Can someone explain pin trading?

[foxykendra]

So, what exactly is pin trading? Do I buy a pin and then trade with someone if theirs looks better to me? Why do people trade pins in the first place? Do I have to wear a bunch of pins? Are wild pin-crazy people going to hunt me down if I do?

As you can see, I need some schooling...

Thanks.

 

[Queenbillabong]

Pin trading is fun! You can bring pins with you (most people do this and not trade new pins that they just bought). You can get really good deals on pins at ShopDisney.com and some other places (usually about $3/pin is a good deal for an authentic Disney pin for trading).

Cast members will wear a lanyard or a waist holder that displays the pins they have to trade. Just go up to any CM with a pin lanyard and ask to trade - it's easy. My son loves to do this. They will also sometimes have "mystery traders" which are pins that are placed backwards on the lanyard so you do not see what you get until you get it. Usually get good pins this way. Some CMs only trade with kids and they have greeny/turquoise lanyards.

Most pin traders are not crazed - although some are, so beware

 

[mom4princesses]

I just got pins at the Disney Store 50% off today. That made the pins a little less than $3 each. One more thing is the pins do gave to be Disney made if you want to trade them.

 

[foxykendra]

Mom4princesses, did you buy your pins online? I looked online at the Disney Store and didn't see where they were 50% off...could you send me a link?

Thanks!

 

[Hambletfamily]

We're pin traders! We love it. We usually buy 4 or 5 pins and then trade. Last year I traded for a 100 year mickey pin I was so excited cause I wasn't even looking to trade and a cast member came up to me. The teens thought our pins were cool and the little kids wanted to trade with us. On little girl wanted to trade her only pin with me but I couldn't take hers so I gave her one of mine.
The idea is to trade like pins, if a pin is worth bucks don't think you are going to trade one that isn't unless it's a cast member and they are going to make the trade. Also, always ask first if you can look at their pins, never touch unless they tell you that you can. Good luck and have fun.. Pin collecting is addicting, even my DH has fun doing it.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

we shop online i think the store is mousepns.com ill have to check we buy a bundel before we go and take them with us we love doing this its fun and a cheap suviner. last time i colected a bunch pirates and tinks hehe.. i got a mystery one it was covered up with some paper and i said i was lookign for pirates ones the cm laughed and said i never knew what this one was..lol so i took it. it was the gold coin from pirates it said vurtual micky somethign lol

 

[NWPrincess]

How do people usually display their pins? Lanyards?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Check out this site:

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/index

 

[JadeDarkstar]

http://www.mousepinsonline.com/tp40/Default.asp?ID=18157

this is the site really good sells of grab bags best secret I know at how to keep my son having fun with out spending a thousand

 

[mom4princesses]

Mom4princesses, did you buy your pins online? I looked online at the Disney Store and didn't see where they were 50% off...could you send me a link?

Sorry it was a the local store.

 

[PigletGurl]

I've never pin traded before either. I'm starting this year though. Sad isn't it? And i've already gone 8 times..

 

[pixiewings71]

I've met some of the rudest people pin trading but I've also met some of the nicest too!! I recognize the rude ones now and just avoid them. Oh, I'll look at their pins but I don't ask to trade because I'm not going inside to buy a $12 pin to trade a plain jane nothing special one that you have. LOL Can you tell I'm a little bitter? LOL But I've met some really great people pin trading and love to run into them over and over again. I use lanyards to display my pins, I wear them when we are in the park. DBF carries his pin book with him and wears a lanyard too.
We get pins from mousepins.com, pincastle.com and we've found a very good seller on eBay who always has legitimate pins up for auction. I don't trade what I buy in the parks, I only trade what I buy from the above. Be careful when buying from eBay, only use sellers that will take returns (otherwise they are likely selling scrappers aka fakes) don't buy Sedesma either, Propins are acceptable to trade with CM's but some individuals don't like them. I have a ProPin right now that I'm not trading......it's Pocahontas and John Smith, I really like it so I might keep it forever. The most important part is to just have fun with it. Enjoy yourself and don't let the "serious" traders scare you away, then you won't meet people like me and DBF, who like to trade just to trade.

