CMs Refusing to Trade Pins

[Joanna71985]

except the CM's could just not wear the duplicates and turn them in at the end or begining of a shift for different ones. it's not like it would be difficult to have a system for cm's to restock their pins. no duplicates should be a disney internal policy but not one that is imposed upon the guests and potentially take away from the joy of pin trading for those who are into it. particularly the children.

But what happens if they keep getting duplicates? Soon enough they would have no pins on the lanyard, because they would all be the same pin. Plus, it's not always easy to get to the pin trading location because it might be closed before you get there

 

[nmmom95]

Our vacations exist within the parameters of Disney standard operating policies and procedures. I keep security on speed dial and I am quick to call. If I see a shirt untucked I immediately head to guest services and demand that CM removed.

Is this a joke?

 

[dzorn]

Next time just walk over to another cast member and trade the duplicate then go back to the first cast member and trade whatever pin you just traded.


Denise in MI

 

[d1gitman]

But what happens if they keep getting duplicates? Soon enough they would have no pins on the lanyard, because they would all be the same pin. Plus, it's not always easy to get to the pin trading location because it might be closed before you get there

um, that's what the term "restocking" was referring to. cm's could take all trades but not wear any as duplicates. when the start or end their shift they could then turn in all duplicates in exchange for non duplicates. one cm's duplicates aren't necessarily the same as other cm's. if they end up with piles of dup's then disney can have a stash pins that don't fall into the likely to be duplicated category. there are an insane amount of pin varieties out there, i don't think it would be hard for disney to stock pins for cm's to exchange dup's for.

 

[Joanna71985]

um, that's what the term "restocking" was referring to. cm's could take all trades but not wear any as duplicates. when the start or end their shift they could then turn in all duplicates in exchange for non duplicates. one cm's duplicates aren't necessarily the same as other cm's. if they end up with piles of dup's then disney can have a stash pins that don't fall into the likely to be duplicated category. there are an insane amount of pin varieties out there, i don't think it would be hard for disney to stock pins for cm's to exchange dup's for.

And what happens if the restocking table is closed before the CM gets there? It's not always possible to trade pins out. It's really not that hard to trade another pin if they have it already, or just find another CM to trade with.

 

[kirbsam]

Our vacations exist within the parameters of Disney standard operating policies and procedures. I keep security on speed dial and I am quick to call. If I see a shirt untucked I immediately head to guest services and demand that CM removed.

dude: sarcasm is not well received on the dis. half the people think you are serious and will ask over and over it is a joke. the half that know you are kidding will chastise you for joking about such a serious matter especially since there is a tragic pin trading story in their life somewhere and it probably involves someone gravely ill with some funky disease.

 

[Oglet]

It's just something fun to do.

or as I like to say "Buy cheapo pins on eBay and pass the junk on to a CM for something better"

 

[Oglet]

um, that's what the term "restocking" was referring to. cm's could take all trades but not wear any as duplicates. when the start or end their shift they could then turn in all duplicates in exchange for non duplicates. one cm's duplicates aren't necessarily the same as other cm's. if they end up with piles of dup's then disney can have a stash pins that don't fall into the likely to be duplicated category. there are an insane amount of pin varieties out there, i don't think it would be hard for disney to stock pins for cm's to exchange dup's for.

The problem is location and hours, for some CM's a pin exchange location can be a fair way from their work location and the hours of operation are not really that great. It's unfair to expect a CM to go switch out pins on their own time and management will not let people leave 10 minutes early to do it either.

I'd personally like more freedom with pin trading, I think CM's should be able to not accept a trade unless its a "fair" trade, I can't tell you how many people buy junk lots of pins on eBay with the sole purpose of offloading them for better ones in the park. I believe if there were more fair trades taking place everyone would benefit, CM's would have better pins in general and the quality of junk will be reduced.

 

[kaligal]

except the CM's could just not wear the duplicates and turn them in at the end or begining of a shift for different ones. it's not like it would be difficult to have a system for cm's to restock their pins. no duplicates should be a disney internal policy but not one that is imposed upon the guests and potentially take away from the joy of pin trading for those who are into it. particularly the children.

