Advice for son, age 10, starting pin trading

[Disney Dad Canada]

My son (10) want to start pin trading on our next WDW trip. Not knowing the first thing about this, I thought this would be a good place to ask for some "Pin Trading 101" tips.

Should we buy pins to trade in WDW, or somewhere beforehand? Does he trade himself, or do I do it for him? What if he doesn't want to trade a certain pin?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Herkemer]

A few tips we've picked up over the past several trips. My son is also 10 at the moment but he's been trading in some fashion since he was around 6.

First off go to one of the shops and pick up one of the cheaper "starter" packs. You can use those to trade Disney Cast Members while waiting in lines or any other place really. Most are more than happy to trade, even the cheaper pins, so it's a good way to trade up over time.

If he gets one that he really doesn't want to trade then he can turn it around backwards so it's not visible.

We've always used pin trading as a way to make our son more assertive, we rarely do the trading for him and instead use it as a lesson for going and asking for something he wants. That way he knows if he really wants to get that awesome Goofy Basketball pin from the cast member he's gotta be the one to approach them and ask about it, hopefully setting him up for similar battles as an adult

One issue we had was backs falling off, so if you have some really valuable pins or ones you just know he'd be sad about losing get some locking backs to keep them locked tight. I've had to search a large portion of The Studios for a Jedi Mickey, ended up just buying a new one to keep him happy

Most of all make sure its a FUN activity and not a drag. A lot of times my son will be gung ho about trading for the first couple of days then it dies off and we start leaving the lanyards in the room. One other thing we like todo is make him earn the money he spends on pins that he purchases, they can add up. He always earns money during the months before our trips and then thats his spending cash while we're in the parks.

Have fun!

 

[dvc at last !]

Have you checked eBay ?
Sometimes there are great package deals -
perfect for what your needs are.
Cheap and free shipping, too !

 

[chaoscent]

be careful of some of the pins that are for sale on ebay as some of them are scrappers. if you go to the Dis Collector's Board you can sometimes find good information there. The Disney store often has pins on sale. As previously mentioned the "starter" packs are wonderful. If you have a car, you can go to the Disney outlets and pick up some cheaper pins there. I also agree it can be a wonderful socialization activity for children. My nephew, who had some real socialization issues when he was younger (did not like interacting with people) would intereact with Cast Members to get pins that he wanted. There is also a link here
http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/page?id=tools
where Disney has GUIDELINES TO DISNEY PIN TRADING

I have an email I sent to a friend's son (I am a long time pin trader or better yet, pin keeper as I don't trade that often ) . if you would like it, pm me you email address and I will send it to you.

Have fun, but it is addicting. However, as one of the posters said, one of my nephews got bored with it by the end of each trip. The other nephew still is interested in it. Penny

 

[daneenm]

We have had great luck with grab bags on eBay. I know you need to be careful, but I have always looked for sellers with many high ratings and that say they only have Disney certified, tradable pins.

We got a pack of 20 (10 for DD and 10 for DS) before our last trip, and they had a complete blast trading them. We only allowed them to trade with cast members. We know pins have various values to traders, but we just allowed them to decided for themselves what they wanted to trade. We will not be selling these for profit. It was interesting to see what they were drawn to. DS wound up collecting monorails and DD started with princesses and quickly developed a love of Tink pins.

Have fun!

 

[Dorisk3]

Definetly check out ebay. I got about 100 pins (really way more than I need) for about .79 cents each. As a previous poster stated, look at feedback to get an idea of the seller. They usually do buy it now or bid. The bidding is cheaper generally, if you have an hour to spare in the evening the auctions will often end one after the other. Good luck!

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

The problem with both ebay and the Disney Store is shipping to Canada. Especially with the Disney Store, as the shipping usually ends up being more than the actual item you purchase.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

Just found a great deal on eBay who ships to Canada. Thanks a lot everyone, my son will be thrilled.

 

[bourlea]

We stayed onsite last year and both daughters asked to trade with the cm on the reception desk and they then produced a book of pins for them to trade from.
They also asked while we were at guest services in Epcot and they had a book of pins as well.
Both girls loved it (and it stopped us having to stop at every cm they saw)
Good luck

 

[chaoscent]

Most of the resorts have a pin book also, just ask them when/where it is available. Penny

 

[mikelan6]

I've also had good luck with getting ebay pins. Then I trade them at the parks for ones I like.

 

[bedlam6]

Instead of shipping to Canada, you can see if the seller will ship directly to the resort. We did that on are last trip. It could also work as a nice surprise, if you son doesn't know.

My family really enjoys pin trading with the cast members. Each of us has a cork board that we put our pins on when we get home. They are instant memories of our trips. I know the first pin we ever traded. It is a Captain Hook trapped in the crocodile's mouth. My son saw it on a CM's lanyard and asked how she got it. The CM then explained pin trading. Shortly after that, the whole family was hooked.

One of my favorite stories, we were getting ready to leave POR and take the bus back to the airport. We were missing a pin that was the third in a Hidden Mickey set. We found the first two the first day and spent the rest of the week looking for last one. Literally, minutes before the bus was to arrive we decided to take a last look at the pin board in the General Store. We were talking to the Manager about the last pin. He told us to wait a minute and disappeared into the back. He came back with the pin we needed. Disney Magic!

I hope your son has fun trading pins. Don't be surprised if it becomes a family activity.

 

[Cherinva]

I agree with buying pins on Ebay, as long as you make sure the seller has high ratings. We trade pins on each trip....it started with my DGD and then spread to the rest of us. Good luck and have fun!!!