Bulk trading pins buying

[Elizabeth Smith]

My advice is to buy mystery pin packs and other packaged sets from eBay. They are still in the package so you know they're real, but you can usually get them for 50% off or better from Disney's prices. This means instead of paying $5+ per pin, you will spend closer to $2 or $3 per pin, which means it's less of a loss if you trade for and get a scrapper.

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

To the OP. If Disney wanted to end scraps being sold on ebay or amazon they could.

And just how on earth would Disney do this? Just wish real hard on a star? If you say it's so easy, tell us how.

It's a multi-million dollar scam going, and those that actively participate ARE THE PROBLEM.

Disney does what it can, but until people realize that PURCHASING them is the problem, then it will never stop. Not knowing about scrappers and buying them is one thing, but to actively purchase them to trade with people who have bought actual Disney pins is thoroughly disgusting.


http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...to-sell-fake-disney-pins-2011may12-story.html

 

[mousehockey37]

And just how on earth would Disney do this? Just wish real hard on a star? If you say it's so easy, tell us how.

It's a multi-million dollar scam going, and those that actively participate ARE THE PROBLEM.

Disney does what it can, but until people realize that PURCHASING them is the problem, then it will never stop. Not knowing about scrappers and buying them is one thing, but to actively purchase them to trade with people who have bought actual Disney pins is thoroughly disgusting.


http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...to-sell-fake-disney-pins-2011may12-story.html

In one of the threads before, someone had stated that CM's were told what to look for in fakes and if they got any, they had to go off-stage and dispose of them. So hopefully that's still going on. It also is one of the reasons I believe you see a reduced number of CM's doing it.

 

[here757]

Look around when you pin trade, a majority of the pins are scrapers that are getting traded. If you have a problem with trading scrapers take it up with Disney. Yes, why don't you do that!
On our last visit to Disney in March we bought $50.00+ in Disney pins from the Disney shops. How much did you buy? Is pin trading with ebay pins illegal? As I said before if Disney wanted to stop it they could. But they will probably lose more business that way, since many of the buyers from ebay also buy Disney pins from Disney, and they probably know that.

Lol..
disney can't stop scraper from being sold.. same as law enforcement can't stop the illegal gun trade.
I can assure you we spend several hundred for pins. As I previously posted we collect but never trade. People like you ruin it for everyone

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

On our last visit to Disney in March we bought $50.00+ in Disney pins from the Disney shops.

Fifty WHOLE DOLLARS??!!?? Please alert us before you travel next time so that we can buy Disney stock before that major investment drives up the stock price.

What about the people you've traded a five cent pin for their $10 one. I guess that's okay, right?

And yes, the cast members turn obvious scrappers on their lanyards so that no one else gets screwed, then dispose of them later.

 

[a742246]

Lol..
disney can't stop scraper from being sold.. same as law enforcement can't stop the illegal gun trade.
I can assure you we spend several hundred for pins. As I previously posted we collect but never trade. People like you ruin it for everyone

Take it up with Disney!

 

[a742246]

Fifty WHOLE DOLLARS??!!?? Please alert us before you travel next time so that we can buy Disney stock before that major investment drives up the stock price.

What about the people you've traded a five cent pin for their $10 one. I guess that's okay, right?

And yes, the cast members turn obvious scrappers on their lanyards so that no one else gets screwed, then dispose of them later.

The key word here is "Obvious" most scrappers you can not tell the difference. As I said before, take it up with Disney!

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

The key word here is "Obvious" most scrappers you can not tell the difference. As I said before, take it up with Disney!

So in other words, you have no clue how Disney would easily get rid of scrappers, and you don't care if you trade 5 cent pins to others for genuine pins.

This is why the hobby is dying. Like Pete says "People who only think of themselves, and screw everyone else."

 

[TheGoofFather]

Wow, this thread has seriously bummed me out (truth hurts). It's clear I have a lot to learn before I even try pin trading again.

I wonder how many of the more expensive pins I bought from eBay to finish off sets were fakes or scrapers (a new term for me)???

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

Unfortunately OP, you can see that there are people who don't really care if they trade a fake pin for your real ones. Buying pins in the park is the only definite way to ensure you have real pins. I'd stay away from ebay at all costs.

 

[here757]

The key word here is "Obvious" most scrappers you can not tell the difference. As I said before, take it up with Disney!

Take it up with Disney!

you complain about the problem,yet still continue the behavior..

 

[kollerbear]

My advice is to buy mystery pin packs and other packaged sets from eBay. They are still in the package so you know they're real, but you can usually get them for 50% off or better from Disney's prices. This means instead of paying $5+ per pin, you will spend closer to $2 or $3 per pin, which means it's less of a loss if you trade for and get a scrapper.

This is what I do as well. I will never intentionally buy a scrapper or fake. It is really easy to find genuine pins for $2-$3 per on eBay (though if you are paying less than $1 per pin you are almost definitely buying something that is not real... and honestly anything less than $3 per is probably coming from an auction that under-performed.)

