Pin trading for first timers question

[NavyDad01]

My daughter is really interested in pin trading. We have been to disney before but this is the first time she has taken an interest to pin trading. Is there a official starter set I can find somewhere that she can use specifically a lanyard type

 

[thmcdonald1]

I've never done the pin trading, but I know that there are lots available on eBay. That might be a good place to start

 

[NavyDad01]

I seen the ones on ebay but there is no way to tell if those pins are the legit ones. It will be my last resort if I cant find anything

 

[mousehockey37]

Stay away from EBay... Disney pins are normally between $6-10 a pin, a lot of 20+ pins on eBay will cost you about $10... if it's too good to be true, it probably is...

That said, yes, they have starter sets at pretty much every pin stand. It comes with a lanyard and 4 pins and the rules for trading are on the back of the cardboard insert!!!

We had a very heated, lengthy discussion on another board about this and the trading of counterfeit pins and such... If you're going to do it, go to your local Disney Store/Outlet and find some there on clearance, there's the disneystore.com where you can find pins...

 

[GenGen22]

You can also buy them from the Disney store online.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

I like mousepinsonline
I have never used anything else not ebay and not amazon. some ppl say they are good but I stick with what I have used for years. Never had an issue never had a cm turn my pins away. Sure could some be scarpers maybe but I go through them all and if they seem like they may not be real I don't take them to the park. I get 50 count grab bags every trip I also keep some if I like them lol

 

[VandVsmama]

I've never been able to find pins at my local Disney store but the online store does have pins that you can buy...starter sets. My SIL bought my kids a cheap lot of pins off of eBay and we threw most of them out because it was really obvious that they were fakes. The colors were off and they didn't look right.

 

[VandVsmama]

When we were at DL 2 yr ago, there was a pin shop right near the Blue Bayou. They had mystery pins for something like $5 each. So DH bought a few and our kids would trade with the employee working there, who had a big board of pins to trade.

 

[Imdboss]

My kids love pin trading, it's been so fun to add that to our Disney experience! The options online from the Disney Store are pretty limited so if you can wait until you arrive I would suggest that. You can either buy a starter kit or buy a pin set and lanyard separately which would give you more options. My kids like to buy the mystery packs just for the added fun. Sometimes you'll see the serious pin traders set up outside the pin shops, my DD likes to look at their books but she knows that they are looking to trade pins of value not just "hey I like this pin do you want this one". She's had some luck with them at times and other times not, they usually just trade with A CM. I also like that both my kids are into it because they feel like they are always getting something new, multiple times a day, so I find we spend a lot less time shopping and more time pin trading (or shopping for pins lol). They also make great souvenirs that won't end up in the donate pile in a year. I always buy them a pin for each year they've been to DL, one that has the year on the front, and those they keep in a pin book/case. I've had to go back and get them for the years before they started pin trading and I bought those on eBay but they were from sellers just selling individual pins, not large lots, so I know they're real.

Happy trading!

 

[MeishkaD]

One thing to keep in mind is that the scrappers are hard to avoid at the parks as the CMs don't really have time to thouroughly inspect each pin and as long as it's passable they are not going to turn away a child. However, the scrappers are very easy to spot in person as they usually look off (wrong colors, back stamps not centered correctly, etc.).

At the end of the day though, your children will most likely not care one whit, if they love the pin. I gave up on trying to weed them out and just let my daughter trade what she wanted and we came home with a mix of real and scrapper pins. If trading a real pin for a scrapper is going to bother you, you may want to think about how to approach the situation before you get to the parks. Personally, I figure that we had paid for the activity and the pins were somewhat beside the point. Not everyone will feel that way though, so just make sure you are aware of the reality and are prepared to manage it in the way best suited to your family.

 

[ADLFAN]

We bought a batch on EBay from a guy who had positive reviews and sold large lots of Disney pins. I looked at each one and they were all legit Disney branded pins, nothing that looked like a 'factory second' or a damaged image and none that were not trademarked Disney. We were going with a group of kids who loved dividing them up and trading with each other even before we went. On the next trip, the parents of the kids we went with bought 2 beginners sets in Paradise Pier with a lanyard and 4 or 6 pins, each with a duplicate so you could trade one for something new, which I liked. But they were expensive and the parents said they wished we'd told them about E Bay. Pins are expensive per piece, too, so when they'd buy the kid a cool one and then the kid wanted to trade it for a less cool one, they felt ripped off. But they didn't lay many ground rules as far as what to trade, or when to decline to trade. I didn't see anything on offer for trade that tempted me to give up my limited Princess themes collection, and most stores, CM's and even the pin trading booth in Downtown Disney only had 10-12 pins to offer. The 30 I got online had a better selection. I noticed there were a lot of sellers, and I just went with the one who sounded the most honest and had the best reviews. I am quite trusting I guess. My friend just ordered some from E Bay too, she is still waiting to see what she gets, so we'll see!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Also to put this out there. Don't trade the 8-12 buck pins you get at the shops in DL or downtown disney. We always buy one or two new pins for our pin book. We keep that one separate from the traders.