If they didn't say, "No duplicates," we'd have lanyards covered with nothing but those stupid Figment mood pins, etc. It's a good rule.

Teach the kid that there are rules they have to follow. Teach the kid that they can't always get what they want the second they want it. If the kid learns that not everyone is going to bend over backwards to bring them joy because they want joy and they want it NOW, they'll be better off in the long run. Happier, too.

 

[littlewitch34]

As a CM in the very near future, I'm sorry to say that this thread is making me scared of pin trading!

 

[clandrum]

Imagine this scenario:

There's an ugly generic pin that many people hate, let's say it's of daisy duck. It also happens to be a very cheap pin. Dozens of pin trading guests stock up on said ugly pin because it's cost effective. Then they go to the parks and trade their entire lanyard of daisy duck pins to a single cast member. That cast member now has an unusable lanyard for the day because nobody will want their newly acquired daisy pins.
Now it's your child's first day at the parks and they're so excited to pin trade. But wait- every CM you go to has their lanyard half fun of ugly daisy pins. This makes it much harder for your child to actually find a pin they want to trade for.

It's easy to say, well the CM works for Disney so just trade out the pins, right? From experience, it's not that easy. Many cast work alone (popcorn vendor, attractions greeter, custodial) or in very busy areas where they can't run back and switch up pins. They might be stuck the entire day with the lanyard full of daisy pins. That is why they don't want duplicates on their lanyard. Where do you stop- only two of the same? Three of the same? More than half? Guests want variety when they trade with cast- what's useless to you may be the pin another guest has been searching for all day. The CM honest don't care what's on their lanyard as it's not their personal set.

ETA: Some CMs are required to wear lanyards. Others have the option. Some are not allowed to wear them at all, usually for safety reasons.

Why you gotta hate on Daisy?

 

[mimmi]

dude: sarcasm is not well received on the dis. half the people think you are serious and will ask over and over it is a joke. the half that know you are kidding will chastise you for joking about such a serious matter especially since there is a tragic pin trading story in their life somewhere and it probably involves someone gravely ill with some funky disease.

 

[t_catt11]

People... TenderDonkey is being sarcastically silly. And will continue to do so as long as you think the comments are serious.

As for the solutions suggested of pocketing pics, CMs trading them with one another, swapping out with a mythical stack, etc... I have one that works even better. Follow the rule, and don't take duplicates.

The Daisy Duck analogy above was excellent, but what really does happen is that people buy the cheap starter sets that contain multiple pins for far less than you can buy singles for. In the past, we've seen the popular themes of Disney babies, chibi versions of the fab five, the collection of stuffed animal prizes from Toy Story Mania... usually, whatever set gives you the most pins for the lowest price.

At rope drop, guests trade these pins right off the bat. If you look, you'll notice that midmorning CM lanyards, especially near the gate, are often made up of close to 50% of these types. If duplicates were allowed, they'd have nothing but these generic starters, and trading with them wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

Now, does Disney mind you trading these starter pins? Heck, no! It gets you hooked! However, to make it fun for everyone, they have a "no duplicates" rule.

Can CMs make exceptions? Sure, on a case by case basis. I've seen CM's give pins to children (one did this for my two year old on our last trip, when he couldn't decide which pin to give away). Are they required to do so, or can they always do so? Of course not. Should you expect them to bend the rules for you, or should you get bent out of shape if they don't? Please.

I sure hope that nobody's child would seriously be crushed by being told "no". I've never seen a CM be ugly about it. My own DS2 was told (gently) that the CM could not take that pin, as they already had the one my child was trying to trade. He simply picked another pin. If a two year old can manage that concept, I fail to see why older folks cannot.

Quit making mountains out of molehills. Quit trying to come up with reasons why the policy sholdn't apply to you, why the policy is bad, ways to circumvent the policy, etc. Understand that it is in place for a very good reason, and adjust your thinking accordingly. Shockingly, you can still have a wonderful time trading pins, even if CMs won't take your duplicates.

