Is The Pin Trading Buzz I Hear True?

[Maleficent Dragon]

The one thing that has slowed my own pin trading in recent years isn't scrappers, it's those stupid starter pin sets that Disney periodically sells as the "purchase with purchase" gift.

By 11 a.m. each day, the CM lanyards will be filled with nothing but the pins from those sets. It's just not worth it at that point.

You've had better luck than me with the pins then, because I see the same hidden mickey and chalk family pins over and over and over and over again!

 

[AliceandAriel]

DD got me into pins a couple years ago and I'm really enjoying it. If CM's had a way to discern fake from bonafide pins I wouldn't have a problem with them refusing a trade. That would bring back some integrity to the process.

If they made a way to accurately always tell which ones were fake versus authentic (kind of like currency), then I'd be all for it.

I still pin trade, but I'm careful about what I take home or what I give out. And it is disappointing to go to a dozen CMs and see the exact same 6-12 "Hidden Mickey" pins that you know are bogus by how they look, but that's all they have.

 

[angierae]

In 2013 we were really disappointed with the cast lanyards - like someone said above, most all we could find were the "chalk family" pins. I collect Muppets and Lilo and Stitch, and I saw none of either of those. I realize L&S is over ten years old but in 2012 I was able to find TONS of L&S pins on cast lanyards.

I am really hoping when we go next year there's a better selection for trading, Pin trading is one of me and DD20's favorite activities at WDW.

 

[Reddog1134]

If Disney started cracking down on scrappers, I think you would see a dramatic drop in pin trading.

If there were no scrappers, the most readily available pins would be the ones Disney sells at pin shops. Which will run you at least $8 each (unless you buy a starter set). The CM's would mostly have the much smaller hidden Mickey pins on their lanyards. How many guests would be willing to make that trade?

 

[OZMom]

This past November was our first experience with pin trading. Every trade opportunity we had, the CM had all the same pins as the CM before. My DH's theory is that they give out the CM pins in the morning, then we trade them for pins we bought, and the CM's give the purchased pins back to Disney to resell. We said it jokingly of course (please don't hate me or attack me) but by the end of the trip, after we kept seeing the same CM pins over and over again, it definitely made me wonder.

 

[Dis5150]

We pin trade for fun but we do not trade the pins we buy from Disney. We each get one or two pins from the Disney stores around parks and Dtd.
The rest we trade we get from a site i found on here. I have used them for 7+ years I think. I have recently the last 3 or so years been careful about scrapers and only found maybe two pins out of 4 different 25 or 50 lots we bought that I didn't trust and tossed them out or gave them to a friend who liked them.

Other wise we have had no trouble with scrapers but do look them over before we go to a park. Sadly in DL we were unlucky with pin traders and found only a few cm's with them in Nov.

I hope WDW has more.

You just have to try and keep an eye out and make sure you don't purposely trade scrapers.

Would you mind PMing me a link to the site you found on here for your pins? TIA

 

[Reddog1134]

This past November was our first experience with pin trading. Every trade opportunity we had, the CM had all the same pins as the CM before. My DH's theory is that they give out the CM pins in the morning, then we trade them for pins we bought, and the CM's give the purchased pins back to Disney to resell. We said it jokingly of course (please don't hate me or attack me) but by the end of the trip, after we kept seeing the same CM pins over and over again, it definitely made me wonder.

I have actually heard that before.

That could have very well been the original intention of pin trading. I'm sure the pins cost much less to make than their retail cost suggests. So Disney produces a bunch of low cost pins and sells them at a premium. Then they produce a bunch of smaller lower cost pins and gives them to CMS. Guests trade the store bought pins for CM pins. CM's return those pins to the retail stores and it starts all over again.

To be fair, I actually did find 2 store bought pins on a CM lanyard on my last trip.

 

[Iowajes]

If Disney started cracking down on scrappers, I think you would see a dramatic drop in pin trading.

If there were no scrappers, the most readily available pins would be the ones Disney sells at pin shops. Which will run you at least $8 each (unless you buy a starter set). The CM's would mostly have the much smaller hidden Mickey pins on their lanyards. How many guests would be willing to make that trade?

I think what Disney really ought to do is start making more affordable pins! If pins ran $2 each, people would be more likely to buy authentic disney pins to trade and not rely on ebay (where they could still get them for half that!)

