Just won 20 trading pins

[Liberty Belle]

on ebay for $16.06 shipped. Not bad! That comes to 80 cents a pin and I didn't have to pay tax (shipping was free, too).

What's the cheapest you ever got them?

Before this, the cheapest was .98 cents each, plus tax at the disney store in the outlet mall in orlando.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

Just remember that if the price seems too good to be true, there is a big chance that they are fakes or scrappers.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Just remember that if the price seems too good to be true, there is a big chance that they are fakes or scrappers.

They claim they're all legit and they've sold thousands with 100% positive feedback, so I'm hopeful.

 

[tessiemez]

I don't know if these pins are tradable or not, but I have 15 Lady and the Tramp DVD release pins, and 21 Little Mermaid DVD release pins that I got from the Disney Outlet in the next town over. For six or seven weeks, they'd throw a handful in my bag, along with a Toy Story 2 poster, with every purchase. I just started pin collecting, so I have four other pins that I purchased (for $2 to $5 each), and then this shoebox full of pins! I have no idea what to do with them!

 

[Schachteles]

I don't know if these pins are tradable or not, but I have 15 Lady and the Tramp DVD release pins, and 21 Little Mermaid DVD release pins that I got from the Disney Outlet in the next town over. For six or seven weeks, they'd throw a handful in my bag, along with a Toy Story 2 poster, with every purchase. I just started pin collecting, so I have four other pins that I purchased (for $2 to $5 each), and then this shoebox full of pins! I have no idea what to do with them!

Sell them on eBay, they would be tradeable.

I have bought a LOT off of eBay, they are mostly scrappers, I have no idea if they are fake or not, but I know we won't have issues trading them. I think I paid like $170 for 300 pins.

 

[erinmomof2]

What is a scrapper?

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Sell them on eBay, they would be tradeable.

I have bought a LOT off of eBay, they are mostly scrappers, I have no idea if they are fake or not, but I know we won't have issues trading them. I think I paid like $170 for 300 pins.

Why don't you have a problem trading them if you know they are scrappers? Too bad for everyone else?

 

[tink2dw]

Why don't you have a problem trading them if you know they are scrappers? Too bad for everyone else?

1. Too bad for everyone else? That is bad sportsmanship we all want to be treated with kindness! No one likes to be cheated and Real Disney Pin Traders know the difference and would refuse to trade with you. Which means some innocent kid would most likely get stuck with your Scrappers!!!

2. Scappers are not real Disney Pins.They could be put out by Kellogg's or be in Duracell Battery packages. Real Disney pins say Disney on the back along with" made in china" and I think there is a Number on the back, too.

 

[Reagan&Co.]

Well, I hate to get involved in this, but.....

Seroius pin traders are going to pay for real pins at the parks, right? And they will also be able to recognize fakes, right? So, they probably are ok and won't let themselves get "ripped off".

For the rest of us that want to let our kids trade, the ebay pins for cheap are great. They say they are tradeable- I don't know if they are "real" or not. There are websites available to ID scrappers, but they are complicated, confusing,and I haven't been able to ID any of mine as fakes, even though I bought off ebay.

So, I buy them. Then I let my kids trade for whatever they want. There are probably times when we got scrappers, and times when we traded scrappers for legit pins. I figure it all comes out in the wash, you know??

The kids don't care. We don't care. That doesn't mean we intentionally set out to rip other people off. If serious traders want to be that selective, then I suppose they will study the websites to recognize scrappers.

 

[pixiewings71]

Well, I hate to get involved in this, but.....

Seroius pin traders are going to pay for real pins at the parks, right? And they will also be able to recognize fakes, right? So, they probably are ok and won't let themselves get "ripped off".

For the rest of us that want to let our kids trade, the ebay pins for cheap are great. They say they are tradeable- I don't know if they are "real" or not. There are websites available to ID scrappers, but they are complicated, confusing,and I haven't been able to ID any of mine as fakes, even though I bought off ebay.

So, I buy them. Then I let my kids trade for whatever they want. There are probably times when we got scrappers, and times when we traded scrappers for legit pins. I figure it all comes out in the wash, you know??

The kids don't care. We don't care. That doesn't mean we intentionally set out to rip other people off. If serious traders want to be that selective, then I suppose they will study the websites to recognize scrappers.

I'm a serious trader, and I've received more scrappers from CM's then from eBay.... (not really but it's pretty close). Most people can't tell from just looking at a pin on a lanyard if it's a scrapper, unless it's a really really really bad one. And honestly a lot that we have are really really bad but a lot are really really good and it's very hard to tell.

