Pins on a Budget

[Ciciwoowoo]

I really like the pins Im a small time trader andI have pins that I bought at the park. some from disney store and some on e-bay, garage sales etc and to be honest I can not tell them apart if there is a way to tell I wish I knew it!! and as a adult if any child came up to me and wanted to trade a pin for one of mine at disney I WOULD DO IT no matter if it was a fake or not!!! its about the moral of being a good honest person and making memories for that child! I would if I knew for sure that his/her pins are fake take the adult aside and explain this so that they could plan better!! BUT any ADULT who hurts a childs feelings on DIsney Property is WRONG !! just my 2 cents! and We have trader all these assortments and no one has every said anything to us. not cast members or other traders!! If eveyone is so worried about fake pins DONT trade em!! KEEP em at home in your books never to be enjoyed by anyone...

I'm kind of confused by your statement. Are you a CM? Or are you talking about a random adult trading with a random child in the parks?

I didn't realize that people in the park traded with one another, with the exception of the ones who set up outside of the pin station in Epcot.

I'm do think your statement about being worried about trading for fakes is incredibly ignorant. How about instead, people don't knowingly purchase fakes pins, and then we will all be assured that we can trade fairly.

Gee, kind of like counterfeit money... Am I supposed to not spend any money ever so I can be assured that my money is real and I won't get back fake money in change? Instead, we have rules that say no counterfeit money... Then, no problem.

 

[akayek31]

I always get my souvenirs from the wal mart about a mile from WDW. I had seen all the pins they had to sell for less than WDW. About 4 days before we left to go home I got into the Pin trading. I was at Magic Kingdom and was at the Trading Post and said something to a CM about going to wal mart to get some to trade and she informed me that they would not be legal for trade. She told me what had to be on the pin for a CM to trade and that I should look for the mystery pin that some had. I would have never known if she had not told me. Also I was in line for the fairies and a little girl ahead of me loved my Princess Tiana pin and I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I traded with her (only to have to explain to Princess Tiana why I traded her an hour later ) But I have a Happy Halloween popcorn bucket that I am putting spare change in to buy pins when I get to Pop in Feb.

 

[bearloch]

Yes as a adult I have traded pins with other adults and kids in the parks so has my daughter, we have a laynard that has " trades" on it and we arrive with empty one that we put the pns that we want to keep on. ( and we dont wear it we put away) I have been asked to trade with kids and I always accept what they are offering fake or not! I hope all the pins I have are real but I dont know for sure.. thats what im saying I would nver hurt a chids feelings of trading.. I even trade alot sitting waiting for busses at hotels keeps kids busy... I have even traded a pin for a happy meal toy becasue a little girl wanted a cinderella pin! My daughter has never been refused a trade from anyone and she has learned never to refuse a trade! disney is the most magical place in the world and I want to keep the magic in a childs eye !! not see it broken over a pin.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Yes as a adult I have traded pins with other adults and kids in the parks so has my daughter, we have a laynard that has " trades" on it and we arrive with empty one that we put the pns that we want to keep on. ( and we dont wear it we put away) I have been asked to trade with kids and I always accept what they are offering fake or not! I hope all the pins I have are real but I dont know for sure.. thats what im saying I would nver hurt a chids feelings of trading.. I even trade alot sitting waiting for busses at hotels keeps kids busy... I have even traded a pin for a happy meal toy becasue a little girl wanted a cinderella pin! My daughter has never been refused a trade from anyone and she has learned never to refuse a trade! disney is the most magical place in the world and I want to keep the magic in a childs eye !! not see it broken over a pin.

I, too, have traded with children but I will only do so with their parent's permission and only if the child asks me. Sometimes they will see something on my lanyard that they want and ask to trade. I ask the parent if they are okay with it and if they are, I let them tell me what they want and they can give me what they want. If they ask me to pick one of theirs. I'll usually say something like 'well which one do you think I should pick?' Or 'Which is your favorite?' That way I know which one not to pick. And I read facial clues, if they start to look upset I change my mind. BUT I always TRY to get them to give me one. But every once in a while I get a parent who is like 'No you picked from their lanyard. Now you need to let them pick one from yours.'

 

[akayek31]

That is what I did with the little girl. She asked if I wanted to trade and after her mother said that she could I told her that she could pick anything on my lanyard except my Jasmine pins. I can't even remember what I got from her.

 

[duffy]

Geez, I never knew, before coming to the DIS boards, that trading pins would require a serious commitment and lots of research.

I wouldn't know if my pins are scrappers or not, without looking up lots of information or carrying around guidebooks, if they exist, or carrying a computer so I can look up each pin online, and frankly, I can't be bothered. That's so not fun.

