Buying Disney pins on ebay

[xkwisit]

We did the same thing last year.... There was 11 of us that went so we bought a couple hundred on eBay for a steal. The kids loved trading the pins with the CMs & we had no problems whatsoever. It was our 1st time trading. We're going back in Aug & I'm going to get them some more so they can keep their "keepers" & trade for cool ones. They thought it was a blast. They even bought some in Disney, it killed me watching what they were spending on the ones in Disney knowing how much I paid for the ones on eBay.

 

[ShellyShellfish]

My only advise is buy MORE than you think you want.

I won a lot of 10 pins off ebay for $6 (includes shipping) for my DS to trade on our trip. He's only 3, so I didn't want to go too crazy in case he hated it. Well turns out he LOVED it, traded every single pin for a different one from the CMs. Not to mention, DH and I were getting into it too. We're now planning to buy a lot of 100 the next time we go down so we can all really get into it. It's a fun and inexpensive way to get some neat souvies.

 

[TosaTrio]

I just bought a lot of 30 for my nieces to trade on our next trip this summer. While the pins are stamped and look real, I do question if they are... When I compare the weight to the pins I have purchased while at Disney (which I have about 30, not too many but enough) to the ones I receieved, they seem light.

Since I am suspect (even though they look real to me and maybe??) I won't trade them....

I understand wanting a good deal, but if it is too good, the pins are probably scrap or fake. At least that is what I learned...

 

[GinnyEmma]

I just bought a lot of 30 for my nieces to trade on our next trip this summer. While the pins are stamped and look real, I do question if they are... When I compare the weight to the pins I have purchased while at Disney (which I have about 30, not too many but enough) to the ones I receieved, they seem light.

Since I am suspect (even though they look real to me and maybe??) I won't trade them....

I understand wanting a good deal, but if it is too good, the pins are probably scrap or fake. At least that is what I learned...

I do agree that you need to be careful. I was just offended that a cm told someone "no." I don't buy scrappers either.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I've bought pins on bay twice now. They are authentic (just be sure when you are buying that they are a reputable dealer - they have pictures and good reviews.) My kids have traded these at WDW with no problems - and they've kept many too! Have fun trading!

 

[ambertides]

Another cheap way to get pins (the way I buy my traders) is to go to one of the Character Outlets. I can almost always find some deal that works out to $1-2.50 a pin, and I know they're real and I'm not adding scrappers to the lanyards.

 

[TosaTrio]

Another cheap way to get pins (the way I buy my traders) is to go to one of the Character Outlets. I can almost always find some deal that works out to $1-2.50 a pin, and I know they're real and I'm not adding scrappers to the lanyards.

Great Suggestion!

 

[DaniB]

Another cheap way to get pins (the way I buy my traders) is to go to one of the Character Outlets. I can almost always find some deal that works out to $1-2.50 a pin, and I know they're real and I'm not adding scrappers to the lanyards.

What is a Character Outlet?

 

[GOLFDISNEY72]

We just bought 100 pins for $64 on ebay and they look like the real deal. The kids freaked out because Mickey send them as a Christmas present.

 

[twokids0204]

100 pins for $60. No it lasted just 1 vacation. We love trading pins. It's a great way to get to meet different CMs.

I was being sarcastic...

I assumed you would know that reference. As I made another assumption - and that is about your name.

There is a rock group from Canada in the 70's called Max Webster, and one of there hit songs was Million Vacations (among others).
The lead singer Kim Mitchell went onto a solo career after that and is still kinda doing appearances here and there. He is also the afternoon radio personality on Toronto's #1 rock station Q107.
Enough of the Canadian Rock History lesson - back to your regularly scheduled programming, Pins and E-bay - discuss....

 

[ambertides]

What is a Character Outlet?

http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/travel/OutletStores.shtml

One of the two, I think the one on 535, told me I could call and they would ship them as well. But I just stop in when we are in the area.

 

[lindsey]

Another suggestion that helped us, I bought several packs of the locking backs for pins at Michaels. Then I saved the black mickey backs. When our grandkids traded, we would keep our locking back, and let the CM keep their black Mickey back.