Disney does what it can, but until people realize that PURCHASING them is the problem, then it will never stop. Not knowing about scrappers and buying them is one thing, but to actively purchase them to trade with people who have bought actual Disney pins is thoroughly disgusting.


http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...to-sell-fake-disney-pins-2011may12-story.html

I agree with this, 100%. But I think the follow-up is more of an ethical gray area. Let's put it this way-- I don't care if the 12 real pins I paid a lot for turn into 12 fake pins through trading with CMs. (Let's say this is my kid doing this, though Lord knows it has already happened to me.) The follow up question is WHAT DO YOU DO THEN. If your kid got 12 fake pins through trading and you know they are fake, what ethical obligation do I have to remove those pins and keep throwing money at the problem every day to turn your investment into something worthless? I will NOT buy fake pins or insert them into the CM trading ecosystem, and I will never knowingly trade them with another collector, but I think for CM trading if you receive a fake pin it doesn't seem realistic to keep throwing real pins into the situation. Unless you just walk away from CM trading (and prohibit kids from doing it) entirely. I don't mind that the hobby is expensive, I expect that, but that would be next-level masochism.

And yes, the cast members turn obvious scrappers on their lanyards so that no one else gets screwed, then dispose of them later.

Of the possibly dozen times I let a CM know that they had a scrapper or fake, only 2 were actually removed from their board or lanyard. And I'm not talking about good fakes, either, I'm talking about very bad fakes that were light as plastic, very rough edges, completely smooth pin faces. They were nice about it (and I was, too), but they definitely cannot keep up with the volume of fakes they have. One of them actually said that they couldn't be fakes because they had the Disney copyright on the back. Last January I'd guess that at least 85% of their pins were fakes or scrappers. Next time I go to trade I will literally be looking for pretty much anything that is real.

 

[peg2001]

These pins are all made in China where it is common for the factories to make the legitimate pins in the quantities that Disney orders and then to make overruns for themselves. That is why so many "scrappers" (please, not "scrapers") are difficult to impossible to distinguish from the true Disney pins.

Disney, if they so chose, could stop the practice by producing pins in the U.S.A.

PP's are stressing the ethics of trading a known/suspected scrapper for a legitimate Disney pin on a CM lanyard. It is much much more common for it to be a "fair" scrapper for scrapper trade.

Bottom line - if you trade with CM's, you are most likely getting a scrapper. If you want ONLY legitimate Disney pins, buy directly from Disney and don't trade.

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

Disney, if they so chose, could stop the practice by producing pins in the U.S.A.

bahahahahahha. Yea, that's a good one. Like Americans are honest. You'd have just as many scrappers, and each real pin would cost twice as much because of increased costs.

 

[bpesch]

It's a multi-million dollar scam going, and those that actively participate ARE THE PROBLEM.

Again, we go back to the question--How can you tell they are fakes? Most of the time you can't, so it's a vicious circle.

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

Again, we go back to the question--How can you tell they are fakes? Most of the time you can't, so it's a vicious circle.

If you're buying them on ebay at a dollar a piece or less, YOU are the problem. 100% guaranteed fakes.

 

[persimmondeb]

To call a thing what it is, "scrappers/scrapers" are counterfeits. I know there's a belief in some quarters that they're overruns that didn't pass QC, but there's no way that this could account for the volume.

That said, I do sell Disney pins on Ebay sometimes, but I have a vintage costume jewelry business and they sometimes come mixed in with other merchandise. I start them at a dollar or two, not pennies, take careful pictures, and would not list any pins I was unsure of. That's probably the best way to be sure it's not fake, but good ones could certainly get past even a careful seller.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

I have my trading pins and the pins I want to keep separate, because (like discussed) most of the pins on the CM lanyards are fakes. You can sometimes buy $1-3 pins at the Disney outlet near Universal if you want cheap pins to trade. You'll get things like "Disney 2016 Cruise Line" pins, but who cares if you're just trading them. It doesn't bother me if the pin I'm getting off a lanyard is fake if I think it's cute or something I haven't seen before, because if I'm keeping it who cares. When I buy pins in the park they go straight into my binder so I can admire them without accidentally losing them off of my lanyard. "Serious" pin traders can spot the fake pins and don't bother with the CMs anymore. They set up by the central kiosk thing in EPCOT and trade there. I don't do that because if I buy a $15 pin in the park it's because I want to keep it, and they usually don't want any of the pins I have anyway because I don't have anything special. When I trade my outlet pins I make a game out of it for each trip and try to collect a whole set of pins (like those days of the week ones or hidden mickey pins). Obviously it sucks that there are tons of scrappers in the parks but I also don't think Disney can do anything about it. They would if they could, because it means they would make more money.

TL;DR: Don't buy the Ebay bulk sets, we all know they're fake pins. If you can spot a fake and are a "serious pin trader", avoid the CM trading altogether and go trade with the legit pin collectors.

 

[Sepo]

Agree with the majority here and this is unfortunately a polarizing topic. At this point it is what it is. It's basically two tracks and we accept it. No point being angry. Peeing in the wind never works out.

So long as the Disney stores are selling pins, something is working great for them. It's literally a 1000% profit for Disney per true-sold pin. The rest is fueling it and it's a win-win-win.

My son loves trading, and we know they are largely fakes, but he might be on a Star Wars focus or a Donald Duck focus for his sister, etc. Meanwhile, just as a I suspect Disney really wants, we probably spend nearly $200 on real pins each trip. We just don't trade those ones; they are saved for his case or other special bag, etc.

 

[persimmondeb]

bahahahahahha. Yea, that's a good one. Like Americans are honest. You'd have just as many scrappers, and each real pin would cost twice as much because of increased costs.

Well, it would stop any shenanigans on the part of a factory owner (not due to innate honesty, but to the desire not to be prosecuted). What it wouldn't stop is the fakes coming out of China, where it seems to be open season on trademarks. You should see some of the fake "Tiffany" that's out there (the sellers of which will claim that they're seconds or overruns, which is frankly false).