How old for pin trading

[sean-1966]

We're taking my niece on our next trip. She'll be almost 4. I want to but some pins off of E-Bay for her to trade but DW thinks she's too young and won't understand how it works. Opinions??

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

My youngest was 4 when he started and he had a great time searching for pins from his favourite movies.

 

[Karnak]

Don't know what the official ages are for pin trading, but I remember once when entering Epcot (just outside the main enterance), a grown man, with many pins on his clothing, was trying to trade some pins with the CM running the stand, and the CM kept refusing the man over and over, explaining that pin trading was for the youngsters. The man kept it up, and I finally walked away wondering what the heck was the matter with that bozo. He could not take no for an answer.

LOL

 

[tripplanner]

It really depends on the kid. Both of my kids love the pins, but only one of them enjoys the trading. I had one kid that found it really hard to part with a pin they really liked in order to trade.

 

[bleeps]

I had one kid that found it really hard to part with a pin they really liked in order to trade.

I totally agree -- I would talk to the parents and try to gauge how likely the giving-one-up part of trading would go over; my DS, 8.5, is *just* ready to deal with that aspect of it -- up until now, he's simply collected the pins.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We just came back a few weeks ago and took our 2 nieces, one is 10 and the other is almost 4. We explained the pin thing to the girls...we took them to DTD and they each picked out about 6 pins apiece and a lanyard. The older one loved to trade with the CM's and the little one did trade a few too, she understood that once she traded she would not keep that pin. She loved to wear the pins, most of them were Tinkerbelle and Ariel. It was fun for them but it gets expensive!

 

[Sk8Leigh]

Don't know what the official ages are for pin trading, but I remember once when entering Epcot (just outside the main enterance), a grown man, with many pins on his clothing, was trying to trade some pins with the CM running the stand, and the CM kept refusing the man over and over, explaining that pin trading was for the youngsters. The man kept it up, and I finally walked away wondering what the heck was the matter with that bozo. He could not take no for an answer.

LOL

Umm, the man wasn't the bozo, it was the CM. He/she didn't know the rules. There are no age limits for pin trading. Unless of course the CM was wearing a teal/green lanyard. Those are only for kids under a certain age. (Not sure what it is, something 11-12.)

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Umm, the man wasn't the bozo, it was the CM. He/she didn't know the rules. There are no age limits for pin trading. Unless of course the CM was wearing a teal/green lanyard. Those are only for kids under a certain age. (Not sure what it is, something 11-12.)

I would agree with that statement. The most lilkey thing is the Cast Member was only wearing a lanyard that they can only trade with kids & this man did not know that.

 

[fishermouse]

The ebay pins can get a little pricey, I would start off with the generic pins that you buy in the park.They sell a starter set in all the gift shops.

 

[WDWLinda]

My son was just over 4 when we started. I was worried he wouldn't want to part with the pins, but that was never a problem. He only traded with CMs, and all of them let him choose the pin he wanted to trade with them. Some of them tried to steer him towards the more valuable pins on their lanyards (like a few limited edition ones, and some of the CM-only pins with hidden Mickeys), but he always chose his own.

I ordered about 10 from mousepinsonline.com because it wasn't as overwhelming as ebay and I didn't want to buy a big bag til I saw if he liked it or not. I see they're going out of business now, so maybe you can get some good deals.

Definitely try it...and buy a bag of the mouse head pin backs to keep the pins secure - we almost lost a few with loose backs. And there are some imitation pins out there too, I think they say "Sedesma" on the back. We got several off of the CM lanyards, but it never bothered my son, he just went after whatever design he liked.

We had fun at night looking over his new pins and re-arranging them on the lanyard, and now at home he even takes them out to look at.

I say try it and if it doesn't take off this trip, then save it for the next one!

~Linda

 

[Drcell01]

First off I can tell you from experience that pin trading is for all ages. I am 47 yrs. old and still love to trade pins with all ages. I have also been known to give away, to children just starting out, as many pins as I trade. During your next visit to the Magic Kingdom look for the guy with the safari vest covered in Disney Pins!!! I love to trade with children. I started wearing the vest because I would be asked by children to trade some of my more valuable pins (very limited editions) and I hated to say no. With my vest I now offer any pin on my vest for trade for any other pin not already on my vest.

As for the cast member that refused the trade...I can tell you that the only age restriction is when you see a cast member with a "GREEN" trading lanyard, any pin on the GREEN LANYARD can only be traded with a child under the age of 10! This is to prevent "older" guests from trading off all of the better pins.

Happy Trading to All!!!

 

[TravelMom]

My niece will turn 3 when we are at WDW next Sept, and I already started buying her pins on ebay - I found a seller who seems to have an unlimited number of them so I only shop his 'store' (cheaper on the shipping that way); many I have paid only about $2.50 for, some more like $4 (depending on how much I like them, I have no knowledge of their 'worth') - but I feel as if they are a deal because I seem to remember in the stores they are more like $8 - $10 also, many are that much and more on Disney Shopping online.

