I bought some pins to trade -- think I may have some fake ones. How do I check?

[Hunnybee]

I was reading the good/bad ebay sellers list on this board -- bought from a seller that wasn't on any of the lists. We received our lot and I have a few that I am questioning. I went back to the thread to see -- the links to the catalog of bad pins are not working.

Can anyone tell me how to get to the dizpins or pinpics catalogs of scrappers? The ones I'm questioning don't have any color at all. They are just gold or silver. One of them is gold with red writing. A couple of them have very dark backs -- almost a dark gray -- they are a light gray front.

Can anyone tell me where I can go to see pics of the original pins?
Thanks!

 

[Hunnybee]

Just found one of the pins on pinpics -- the one I have is Mickey's Toontown Pinwheels -- Clown Chaser Pin. However, mine is exactly as they are describing the scrapper version to look like -- including the wrong numbers on the back.

Now what? Can I go back to the ebay seller to get replacements -- do I want replacements?

Help!

 

[Hunnybee]

I found feedback on Pin Pics -- information from people about scrappers they were given. 3 of mine are for sure scrappers -- 1 has a typo in the wording, one doesn't have the exact same picture, 1 has the wrong edition number. The other 4 I can't be certain about. 2 of them seem to be okay -- what they are saying scrappers do, mine don't.

Should I go back to the seller to get money back or what?

 

[anmickey]

I found feedback on Pin Pics -- information from people about scrappers they were given. 3 of mine are for sure scrappers -- 1 has a typo in the wording, one doesn't have the exact same picture, 1 has the wrong edition number. The other 4 I can't be certain about. 2 of them seem to be okay -- what they are saying scrappers do, mine don't.

Should I go back to the seller to get money back or what?

The simplest way for me to spot a fake is to look at the pattern on the back. My understanding is that the real pins are stamped from a sheet like a cookie cutter so the mickey pattern should be continuous off the edge of the pin. A lot of fakes don't continue the mickeys all the way off the sides of the pins and there is a discernible border.

If you know they're fakes I wouldn't hesitate to contact the seller. I have done the same and she refunded after a song and dance about how she had no idea (which I find very hard to believe since they were obviously fake and she sells a lot of pins)

ETA: Also you can open a case through ebay. They have an option to notate that you received a fake item. I don't like getting fake pins so I'm not very sympathetic.

 

[Hunnybee]

A couple of these don't have a border around them -- they DO have continuous Mickey's. But, the one of them has the wrong number on the back and the one of them does not have the right details in the picture as seen on PinPics. Both of these were warnings on PinPics for possible scrapper clues for these particular pins.

So, unfortunately, I can't just count on that.

I just contacted the seller -- we'll see what she has to say. Now I feel like I have to look through the whole bunch of them, not just the ones I THOUGHT looked fake.

Good grief!

 

[ScrtSolstice]

I tend to go by colour and consistency.

-Eyes are a big one - if they are all white or look off then chances are they are a scrapper
-Lines - I find that lines are a big give away too; if you already think it is a scrapper and the lines are pretty thick then thats a second give away for me
-Mispelling - anything misspelled or digits missing, etc generally indicates a scrapper
-The logo - the Disney logo should be fairly clear and easy to read, even if it is smaller it is still clear. A lot of the scrappers I have had have logos that are smaller or bigger than other pins that I have in that series. Like if I have three of the five hidden Mickey sets and I get a new one, I cross reference the size of the logos
-Colour - Generally the colour seems too bright, though I have read other places that they are often too dark as well.. tough call..

There are some really great blogs that point out the differences, there is one I always look at but it is on my other computer.

The last time I ordered pins online I ended up with 50 pins from one particular seller and 20 of them were scrappers. I emailed the user and stated my case and they said they would be happy to swap them out. As far as I could tell this did not guarantee me the same pins - and some of them I needed to complete my sets - so I opted not to swap.

All in all I'm not overly worried about having Scrappers but I am also not using them to trade in the park so it depends on how you feel about having them in your collection. If its a pin that you are quite fond of then you just need to decide whether it matters to you if you have a scrapper or not.

(Wah! Long Post - )

 

[roselark]

If you bought a lot on Ebay and paid less than $1 per pin, it is a fair bet they are all scrappers. Not much you can do if you don't want them except request a refund & return the pins and report the seller. You can request a replacement, but they will just send you more scrappers.

And not all scrappers will have that border. I have seen some decent looking scrappers recently.

 

[luffy4]

I would usually Bite something Metal to test it for authenticity

 

[Scotch]

Just found one of the pins on pinpics -- the one I have is Mickey's Toontown Pinwheels -- Clown Chaser Pin. However, mine is exactly as they are describing the scrapper version to look like -- including the wrong numbers on the back.

Now what? Can I go back to the ebay seller to get replacements -- do I want replacements?

Help!

I'm trying to check if our inexpensive eBay pins (that DH bought over a year ago) are fake. I just found the pinpic website. But where to I go to find info on scrappers? It isn't readily apparent.

 

[Anonomom]

I just spent the last hour or so scouring PinPics to decide whether the pins I just bought are scrappers. You can search using a description of the pin (i.e., "Cupcake" or the character name), then narrow it down by year and/or type of pin based on the info on the back of it. It takes a while, but I was able to find every pin in my lot mentioned.

On a semi-related note, I am a Disney planner. I generally do not do anything without doing a boatload of research first. But I decided on a neighbor's advice to jump into buying pins on Ebay. I didn't do any research and ended up with a lot that's at least half clear scrappers/counterfeits. My kids don't care, but I can't let them bring the fakes into the parks to trade. I'm so mad at myself.

 

[MND]

I was reading the good/bad ebay sellers list on this board -- bought from a seller that wasn't on any of the lists. We received our lot and I have a few that I am questioning. I went back to the thread to see -- the links to the catalog of bad pins are not working.

Can anyone tell me how to get to the dizpins or pinpics catalogs of scrappers? The ones I'm questioning don't have any color at all. They are just gold or silver. One of them is gold with red writing. A couple of them have very dark backs -- almost a dark gray -- they are a light gray front.

Can anyone tell me where I can go to see pics of the original pins?
Thanks!

Were you planning on trading them at the parks? If so, imho, you should just go ahead and trade them. I have purchased pins in bulk on ebay and have traded them at the parks w/o problems. . CMs don't care.

Mike

 

[ImDMous]

Were you planning on trading them at the parks? If so, imho, you should just go ahead and trade them. I have purchased pins in bulk on ebay and have traded them at the parks w/o problems. . CMs don't care.

Mike

The CM's can't deny your trade, but then their lanyard is full of scrappers for the rest of their shift so any others that trade with them will be getting fakes. I know it happens all the time, but that's not cool.