The rise in pin collecting seems to have coincided with the demise of interest in other art and collectibles. Like ‘Beanie Babies’ they were typically cheaper than the cheapest convention collectibles and produced the highest profit margins for profit-mad Disney executives. I’m not sure it can be proven that pin collecting undermined other collectibles or the convention.. but pin collectors seemed to have tunnel vision in that regard.

Another thing, Disney realized the most profitable merchandise was the “logo” items created by their salaried cast member/ staff artists rather than that of the limited edition artists such as myself. Most of the logo merchandise was manufactured for pennies in China. Also, most of these artists lived in the area and didn’t require complimentary hotel rooms or park passes –both of which were charged against convention profits.

Finally, Disney can be roundly critisized for the incredibly short-sided practise of discounting and liquidating unsold merchandise after the convention. We all know nothing undermines collector confidence quicker than learning your investment suddenly dropped by half or more. Better to simply retire or destroy unsold rather than dump it like that!!!

First of all, there was a group of ‘professional complainers’ who feel they are doing the world a favor by raising a stink over the most minor things. They truly believed they were helping insure Disney lived up to the impossibly high standards they demanded. More often than not, they just wanted something for free. Complain as they might, they still returned every year.

The second problem as I see it was a boneheaded accounting system imposed by Disney HQ. By and large the group that put on these events did an amazing job and sold a ton of stuff. However, at the end of the week, they had to show a profit for all their efforts. And the only way they could do this was by showing how loudly their cash registers rang. What wasn’t accounted for –and which they richly deserved– was credit for the substantial spending boost that occured throughout the entire resort during the convention. That simply wouldn’t have happened without that influx of rabid, zealous Disney enthusiasts. Their profit was further depleted by Disney’s bizarre accounting which required the Disneyana team to take a charge for every little service (bus transport, park passes, ballroom rentals, comped rooms for artists and celebrities etc). Disney is divided into little mini kingdoms wherein a system of internal ‘credits and charges’ impacts the bottom line of each division. That may make sense to an accountant or MBA.. but it’s a stupid way to measure true success.

The remaining problems as I see them were outside of Disney’s control. First was the rise of Ebay which began to take off in 1998. For the first time collectors had an honest market which showed them what their items were (or were not) worth. Suddenly they could no longer financially justify their obsession as being an “investment.” Then came the “dot com” bust followed by 911 and the subsequent recession. The 2002 convention was plagued by a perfect storm of problems.

I’m curious to know the thoughts of others. Disney still has “mini” events (Halloween, Pirates, etc) and ther NFFC still manages to find interest in theirs. Maybe Disney could partner more closely with the NFFC to find a workable solution.