I Need A Pin Trading 101

[figment_jii]

We have that problem too. I read on the boards here somewhere that the best thing to use is the butterfly clutch pin backs. We're going to buy a bag of like 50 of them off Amazon to hold our pins on the lanyards. I heard they work wonderfully!

I have some of those. They work better than the rubber Mickey heads, but not as good as the locking back. They're metal and they "bite" into the pin stud to help them get traction, but they cinch down as tight as the locking backs (i.e, you can still pull them off by hand without releasing the catch). I have, however, found they don't hurt as much as the cylindrical locking backs if you're going to wear your pins on a lanyard.

 

[mhnewcomb]

Lanyards aren't the only way to do it...

One year, my daughter wore her pins on her hat, having the extra advantage of making that slightly-too-big hat a little more secure. And the pins less likely to get snagged and go missing.

This last trip, I locked my keepers onto my little purse/bag and kept the traders in an outside pocket. MUCH more convenient for the person who already has the camera around her neck the whole trip and doesn't need a lanyard in the way.

My husband has gotten so into this that we now have a bulletin board with all of our pins displayed, as he is indeed an 8-year-old when it comes to pin trading.

 

[Reddog1134]

This is probably dumb, but if you can't, and it's just for "fun" (not financial collecting for investment), does it matter?

Not to me.

Also, as far as the "professional" traders taking advantage of guests. If the deal is acceptable to you, is it really "taking advantage"?

 

[DizzyStitch]

We got tired of keeping our pins on lanyards and never looking at the pins until we got ready for a trip. So finally I bought a cork board and popped all the pins we have into that and hung it up as a display. I love looking at my little Disney works of art and I don't have to mess around with the backs all the time. Just a thought if your collection gets big.

 

[niroc]

I beg to disagree. I have purchased two batches on Ebay from reputable dealers. They are basically old smaller Disney pins that are a bit worn, but nevertheless genuine. They include genuine Disney pin backs. My son has never had a problem. In fact, from time to time he will actually find a cool vintage "trader" in the batch he keeps for his own "collection".

I never said that EVERY lot or batch from Ebay are fakes all I said is you need to be careful. I have bought several 100 pin lots from Ebay that were from reputable sellers and were very happy with them.

... and not that I promote the use of fake pins (since that would offend the sensibilities of the true collectors out there), but trust me, the CM's aren't looking beyond the obvious anyway. They could give a hoot if the pin is old, worn, a scrapper, etc. when a six year old comes up to them asking for their Minnie Mouse pin. Its all about fun for kids. Like everything else... it is really when the hard core crowd gets involved that things go south.

I hope they do look more closely at the pins because when that 6 yr old goes to trade that pin she just bought for a fake pin because they don't know any better that bothers me. Sure, they may have traded for a pin they wanted but I feel that you are taking advantage of them if you knowingly let them trade a real pin for a fake.

 

[asbyrneva]

Also some CMs have the green aprons/ laynards for trading. Those are for trading with children only. A little less intimidating for a child just starting out. Although any CM will trade with kids. The CMs have all been very good with my son while he decides and decides and decides....

 

[4xmom]

My 9 yr old dd was very into trading this past trip. She wanted to stop and trade with every CM that she found. In front of Casey's she traded for a Pooh pin. 10 mins later at Space Mt she went to trade it for a different pin. The CM was very nasty about it not being real and that she wouldn't take it. I tried to explain that she just got it and I haven't been able to check every trade (esp. since I can't really tell). Another CM came over and quieted her down and offered to trade with dd that was now in tears. Luckily she recovered from that and we had a great rest of the trip with all 4 kids trading. We didn't come home with one single pin that we started with!

 

[beldred]

when dd was little someone here recommended buying pins from mouse pinsonlinedotcom - and get a grab bag - I actually hooked up with a Diser to split a grab bag! IT was the best thing! There were pins dd fell in love with and wouldn't trade, and then lots of pins to trade.

I wanted to say thanks for this recommendation. I checked out the site the next day after reading your post and liked the look of it and the the prices seemed fair ($1.60 per pin). I have been wanting to get some traders for us before our trip in February and was so scared of ordering from ebay. Well, our pins came today (all 100 of them!) and we are very pleased with them. I feel pretty confident they are all geniune. And my son was really excited because one of them goes to a set he was unable to complete back in 2009! Lots of the ones we got are Hidden Mickey pins and at least one was a Completer pin (which is apparantly a good thing).

So thanks for increasing our magic!!

 

[DisneyDetective]

Great thread thanks as been wondering what the fascination was with pins and quite fancied starting collection.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

This is probably dumb, but if you can't, and it's just for "fun" (not financial collecting for investment), does it matter?

Honestly, for us, we don't care about the scrappers. We aren't looking to make money on our pins. I don't care if it's "real" or "fake", if I like the pin, I like the pin. We purchase genuine pins to trade but I don't care if I trade for a "real " or "fake" pin. If I like the pin, I'll trade for it.

