Am I am a big dummy? (My pins may be fake)

[quantumottle]

I bought a lot of 30 pins on ebay (although from a seller with a green rating) but I noticed tonight that they all say "China" on the back. Also, most of them have a silver edge to them and I see that our old pins from previous years of trading are all gold edged.

Am I really that guy, did I really just buy a bunch of scrappers? How can I tell?

 

[quantumottle]

OK, so far I have one reply on another thread telling me my pins may indeed be scrappers. I plan to e-mail dzneypins in order to try and rectify the situation. I'm hoping that the seller will give me the good pins that they sold to the person who gave them a GREEN rating on this forum.

Problem is, I have no idea what I'm talking about. Anyone have any suggestions on what to say to this seller in order to correct the problem?

Thanks in advance.

 

[chaoscent]

If you look your pins up on pinpics.com they will identify what to look for in a scapper/fake pin. It will also help you identify which pins are not. All of Disney's pins say China on the back (my DH wants them to be made in USA, but unfortunately there are very few things sold by Disny made in USA anymore). Good luck, Penny

 

[quantumottle]

Thank you for the advice chaoscent, I will get right over to pinpics and see what I can find. Also, what about the fact that these fins seem to weigh so much less than pins we've traded for in years past (they are thinner)? Is it possible that Disney is making thinner pins these days, am I just being paranoid, or do thin pins = scrappers?

Thanks again.

 

[quantumottle]

Ooops.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Pinpics is your best source. But it may help if you gave some examples of which pins you are referring to. (Provide Pinpics numbers.)
Unless you buy pins direct from Disney, you really do not know the history about them and if tehy are legit. You generally will get what you pay for. Disney pins are not an exception to the rule.
I think with any Ebay/auction seller you are taking a chance.

 

[quantumottle]

The first one I checked is a fake, it's HERE. Pinpics says it should not have a hidden mickey, mine does.

The strangest part to me, is that I am not seeing anyone here mention how light, and/or how thin their scrapper pins are, that is the very first thing my wife and I noticed about these pins.

 

[Luv2Roam]

You may want to look at:
Pin 34268
Pin 37130
Pin 51163

 

[Luv2Roam]

Not all scrappers are created equal. Some are quite good. Some have variations of one kind or another, such as color, style, backstamp, etc.

 

[chaoscent]

I would ask for my money back unless you are sure they are legit pins. Sorry you got burnt. Penny

 

[quantumottle]

You may want to look at:
Pin 34268
Pin 37130
Pin 51163

OK, wow, now I am REALLY confused. I thought that since my pin had a gold hidden Mickey on it that meant it was a scrapper. Now I see that Pin 37130 indeed has a gold hidden Mickey.

The main thing bothering me is that all of these pins feel light and are thinner than the other pins we've collected the past several years, they just seem cheaper. I can see I have a lot more research to do if I want to know for sure.

Sadly, I can see why many people just say "whatever" and deal in scrappers.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[webprinter]

I'm not an expert but I don't think thinner means anything. I have a horrible time telling what is and what is not a scrapper but pinpics is usually pretty good about spelling out the things that make a specific pin a scrapper.

 

[Tampa Mousekeeter]

OK, wow, now I am REALLY confused. I thought that since my pin had a gold hidden Mickey on it that meant it was a scrapper. Now I see that Pin 37130 indeed has a gold hidden Mickey.

That set of ticket pins are a little confusing...there is a set that are not Hidden Mickeys and there is another set which was released at a different time that is part of a DLR Hidden Mickey collection. I think pinpics.com explains it also...everyone who advises you to go on that site for the best info is correct...

 

[quantumottle]

Thanks so much to everyone for the helpful information.

One more question though, and this may just be a weird coincidence, but over 90% of these pins have a silver edge on them, whereas of the 50 or so pins I already have from previous trading I cannot find a single pin that has a silver edge. They are old golden edged.

Does that mean anything, having a silver edge? Perhaps my daughter just prefers gold pins and always selects them, but it would be a bit of a coincidence I think.

Sorry if I'm sounding like a big dummy, I know this must seem like such a silly question to all of you with years of experience.

 

[pixiewings71]

I have pins that are good that have gold edges, pins that are good with silver edges and even a few with black. It's just very hard to tell......can you tell us more about the pins so we can help you determine the status? Info on the other pins would be good, photos would be good too.
Keep in mind, Disney releases and rereleases pins all the time, some will have Hidden Mickeys, others will not......it's not easy to determine scrappers most times. The ticket set you show, it was released with the Hidden Mickey as well......

 

[cpdwiz]

Thanks so much to everyone for the helpful information.

One more question though, and this may just be a weird coincidence, but over 90% of these pins have a silver edge on them, whereas of the 50 or so pins I already have from previous trading I cannot find a single pin that has a silver edge. They are old golden edged.

Does that mean anything, having a silver edge? Perhaps my daughter just prefers gold pins and always selects them, but it would be a bit of a coincidence I think.

Sorry if I'm sounding like a big dummy, I know this must seem like such a silly question to all of you with years of experience.

Its hard to answer your question. Pins are all different....What I would look at is, rating of the seller, and what did you pay for your lot?? Check them on pin pics....Can you provide numbers of the pins you are suspicous about? We can all look? Did they have mickey head backs or regular clasps?

 

[quantumottle]

I've been looking up each pin on pinpics.com, but unfortunately I did not start writing down their numbers until today. I will try to put together a list of pins that appear to be questionable according to the descriptions on pinpics. I am embarrassed to admit what I paid for the pins, I know now that I've done a little homework that I should not have purchased from this seller. I paid an average of 1.20 per pin, I know, obviously not a legitimate price.

 

[kaligal]

I'm not an expert pin person at all - just kind of cruising through these boards...but the way I see it, if you like the pin, who cares if it isn't an official pin?

If I'm commiting pin heresy by saying that, just let me know. I'll stop.

 

[cpdwiz]

I've been looking up each pin on pinpics.com, but unfortunately I did not start writing down their numbers until today. I will try to put together a list of pins that appear to be questionable according to the descriptions on pinpics. I am embarrassed to admit what I paid for the pins, I know now that I've done a little homework that I should not have purchased from this seller. I paid an average of 1.20 per pin, I know, obviously not a legitimate price.

Can you PM me the ebay ID? Id like to look at the listings....SOME pins could sell that cheap, so dont lose faith....

 

[cpdwiz]

I'm not an expert pin person at all - just kind of cruising through these boards...but the way I see it, if you like the pin, who cares if it isn't an official pin?

If I'm commiting pin heresy by saying that, just let me know. I'll stop.

If the person decides to trade them, and trades fake pins for real ones with a CM, then another pin person ends up with the scrapper...If its just for you, and you do not mind the "fake" pin, then thats fine....