 

[The Blue Parrot]

Hi, my name is Roger and I'm addicted to pin trading.

I've been at this since the free pins from the Gift Giver Extraordinaire in 1985 for Disneyland's 30th. And I had my own pin vest long before the Supertraders ever hit the parks.

I have no idea how many pins I own, but they fit into two big pin bags, two medium ones and a few assorted boxes. And I've traded hundreds of pins with lots of people at the parks and online.

As easy as it is to trade with Cast Members, I enjoy chatting and trading with other guests while waiting in line for an attraction.

Not every time ends up being a trade but you never know. Some times the sharing of the interest in pins is worth more than the trade. And kids can make some great trades, too. I've found that they trade for a lot of different reasons, but they're the most honest traders by far.

My lanyard tends to have only pins that I am looking to trade or pins that I have recently traded for.

As for the pin sharks (you know the type; two of yours for one of mine) or the pin slugs (too lazy to buy a pin on their own, but don't mind asking you to buy a brand one to trade for one they've had for years), I think there's a corner in Hell where they'll be condemed to trading Sedesma pins for all eternity.

Now that that's over with, anyone out there going to the Disneyland Day Campin' event on June 21st? I've got my pins all set for some good trades.

 

[stacymomof2]

One word for you: ADDICTING!!

We just started this year and surprisingly enough, my DH became the largest fan!

We got into some great conversations with people, CM's and others. We even had a couple people just give my dd7 pins. Both CM & "real people" It really helped the make our trip fun and we learned quite a bit.

Just keep it fun and if you want to trade, go for what you want, my dd7 is collecting tinkerbell and my dd16 is collecting pirate & Jack Skellington stuff.

There are some really cute ones and control is definatly needed!

 

[foxykendra]

Wow, I had no idea that this was such a huge phenomenon!

I have another question: where can I get a pin book or lanyard?

 

[Jairy]

Even my 4 and 6 year old had fun trading. We bought a grab bag set on ebay. Lanyard and 6 pins for 19.99. Of course, they liked a couple of the pins they got, and some they didn't like. So they were all set to trade before we even got to Disneyland. They built their collection over the 5 days we were there (we only traded with CMs), and came home with a lanyard full of pins they absolutely love. We bought them each one of their choice in the store as well before they left. I swear we spent an hour in the shop deciding on the perfect pin!

 

[foxykendra]

How do you know if the pins on Ebay are authentic? I think I'd like to try to get a few on Ebay but I don't want to find out the hard way that they are fakes...

 

[Queenbillabong]

If you are buying pins on eBay, check out the seller's feedback. Buyers will let you know if they are fakes. Make sure the seller states that the pins are authentic Disney pins, no Sedesma and no Pro-Pins. Some people don't really care about the Pro-Pins, but they are inferior quality pins (not as bad as Sedesma!), but still.... Careful on a lot of the "lots" on eBay as most will contain Sedesma or Pro-Pins.

I have bought tons of pins online and if you want to know my list of sellers who sell true Disney pins (even some "grab bag lots" of pins), just PM me and I'll give you my list of eBay sellers who I know are legit and sell good pins.

 

[pixiewings71]

Queenbillabong, I'll share my list of good eBayers with you (mine is pretty small lol) if you share yours with me.

I don't rely on feedback, I instead chose my sellers based on their return policy. If they accept returns I will make the purchase and then if I can determine the pin is fake I'll return it. Many buyers don't realize the pins are fake until well after they have left feedback. If anyone else wants my (really small) list of sellers from eBay let me know, I'll be happy to share via PM's.

I too love trading with kids, they are open, honest and don't try to swindle you. LOL Many times I've given pins away to kids that are just starting out, their parents are usually very Thankful and so are the kids.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i dont trust ebay i like mousepins.com they seem to always have the best sells on there grab bags. and I know there pins arent the bad ones so thats a good thing were gona buy 50 before we go maybe 75