 

[Mom2PrincessK]

We bought a lot before our last trip - they were authentic/stamped with the mickey head backs. They weren't the most attractive pins but are perfect for trading.

 

[DaniB]

Thanks Amber!

 

[deannanb]

I bought pins from Ebay for our last trip -
I got a lot of 40 pins (intending for my 5 and 14 year old to trade)
but when I got them - I had to order another 40 because they were so much fun - and I knew that 40 would not be enough (and I was right)

The boys had a blast collecting sets - looking at every CM lanyard!

I bought lanyards at our hotel - the boys got to pick them out.

PM me if you want the name of the person I bought them from.

 

[carebee21]

If you're buying them in lots of 100 for $60-$70, they're scrappers. They may look legitimate, be stamped Disney and/or have the mickey heads on the back, but usually the coloring or edges are off. Unless you have the actual pin in front of you, you may not notice the off color (just like knock-off purses may look real until you compare them to the real thing...) Just going by an ebayers feedback is not reliable simply because many people don't know about scrappers or don't know the difference. They are happy because they think they got a great deal and leave positive feedback.

The bottom line is, there is no way to get Disney pins at that cheap of price to sell lots of 100 over and over and over again. Yes, you may have the people who got a great deal on random pins here or there, or people who are clearing out their pins or found some at a garage sale and just want something for the pins, but there is no way to consistently sell them day in and out and make a profit at that price point.

And if you're in doubt, look at this website: http://www.pinpics.com/ Compare your pins with the image and look to see if scrappers are made with the style/design of pins you rec'd. I would bet that everyone of those pins you got in the lot has known scrapper pins being circulated....

 

[blake.daly95]

As long as its letting the kids have their fun, I don’t want to stress too much over scrappers or authentic ones. Everyone that they’ve got in return is also more or less the same. They all (the ebay ones) look genuine to me.

 

[Zooey]

As long as its letting the kids have their fun, I don’t want to stress too much over scrappers or authentic ones. Everyone that they’ve got in return is also more or less the same. They all (the ebay ones) look genuine to me.

Sigh...

 

[itsmetigress]

I just bought a lot of 30 for my nieces to trade on our next trip this summer. While the pins are stamped and look real, I do question if they are... When I compare the weight to the pins I have purchased while at Disney (which I have about 30, not too many but enough) to the ones I receieved, they seem light.

Since I am suspect (even though they look real to me and maybe??) I won't trade them....

I understand wanting a good deal, but if it is too good, the pins are probably scrap or fake. At least that is what I learned...

Thank you! Way too many people just don't care, the mentality is "As long as MY family has fun.......". The good part is Disney IS starting to crack down on taking scrapper pins, the CMs no longer HAVE to trade with you if they suspect the pin is fake. Granted there are some CMs that don't care but there are lots that collect pins in their down time.

 

[ajh88]

I guess I'm at a loss. I am certain I have traded scrappers in the past (before I even knew what a scrapper was) but I will not knowingly trade one in the future.

That said, I don't think you can say with absolute certainty that getting pins for about $1-$2 apiece means they are absolutely scrappers. As I've said before, there are places to get pins cheaply, promos, etc. My DH had a HUGE pin collection from when he was a CM at the Disney store - we sold them off awhile back and started each auction at 99 cents. They weren't scrappers at all.

So, what is a person to do? No way am I paying $7-$10 per pin and risk my DD trading them with a CM for a scrapper! And even after looking at PinPics and comparing some of the traders we had left over from our last trip, I can't tell with any certainty whether they are or are not "scrappers" - even if a pin has known scrappers in existence, there are still legitimate pins of that design available too.

I guess we either try to find reasonably priced pins on ebay or DisneyStore and trade them or just be done with trading altogether - which really would be a shame because DD and DH enjoy it greatly.

I guess the only advice I would give folks is NOT to buy directly from Asia. Unfortunately, I have likely been duped by sellers in the good old USA (claiming to live near DisneyLand or WDW).

ETA: I actually think it would be sad if CM's start refusing to trade based on a suspicion - especially because many people seem to acquire fakes through trading legitimate pins.