How do they sell disney trading pins on ebay for $1 each? Is it legit?

[mddisneyfamily]

I'm not sure which board I should be posting this on but... I usually buy a batch of Disney trading pins for around $1 - $1.50 a piece on ebay to trade at Disney. I see some of the same pins being sold for $8 or more at the parks and have never had a problem with the ones I get for a fraction of that cost online. I'm wondering if they get their pins from a legitimate source since there are so many online vendors with seemingly unlimited supplies at such a bargain price. My kids love pin trading but I always wonder when I order them online.

 

[DisneyEG]

Yea I do the same. Traded for some really nice pins. Buying them for 8 dollars a piece can get expensive. My 2 daughters love trading with the CM's.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

This is better suited for the Collectors board, so I've moved it here.

Are the pins on eBay legit? Some are, but for the most part they're not. They're usually counterfeits made by unauthorized companies, or they're "scrapper" pins. Scrappers are pins that are manufactured by the same Chinese companies that make the legitimate Disney pins, but are not authorized by Disney to be sold. Usually they're pins that have imperfections and should have been destroyed. They can also be pins that are manufactured in greater numbers than the contract with Disney states, for example, 3,000 pins are made when Disney only ordered 2,000 of them. The extras are sold on the scrapper market to people who then sell them on eBay...all without Disney's knowledge or authorization.

 

[Danauk]

There are several threads regarding this on the collectors board. These cheap pins are sold by people who have access to what is known as scrapper pins. These pins are cast from the same moulds that Disney supplies, however they are ones that Disney would reject due to the quality. Some people have access to buying the reject pins (really not sure how!), they are then able to sell them on at such reduced costs on ebay. The argument is that people who are buying legitimate, quality Disney pins to trade with CM's are then getting inferior ones in return that people who have bought the cheaper pins from ebay have passed on to the CM lanyards. This in turn it is argued is not fair.

 

[mddisneyfamily]

Oops, sorry to have posted a question that has been answered before! I actually posted this on the theme park board...not knowing about this one. I knew there had to be something fishy going on! I'll research the sellers first before making our next purchase. Thanks for the info!!!

 

[pixiewings71]

The problem with researching the sellers is that some of them will blatantly lie about where they get the pins they are selling, they lie about why they are selling them, they trade scrappers to newbie traders for good pins from inside the store and then sell the good pins on eBay for money and so on. In trying to battle this we have a few thread here on Collectors Board that we hope others will read, there is a 5 page thread on "good & bad sellers" and another one that is just huge and talks about scrappers in detail. I would suggest you rely on the research that many of us have already done and buy from our recommended sellers, and of course understand that when trading you are likely to get scrappers, don't let that possibility get you down and enjoy yourselves while trading, that's what is important.

 

[shoppgirl]

I just bought a lot of 20 pins (make you own lot) and paid pennies compared to the real full price. I thought I was getting a good deal, and made the purchase before I did some serious research on pins/scrappers/fakes/etc. I now feel sick to my stomach that what I probably and most likely bought are scrappers. I don't know what to do about them. I wanted to buy pins so the girls could have fun talking to the CMs and trading...but I don't know if I could let them trade scrappers for real pins (and who knows, they may be picking scrappers right off their lanyards too from previous trades). I haven't even received them yet, and have yet to really look at them, but I have a feeling they are.

 

[pixiewings71]

shopgirl, did your seller have a return policy? If so and you aren't happy return them. Then use our thread here to help find someone that some of us on the board have had personal experience with.

 

[MountNittany]

Try to buy from Green sellers on the Good/Bad sellers thread.