 

[figment_jii]

Pin trading can be a lot of fun, but it can also be very addictive and expensive! I love to trade pins and it's a major part of my trips to Disney, but I only trade with Cast Members.

How to Trade: Essentially, you purchase some pins (there are many options for where, how, etc.) and then take them with you. You'll see CMs that are wearing lanyards (either neck or hip) of varying colors (e.g., black, maroon, green/teal). The green/teal lanyards are for trading with children only. When you see a CM with a lanyard, you just go up to them and ask if you may look at their pins. If you see one you like, you offer to trade one of your pins for that pin. Aside from a few limitations, the CMs cannot refuse a trade.

The CMs can only refuse to trade if the pin you are offering is already on their lanyard (i.e., a duplicate), if the pin is not in good condition (i.e., scratched image, broken, etc.), not a Disney pin (no Disney copyright on the back), or not a pin (i.e., buttons cannot be traded). For the CMs, they only have to trade the pins on their lanyards, so any service pins that they might be wearing on their costume or nametags are not for trading.

Disney has published some guidelines:
http://disney.go.com/eventservices/howtopintrade.pdf

In addition to the neck or hip lanyards that CMs may be wearing, you may also find pin boards, books, or other objects (e.g., I’ve seen a life preserver at OKW ). Those can have lots pins to look at. The trading rules are the same, as with the CM lanyards. Some boards/books/objects are out at all times, but others may only come out at certain times.

In terms of the CMs that wear lanyards, look in the shops, at the ride entrances, janitorial, management, and (sometimes) security. The ride operators and loaders tend not to have lanyards.

Costs: Pin trading can be very expensive, especially if you buy pins after you get to Disney. Disney sells individual pins (don't buy these for trading – they’re very expensive) and starter/booster sets. Starter/Booster sets are usually sets of 7 or so pins for about $30. If you run out of pins or decide to start trading after you've arrived, booster/starter sets are your best bet. Other sources include the Disney Stores, Disney Outlets, and the DisneyStore.com. I would keep an eye on the DisneyStore.com's clearance section for good deals. You can also buy pins on eBay or non-Disney sites, but be careful. Those can often be scrappers/ counterfeits /fakes, especially if they're super cheap (e.g., less than a few dollars per pin).

Caveats: there are a few other things worth noting about trading. The first are the "professional" traders and the second are "scrappers".

Professional Traders: My advice is to be wary of the professional pin traders. These are the non-CM traders that are sometimes found outside of the store in Tomorrowland, Frontierland, and over in DTD (they might be elsewhere, but that's where I've seen them). These folks do not have to trade with you nor do they have to adhere to the Disney trading guidelines (e.g., one pin for one pin). I'm sure some of them are nice folks, but I would be cautious when approaching them for a trade because for many of them this is a business so they're out to get the most valuable/expensive pins possible from you. So if they will trade your pin for their pins, that's probably fine. If they ask you go buy a pin or pins for them, I'd walk away. If you're new to pin trading and do not have a sense of the value (in terms of dollars) of the various pins, I'd avoid the professional traders.

Scrappers, Counterfeits, and Fakes: The second issue is scrappers, counterfeits, and fakes. For some folks this matters, for others it does not. You'll need to decide which camp you are in before you get heavily into pin trading. To the average pin trader, I don't think the difference between a scraper, fake, or counterfeit really matters (because none of these are legitimate pins), but there are slight differences.

• A scrapper is a pin that looks legitimate, but is not. It can be a factory overrun (i.e., the factory was contracted to make 1 million, but they made 1.1 million instead) or a pin that has some kind of error that should have been "scrapped".
• A counterfeit pin is a copy of legitimate pin made by someone that was not authorized by Disney.
• A fake is a pin design that was never authorized by Disney.

Unfortunately, it's not always easy to tell what pin designs are fake unless you know a lot about pins and what designs have been released. These pins can often look like legitimate designs and may contain all of the markings (e.g., copy right) to look legitimate, but they are not. Luckily, I tend to think that outright fakes are the least common type of non-legitimate pins out there.

