Ebay and buying pins...help!

[Puffy2]

I just want some inexpensive pins that my kid can trade on an upcoming trip. Does anyone have any advice on how to purchase pins (CHEAPLY) on Ebay??? I've searched, but they all seem kind of expensive. Any advice on search words?

 

[ncbyrne]

Try bidding on pin lots. When we first started trading we bought all of them from eBay and just traded when we got to the parks. The sellers seem more savvy these days, but there are still bargains to be found if you buy bulk.

 

[Sinderelli]

I'm not sure how familiar you are with ebay, but a lot of times with the shipping you wind up not saving at all...soemtimes the item even comes out costing more. If you want to wait until you are in Disney, now they have a "pin trading" pack in which you get a lariat and 4 of the same pins. Your kids can keep one and trade the other 3. I think the whole thing costs $24-$26. Not bad with everything you get. Hope this helps!

 

[Puffy2]

I've already got them the lanyard and some pins...just looking for some others they could trade.

 

[bbump]

Also... make sure that the pins you bid on or purchase are the "official" tradeable pins. I have heard of cheap knock-offs sold on EBAY that are NOT tradeable at the parks.
I purchased 2 sets of 10 pins on EBAY for $50 which ended up being $2.50 per pin, so there are some deals to be found...just make sure to read the feedback on sellers before bidding.

 

[Puffy2]

Do the cast members HAVE to make a trade if asked? And can the child decide which pin they are willing to trade? For instance, if I get 10 identical pins on ebay, do you think my child will have any trouble trading them for pins she wants?

 

[jann1033]

subscribing as i have the same general questions

so would you pin traders say it is cheaper just to buy the pins you want? is the trading part just for fun really? or is it a good way to get pins you want?

 

[Buzz2001]

Do the cast members HAVE to make a trade if asked? And can the child decide which pin they are willing to trade? For instance, if I get 10 identical pins on ebay, do you think my child will have any trouble trading them for pins she wants?

Yes, a CM has to trade if they are wearing a lanyard. The green lanyards are for kids only and the black ones are for everyone.

If all of the pins are the same, you will only be able to make one trade per CM because they are not supposed to have duplicate pins on their lanyards.

Good luck and have fun trading!

ps - You might want to trade posting on the colletors board for rules and more answers.

 

[donnab2005]

We were just there this past July and my daughter started pin trading then. The Cast member will trade pins as long as the pin you want to give them, is a pin that they do not already have on their lanyard. I hope this helps.

 

[wdwoldtimer]

Generally speaking, the pins you will find on ebay are ones that tend to be limited edition and/or "harder" to get. As someone said, for regular "rack" pins, it's not really worth it for the seller to list them nor for the buyer to bid on them. Unless it's something unique, if you can pick one up off the rack in the park, no one sells/buys it on ebay.
Having said that, you can often pick up these "harder to get" pins for cheap. There are just so many pin auctions, very often you can pick up pins for less than they originally cost. But always factor in the shipping cost! You're best bet is looking for people selling lots of 10 or more as everyone has said.

 

[Tinky Winks]

I bought a 10 lot of pins for $25.00 in January. That was the best way to get a group of cheap pins to trade. The only problem was that my son really liked those pins and didn't want to trade those either!

We also purchased a lanyard set with 8 pins on it for $25.00 - the price in WDW was $45.00 for the same set. I think there are deals to be had on E-Bay but I think you really need to be careful and check the prices!

Good luck with your pin-trading!

 

[WDWLinda]

Last yr I went to mousepinsonline.com and bought about 10 pins for $2.50 or $3 ea. I think you even got one free. Not a huge selection, but enough to get you started. My 4 yr. old son traded all of them away. The CMs were all very nice, they always let him pick which one of his pins to give them. Some of them tried to steer him towards the more valuable/harder to get pins on their lanyards, but he had a mind of his own and picked whatever he felt like. People will tell you to watch out for the knock-off pins (some say "Sedesma" in tiny letters on the back), which aren't as thick as the "official" pins and I don't think the colors are as good. But my son wound up getting a few of them off of the CM lanyards...he liked them so it didn't really matter. Just be careful the backs are on tight. Overall he had a great time and we're going to bring the pins back in May.

Have fun!

~Linda

 

[wdwoldtimer]

Avoid Propins as well.

 

[elmo2wdw]

Check Ebay under "Disney Pin Lots". I just bought a lot of 75 official Disney pins. They are all the same... but they only costs me $1.85 a piece, including the shipping!! I have 4 pin traders in my house...so this was a great deal.


We start the day with 2 of these pins on each persons lanyard and then we trade. I carry extra pins in our bag to add to the lanyards as we trade. I figure these pins may last me 2 or 3 trips. We have never had a problem doing this - we did this on our trip in November and January.

After spending $150 on pins for trading on a single trip...I learned this is the best and least expensive way to pin trade.

Also, check the Disney Store. I purchased 12 pins after Christmas on clearance for $1.99 each.

Good luck!!!

 

[agnes!]

WDW makes the rules for pin trading with a WDW/CM. As of now(subject to change & the whims of management) any metal pin that says "Copyright Disney" or "[copyright symbol] Disney" are tradeable with CMs, even Sedesma pins. If Disney wants to change the rules, believe me they *will*. By the way, Sedesma's are NOT knock-offs, they are authorized Disney merchandise.
There are unauthorized fakes out there, so be careful when buying lots on EBay or elsewhere.

If anyone has pin-trading questions, the Collectors' Board is useful, plus check out www.pinpics.com. You can look for a specific pin & make sure it is authentic.

DisneyShopping.Com sometimes has incredible sales on pins.

HTH,
agnes!

 

[chrome64]

DisneyShopping.Com sometimes has incredible sales on pins.

If I remember correctly, they do free shipping on pins on Mondays. Sometimes they will put pins in the clearance section. If you can find sets of pins then you can get great prices directly from Disney!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Do the cast members HAVE to make a trade if asked? And can the child decide which pin they are willing to trade? For instance, if I get 10 identical pins on ebay, do you think my child will have any trouble trading them for pins she wants?

Yes. If and only if:
1. it's a child doing the asking
2. the CM doesn't already have the pin being traded to them on their lanyard.
3. if the pin being traded to them is an official tradeable pin.

 

[In a hurry]

I had problems with propins in January, with the CMs making "remarks" to the kids in the group with us.

That being said, I bought regular pins for $2.50 a piece, and even the lanyard pins for $4 each for our nect trip. Purchased on ebay as "Disney pin lot."

 

[WDW LOVR]

I bought a "lot" of 15 pins on ebay a year ago. With shipping and everything it ended up costing me around $2.05/pin. The only thing that was bad was the pins were all the same and they were all the 2000 millenium pins. If you've pin traded before you'll know that most CM's have that pin on their lanyard so it made trading a little more difficult for me. I'd have to trade for pins I didn't really want just because a CM didn't have the millenium pin and then I would trade that pin for ones I wanted.

It wasn't impossible, but it did take me a total of three trips to WDW to get all the millenium pins "exchanged" for pins that I could trade with CM's if I wanted.

I would just be careful that you don't buy a large quanity of the millenium pins as it will take a while to get them traded.

 

[chrome64]

Yes. If and only if:
1. it's a child doing the asking
2. the CM doesn't already have the pin being traded to them on their lanyard.
3. if the pin being traded to them is an official tradeable pin.

Sorry to be picky but for #1, it actually doesn't matter if it is a child or an adult unless the CM is wearing a green lanyard (green lanyards are for children only, as mentioned above, anyone can trade off of a black or yellow lanyard!)