How can I spot a fake??

[kimbac3]

Does anyone have any tips for spotting fakes. I just won a lanyard with 12 pins on it from Ebay and now I'm a little concerned. How do I know if these are trade-able?
Can anyone help a newbie
Thanks,
Kimba

 

[daipp]

You could always compare the pins to those shown here

 

[kimbac3]

ok, I was looking up some of the pins I purched and some of them said "multiple" or "other" under origin. One said "Japan". Can I still trade these? Are there rules as to what cast members are allowed to accept? I'd hate to have one of my kids try to trade and not be able.
Thanks,
Kimba

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Basically if it is metal and has a Disney copyright on the back it is tradeable. Here is a link to Disneys Official Pin Trading site which can give you lots of useful information in one place.

 

[AStamm]

I bought a lot of 42 last week that was very suspect--ended up sending them back to the seller because I don't want my DS7 to go through scrutiny every time he tried to trade one of them. The majority of that lot was very lightweight--nothing like ones we purchased at DL last month. You can look up the pictures on sites like pinpics.com, but they don't show you the back of the pins. I say, if in doubt, send them back.

You can get some good deals on disneyshopping.com--we ordered a bunch of sets of 6 pins for $24.95 for my son to trade (a little over $4 a piece). They even have a $15 off special through midnight tonight. At $75 you even get free shipping.

 

[Adventurejimbob]

As the previous posters have said, the true pins have the Mickey backer and usually say Walt Disney World and the name of the pin set that they are from. The fake pins are called sedesma pins and are usually less smooth than the real ones. You can usually just look at a picture and spot the difference. I hope that your son does get some real, good quality pins to trade! Otherwise, send them back and put a bad comment for them on Ebay to warn others when they go to buy pins from that user.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

As the previous posters have said, the true pins have the Mickey backer and usually say Walt Disney World and the name of the pin set that they are from. The fake pins are called sedesma pins and are usually less smooth than the real ones. You can usually just look at a picture and spot the difference. I hope that your son does get some real, good quality pins to trade! Otherwise, send them back and put a bad comment for them on Ebay to warn others when they go to buy pins from that user.

There are several errors in this statement.

First of all the Mickey backers have only been used for the last few years. Before that Disney used round rubber backers, before that they used "military" metal clasps, and I have even seen older pins with clasps or tie-tac-type clasps.

Second, is all the pins will say Disney on the back. Most of the pins are not from a particular set, and may be from any Disney location, not just WDW. Also, it has only been for about the last five years that there has been a pin trading logo on them.

Third, Sedesma is a company in Spain that has been legally licensed by Disney to manufacture pins. Unfortunately the quality of the Sedesma pins is not up to the quality of the pins Disney purchases directly from other manufacturers. Besides the Sedesma pins, there are pins marked "proPins" which is a German company, also properly licenses, whose pins are better than those made by Sedesma but still of a generally poorer quality than most. However, officially both manufacturer's pins are tradeable at all Disney Parks although often you will find CMs who don't want to take them.

 

[kimbac3]

Thanks! I'm still waiting for the bunch I recently ordered, so I don't know the true quality of them. However I do have a set of Monster's Inc I bought that has "Disney" and "Sedesma" on the back. It's good to know that I can still trade them if I want to.
Thanks again to everyone for the info. My kids are getting really excited about this!!
Kimba

 

[V677]

Kimba,you Can Spot A Fake By The Picture.if The Lanyard Looks Cheap ,its Real.trust Me ,i Have Been To Wdw 5 Times. Real Lanyards Have Shiny Threads.please Trust Me.tootles.

 

[V677]

Kimba,you Can Spot A Fake By The Picture.if The Lanyard Looks Cheap ,its Real.trust Me ,i Have Been To Wdw 5 Times. Real Lanyards Have Shiny Threads.please Trust Me.tootles.BY,BY,BY.

 

[BONITATIME]

Kimba,you Can Spot A Fake By The Picture.if The Lanyard Looks Cheap ,its Real.trust Me ,i Have Been To Wdw 5 Times. Real Lanyards Have Shiny Threads.please Trust Me.tootles.

I am not sure this is true. I have several Disney Lanyards which dont have shiny thread all bought onsite by me or friends for me.

I also have bought pins on ebay which look perfect but I know by the wording on the back that they are scrappers.