I've probably made some great trades without realizing it, and likewise made some "bad" ones. I just don't care.

I don't want to spend hours and hours researching pins before I trade them. I trade pins for the sheer joy of trading, without worrying about fake or real pins.

 

[Vacation Lover]

What do you do w/ your pin collection? mine is on my wall on quark boards

I'm not touching the pin debate with a ten-foot pole, but I will answer this question.

 

[Aliceacc]

I would like to thank the OP for his/her attempt to save the rest of us some money. Whether or not the advice was sound, I'm sure his/her intentions were good, and I appreciate it.

 

[SMLounsbury]

My daughter traded with a CM in Hollywood Studios two weeks ago and picked a pin from the CM that was quite clearly a scrapper. I believe it was a princess or fairy pin and it was horribly flawed. My daughter is six, and couldn't tell but we knew immediately.

 

[momminnie]

Vacation lover love your display AKAYE31 why not share with us how to tell if pins are fakes?

 

[DizFan101]

Thinking more upon this topic here...

You people who knowingly buy fake pins and trade them anyway make me angry...

I chose to follow the rules and purchase real, sanctioned pins with my hard earned money. My child trades these pins and gets new pins.

He chooses a fake pin from a CM who didn't know/ wasn't paying attention.

He takes some of his pins back every trip to be traded when he decides he no longer wants them. He brings back the fake pin one year and a CM says, this is fake, you can't trade it.

So I am out the money because YOU decided it was OK to cheat the system.

Yeah...I wonder what else you decide to cheat on...taxes? shoplifting? take a penny but never leave one?

I am not trying to direct this at anyone who unknowingly purchased pins from Ebay. I'm talking about those of us who have been around here...we know better. And just because they will trade for fakes now, doesn't mean they will continue to do so in the future.

I want to thank you for your honest opinion. I know a lot of people have "issues" with buying pins off ebay etc. I just think you are going over board. The pins we have gotten look pretty authentic to me with the year and stuff and i have searched the back with the back of the pins I got from Disney World itself and they look the same.

I think people like yourself don't 100% know if they are fraud or not... People work work in factories who make things like pins for parks and places, one of their "perks" is to keep a few pins for themselves if they had made more then necessary.

If you do look at the rules of pin trading, there is no where it says that you cant buy the pins. in fact i found this off wikipedia...

I quote;

Scrapper - An unauthorized Disney pin. These pins are literally scrap pins. Sometimes they are seconds from the factory runs, or sometimes they have errors in color, design, or the imprint on the back. Scrappers can also be the result of extra unauthorized production runs. These pins often make it onto the secondary market where they are sold, often in lots, at much lower than market price. Scrapper pins can then be traded with cast members, as cast members do not decline a trade based on suspected scrapper status. Recent Hidden Mickey pins, DLR pins especially, have flooded the market months before their initial introductions.

for the link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_pin_trading

Thank you for your opinion.I know everyone thinks differently. Just to let you know, i donate money to charities. I pay my taxes honestly and everything.
I one of the most honest persons out there...even if i don't honestly like a person's "attitude" i will not try to make those people negative about what they do. I never had trouble with trading them although I have traded for pins I 100% were probably not trad-able like the pins you bought from the post office at one time. I traded for them because i liked them.

but honestly i think you should re-read the rules of pin trading...

I'm not touching the pin debate with a ten-foot pole, but I will answer this question.

I love that!! I found a frame at Walmart for $4.99 that has a quark board around the picture... I was soo going to get it but have no where to put the frame since my room is a pig-sty at the moment.

I would like to thank the OP for his/her attempt to save the rest of us some money. Whether or not the advice was sound, I'm sure his/her intentions were good, and I appreciate it.

Well thank you Aliceacc, I really appreciate your comment. People like you honestly make the world a better place with "kindness." I was in fact trying to tell people about it with an open heart and I know people like other people don't have the same kindness as you do.

 

[angierae]

When I bought our pins (on ebay) I had no idea what "scrappers" were, and we went to Disney and traded our little hearts out and then came home. Then I found out about the whole scrapper thing. I won't buy any more from Ebay, but I do think that if Disney really cared about this, they'd crack down on it. However, not ONCE did a CM refuse to trade with me OR my daughter (and she was 15 and I'm an adult so it wasn't a case of "Don't want to hurt the 4 year old's feelings).

Sometimes I think people on the DIS care more about it than Disney does.

 

[jeffmilw]

Yeah, I'd be careful with the "bootleg" pins...