 

[Luvamouse]

Quit making mountains out of molehills. Quit trying to come up with reasons why the policy sholdn't apply to you, why the policy is bad, ways to circumvent the policy, etc. Understand that it is in place for a very good reason, and adjust your thinking accordingly. Shockingly, you can still have a wonderful time trading pins, even if CMs won't take your duplicates.

Amen. Thank you. Especially like the 2 YO story...

 

[bumbershoot]

I have never understood pin-trading. I collect pins and wouldn't want to trade any of them. I collect pins for the rides I've been on, the Hotels I've stayed at and the characters I like. When we are on the Cruise ship I collect Cruise pins to remind me of the Cruise.

That is my philosophy, but many others do not agree. After my husband was kinda sorta "taken" by a fellow guest (begged hubby to trade a pin we got for something else...turns out the pin hubby traded was a pin that was coveted, rare, and hard to get but we didn't know it at the time) he soured on trading, and after DS traded with DH, and then DH traded that pin out, only to be asked for the pin back by DS...we don't let DS trade, either.

you think the CM would just stick the duplicate pin in his or her pocket and be done with it. is Disney going to search pockets of CM's for said pins?

Wouldn't that look an awful lot like theft?

so the lanyard is part of the official CM's uniform? they MUST wear one? or is it optional?

They aren't necessary, but the pins don't belong to the CM, either. They have to follow the rules.

...but not one that is imposed upon the guests and potentially take away from the joy of pin trading for those who are into it. particularly the children.

If a kid is too young to understand that there are rules, they are too young to be trading pins.

 

[nytimez]

Never really understood pin trading. But it sounds like these transactions are like nuclear arms treaty negotiations.

 

[Ceila]

so he knew well in advance before his demise that there would be pins to trade?

Seriously? You can't make the connection between the two?

 

[WDSearcher]

um, that's what the term "restocking" was referring to. cm's could take all trades but not wear any as duplicates. when the start or end their shift they could then turn in all duplicates in exchange for non duplicates. one cm's duplicates aren't necessarily the same as other cm's. if they end up with piles of dup's then disney can have a stash pins that don't fall into the likely to be duplicated category. there are an insane amount of pin varieties out there, i don't think it would be hard for disney to stock pins for cm's to exchange dup's for.

Remember, though, that most CMs trade pins in addition to, not instead of their normal job. While there are "pin trader" CMs in the parks, most people trading are attraction hosts, food service CMs, merchandise CMs, managers, and any number of other cast members who have jobs to do in addition to pin trading. They share lanyards (often picking up whatever lanyard is on the rack on their way out to the parks), and may not even notice until they're on set that they have duplicates.

A lot of CMs aren't all that into pin trading themselves, so they're not quite as motivated to go out of their way at the beginning or end of shift to restock their lanyard for the next guy. Sometimes there just isn't time, and so making sure you don't have duplicate pins is a lower priority than other things.

It's not like not being able to trade a duplicate happens constantly. It happens a lot when there's a "promo" pin out there that no one wants -- the aforementioned AmEx pin, for example -- but it doesn't happen all that often. All you'd really have to do is (as someone suggested upthread) go to another CM, trade your duplicate pin, and then go back to the original CM and get the pin you want.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

They share lanyards (often picking up whatever lanyard is on the rack on their way out to the parks), and may not even notice until they're on set that they have duplicates.

A few years ago I traded pins with a Cast Member outside the Hall of Presidents. Well a few hours later I saw a different Cast Member wearing the exact same lanyard with the pin I had previously traded, so like you said that was an example of Cast Members sharing lanyards when another one replaces them when their shift ends.

 

[WDSearcher]

The Daisy Duck analogy above was excellent, but what really does happen is that people buy the cheap starter sets that contain multiple pins for far less than you can buy singles for. In the past, we've seen the poopular themes of Disney babies, chibi versions of the fab five, the collection of stuffed animal prizes from Toy Story Mania... usually, whatever set gives you the most pins for the lowest price.

I just had to comment on this ... intended or not, it was a classic!