TRading Tennis pins

Trading pins is a great way to meet people, make friends, and collect unique, fun souvenirs from your tennis experiences.

How do you get started?

First, people who want to trade pins will typically display them so others will notice and ask to take a look. They might be on a tennis bag, a lanyard, a hat, or a Pin Pal (tm, Pin Pals). If you have yours on display, others will notice and will ask you about them. If you see someone displaying pins, ask politely if you may look at them, but never touch the other person’s pins without their permission.

A trade has to be agreeable to both sides. You never have to trade a pin. Ask the other person if they would like to trade. Let them know what you’re interested in, or what you have to offer. If you can’t agree on something, that’s fine. You’ve still had the fun of looking and maybe making a friend. Always thank the other person for letting you look at their pins.

Are pins valuable?

Pins are not usually a high-priced item. The fun is in collecting as many different pins as you can, or maybe a variety of a certain kind of pin. The “value” is a function of how hard a pin is to come by, and varies according to the collector.

Where do you get pins?

Souvenir pins are available at many tennis tournaments and similar events. Camps and academies sometimes have their own pins, and many clubs and neighborhood teams have a custom-made pin that represents them. Manufacturers like tennispins.com make a variety of fun pins for tennis players, as well as offering the ability to order your own custom tennis pins.

Pins also make great gifts. Since they’re not expensive, many players give them as a small gift to coaches, captains, team moms and dads, and to an opponent at the end of a match, as a kind of friendship gift.

Keep going!

There are thousands of pins out there. Sometimes, no matter hard you try, and no matter how much you want a particular pin, a trade is not going to happen. But there’s always another opportunity. The thrill of pin collecting is finding that unusual or special pin, even if the perfect trade takes a long time to find. The most important thing is to have fun, enjoy the hobby, and let it add to your tennis fun.