Can someone tell me about pin trading?

[rszdtrvl]

I think my 12-yo son might think this is pretty cool. How does it work? Where is the best place to purchase pins (prior to the trip)?

Thanks so much!

 

[shoppingmom]

Pin Trading is fun! You can buy sets of pins with the lanyards at the park or any Disney store and that is how you start. Then as you go through the park ask CM's if they Pin Trade and if they say yes, they will pull out their pins and you are free to trade. Not all CM's carry pins. You can also trade with other park guests if they are willing. Pins can be purchased throughout the park, Disney stores, and sometimes on Ebay. We warned there are imitation pins out there on ebay. Prior to our recent trip I purchased 100 pins on line through someone at ebay, I got 100 good pins. Most of the pins we did not take down and trade on our last trip because the kids like them so much. There are people set up through the park that are Official Pin Traders and have books and books of pins to trade, two trips ago the kids traded with these people, but the last trip we had a run in with a very rude Official Pin Trader and the kids refused to trade with Official Pin Traders for the rest of the trip. Some of the best people to trade with were the Disney officials in Suits and ties who had little pin trading pads on themselves, they were a riot. It is fun, start your son small and enjoy!

 

[Lasty K]

Shoppingmom,

Your post makes me want to start buying some pins lol. Hopefully I do so this Saturday, I might add a couple or so as a start.

 

[jernysgirl]

Shoppingmom,

Your post makes me want to start buying some pins lol. Hopefully I do so this Saturday, I might add a couple or so as a start.

Be warned...... it is VERY addicting! I buy pins off of eBay as well before we go. I have always made sure to find a good dealer so that I know they are good pins. I can't bring myself to trade a pin that I bought in the park. They are just to darn expensive, and I obviously bought the pin in the first place because I liked it...... But you can buy pin sets in the park or can get some on sell at a Disney outlet or store on sale occasionally.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Be warned...... it is VERY addicting!

It does get expensive. And heavy! One year we bought and traded pins. We had such a blast! BUT the pins and lanyards got to be so heavy that we decided not to do it anymore. It's literally a pain to wear around when you're there more than 12 hours straight.

 

[rszdtrvl]

OK. So I found a seller on ebay who claims to sell only official pins. Would 15 pins be enough to start out? Or too little? Or too much? What is a good number?

I talked it over with DS and he said it sounds like it might be fun. He has a Spongebob lanyard that he got at Universal Studios last year that he can use.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

OK. So I found a seller on ebay who claims to sell only official pins. Would 15 pins be enough to start out? Or too little? Or too much? What is a good number?

I talked it over with DS and he said it sounds like it might be fun. He has a Spongebob lanyard that he got at Universal Studios last year that he can use.

That sounds like a good amount to start off with. We seriously started with just a couple each and by the end of the trip we had more than we could put on the lanyards! 15 would be good to start with as long as your son doesn't fall in love with all of them. Then it'll be hard to part with.

 

[pixiewings71]

How many days are you there? I have a 12 y.o. DD who is major into pin trading (well really the whole family is) and she can easily trade 15 pins in 1 day. LOL I gave our family a gift of 170 pins and we are already worried that we won't have enough when we get there! LOL Seriously, pin trading is hugely addicting but it's so much fun!!!! We bought our lanyards in DL, they weren't $$$ at all. Watch for the CM's who have lanyards or hip pouches on, they are the ones to ask about pins. If there are none visible then they are not trading, you will know who is a trader and who isn't. And you will also learn to read who is a "friendly" pin trader and who isn't. Seriously, there are people I avoid like the plague because they are the worst traders. As for buying on eBay, EVERYone says they have official Disney pins, unfortunately I've purchased many that were "Official" only to find out they were actually fake. I have a list of buyers who really have official pins, PM me if you'd like the list!!

 

[rszdtrvl]

I sent you a PM! Thanks!

 

[pixiewings71]

I got it and replied. Have fun trading!!!

 

[Disney Dreams]

A few additional notes about pin trading:

- You can trade up to 2 pins with any CM. If they have 3 that you are in love with and you are alone, you can only trade 2.

- You cannot trade them a pin they already have. What this means that is VERY important if you are just starting out is that you want variety in your "trade-able" pins as they cannot accept 2 of the same from you.

- "Official Pin Traders" that shoppingmom mentioned at NOT CMs. They are very active pin traders that set up their books throughout the park and negotiate with guests. While most are very good intentioned, they are individuals and not Disney CMs. They are collectors and are trading for their own interest. I personally ONLY trade with CMs. There is no bartering, value questions, etc.

- Be VERY careful buying off of ebay. They will all say that they have official Disney pins. I have had many friends get fakes from many ebay sellers.

- When I started pin trading I bought the "pin packs" that are at the Emporium and the 2 pin shops in Tomorrowland. They have 7 pins for $30. Put in your AP discount and you are at less than $4 a pin. Still more than ebay sellers, but you KNOW you are getting the real deal. If you really get into it, you might check out the Disney Warehouse. They have official pins for around $2-3 quite often.

