Scrapper Pins

[jessthemix]

I am new to pin trading, and I've seen the threads warning about scrapper/fake pins. Can anyone explain how to tell the difference?

My son and daughter went crazy with pin trading on their first trip in September. I bought 5 of the starter packs for them to trade with. However, I'm worried they have traded for a few scrapper pins. can someone help me identify them?

[mountdew1]

Odds are in you traded for pins from a CM lanyard, you got scrappers. Some are good and hard to tell they are fakes, others are pretty bad and can be easily spotted right off the bat. You can check out pinpics.com and their pin forum to see pics of some known fakes, and reasons why they are fakes.

Things to look for -
* Unclean edges. Places where there are bits of metal flashing left on the edges where if overflowed the mold that would normally be trimmed up, or areas between pieces of the pin that stick out that should be clear of metal, but instead have metal between them. (IE look at the Vinylmation pins, many still have metal between the arm and the body)
* Off colors. Often the colors aren't what they should be. I have seen some Belles whose dress has been a radioactive green yellow instead of the normal yellow color.
* Off paint. Real pins can make it through QC with spots left blank, colors in the wrong spots, and things like really bad pupils in the eyes, but scrappers are much more likely to have these things.
* Bad back stamp. Falls into two types. Some pins (like most of the Vinylmation pins) have a pattern of Mickey heads on them. Scrappers often have the heads running from left to right instead of top to bottom (if you look at it upright, half the heads should look correct, the other half upside down. If they are sideways its a fake). Others won't have the heads go all the way to the edge of the pin. So the Mickey head would just end 1/16" of a inch before the pin does, which is a dead giveaway its a scrapper. The second type would be where they used the wrong back stamp. The odds of you knowing this while trading in park are slim to rare. But the Official Disney Pin Trading logo has the year in it, sometimes they stamp them with the wrong year, or use the Mickey head pattern when they shouldn't have, or use a DLP stamp when it should have been a WDW stamp, stuff like that. And unless you are hardcore knowledgeable about the pin in question, is very hard to spot. Especially since Disney does make changes to the backs, as well as sells the same pin in multiple years.
* Weight. Scrappers are often made with a cheaper lighter type of metal. So a scrapper would feel lighter than the corresponding real pin. After a while you can get pretty good by telling by feel if it seems light.

Basically it comes down to the pin just not feeling right. If something about it feels off, odds are its a scrapper. Some of the most commonly scrapped pins are the CM Lanyard pins, as those tend to be a little smaller, and have simpler designs. So a huge chunk of the pins you see with a silver "hidden mickey" on the front are probably scrappers. Disney doesn't seem to care too much about it, and some are so good that even their pin designers can't tell they are fakes. There have been times where people have brought pins to the pin trading nights, and asked the designers if it was fake. And the only way they can tell its fake, is when they pull out the official book of pins they produced, and they see that it's not in there. Some are completely new sets/series based off of other things, others are just some that were never made. For instance the Vinyl sets don't always include every pin, so some scrappers make pins of the ones that Disney didn't.

As with any collectible, what it comes down to, is are you happy with the pins you bought/traded for? Odds are you won't ever get back the dollar value by selling the pins down the road unless they are really rare/exclusive ones. So by making trades for pins that you feel are a good value, and by getting pins that you are happy with, then you have come out ahead, and had a good time doing so.

[DCbride]

Wow, lots of great information! Thanks!

[CapnJacksGirl]

That's probably the best, and definitely the least condescending, description of scrapper pins I've ever seen on the DIS. Thank you so much mountdew1 for that post!

The part at the end was fantastic! I know my DS7 and DS5 got a couple of scrappers when they traded with CMs for the first time in August, but they had an absolute blast and love the pins they got so much that they are still getting them out and looking at them. And we'll likely never trade (or attempt to trade) with the serious professional pin traders, so to us, it's not a big deal. I stockpiled a few starter sets to get them going on future trips, and we'll go from there. It's nice to see someone talk about the scrappers without predicting the end of days as a result of them.

Again, thank you!!!

[shalom]

mountdew1 did a great write up.

My shorter version is: Don't trade with serious collectors unless you are one, don't trade pins that have been beat up or have missing bits or are otherwise wonky, and don't worry about absolute authenticity unless Disney asks you to (which they don't).

I'm sure Disney is not happy about the scrappers, and would encourage you not to trade any obviously inauthentic pins, but even very dedicated collectors can't always tell whether a pin's been scrapped (and sometimes disagree about it -- one will says it's been scapped due to color issues, another will say that's a legit variation that was sold out of a Disney store), so just do your best to trade nice pins and have a great time.

[jessthemix]

Thanks for the very detailed post! I'm digging out all of our pins and comparing them to your notes. You are right when you say that we had a blast collecting these. Who cares if they aren't 100% authentic, considering we don't have plans to ever trade with a pin collector or cash the pins in for any monetary value. It's just something that my children enjoy doing, so that's where their true value lies!

Thanks again for your very helpful post.

