Disney Pins

[nellypooh1]

Does anyone know where I can purchase Disney lanyard pins before going to Disney. We are surprising our kids and I wanted to put lanyards together for them in there surprise bags.

 

[chaoscent]

If you go to the Disney Collector's Board there is a board for Pin Trading. They offer some very good advice for pin trading. If you want to email me, I would be glad to answer questions about ebay people i have used. Penny
Chaoscent@verizon.net

 

[MonorailNate]

You should also be able to purchase some pins at your local Disney Store. They are usually cheaper than the ones in the parks. My kids get these to trade.

 

[nopdwife]

Try ebay! Just look up disney trading pins. My 3 girls(13,10 and 7) all wanted to trade on our recent visit. None of them had done it before so I made them use their own money to buy the pins. They each bought a few to start and when we visited the Character Premiere store, they purchased a few more. The pins there were as cheap as $3.99. The pins in the park start around $6.95 if I remember correctly. If you search enough on ebay you may be able to get some for even cheaper. If they are going to trade, don't let them pic one's that they won't want to get rid of. That was my 10 yr DD's problem. She would get pirate pins and not want to trade. She got to the point just before we left to where she had nothing but pins related to pirates in one way or another. They did have a blast trading though. If you stay on site, ask the lobby and gift shop if they have a pin board. A CM at the POR told my DD about it and brought it out for her to look at.

 

[Bev J]

Since I have no Disney Store near me- darn them they are the ones who hooked me on pin trading, then closed the store- I buy mine on ebay. There are lots of good sellers there. Make sure they are 'real' disney pins not cheap immitations.
I have been able to buy for $2 and up when bought in lots or multiples.
Our kids have had such a good time with pin trading, met some friendly people and wonderful CM's.

Bev

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I STRONGLY suggest you do very thorough research before you buy pins on eBay. Go to the Collectors forum here on the DIS and read the thread about helping new traders avoid cheap pins. Go to the PinPics website and read the info on "scrappers" and "counterfeits" so you will know what to watch for. Then look for auctions that promise NO SCRAPPERS and make sure the seller has a return policy listed. We have purchased a bunch of eBay pins, and we have ended up with a bunch of fakes that are not tradeable. Unfortunately I didn't look at them very closely to start with, and by the time I realized they were fake the 45 days to dispute the charge through PayPal had expired. They look just fine until you hold them up to a "real" pin, so it is hard to tell from the auction photos if they are fakes or not.

When you look at eBay auctions you can search by seller's name, and you can view closed auctions. You can also read the descriptions of what people bought from them on their feedback page. Sellers who are selling scrappers buy them by the hundreds from China, so they will have the same pins for sale over and over, usually cast lanyard pins. It didn't occur to me to wonder how somebody who lives nowhere near any Disney park would come up with huge lots of cast lanyard pins. Now I know. There are also quite a few sellers who severely gouge buyers on shipping, so make sure you factor that in when you bid. Good luck!!

 

[nellypooh1]

Thank you all sooo much for all the helpful information!