In terms of the scrapers/counterfeits, those are harder to distinguish the legitimate from non-legitimate. You'll often be able to tell a scrapper/counterfeit because the colors are weird/off, elements are missing or incorrect, or the back stamp (the copy right) is wrong/missing/damaged. Others say you can tell because they feel "rough" or the edges are sharp/pronounced. Sadly, there is no sure fire way to tell a scrapper/counterfeit. My guess is that it’s easier to identify the counterfeits and the scrappers that should have been “scrapped”. The factory over-runs probably look exactly like the ones shipped to Disney, so those are nearly impossible to distinguish once they’re in circulation.

It's worth noting that if you do end up trading with CM, the CM lanyards tend to be filled with scrappers, counterfeits, and (to a less extent) fakes. So if you really dislike scrappers/counterfeit, I would avoid trading with CMs. That's the crux of the argument: those that dislike scrappers/counterfeits feel they cheapen the trading and make it not worthwhile. Those that don't care, tend to say that they like the pin, so it doesn't really matter if it's a scrapper/counterfeit or not (they also say that if you can't tell, does it really matter?). Both points are valid.

eBay: eBay is a popular source for pins, but it can be a tough place to buy legitimate (i.e., non-scrapper/counterfeits/fake) pins. The general rule of thumb is that you buy a "lot" of pins (e.g., 25-pins) and the price per pin is less than a couple of dollars each, you're likely buying scrappers. Also, if you buy pins that come in little baggies (instead of pin cards like the ones you see at the stores in WDW/DLR), those are more likely to be scrappers as well. My recommendation is to look for sellers that are selling pins still on their backing and/or unopened booster sets (also still on their cardboard backing wrapped in plastic). In truth, unless you only buy from Disney directly, it is hard to say whether you'll get scrappers/counterfeits/fakes or not.

 

[JeriLee]

Is it just me or does it seem like fewer and fewer CM's are sporting pins these days? It seems we have to really look for them now when just a couple of years ago it seemed like every CM had them.

 

[figment_jii]

I do think there are fewer CMs overall wearing lanyards, but I haven't had any problems finding them on any of my trips. I mostly look in the shops, free roaming CMs (e.g., janitorial) and along the parade route before the parade. I also think more places have pin "boards", so the CMs in those areas aren't as prone to wearing lanyards anymore.

 

[agamble]

Figment that was an excellent post.

I started with a starter pin and lanyard set from WDW that I traded with CM there, though I kept one Goofy pin. I also have a few other pins I bought at the parks (these are special to me and I don't trade them). The rest of the pins I have were either lost pins I rescued (be prepared to have some of yours fall off too) or mostly ones I bought for roughly $1 online. I expect they could be scrappers (I only heard this term a few months ago). They look the same in quality, color, stamp, etc. as the pins I purchased at Disney and those I have traded with CM. My guess is they're mostly factory overages. Previously I thought that CM were selling the pins online and that was why they were cheap. As Figment said, if you're going to trade with CM, you're likely to get these pins anyway. So that being said, you could save some money buying your daughter a handful of pins from ebay (you can buy individual pins as few or as many as you want for $1.09 currently). My daughter lost her first lanyard, took it off in the bathroom. I just bought her a new one from Amazon. The lanyards can be found for less than $5 on both Amazon and ebay. I didn't buy her any more pins as I had enough to give her a few to start with.

Also, look on Amazon. I've seen some beginning trader sets for about half what they'd cost in the parks. They're likely still the legitimate item as they're still packaged. They're probably just older.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

I seen the ones on ebay but there is no way to tell if those pins are the legit ones. It will be my last resort if I cant find anything

We bought a lot from a seller on Ebay. They all have the Disneyparks mark on the back of the pins, and all are considered trade-able. I think we got 30 in our set, and then I ordered a couple of special ones to give my son when we get there.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

Hmmm what is a "scrapper" pin? We bought ours from Ebay, but I don't know if they're scrappers. They aren't counterfeit, but they may not be any good. I would feel terrible if none of these were worth trading, as I got this as a special surprise for my son.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

You can still trade them even if they are scrapers. Honestly I have never seen a CM turn any pin away. Scrapers are hard to tell if you don't know what to look for. Read up for a lot of advice in how to tell if they are scrapers.
Best way is if they are different colors and lighter.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

Okay, so they probably won't turn away a cute 6 year old with a toothless grin even if his pins are "scrappers"?