The pins right now are just ridiculously expensive, and that's why people resort to ebay.

 

[labdogs42]

I dont buy it. There is no way to tell a scrapper from a fake unless you have something to compare it to or it is a really bad scrapper (the rough edges as some mentioned, part of the pin not painted right, etc. I saw one of snow white and her hand was green, so that is obviously a fake).

This is not the best pic, but it is a prime example of what I am talking about. All of these pins have the exact same quality (backs are the same, font is raised the same height, no rough edges, etc). Yet I have two blue and 2 purple. Which are the scrappers? I still don't know, so I kept them all. I went online to see and it is hard to determine color shade when looking at a picture on a monitor. Every single one of them came from a cast lanyard, btw.

Honestly though, I don't care if they are all scrappers. Despite what some crazy people think. They have no value. Its not like 20 years from now someone is going to buy my pin collection. They hang on the wall in my nursery. The fun and "value" in them was collecting and hunting for each one in the set and the WDW trip where I got them. One day they will go in a box and be forgotten.

I agree 100%. Great post.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I stopped trading because I kept seeing the same old pins on the CM lanyards.
I traded for the thrill of the hunt, rather than to collect. Having said that, I have a large collection of pins from 5 years of heavy trading/buying.

 

[kbelle8995]

I rarely trade. I used to a little bit. If I really want a pin, I just purchase it from Disney that way I avoid the scrappers.

For most people I don't think that it matters, it's for fun. And I think that it would be too hard to police it.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

I stopped trading because I kept seeing the same old pins on the CM lanyards.
I traded for the thrill of the hunt, rather than to collect. Having said that, I have a large collection of pins from 5 years of heavy trading/buying.

Yep. Same old crap over and over again.

I have just started buying the booster sets I want and I dont trade anymore.

 

[brandikorte]

I agree that people resort to eBay for pins because they are ridiculously expensive in the park. You know very well that it didn't cost near retail to create those pins. If you don't want the scrappers, than make the retail pins more reasonable. You're still making a profit (maybe even more of a profit because volume increases) and the eBay people won't have as much appeal.

 

[RogueKnits]

I like the pins, but I have never traded. I go to the pin shops once per visit and pick out a few that I like, and purchase them. I have been approached once or twice by people wanting to trade, but I just say "no thanks" when that happens. Last trip I bought a few of the "mystery" packs (where you don't know which of the set you are getting) and if I ended up with any dupes I would have traded those, but I got lucky and had no dupes. I guess I've just never had a pin I was willing to part with, since I only buy the ones I would want to keep.

 

[ppjluvsdvc]

We have actively been pin trading for the last couple of years. I have noticed the same pins but the good thing is I think that they have cracked down on the scrappers. At least every pin that I have traded with a cast member lately has been authentic. That is as far as I can tell and I have done a lot of research, trading and purchases through ebay. I am anxiously awaiting the new hidden mickeys for 2015! Hopefully there will be something new soon.

 

[Quellman]

When hunting, I trade with a CM no matter what is on the lanyard. I interrupted their day/work so chat with them a bit. I find it rude to not trade. There is no harm trading a trader for another pin to only trade later. I thought about it too late this last trip, but I want to take a picture of a starting pin one day. And then a picture of each subsequent pin I trade to see what kind of neat pins you can get over the course of a single day.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

I dont buy it. There is no way to tell a scrapper from a fake unless you have something to compare it to or it is a really bad scrapper (the rough edges as some mentioned, part of the pin not painted right, etc. I saw one of snow white and her hand was green, so that is obviously a fake).

This is not the best pic, but it is a prime example of what I am talking about. All of these pins have the exact same quality (backs are the same, font is raised the same height, no rough edges, etc). Yet I have two blue and 2 purple. Which are the scrappers? I still don't know, so I kept them all. I went online to see and it is hard to determine color shade when looking at a picture on a monitor. Every single one of them came from a cast lanyard, btw.

Honestly though, I don't care if they are all scrappers. Despite what some crazy people think. They have no value. Its not like 20 years from now someone is going to buy my pin collection. They hang on the wall in my nursery. The fun and "value" in them was collecting and hunting for each one in the set and the WDW trip where I got them. One day they will go in a box and be forgotten.

