Let’s help new pin traders avoid the cheap pins

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

As a seller, I always leave feedback as soon as the buyer pays. They fulfilled their end of the agreement. It's irrelevant how the rest of the deal goes. If all sellers did this, there wouldn't be retalitory negs. And doesn't relatliation feedback not count as neg anymore? I've been away from ebay for awhile.

I don't know how that works. I have a whopping 22 transactions on eBay, and I just buy. And after every transaction I swear that it will be my last! Then I see just a few more pins. Or just one more lot. And I am right back in there, bidding and paying and watching the mailbox!

 

[GoofyBaby]

Pins that are up for auction that have not been released yet should really be a red flag, I think...I also think that even getting pins from CMs is an inexact science. If someone traded a scrapper to the CM 2 minutes ago, then I come along and get the scrapper I would have no way of knowing it wasn't issued to the CM from Disney. It is frustrating.

So true. I just saw the Mr. Toad pins on eBay and just bought them before I even knew that Disney hadn't officially released them yet! I won't make that mistake again. And when I go pin trading next month, I'll be looking at the CM's pins very carefully and hope I don't wind up with any scrappers. I really don't want to circulate those! My Mr. Toad pins are officially on my "pins not to trade" lanyard!

 

[cinderellacm2000]

GOOD FOR YOU!

I mean it- I totally commend you for your honesty. That is a lot more than many would do about scrappers. Good job!

 

[GoofyBaby]

Aww, thanks! It's bad enough that people are out there trying to make money from selling scrapper pins that should have been discarded. Since I was had by the eBay seller who sold me scrappers, I am certainly not going to pass the scrappers off to anyone else! Just wouldn't be right. By the way, the seller who sold me the scrappers is closing his/her eBay store - I received an email from him/her saying they are closing due to too many paypal chargebacks.

 

[taylorsmommy05]

whats a paypal chargeback?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

whats a paypal chargeback?

When a buyer doesn't receive their merchandise or when they have a complaint they are supposed to contact the seller, then if the seller doesn't fix it they can open a dispute with PayPal. PayPal looks into it, and if they find in favor of the buyer they refund the buyer's money from the seller's PayPal account.

 

[djblu883]

What are propins and Sedesmas???? ANd are the mini Christmas Pins tradable??? How about Pins that come with Movies? I got a pin from my daughter who just bought Cinderella 111 beacause she doesn't collect...but its got a different kind of pinback and lights up??? DOesn't look like any of my keepers so far....

I was just browsing ebay checking out some pins & came across several that were obvious “cheap” pins. I then thought of all of the postings on the DIS where new pin traders ended up with the Sedesmas or ProPins or other cheapos that clog up CM lanyards & basically can ruin the hobby. So I thought, why not start a thread for newbies to ask about certain pins. My thought was if anyone was thinking of purchasing some pins on ebay & were unsure as to their legitimacy, they could post the item# here, & the pin veterans could respond as to whether they were legit or not. Hopefully this doesn’t violate any DIS regulations. If it’s cool, then I open the floor to prospective pin collectors.

 

[CAJUNBLAZE]

I would really like my two kids to enjoy this on the first trip. I think it would be very special. I went to Disney and the selection of pins and lanyards were awful. I was trying to get them before we go as tokens of good behavior and to get excited about the trip. After reading all the post, I dont want to get conned either (even though I agree with one post, that you could get "conned" on a trade). Is there a website for collectors to trade, sell, and buy? And how about those lanyards?
Thanks

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I would really like my two kids to enjoy this on the first trip. I think it would be very special. I went to Disney and the selection of pins and lanyards were awful. I was trying to get them before we go as tokens of good behavior and to get excited about the trip. After reading all the post, I dont want to get conned either (even though I agree with one post, that you could get "conned" on a trade). Is there a website for collectors to trade, sell, and buy? And how about those lanyards?
Thanks

You are fine buying lanyards from eBay. Just know that lanyards (without any pins) in the parks sell for $5. Don't pay $12 for a plain lanyard. And the black lanyards with the red Pirates of the Caribbean print are from the Target $1 bin - they are thin and relatively short. My DS11 has one that he put a few pirate pins on but it is not high quality and will probably shred and/or fray. There are a ton of them on eBay.

There is a website called PinPics that shows detailed descriptions of the pins, and their sister site Dizpins. I know you can trade through them, you might be able to buy, too. Just be very careful if you buy pins from eBay. There are lots of pitfalls (obviously).