By buying them, you are promoting the production of illegal brands overseas!

 

[DizFan101]

Yeah, I'd be careful with the "bootleg" pins...

By buying them, you are promoting the production of illegal brands overseas!

i don't see how it's illegal. It's Disney. Disney pins in the parks themselves are made in china... so where do you think disney gets them if they are made in china?

if i'd known people make a huge deal about this i wouldn't have posted. This makes me wonder, why do people make a huge fuss over something soo stupid as disney pins. I should have posted a post about world hunger and probably would have the same debate. But why when we have bigger issues at hand people don't get sooo excited over that.. Why would we get excited bout important things when we can hem and haw about stupid things like Disney Pins.

i just think people are going out of hand over something so stupid. But hey that's only my opinion. if disney wanted to make a big fuss about it they would put it in their own rules about buying ebay stuff.

 

[carebee21]

i don't see how it's illegal. It's Disney. Disney pins in the parks themselves are made in china... so where do you think disney gets them if they are made in china?

if i'd known people make a huge deal about this i wouldn't have posted. This makes me wonder, why do people make a huge fuss over something soo stupid as disney pins. I should have posted a post about world hunger and probably would have the same debate. But why when we have bigger issues at hand people don't get sooo excited over that.. Why would we get excited bout important things when we can hem and haw about stupid things like Disney Pins.

i just think people are going out of hand over something so stupid. But hey that's only my opinion. if disney wanted to make a big fuss about it they would put it in their own rules about buying ebay stuff.

It's illegal because they're unauthorized disney pins. When Disney pins do not meet the quality specifications, they're supposed to be destroyed, not taken(stolen) by the workers and sold. And also, what your wiki link doesn't mention, is that the majority of scrappers are plain and simply replicas. They take a disney pin and make a replica of the pin. The colors are different, the metal is different, the eyes are usually different, the backstamp is different, etc. It's just like the fake Louis Vuitton purses; just because they have the LV copyright image and say Louis Vuitton, they're not neccessarily Louis Vuittons.

And in keeping with the purse theme, maybe you'll understand why people get upset. Say you go to a designer purse trading party. Everyone brings a designer purse and you can trade them for a different one. So you bring your designer purse, that you spent good money on. You trade it for another purse you like, thinking it's the real thing. Later, you find out it's a knockoff. You would be ticked off that you spent your money on the real thing, only to trade it for a cheap replica. Same thing with the pins, just on a lower price point. However, it adds up quickly if you trade real pin after real pin for fake pin after fake pin. .

And Disney does try to go after people with the fake pins, but it's hard to go after everyone. Here's a fairly recent news story about them going after a couple of "big fish" http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=8127760

 

[duffy]

Dizfan101, I wouldn't worry about it.

I have bought pins on Ebay, knowing that they are probably scrappers. GASP!

It doesn't bother me. I enjoy trading. I trade with kids, and I'm sure neither they nor I know if we got a scrapper in exchange for another scrapper, or a "good" pin for a scrapper, or whatever! I've traded with cast members, again, not knowing or caring.

I refuse to spend time looking closely at a pin to determine its value before trading. If I want it, I offer to trade.

If it weren't for DIS-ers being all self-righteous and indignant, I'd never even have known that there was such a thing as a scrapper pin. If Disney World really cared, they'd make me prove that the pins I want to trade are worthy.

My pins are just fun for me. They're a source of pleasure, not something for me to gloat over. Serious collectors are a buzz-kill.

Oh, and the purse analogy? I never spend more than $20 or so for a purse, so I KNOW I'm not getting the "real" thing. I buy purses to carry my stuff, not to have status.

 

[pixiewings71]

This will be our first trip trading pins. To get the kids going, I went to the Disney Outlet Store in the Woodbury Commons Outlet Store. I purchased a large number of pins and they were all less than $2 each. Many ended up being close to $1.

I did search ebay for them... but was a little bit wary of sellers that multiple lots of 50 pins. It told me that they were probably not legit, and did not want to buy pins that were not tradable.

I noticed a few posters called the pins "scrappers"... what does that mean? Were they made for Disney, but not up to Disney standards so they were trashed? (Like second quality merch?) Or were they created by someone to mimmick Disney pins?

Thanks for any info in advance!

I've never seen pins at a WM or Target, even near DLR. Next time you go that WM check the back of the pin, if it says "copyright Disney" then you are probably OK buying and trying to trade them. If they won't take them then you should be able to return them to the store. Just a thought.