I also really doubt they can police the scrappers.

Think about it.. Is a CM really going to refuse to trade with a little 3 or 4 year old girl all decked out in her princess costume??

Also I can see all the complaints...
"I just got this pin from the CM over there, and now your telling me I can trade it to you??"
"How was I to know its a fake?"
" how is my child to know it was a fake?"
It's opens disney up to WAY to much bad press.


My family have been trading for years.. In fact my sister and attended the "classes" they had at DL for kids.
After many years of trading here are my tips...


The way my family trades:
1. We have a small pin bag. (About the size of an iPad mini.)
holds about 75 pins (25 each page)
After years of holding 3-4 lanyards why everyone went on rides. A "family" Bag makes more since

2. At home The kids go through their pins and give me all their traders
The rest stay at home..

3. 90% of the time we trade with CM.. Any pins my kids really want to keep, go into a small ziplock I keep in our backpack.
Every now and again little kids will see us trading and ask to trade too.
We always let them pick whatever they want out of our pin traders bag and accept any pin they give us.
I can always trade it to a CM later..

----I'm sorry I'm not as cold as some. I can not tell a child thier pin is a scrapper and won't trade them our nice cinderella pin. I really don't see a CM doing that either!
I had soooo many parents look at me and say "are you sure?" Just in amazement that we would even trade.
The




------------------------- little feel good story ---------------

One time in Epcot a little girl wanted a pin I knew for a fact was a $15-$20 pin. She wants to trade us one of those bowling pins. I looked at her and said " I just happen to need one of these, and would be more than happy to trade with you." The mother started crying & said, "it was the pin the little girl wanted in the store, but they didn't have the money to spare for such a pricey pin."
As the mother & daughter walked away A higher up CM ask us to wait a few min. He walk out with a lanyard full of limits edition pins and let us pick two.. In trade for that bowling pin one the little girl had given us!
I almost fainted.. When I saw He had two Large mr toad pins.

so you know what scrapper or not If it makes a child happy, who cares?!?

 

[Bluegrrl]

For those of you who wonder about CM pins - this is what I have seen backstage. In wardrobe/locker area, they have a pin table set up. CMs can load up on pins for the day there. Nothing special there, really, but that's where they get the pins from - the locker room area where they also get their costumes for the day/week.

 

[Oodalally13]

For those of you who wonder about CM pins - this is what I have seen backstage. In wardrobe/locker area, they have a pin table set up. CMs can load up on pins for the day there. Nothing special there, really, but that's where they get the pins from - the locker room area where they also get their costumes for the day/week.

What ruined me on pin trading was when I saw my friend's son approach a cm to trade. The cm was talking to another cm so buddy just stood there politely waiting for him to finish. The cm sees buddy, doesn't even acknowledge him, takes a random pin off his lanyard, hands it to buddy and leaves his hand out waiting for the pin. Buddy kinda looked at him with a "wth" look puts the pin from his lanyard in the cms hand and the cm puts it on his lanyard. He never spoke to him, smiled, anything. To top it off buddy didn't even get to make a plea for the pin he wanted and was disappointed, so later we all bought random pins to cheer him up.

 

[mountdew1]

Until selling scrappers/fakes is no longer profitable, it will continue. Just did a quick Google search, I could order a run of 4 color, 1.25" pins, 1000 for $1.35 each. The specs for this price is pretty much in line with the specs for the hidden mickey pins. This was the first site I found, I'm sure I could do better on the pricing. Now imagine if you weren't dealing with 2-3 layers of middle men/markups and worked directly with the factory in quantities of 5,000 or 10,000. Easy to get it down to the prices you see for "tradable lots of 50" on eBay.

As far as CMs spotting fakes, outside of the obvious ones, good luck with that. There are stories of guests approaching the pin team (the people who design all the pins) and asking them about a particular pin they traded for. The design CM had never seen the pin, pulled out the master book of all Disney pins produced for the parks since they started trading, and couldn't find it. And if it wasn't for the fact they had no record of producing it, there was no way to tell it was fake. Weight, colors, materials, etc everything was spot on. If the people who design pins and handle them on a daily basis can't tell a fake from a real pin, how do you expect a front line CM to know?