- The other fun thing to look for in pin trading is the "hidden Mickey" pins or cast lanyard pins. These are pins that are never for sale and they start out their circulation on CM's lanyards. They have a little silver mickey on them somewhere and are part of sets of anywhere from 3-12 pins. It can be fun to hunt for them on lanyards while at the Park.

I probably have upwards of 200 pins, but I still claim that I am not a pin collector, I just see 1 I like every now and then. hehe Denial is a nice place sometimes.

- Dreams

 

[Snow Brite]

All great advice about pin trading so far! The only thing I would add is to encourage your child to pick a theme for the pins they want to collect. There are SO many pins and SO many that are cute and cool that it is easy to get carried away. One of my sons collects pins that are of rides he has been on and are his favorites. One son really likes pirates, so he collects characters that are dressed up like pirates. The princess collects Tinkerbell pins. And the youngest son enjoys the trading more than the collecting, so he kind of collects pins from Brother Bear (favorite movie) but really will trade any pin with anyone because he enjoys the chatting and negotiating more than having the pins.

Another good place to get starter pins is if you are with a AAA or WDT package, as they include a lanyard and set of pins. You get a voucher to trade in. Also the Character Outlet in Fullerton has discounted pins to purchase. Don't worry if they are not pins your son will like, that is actually better because then he will be eager to trade them instead of keeping them.

 

[Eeyore's Buddy]

We are taking our grandson to DW for the first time this June and he would like to get involved with trading and collecting pins.

Is this limited to ONLY Disney pins or will the CM's trade for non-Disney pins also? I have many pins that have accumulated over the years from some rather exotic locations and I thought perhaps the CM's would trade for some of them.

Or (being cynical) is the idea the selling and trading of Disney merchandise?

Thanks

EB

 

[jernysgirl]

We are taking our grandson to DW for the first time this June and he would like to get involved with trading and collecting pins.

Is this limited to ONLY Disney pins or will the CM's trade for non-Disney pins also? I have many pins that have accumulated over the years from some rather exotic locations and I thought perhaps the CM's would trade for some of them.

Or (being cynical) is the idea the selling and trading of Disney merchandise?

Thanks

EB

They can only trade official Disney pins. There are many knock-off Disney pins out there, that they are not even suppose to trade for. But unfortunately, some of those not-so-great quality pins make it into the trading circle.

 

[Disney Dreams]

We are taking our grandson to DW for the first time this June and he would like to get involved with trading and collecting pins.

Is this limited to ONLY Disney pins or will the CM's trade for non-Disney pins also? I have many pins that have accumulated over the years from some rather exotic locations and I thought perhaps the CM's would trade for some of them.

Or (being cynical) is the idea the selling and trading of Disney merchandise?

Thanks

EB

As jernysgirl said above, the CMs can only trade and accept official Disney pins. However, if you choose to venture into trading with other pin traders, you may find that others collect other pins as well. You can ask them and see what they say. There are many that collect various types of pins.

To answer your cynical question half-sincerely, well, yeah, the pin trading program of course sells merchandise, but... the idea is for the CMs to trade pins with guests. If they get non-Disney pins on their lanyard, the circle of interested people in that particular pin goes down significantly. Therefore, Disney pins only - with CMs.

- Dreams

 

[pixiewings71]

We are taking our grandson to DW for the first time this June and he would like to get involved with trading and collecting pins.

Is this limited to ONLY Disney pins or will the CM's trade for non-Disney pins also? I have many pins that have accumulated over the years from some rather exotic locations and I thought perhaps the CM's would trade for some of them.

Or (being cynical) is the idea the selling and trading of Disney merchandise?

Thanks

EB

Disney copyright pins only. Sorry. Like Dreams suggested you can take your pins and try to trade with "regular" pin traders but I'm not sure how successful that will be. Of course it's to make money, but if you buy from eBay you won't be paying that much per pin.

 

[rszdtrvl]

We got our pins yesterday and WOW!! There are some pretty cool ones.

I was expecting them to be a lot smaller than they are. There were some pretty big ones.

I ended up taking one - a Tinkerbell - for my lanyard, as my lanyard is also Tinkerbell and I thought it was adorable.

My son was all excited about them, and immediately had to put them on his Spongebob lanyard (from our last vacation at Universal Studios).

The 14 pins on his lanyard just about filled it up.

I am pretty impressed with them. But since his lanyard is full, we won't be buying any more pins before our trip (insert sad face here, LOL).

I can see how it could get addicting. They are so cool!! (sorry for the cruddy photos - I used macro to get them more clear, but had to turn the flash off otherwise it would be one bright spot...)

 

[Disney Dreams]

We got our pins yesterday and WOW!! There are some pretty cool ones....

My son was all excited about them, and immediately had to put them on his Spongebob lanyard (from our last vacation at Universal Studios).

The 14 pins on his lanyard just about filled it up.

An here's where pin trading will hook you! He loves the pins that you bought for the purpose of trading. So... what will he trade? Why, the additional pins you will by at the Park that he doesn't like, of course.

Welcome to the fun addiction,
Dreams