divisions have also been generous in supplying us with archive art, archive prints, as well as story books to offer for auction.

We do our own product development for items like snow globes, pins, cookie jars and model sheets. The different prototypes from these items are very hot items on Disney Auctions when they are released for auction.

Whenever Walt Disney Pictures® has a new release, we try and get behind the release by auctioning off props, costumes, merchandise and autographed items from a film. The auction items from the "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" was extremely successful. One of the highest priced items sold was a prop gold medallion for over $5,000. The "Lizzie McGuire" movie auction was another big, successful auction for us, and keep an eye out for an upcoming auction offering movie props and costumes from the newest release, "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen."

Let's talk about one of the most popular Disney collectibles -- Disney Pins! When did Disney start producing pins for sale?
Disney has always offered pins in each of its theme parks, but with the kick-off of the Millennium Celebration in October 1999 at Walt Disney World, the tradition of Disney Pin Trading really began.

In 2001 DisneyAuctions.com launched their pin business, offering for the first time, limited-edition sizes of 100 pins in an auction environment. This proved extremely successful and limited-editions of 100 are still offered at Disney-Auctions.com in the auction format. In September 2003, we launched the Purchase-It-Now store on DisneyAuctions.com This is a fixed-price environment that offers limited-edition sizes of 250 ($14), 500 ($12) and 1000 ($10).

What are the most popular pin characters? Tinker Bell and Stitch are two of the most popular Disney Auctions pin characters. But the Villains are also pretty successful. Last fall we released a pin of Stitch surrounded by little ducks that everyone loved and one of our most popular Tinker Bell pins featured her looking through a keyhole. The good thing about DisneyAuctions.com is that we offer a wide assortment of characters, so there is really something for everyone regardless of your favorite character! We had a limited-edition of 500 pins that sold out in a record 46 seconds! Who does the designing for DisneyAuctions.com? We have about eight freelance artists currently working with us.

Explain how the pins are offered each week?
On Mondays and Thursdays we roll out our new releases in the P.I.N.S. (Purchase it Now Store) which is a fixed-price environment. Each Monday and Thursday we typically offer three limited-edition pins of 1000 ($10), two limited-edition pins of 500 ($12) and one limited-edition of 250 ($14).

The limited-editions of 100 are released every Thursday afternoon around 3 or 4 PM, Pacific Standard Time. These are available in an auction environment and they all start at $18, but because it is at auction the price can go up. Occasionally we'll offer prototypes and pin artwork, these are typically limited to only one or two of a kind. Other products include limited-edition pin lanyards and pin bags.

Disney Auctions does NOT sell any open stock pins.

What do you think makes Disney Auction pins so collectible?
Disney Auctions pride ourselves on the fact that our pins are unique because of smaller edition sizes and larger physical pin size! Our pin designs are also very intricate. Disney Auctions is a new and exciting experience for people to obtain Disney pins, they're accessible to everyone. Folks don't have to go to the Disney theme-parks to get a great Disney pin. If you are participating in auctions, you are really competing for a pin.

Disney Auctions participates once a month as an exhibitor at the Disneyland Resort Pin Trading Nights. It's very inviting and we find families collecting -- a great hobby everyone can participate in. The kids will like one character and the parents will want to collect another character, it makes Pin Trading fun for the whole family.

What about cleaning and displaying?
Although they can be displayed on cork bulletin boards or a cushion board on the wall, it's best to keep them in a special pin bag. People wear them on their jackets and hats, but the sign of the true collector is displaying their pins on a lanyard worn around the neck. It's a signal to others that you are a pin collector and open to Disney Pin Trading. If cleaning is necessary, use a slightly damp soft cloth.

Tips for Would-Be Collectors
It can be overwhelming when starting a new collection, here are a few guidelines for beginners:

• Try to specialize at the beginning. e.g. Collect your favorite character or favorite movie theme or scene.
• Learn proper Pin Etiquette -- yes, there are proper ways to trade!
• Protect your pins in pin bags.
• Check out the pin sites online to get the latest news, meet other collectors, and compare notes.
• Enjoy your hobby by collecting what you love!

~Barbara Crews
Image Courtesy of DisneyAuctions.Com