If you know you have scrappers please do not trade them, if you are paying $.80 cents per pin you've got scrappers.

To find out more on scrappers and to find a list of eBayer's that many pin collectors have used please follow the link in my signature and read the thread that follows. It's a very very large thread but it's worth a read.

OP I hope you don't trade your scrappers, I hope that instead you return them and then purchase from someone who does sell real Disney pins for a few dollars each.

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

i don't know if have have scrappers or not either. i've read the other thread and OMG is it confusing lol

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

will check mine.

Real Disney pins say Disney on the back along with" made in china" and I think there is a Number on the back, too.

 

[aamob]

I have bought multiple times from ebay and got really cheap pin lots that are all official trading pins!! Have fun trading!

 

[Liberty Belle]

I'm a serious trader, and I've received more scrappers from CM's then from eBay.... (not really but it's pretty close). Most people can't tell from just looking at a pin on a lanyard if it's a scrapper, unless it's a really really really bad one. And honestly a lot that we have are really really bad but a lot are really really good and it's very hard to tell.

If you know you have scrappers please do not trade them, if you are paying $.80 cents per pin you've got scrappers.

To find out more on scrappers and to find a list of eBayer's that many pin collectors have used please follow the link in my signature and read the thread that follows. It's a very very large thread but it's worth a read.

OP I hope you don't trade your scrappers, I hope that instead you return them and then purchase from someone who does sell real Disney pins for a few dollars each.

We only trade with CMs. I would think either they would know the difference, or they wouldn't care.

 

[ajh88]

We have gotten lots on ebay for as little as about 75 cents per pin. They were all official Disney pins (back-stamped with the Disney pin trading logo) and some were so cool we kept them for our own collection instead of trading them.

I just watch the lots until I find one I like and with the way they've gone lately, I don't buy anything that is over $1 a pin in a big lot. We usually trade around 100 pins on every trip and we only trade with CM's (we aren't THAT hard core - we just like to collect the ones we like!).

ETA: I may not be a hard core pin trader, but I do diligently try to purchase only official Disney pins. That said, we have always had excellent luck in getting official lanyard series pins for very cheap prices. I tend to buy from the same couple of sellers, so maybe that makes the difference - but I will respectfully disagree that if you are paying 80 cents a pin then you are getting "scrappers" because that has not been my experience at all. I'm not expecting limited edition or highly sought after pins for 80 cents each, but ones that are legitimately tradeable with CM's can be had for that price.

Edited again: So, I clicked the link in the signature - I guess I had a misunderstanding of what a scrapper was (I thought it was simply a non-Disney released pin). After reading the information about scrappers, then I suppose I could have inadvertantly purchased and traded hundreds of them. Both of the sellers I purchase from are located in Florida, however I was completely unaware of this "black market" of Disney pins. Oh my! I guess I'll buy in smaller lots from now on, but it doesn't appear as though the casual pin trader will likely ever be aware of whether or not their pin is a scrapper. Even the site says the only way you can be sure is to buy it from Disney - but I guess that rules out pin trading altogether. Thank you for bringing that to my attention though because it definitely never occurred to me.

One last edit: I can breathe easier because both of my most common sellers are on the "green" list. I can't swear how much I paid in those lots and I also can't swear I've never purchased from the "red" list - but I'm definitely more aware now.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I have bought multiple times from ebay and got really cheap pin lots that are all official trading pins!! Have fun trading!

Thanks! That makes me feel a little more confident.

 

[hopemax]

What is happening, with a lot of the pins, is that once Disney is finished with a mold, the factories in China are allowing the molds to get into other entities hands. And these people make additional pins; and get sold on Ebay. They also have culled the email addresses used on Pinpics and will send out periodic emails saying they have pins for sale. I bet several Ebay sellers take them up on the offer, knowing that they can make a profit. These pins are not easy to spot, because it is the same mold as a real Disney pin. A color might not match exactly, but you don't know unless you have a real pin to compare it to.

Also, when Disney makes a pin, sometimes the pin is made with an error (wrong spelling, either on the front or the back, wrong color). Or they are the first ones of the run, while they are making sure the quality is correct. These rejected pins are supposed to be destroyed, but again, they get into the wrong hands and then resold on ebay. These are the "scrapper" pins.