[akaler2010]

That was very helpful. My husband and I are new to trading and I really agree with you. For us, it's about getting the pins we love, not having the best collection. We will keep this handy so we remember those tips to try to avoid scrapers though!

[erincon23]

Originally Posted by jessthemix

Thanks for the very detailed post! I'm digging out all of our pins and comparing them to your notes. You are right when you say that we had a blast collecting these. Who cares if they aren't 100% authentic, considering we don't have plans to ever trade with a pin collector or cash the pins in for any monetary value. It's just something that my children enjoy doing, so that's where their true value lies!

Thanks again for your very helpful post.

Re the bolded part -- as someone who has tried to sell pins, they really have little to no monetary value, except for a few low limited edition pins. As long as you really focus on the enjoyment value, trading for pins you like, and don't purchase pins that you only plan to use for trading for lots of money so you get upset that you've spent money and won't ever get it back, you'll be fine. And don't expect that any pins you purchase at the parks -- ones you know are genuine -- will be able to be sold for even the amount you paid, much less increase in value.

[shalom]

Originally Posted by erincon23

And don't expect that any pins you purchase at the parks -- ones you know are genuine -- will be able to be sold for even the amount you paid, much less increase in value.

Second this. Which is true of most collectibles -- even ones that initially shoot up in price often fade in time as people's interest moves on to other things.

And, especially when it comes to cheap stuff that is breakable or that kids love, things will often go back up in price for nostalgia purposes. See: comic books and carnival glass. Other than that, collectible or not, consumer goods usually sell for much less second hand than they did originally.

[larryz]

Like everything else in life -- handbags, designer jeans, electronics -- if you paid only 10 to 30 percent of normal retail price for them on eBay, chances are pretty good that you're getting scrappers/counterfeits.

[mrsz06]

I've been thinking about getting into pin trading. I've always enjoyed looking at the pins when I'm at Disney. I too like the OP am a little worried and discouraged about scrapper pins. I see some great pins online and worry about buying them and them being scrappers. Although on the flip side. I won't be trading these pin just displaying them in my office. What I worry about is finding a reasonably priced way to get some start up pins to trade with at Disney. I don't want to buy pins online and knowingly bring scrappers into the parks and onto cm lanyards. Any advice on getting a good amount of start up pins without breaking the bank?

[CapnJacksGirl]

Originally Posted by mrsz06

Any advice on getting a good amount of start up pins without breaking the bank?

I bought a few starter sets as purchase-with-a-purchase things at WDW and a couple just a few weeks ago at disneystore.com when they had them for $10 each. They're not at all pins we'd want to keep, but they're great for trading with CMs to get some you do like!

If you want to buy pins you like to start with, eBay is a good resource. There's a list of trusted sellers somewhere here on the DIS that's very useful and will keep you from ending up with a bunch of scrappers.

[maburke]

Originally Posted by CapnJacksGirl

There's a list of trusted sellers somewhere here on the DIS that's very useful and will keep you from ending up with a bunch of scrappers.

There's been a lot of good advice here, so thanks to you all. I would just say that I don't think it's a big deal to receive a scrapper in trade if you're just a casual trader having fun with it. I trade with my kids a lot, and I haven't told them about scrappers, as I don't want to spoil their fun. But on the other hand, I am determined not to buy scrappers and keep putting them into the pipeline. So I follow the advice on the thread here, and I know we get some scrappers in trade, but I know I'm trading out authentic pins.

Thanks, also, everybody, for your concern in keeping pin trading fun and legit!

[mrsz06]

Originally Posted by CapnJacksGirl

I bought a few starter sets as purchase-with-a-purchase things at WDW and a couple just a few weeks ago at disneystore.com when they had them for $10 each. They're not at all pins we'd want to keep, but they're great for trading with CMs to get some you do like!

If you want to buy pins you like to start with, eBay is a good resource. There's a list of trusted sellers somewhere here on the DIS that's very useful and will keep you from ending up with a bunch of scrappers.

Thanks CapnJacksGirl! I figured that would be the best route to take. I'm gonna also keep my eyes open for discounted pins at the disney outlet store we usualy visit while we are down there. Ill also keep an eye out at the disney store, I'm always ordering things from there. Too bad I missed out on the $10 starter pin sest. :/ oh well

[Duster72]

I bought about 70 pins on Ebay before we went from sellers who seem to acquire their pins by trading in the parks. I felt like 80% of them were legit and trashed a few that I thought were really bad.

After my kids traded for an Aurora with radioactive green hair, I had to have a quick talk about looking at the pins before trading for them and making sure they look correct. I don't really mind if they trade for scrappers as long as they like them. One thing that was enlightening was when they had "pin x" and then saw another "pin x" with much better colors. Then they understood the difference.

If you really want to see a lot of scrappers, find a location with a large pin board. The one at Port Orleans Riverside had about 100ish pins, and I would guess 80 of them were scrappers. Looking at those pin boards is a great way to figure out which pins you don't want to trade for.

Finally, in parks right now they have 8 pin starter sets for $18 with a $40 purchase. I think I bought 6 of them. Then you don't feel bad about trading the pins.