 

[themommy]

Some of the workers in the stores at the resorts also trade pins. We went for our first Christmas vacation there a few weeks ago. My son wanted a 2013 pin and by the time he went to buy it, they were gone. Everything everywhere said 2014 even though it was still 2013. I was trying to console him about not being able to get it and a cast member working in the resort store overheard us. He walked up and told my son that he had been waiting for the perfect person to give his last one to. He did not have it with the rest of his pins. He had it in his pocket waiting for the perfect person. I have to tell you it was the nicest thing ever. My son was overjoyed and now has his pin! That cast member preserved a memory and saved the day!

 

[mhnewcomb]

Also, check in at the stroller rental in AK...they have a "pin stroller" FULL of pins.

 

[Photomom369]

What is a good number of pins to start out with? I have three children that want to trade. I would rather buy pins before we go. I like the site a PP posted MousePinsOnline, but can I get more pins cheaper on eBay? And how do you know if you are buying from a reputable seller on eBay?

 

[figment_jii]

What is a good number of pins to start out with? I have three children that want to trade. I would rather buy pins before we go. I like the site a PP posted MousePinsOnline, but can I get more pins cheaper on eBay? And how do you know if you are buying from a reputable seller on eBay?

Can you get cheaper pins on eBay? Yes
Will they be scrappers? Yes

In terms of buying pins on eBay or, really anywhere, on-line, it's going to be hit-or-miss whether you're getting legitimate pins or scrappers. Now, can most people tell the difference between a legitimate pin and a scrapper? Probably not, unless it's so obvious (like Belle in a green ballgown or a blonde Ariel).

Based on the descriptions from Mousepinsonline, I'm inclined to say they're also dealing with at least some scrappers. There was a thread about it a year ago that got kind of nasty, but the first post is the relevant one:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3042230

Sadly on eBay, there is really no "good" way to tell. Feedback doesn't really help because most folks aren't worried about, nor care about, scrappers. They just know they got a lot of pins for cheap, so they're happy.

 

[niroc]

Honestly, for us, we don't care about the scrappers. We aren't looking to make money on our pins. I don't care if it's "real" or "fake", if I like the pin, I like the pin. We purchase genuine pins to trade but I don't care if I trade for a "real " or "fake" pin. If I like the pin, I'll trade for it.

For me it has nothing to do with "making money", this is something I enjoy doing with my four young daughters. However, I do not want my daughters trading a $5-6 pin for a 10¢ fake pin. That's all.

But you're right if you like a pin and you want to trade for it then go ahead and do it. I just would prefer not to trade for scrappers.

 

[Hisgirl]

I was there last week and really looked around to see how much pin trading was going on. I only saw one CM with some pins and I saw one visitor with a lanyard. While I was only there three days, I was surprised to see so few pins on CMs. What I did see, though, was a big push at the stores for magic band adornments.

I hope the pin trading isn't becoming a thing of the past with CMs. Also...while I looked, I never saw a CM with a green lanyard. Not on this trip or our trip in October. Are folks still seeing these? How frequently?

 

[niroc]

What is a good number of pins to start out with? I have three children that want to trade. I would rather buy pins before we go. I like the site a PP posted MousePinsOnline, but can I get more pins cheaper on eBay? And how do you know if you are buying from a reputable seller on eBay?

I am not sure what the rules of this board are so I won't list any sellers here but if you send me a private message I will send you the name of the seller that I found to be reputable. I usually buy a 100 pins for around $150. A general rule of thumb is that "real" pins will cost about $1-2. Anything cheaper and it's probably fake.

There are also many pin sites that will list "safe" sellers.

 

[beldred]

Can you get cheaper pins on eBay? Yes
Will they be scrappers? Yes

In terms of buying pins on eBay or, really anywhere, on-line, it's going to be hit-or-miss whether you're getting legitimate pins or scrappers. Now, can most people tell the difference between a legitimate pin and a scrapper? Probably not, unless it's so obvious (like Belle in a green ballgown or a blonde Ariel).

Based on the descriptions from Mousepinsonline, I'm inclined to say they're also dealing with at least some scrappers. There was a thread about it a year ago that got kind of nasty, but the first post is the relevant one:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3042230

Sadly on eBay, there is really no "good" way to tell. Feedback doesn't really help because most folks aren't worried about, nor care about, scrappers. They just know they got a lot of pins for cheap, so they're happy.

All I can tell you is the pins I just received from Mousepinsonline appear genuine. They all have the correct markings on the back (except for 2, where "Disneyland" is mispelled LOL). I checked every pin because I'm paranoid. Not that I'm paying for scrappers, but because I don't want the feeling I would get if I knowingly traded a fake pin to a CM and then that CM traded it to a kid. I have checked the checklists available on the official Disney pin site and 95 of the 100 pins appear on this list and mine match them with correct colors and such. Of the 5 I couldn't find, only 2 seem suspicious (the previously mentioned mis-spelling) so it's possible the other 3 I simply overlooked or maybe they are from another country's Disney park. (The checklists only cover WDW and Disneyland.)

YMMV, but this is my experience.

 

[zabache]

How can we determine while trading that the pin might be a scrapper? Can we take a look at it and hold it just to feel it's weight? What would be the signs?

 

[Reddog1134]

How can we determine while trading that the pin might be a scrapper? Can we take a look at it and hold it just to feel it's weight? What would be the signs?

Rough edges, off or wrong colors (I once saw a Pooh with a red arm), misspellings.