So I've been having a blast shopping for them on Ebay. All that drama and competing over a $2-4 purchase!

(PS The ones I've ordered have all been genuine Disney pins, with Micky backs and the copyright mark, usually they come on their original cards...)

 

[bopper]

What you could do is tell her she can pick a pin from a Cast member lanyard to trade. Then you have a bunch of disney pins that you bought from ebay that you hold onto and she doesn't see. You give the CM the pin without her really seeing the pin. I am not sure if a 4year old could "give up" some of the pins she has.

 

[whogirl'smom]

DD5 loved trading pins on our trip a few weeks ago! I ordered her some pins beforehand--some she would love to keep, and some I knew she wouldn't care so much about, so she would be willing to trade them. I also got doubles of some. A few of the pins ended up being "junk" pins, as explained by one CM, but the CMs are so nice, they were more than willing to trade for those, too, so DD could get more "good" pins.

It was great because one CM explained to us that the child gets to decide which pin she wants from the CM and then which pin she is willing to give up. With adults they have to dicker over it. I think the CMs that wear a lanyard of pins have to have so many "trades" a day; when we were at the Grand Floridian cafe, the hostesses were trading with each other to "get their trades in for the day".

 

[princesspwrhr]

My oldest was 3 when a Cast Member got her into trading. We had bought her a starter set of pins at the Disney store because she liked the pins it came with, and had no intention of trading. She has always been very chatty and comfortable talking to people, so when she struck up a conversation with a wonderful CM in the firehouse on Main Street about the pressed pennies in the shop and it turned to pins, I wasn't surprised to see the conversation go on and on and on. It culminated with the CM explaining trading to my daughter, trading a pin with her and then reaching under the counter and giving my daughter 3 additional pins that she said they find all over the store when they fall off of peoples lanyards. My daughter glowed at the thought of all the people she could talk to with these treasures.

She's still only allowed to trade with cast members as a general rule, thought she has been allowed two trades with other girls once the parents consented. We meet the most interesting people when she stops to trade pins. She's working on a full set of pins that was discontinued several years ago and only has one ellusive pin left to complete it, but she still trades or just stops and chats with Cast Members who have lanyards.

My younger two have lanyards and will have a few pins, but they are not as articulate as my oldest was at their age, so I don't see pin trading in their future for this upcoming trip.

For a great price on Disney pins without the risk of knock offs, get a grab bag or sample set from www.pinseller.com It's $75 for 25 pins and then there's another set that's 50 pins and I *think* it's somewhere around $145. It averages out to just under $3 a pin and things are processed and shipped quickly, insured and package tracking included.

 

[CharmedLife]

My DD5 LOVED trading her pins last year. It was the first time and we weren't sure how she'd do, but she had no problems giving them up - for her the thrill of the trade was what she liked.

It does get expensive and we got to the point where we told her "no more pins" and she could only trade with the ones she already had. No problem for her.

I did notice the CM's trying to steer her towards the more "valuable" pins, and she didn't want any part of those! Looks like mama might have to start her own pin collection...

Also - at this age, I only let her trade with CM's. That was the groundrule and she was fine with it. The CM's HAVE to trade with you unless you're trying to trade a pin they already have on their lanyard.

 

[meab]

we just returned from WDW and we "won" lanyards with 2 pins on them from the YOAMD campaign. before this, we steered clear of the pin-trading, because our kids are only 5 and 2, and we thought it was a pretty pricey hobby for 2 small kids. however, they really got into it. neither one had a problem with giving up pins to trade, but sometimes the 2 year old had a hard time "choosing" one to trade, and mostly liked to just look/point at the pins on a CM's lanyard without actually doing a trade. my 5 year old wears her lanyard every day at home now, and she and the 2 year old are trading pins with each other now, and eagerly awaiting the next visit to WDW. i think for the little guys if you focus more on pin "trading" rather than "collecting" the good pins, then you'll have an easier time. for example, my 5 year old traded for a particular pin once or twice, and when i suggested she look for it again to match another pin she has, she said, "oh, i already had that one twice, i don't need to get it again".

 

[whogirl'smom]

I ordered about 10 from mousepinsonline.com because it wasn't as overwhelming as ebay and I didn't want to buy a big bag til I saw if he liked it or not. I see they're going out of business now, so maybe you can get some good deals.


~Linda

This is where our "junk" pins came from, so beware. It's also the Bertoli (sp) pins that are junk. Once we had been to the parks and seen the "real" pins, it's easy to spot the imitations.

 

[gbrogers]

This will be the first time for us to trade pins. I went the Ebay route as well for our pins. I concentrated on pin lots instead of individual pins; the pins tend to be cheaper that way. I also looked for official Disney Pins (pins that are only available in the parks or from the Disney Store).

I also got enough pins for all three DKs, DW, and myself. If the two DDs (ages 5 and 8) are trading, 2 year old DS will want to give it a try it as well. He'll just need help.

If you go the Ebay route, remember to calculate shipping into the price before making your bid. If you are patient, you shouldn't have to pay more than $2.50 per pin including shipping.