The thing about all these pins, is that they do look like legitimate pins. They will have the copyright Disney. But no doubt about it, they have been counterfeited. However, once Disney went to the Mickey "waffle" pattern, they started faking the back. But the back of these pins have a border running along the edge, and the Mickey heads are mis-shaped. If you were to look at an authentic Disney pin, and the back of these, you would notice a definite difference. It's only a matter of time, and I'm sure they will "improve" the back to be indistinguishable.

 

[tessiemez]

Sell them on eBay, they would be tradeable.

I have bought a LOT off of eBay, they are mostly scrappers, I have no idea if they are fake or not, but I know we won't have issues trading them. I think I paid like $170 for 300 pins.

Thanks for that--I was hoping they'd be tradable, but I wasn't sure ... and when I do my first in-park trading in December I don't want to walk around with all these identical pins ... maybe I can start trading them beforehand!

Liberty Belle, if you don't mind, can you PM me the name of the seller? I'd like to look at their listings.

 

[pixiewings71]

We only trade with CMs. I would think either they would know the difference, or they wouldn't care.

The CM's at WDW are told to wear lanyards, they don't care. but others DO care. I try very hard to not purchase scrappers, I do not appreciate trading my legit pins for scrappers. It really makes NO difference if you trade with CM's only or not, scrappers are picked up by everyone.

We have gotten lots on ebay for as little as about 75 cents per pin. They were all official Disney pins (back-stamped with the Disney pin trading logo) and some were so cool we kept them for our own collection instead of trading them.

I just watch the lots until I find one I like and with the way they've gone lately, I don't buy anything that is over $1 a pin in a big lot. We usually trade around 100 pins on every trip and we only trade with CM's (we aren't THAT hard core - we just like to collect the ones we like!).

ETA: I may not be a hard core pin trader, but I do diligently try to purchase only official Disney pins. That said, we have always had excellent luck in getting official lanyard series pins for very cheap prices. I tend to buy from the same couple of sellers, so maybe that makes the difference - but I will respectfully disagree that if you are paying 80 cents a pin then you are getting "scrappers" because that has not been my experience at all. I'm not expecting limited edition or highly sought after pins for 80 cents each, but ones that are legitimately tradeable with CM's can be had for that price.

Edited again: So, I clicked the link in the signature - I guess I had a misunderstanding of what a scrapper was (I thought it was simply a non-Disney released pin). After reading the information about scrappers, then I suppose I could have inadvertantly purchased and traded hundreds of them. Both of the sellers I purchase from are located in Florida, however I was completely unaware of this "black market" of Disney pins. Oh my! I guess I'll buy in smaller lots from now on, but it doesn't appear as though the casual pin trader will likely ever be aware of whether or not their pin is a scrapper. Even the site says the only way you can be sure is to buy it from Disney - but I guess that rules out pin trading altogether. Thank you for bringing that to my attention though because it definitely never occurred to me.

One last edit: I can breathe easier because both of my most common sellers are on the "green" list. I can't swear how much I paid in those lots and I also can't swear I've never purchased from the "red" list - but I'm definitely more aware now.

Thank You for taking the huge amount of time I know it takes to get thru that thread. We appreciate that very much, we work hard on that thread and it's nice to see that people are using it.

Thanks for that--I was hoping they'd be tradable, but I wasn't sure ... and when I do my first in-park trading in December I don't want to walk around with all these identical pins ... maybe I can start trading them beforehand!

Liberty Belle, if you don't mind, can you PM me the name of the seller? I'd like to look at their listings.

I'm sure they will be tradable, I've never had a CM turn me away but I have had a CM pocket a pin that I gave them or that someone ahead of me gave them. I always ask why they are pocketing it to see if perhaps that CM does know about traders and to see why they are pocketing it. Again, if you would please follow the link in my signature page 1 has a listing of good sellers that are on eBay and sell pins at good prices. A lot of it is research but we've done a lot of that for you.


Again, most CM's know nothing about pins, they do it because they are told to or because they want to but not all of them collect pins as well as trade them at the parks. The pins they have on their lanyards are not their pins, they are the parks pins and if you give them a scrapper most of the time they won't do anything about it, they simply put it on their lanyard and give it to the next person who asks. This is why we have the eBay thread on the Collector's Board and this is why we also have tips and hints on how to spot scrappers.

 

[pixiewings71]

Thanks for that--I was hoping they'd be tradable, but I wasn't sure ... and when I do my first in-park trading in December I don't want to walk around with all these identical pins ... maybe I can start trading them beforehand!

Liberty Belle, if you don't mind, can you PM me the name of the seller? I'd like to look at their listings.

BTW, that baby picture is absolutely adorable!!!!