Pin Grading Information

t's easy to forget sometimes, but many things aren't made by machines! Enamel pins are one of those things.

Enamel pins are made by hand, individually painted and individually polished. Due to this process, no two pins are alike and 'perfection' is very rare.

I will always do my best to send out the best pins available. If there is a major issue, please contact me at zhi@cat-bird.com and I will do my best to help.

Collector Grade Pins

These pins are the cream of the crop of the run. We rarely find more than 5 pins per 100 that we would consider "Perfect". These pins are the finest pins available, displaying proper fill, metal finish and no noticable flaws. These pins are best for collector's who seek the best display pieces that will not be handled often.

Due to the extreme rarity of Collector Grade pins, they're priced at a premium so they can be reserved for the most dedicated Sushi Tomodachi collectors.

Collector Grade pins are available upon request via online order only and are only available if the product listing displays the "Grade" drop down.

Standard Pins

These pins are the high quality and are close to perfection, but may still exhibit some very minor imperfections. Any flaw not immediately noticable from 18" away is considered acceptable, and these flaws can include but are not limited to: 

• Superficial marks or scratches on metal or enamel surface.
• Superficial specks, dots, or bubbles on enamel.
• Slightly low or uneven fills.
• Imperfections on the back or side of pin.
• Slight darker flecks of glitter and/or small specks of stray glitter (on glitter pins).
• Slightly misaligned screen-printing if screen-printing processes are used.
• Small 'cut' areas where metal is not entirely removed from inside.
• Very small contaminants only visible upon very close inspection.
• Very, very small areas of missing fill (less than 1% of the design).
• Slightly crooked but still firmly attached posts.
• Other superficial imperfections that are only visible upon very close-up inspection and/or from looking at the pin under certain lighting or from a specific angle.

Please feel free to attempt to repair minor imperfections as you desire, however I cannot accept returns or exchanges for failed attempted repairs.