DS Sale....What to buy?

[CWIPPERMAN]

As you have probably read, the Disney Stores (at least the one in Kansas City) are having a "buy one, get one free" sale on pins. I went the other day (not knowing about the sale) and decided to stock up on some pins to take with us. Now, I completely unfamaliar with the whole pin trading process, and what pins to purchase. So, I decided to "stock-up" on the pins from my State (Missouri). I was told by the CM that those would be a hot item, since you can only get the State's pin in the State where the store is located.

First, is this a good strategy....to buy a bunch of one type of pin and only trade it for others (I would think it would keep you from accidently trading away a good pin).

Second, I have tried to "search" this forum for "pin trading", but the minimum number of letters for the first word in a search is 4, so it doesn't work. Can someone direct me to a thread or a website that has all of the basics for a "clueless" pin trader. Where do I go when I get to the park? I know if I display the pin it is elligible for trade. But, what else do I need to know??

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

First of all, welcome to the DIS Collectors Board. The focus of the board is all Disney collectibles, but pins are THE hot collectible right now so we do talk about pin collecting and trading a lot.

Feel free to check out the links I have in my signature. The DIS has a pin trading etiquette 101 that answers some basic questions and I have a Collectors Board FAQ that answers more. The FAQ also has links to other sites that focus exclusively on Disney pin trading, including the official Disney site that launches August 4.

One misconception that should be cleared up -- just because you (as a guest) have a pin on display does not mean it is tradable. The pins the CMs have on their on-duty lanyards are all tradable, but the guests are under no similar rules. When I go to the parks I start out with a lanyard for CM lanyard trading. When I trade with a CM, I'll put that pin on my lanyard to display but it's not tradable. Then there's that Ed guy (or Raul, as we also call him) who has a lanyard full of display pins that he would not trade for anything.

Tonight is Pin Chat night here at the DIS. We hope you'll join us in the chat room (link also in my signature) tonight at 9:00 PM eastern.