ART VLOG #001: Grading enamel pins for May’s Pin Club rewards

Hi friends,

I recently started a YouTube channel, and I thought it would be fun to share my grading process with you all! The bunny pins I’m grading in this video are the May rewards for my Patreon Pin Club 🙂

This was a relatively bad batch, with the exact same number of A and B Grades. On the plus side, the B Grades were incredibly nice, and the batch only had seven C Grades!

Most common B Grade errors

In this batch of enamel pins, the error that repeated itself the most was the presence of tiny dust specs embedded into the white paint. Often just one nearly microscopic spec of dust. The dust grains were so small in fact, that it was almost tempting to classify most of the B Grades as A Grades… But obviously I can’t do that, haha.

Will you ask for replacements?

Not really. The B Grade classification in my grading system only allows for minor and tiny flaws. Because of this, my B Grades still look really nice, and I’m able to sell them quite easily both online and at conventions. Therefore, I don’t tend to ask for replacements of B Grade pins, unless the amount of B Grades exceeds 60-65% of the batch (as this would cause me to not have enough pins to fulfill orders).

If, on the other hand, the errors had adhered to my C Grade standard, I would definitely ask for replacements:

I have no doubt that my manufacturer would send me replacement pins if I asked for them. But if the pins are still of a nice enough standard(which I think B Grades are), I’d much rather notify my manufacturer of the issue so it can be avoided next time, and maintain a good working relationship for both parties 🙂

My enamel pin links 🙂

You can find more information under “How I Grade My Pins” here on my website. A, B and C grades of my pins are available in my shop. The pins I’m grading in my video are only available through my Patreon Pin Club and the club’s Exclusive Member’s Shop 🙂