As for what scrapper means, it means it's a pin that was not approved by Disney so it was "scrapped" or tossed out. Unscrupulous people get those pins and then sell them directly from China to people who sell on eBay. That's where the term "scrapper" came from. They are also manufactured by people who take molds that are not being used and they make them in a different factory.

I really like the pins Im a small time trader andI have pins that I bought at the park. some from disney store and some on e-bay, garage sales etc and to be honest I can not tell them apart if there is a way to tell I wish I knew it!! and as a adult if any child came up to me and wanted to trade a pin for one of mine at disney I WOULD DO IT no matter if it was a fake or not!!! its about the moral of being a good honest person and making memories for that child! I would if I knew for sure that his/her pins are fake take the adult aside and explain this so that they could plan better!! BUT any ADULT who hurts a childs feelings on DIsney Property is WRONG !! just my 2 cents! and We have trader all these assortments and no one has every said anything to us. not cast members or other traders!! If eveyone is so worried about fake pins DONT trade em!! KEEP em at home in your books never to be enjoyed by anyone...

I have pins I will not trade to anyone, no matter how cute the kid is. But I also have tons of traders that I will trade no question with just about anyone. Occasionally I say no thanks but it's rare, unless it's one of my keepers. And yes, I absolutely do wear them on my lanyard at the parks, because I like them, because they remind me of something that makes me happy, but I won't trade them. In fact I can't because I have them on my lanyard with locking backs. I have always told my kids that they can ask anyone to trade but if that person says no it's their right to do so and that's the rule I follow. I've never had anyone get upset with me for saying no.....even to their child. However, I will say that if/when I do say no to a child I also offer something else in trade, and I NEVER chose a pin from their lanyard, I always tell them to chose something to give me in trade because I would feel terrible if I took a pin that was special to them.

Dizfan101, I wouldn't worry about it.

I have bought pins on Ebay, knowing that they are probably scrappers. GASP!

It doesn't bother me. I enjoy trading. I trade with kids, and I'm sure neither they nor I know if we got a scrapper in exchange for another scrapper, or a "good" pin for a scrapper, or whatever! I've traded with cast members, again, not knowing or caring.

I refuse to spend time looking closely at a pin to determine its value before trading. If I want it, I offer to trade.

If it weren't for DIS-ers being all self-righteous and indignant, I'd never even have known that there was such a thing as a scrapper pin. If Disney World really cared, they'd make me prove that the pins I want to trade are worthy.

My pins are just fun for me. They're a source of pleasure, not something for me to gloat over. Serious collectors are a buzz-kill.

Oh, and the purse analogy? I never spend more than $20 or so for a purse, so I KNOW I'm not getting the "real" thing. I buy purses to carry my stuff, not to have status.

I have to say I'm offended by that statement. I'm neither self-righteous or indignant about this subject, I simply try to help others regarding scrappers and eBay. Pins are a source of fun and yes, I have tons of scrappers in my collection, but I know how I felt when I found out about them (and found out I'd been trading them unknowingly) and I don't want others to feel that way. So I try to help where I can and this is somewhere I can.
I also wanted to share some photos of my pins, some fake some not.

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My favorite, this is my girls silhouette.

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I also had a friend ask me about scrappers and how I could tell the difference so I made this album on FB, it's public so anyone should be able to see it, it gives a little info on scrappers vs good pins. If anyone is interested feel free to give it a look.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1900067344350.2111490.1321661771&type=1&l=1c67c6df19

 

[carebee21]

Oh, and the purse analogy? I never spend more than $20 or so for a purse, so I KNOW I'm not getting the "real" thing. I buy purses to carry my stuff, not to have status.

I buy purses to carry my stuff too. $20 purses don't hold my stuff; the handles break and the cheap things fall apart, so I invest in one that actually works

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Pixiewings71, thank you for the great pics!!!

I will be honest, I don't really know how to tell a scrapper from a real pin unless they are side by side. The reason I know my son got an unauthorized pin in his trade is it was a completely different pin company (didn't say Disney on the back)

Again, my son likes this pin, so no harm in it, I suppose. But as dear as money is to everyone right now, we all need to take a stand and purchase the real pins, not the obvious counterfeit ones on Ebay. The price alone should indicate a problem.

So, to those who have inadvertently purchased these scrappers from Ebay, well, it happened and no, I don't think anyone here is upset that you traded these without knowing.

But to those of you who do know better...who hang out here on the Disboards... then to knowingly purchase these pins is simply not OK. But if you don't have any qualms about it, then so be it. I am not your conscience.

 

[duffy]

Again, my son likes this pin, so no harm in it, I suppose.

And for me, that's the point. I like my pins. I don't care what they say on the back. They're cute.