Cheapest way to pin trade

[sunlver]

I am new newbie to Disney. I am, however, new to the pin trading thing. Is it still as popular as before ? I would like to get my 7 yr old daughter involved with it for our upcoming trip in June.
Is there an inexpensive way to get started? The Lanyards, where can I get these from? Do they have to be Disney ones? What is the average price for pins? I see them on ebay, are these are good deal on ebay? What would be considered a good deal on ebay for the pins. Is $3 or $4 a pin on ebay a good price..
Sorry for so many questions. I just like to know what I am getting into.
Thanks for your help.

 

[mamacatnv]

I picked up all our traders on ebay. I wanted nice pins and paid on average $3.25 ea. I did not want a bunch of duplicates so I stuck to Cast Member pins and small lots of 10 or under.

I was able to find some lanyards on ebay but they were not the Disney ones so I waited until we arrived at WDW and purchased us all our lanyards. Due to height, my DD had a hard time with the full size lanyard and we were able to get her one of the Princess lanyards that was shorter and manageable for her.

Happy trading - my DD loves it!

 

[tinkerbell60]

A Disney cast member gave us this hint - at some of the shops and kiosks you can buy "baby character" pins - they come in a set of about 8 - they are less expensive - what you do is trade these pins away for nicer ones - it worked for our kids to get started without costing a fortune!

 

[cmwade77]

We either buy them from ebay (if we can find them for $5.00 or less including S&H. Or from The Character Warehouse in Fullerton, CA (there are a few other locations as well, to find them just visit their website by clicking here) I know the location in Fullerton has some bins as cheap as $2.00 right now and some of their pins are buy one for $3.00 get 3 free, which are mix and match so duplicate wouldn't be an issue.

 

[mamacatnv]

A Disney cast member gave us this hint - at some of the shops and kiosks you can buy "baby character" pins - they come in a set of about 8 - they are less expensive - what you do is trade these pins away for nicer ones - it worked for our kids to get started without costing a fortune!

Watch the babies they are known as "Cuties" and they were everywhere on every CM lanyard when we were at WDW in January. If your kid also has lots of "Cuties" they could be difficult to trade. CM's cannot trade for a pin that they already have.

Maybe a more recent visitor can comment on the current "Cutie" population

 

[Indy's Girl]

Also, as the OP asked in the first post, the pins must be Disney pins, you cannot trade any other kind. I have seen lots of 25-50 on ebay for $1-2 per pin.

 

[Charleyann]

The Walmart on Poinciana Drive by the Lake Buena Vista Factory Outlet Mall sells Disney pins for under $5.00. They have the Disney name engraved on them and are nice pins for the price!

Also try the Disney stores in your area. I bought discount pins. Two packages with three in them each. I got them for $2.99. We bought eleven pins for just $7.00 ! These too were Disney pins.

Charleyann

 

[sunlver]

Thank you for your help everybody. It is nice to get tips. We have not bought any yet. We will though,so my daughter can have some pins before we leave in June.
Now the lanyards..do you get the Disney ones? I looked at the dollar store as I would of got a plain one, but couldnt find any there. Do any local stores sell regular old lanyards?

 

[larkles]

I found official Disney Pirates lanyards at Target in the $1 aisle a few weeks ago

 

[M 'n C]

A Disney cast member gave us this hint - at some of the shops and kiosks you can buy "baby character" pins - they come in a set of about 8 - they are less expensive - what you do is trade these pins away for nicer ones - it worked for our kids to get started without costing a fortune!

We did this on our last trip. Its 6 cuties for about $25. If you start trading early in the day and trade these first you shouldn't have problems getting better pins for them. You can get them in downtown disney.

 

[sunlver]

I found official Disney Pirates lanyards at Target in the $1 aisle a few weeks ago

I went to Target today..did not see one lanyard there. I dont think it was that they were out, I didnt even see a space where they would be. The dollar stores here dont carry any type of lanyard. I wonder where else I could try locally?

 

[C_leen]

I would look at disneyshopping.com - particularly the outlet part of the web site. I've seen lanyards there twice recently.

Thanks for these tips on where to find a 'starter' supply without breaking the bank.

 

[Xcited4Disney]

I went to Target today..did not see one lanyard there. I dont think it was that they were out, I didnt even see a space where they would be. The dollar stores here dont carry any type of lanyard. I wonder where else I could try locally?

I found them in the dollar section at Target last week.

 

[libinatorsmom]

Well I just started this pin trading stuff... I bought my daugter a Princess lanyard on ebay ($2.95) and so far I bought her 2 pins Mickey ($2) and a Sully ($2) - I am hoping to get her some more before we go... I want to get her some princess ones but I am afaird shes not going to want to trade... LOL... so I might have to get some she doesnt like... LOL... I dont know much about worth or value - I am just doing it for her

 

[sunlver]

I found some lanyards at Claire's in the mall. My daughter picked out a pink one with kitties on it. It was only $3.50. Now I am just waiting for the pins to arrive that we bought from ebay

 

[djblu883]

I've bought pins on e bay and Disney Stores for great prices. After Christmas or other Holidays is a great time to find them at reduced prices...then thake them when you go to WDW or DL and trade with the CM's..Ther is also a pin board in DTD to trade and a kiosk in WS as well...enjoy !! I have so many now I finally had to buy a pin notebook because they get so heavy. I tried pinning them on a vest but try to walk around the world with that extra weight all day WOW they get heavy in a hurry...and I only have 100 or so right now....they have a good sale on the jumbo pins right now in disneyshopping.com!!!

 

[mmurdoch]

My daughter was 9 when she first started her pin "trading". The thing is she almost never wants to trade. She wants pins that represent her favorite rides or memories and will not get rid of them. If your 7 year old is as active as my daughter and does not trade her pins often you might look at purchasing locking backs for her pins.
We almost lost a few before we figured that out. They lock in place with a tiny little allen wrench. You can probably find them on Ebay or somewhere else online for cheaper than what we paid at Disney.

 

[thesaurinis]

I have bought most of ours for our trip from ebay, butlearned if you have a disney store at your local mall they have packages with 3 small ones in it for 9.50 and they are great for trading up to bigger and better ones. We just got packages of disney fairys, and meet the robinsons. They will be gone by tom. i am sure when we get to disney. Kids are already talking which is going first.

 

[dixie lolly]

I also bought some of the $1 pirate lanyards at target but the only drawback is that they are satin and not as sturdy as the ones we bought at disney so i am not sure how they will hold up when you get a bunch of pins on them.

 

[sunlver]

I also bought some of the $1 pirate lanyards at target but the only drawback is that they are satin and not as sturdy as the ones we bought at disney so i am not sure how they will hold up when you get a bunch of pins on them.

You know, I saw some satin ones at Claire's(not the pirate ones though), and thought the same thing. I did not think the Satin lanyards would be as sturdy as the other ones.