Is pin trading only really for kids?

[swild19]

My DH and I are going to disney world for the first time next month!
I have been reading about pin trading and it sounds kinda interesting to me. I was just wondering if it was really a thing only the kids do. Will I be the only adult doing it?

 

[ScrapperKimmyD]

I don't think it's just for kids. I know adults who do it and I plan on doing some on my upcoming trip.

I say go for it.

 

[daber]

There's lots of us "adults" out there who collect and trade pins. Definitely not the minority of collectors. Maybe 50/50 between kids and adults.

If you are going to MVMCP, they have special pins you can only buy at the event. BEWARE.....this addiction gets very expensive very fast. Some pins sell for $25-$95 and the MVMCP framed pin set sells at $300. Definitely something Jr.s parents would say "No Way" when asked to buy it.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Yes -- only for kids -- regular kids and kids at heart!

 

[Karnak]

I'm not a pin collector myself (collect beer steins and mugs), but I remember this past March one evening when an adult man tried to talk a CM into trading a pin with him. The CM refused to do so, saying that pin trading was only for the children. Of course, adults could trade within their own ranks I suppose.

Enjoy.

 

[t-beri]

Hold the Phones... That partivular CM must have had on a green lanyard. Green lanyards are only for trade with kids 12 and under. Any other CM is a go. Pin trading is fun for everyone-kinda like Log (any Ren and Stimpy fans out there) In order to have fun and not take it too seriously I recommend going to www.odpt.com and reading the official disney pin trading rules and then-Gasp following them. A lot of traders get caught up with what a pin is worth based on its rarity or demand. we stick strictly to the odpt rules especially the 1 pin for 1 pin rule.
My son started trading 3 yrs ago, I started with him cause it seemed like a fun mom/son project. By the end of the day DH couldn't stand it and had a lanyard himself (of course he's a scorpio and they'll collect anything.)
the following year my MIL bought a lanyard and only "collected" pins, this year she started trading and my FIL got himself a lanyard too after he realized he was checking out all the CM's lanyards looking for stuff for the rest of us to trade. So not only is it for adults but it addictive and contagious.
Hope you have a wonderful trip and a great time trading!

Remember- It's only magic if you let it be!
...t.

 

[kjkcool]

On my last trip,last month,I saw a huge extream in age!Really young kids and seniors!I usually see adults,older people,and a few kids.I feel all alone!LOL!
In my opinion,pin trading is like Disney World,it's for EVERYONE,young or old!
That's what makes it so great.

 

[daber]

In order to have fun and not take it too seriously I recommend going to www.odpt.com and reading the official disney pin trading rules and then-Gasp following them. A lot of traders get caught up with what a pin is worth based on its rarity or demand. we stick strictly to the odpt rules especially the 1 pin for 1 pin rule.

While I laud you for actually reading the rules and following them, as I try, you have to balance that with what Disney actually does. If you have a pin you bought for $8 off the pin cart and I have a pin that I bought for $95 off the same pin cart, then a 1 for 1 pin trade is not fair. Disney has created the inequity of the 1 for 1 rule. I do agree that if the pins were similarly priced and the same LE size then 1 for 1 is appropriate, but this doesn't happen. Value is in the eye of the beholder. As you said, Remember have fun and make it a magical experience for both parties, don't be like some people who always want to trade up and rip the other party off.

 

[agnes!]

Hold the Phones... That partivular CM must have had on a green lanyard. Green lanyards are only for trade with kids 12 and under. Any other CM is a go. Pin trading is fun for everyone-kinda like Log (any Ren and Stimpy fans out there) In order to have fun and not take it too seriously I recommend going to www.odpt.com and reading the official disney pin trading rules and then-Gasp following them. A lot of traders get caught up with what a pin is worth based on its rarity or demand. we stick strictly to the odpt rules especially the 1 pin for 1 pin rule.

Between guests anything that the parties are happy with is *fine*. If I have a rare/expensive pin and a fellow guest wants to trade for it, but they don't have a single pin of comparable trading firepower then I feel perfectly comfortable asking for multiple pins in trade for my single or in politely saying no. I'll ask other guests if they'll take multiples from me in trade for their single pin(if what I have isn't rare enough/etc), but if they say no I tell them Thanks and move on.
I have been known to give pins away to kids, though, when they are looking for a favourite character. I try to spread some pin-trading pixie dust when I can .
WDW makes the rules however they like for CMs trading with guests and somewhere in the small print they reserve the right to change the rules anytime. (I'm always surprised that WDW doesn't have an official "no-Sedesma" trading rule. I think DL's pin-trading rules are a little different from WDW's in that regard, aren't they?)

agnes!

 

[t-beri]

You will note that I said "I recommend..." Not "this is the only way" I found that early in my pin trading I was taken by someone who said that the disneyauction tink I wanted wasn't worth "anything" I had to trade (it being my first foray into the art) so if I bought a set of 4 inside of pin traders he would trade me. (my husband shamelessly reminds me of what it cost me every time I have no traders and am weighing the options on my lanyard) To my thinking I was starting my collection off with something valuable so I wouldn't look like a novice. the laugh was on me- those pins were probably sold on E-Bay. To be honest it's a wonder I ever recovered to be an avid trader. I was shocked that I had been taken and was wary of traders who seemed to know too much.
Since then the 1 for 1 rule is a must. Were I to trade something of value ( and I do see the necessity of it, perhaps there is a pin I like at an event I can't go to) then I will need to find a comparable pin to trade, or beg another trader to pick one up for me. Which is where making friends with traders is essential. I just picked up a MNSSH pin for a friend who was going to get me a POH pin but alas that didn't wash- she offered me 2 CM pins but I told her I was a 1 pin for 1 pin girl and she could send me one CM or not- whatever she felt was fair. If shes lurking she will back me up. But for a beginner, as the OP is, I would start with the official rules and trading with cast members. Until you get your feet wet. 3 years later and CM trades make up the bulk of our trading. and we LOVE it. I don't feel like I am missing out on 95$ pins EVER-not that they don't have a place, I am simply pointing out to those who want to start for FUN that they shouldn't see that there are pins out there worth X amount of dollars and feel that trading $7 pins isn't fun-because it's loads of fun and I don't want to disuade anyone from joining our club.
Hope this cleared up my point.
...t.

 

[t-beri]

and I commend you, Agnes, for your giving spirit. I always try to help kids who are learning to trade. I always keep my 1 yr olds lanyard w/ pins I would trade for anything- then no matter what pin it is they have to trade if I have something they'd like they can trade me.
On our last trip my son was giving a pin trading class to a mate about his age and he was showing him what the hidden mickeys look like and he gave him a CM pin that he thought he may have at home so that the boy would remember what he was looking for. Later that day someone traded him a pin from the same set that he didn't have and completed that set for him. I told him that was because he did something nice for someone and it came back to him. He was "caught" being good.
...t.