 

[EpcotMatt]

What are propins and Sedesmas???? ANd are the mini Christmas Pins tradable??? How about Pins that come with Movies? I got a pin from my daughter who just bought Cinderella 111 beacause she doesn't collect...but its got a different kind of pinback and lights up??? DOesn't look like any of my keepers so far....

While there are many experts out here{I'm not one of them}, I'll try to give a synapsis. I'm borrowing these descriptions from other sites I've researched:


Sedesma pins are sold throughout Spain...you can find them everywhere, including grocery stores. Disney bounces back and forth in regards to Sedemsa. Some Cast Members will take them in trade; other times they won't. Quite simply, Sedesma pins are cheap. They are badly made and shunned by most pin collectors. Yet, they sell on eBay all them time in bulk. Although Disney says nothing specific about Sedesma in their official pin trading "rules" (see below), whether you can trade them in the parks or not is a gamble. http://reviews.ebay.com/Hidden-Trut...0001077083?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:1


ProPin Disney pins. They were the official Disney Germany licensee for Disney pins 1995 through 2000, creating over 250 designs including 20 or more 9-pin collections. Their forte' was in using up many many colors on their small pins, making the detail of Propins stunning. ProPins are all tradeable in the Disney parks.http://reviews.ebay.com/Hidden-Trut...0001077083?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:1 {I'm not a fan of the ProPins, although this reviewer was.}


As far as the mini-Christams pins, I'm not quite sure which pins you're referring to. Maybe you could post a few pics. Regarding the Cinderella pin, it's legit since it came with the DVD. Here's a bit more info on that pin from PinPics. http://www.pinpics.com/cgi-bin/pin.cgi?pin=53784&sid=9626.1177794759

Hopefully that helps a bit. I'm sure others will be able to add more input on your questions too. Like I said, I'm no expert. Just love collecting pins. I have that collecting gene I think. Used to be into sports collectibles, then my DW converted me & I've been gradually getting rid of those & am strictly a Disney collector now, as my den thoroughly shows. Anyway, have fun with the collecting!

 

[kdzgon]

I had read that review re: pins, so I thought I was good to go. I bought pins from mousepinsonline.com. They say "The pins in our Grab Bags may include Bertoni pins, ProPin pins, Monogram pins, Cast Lanyard pins, as well as pins you would purchase at Disney parks. We do not sell EuroDisney pins, Sedesma pins, or the small Disney pins some call cuties." I haven't checked all of them yet, but those that I have are all listed on pinpics. There were no duplicates (75 pin lot) and the order included a good number of cast lanyard pins. Shipping was quick, also.

It's "after the fact" so it might just be ''live and learn", but does anyone have any experience with them re: pin quality/reliability?

I bought a number of pins for kids, 3,4,4,6 and 10 yrs old to "try" trading. Now, before I dole these pins out, how do I find out which pins are very popular/more valuable and which might be the better park "traders" to start? I know that ultimately it will be "what do they like" but I'd like to have just a *little* idea of what they might be trading away.

Thank you!

edited to add: I have now received both shipments (75 ea). Shipping was fast, and pins were packed well. Each shipment included a decent amount of CL pins, a few hidden mickey pins and each had one large pin (Cinderella). One shipment had 28 ProPins and a lot of duplicates (10 sets, or 20 pins total). The other shipment had no doubles, but had 30 ProPins (of 75). If you don't want ProPins, don't order from mousepinsonline.

I will say the quality of ProPin pins seems to vary quite a bit, but all are darker overall than the other style pins.

 

[asianway]

My favorite is auctions like 200106043511. It says no sedesmas or cheap knockoffs, yet in the picture, every pin is either a sedesma or a counterfeit paris pin. People like this give pin sharks a bad name and prey on newbies.

 

[Donald is #1]

My favorite is auctions like 200106043511. It says no sedesmas or cheap knockoffs, yet in the picture, every pin is either a sedesma or a counterfeit paris pin. People like this give pin sharks a bad name and prey on newbies.

I couldn't even see the pins in the picture. I don't think that I would buy any pins where I couldn't really see them in the photo.

 

[asianway]

Check out the sellers other auctions for a bigger pic. Bad pic = shady

 

[meandtheguys2]

Are Bertoni pins and Sedesma pins the same? They look like it in their pictures on mousepins. I know that everytime we try to trade BACK one of the Sedesmas one of my kids traded FOR we have been given the evil eye!

I know that pins are so cheap as lots on ebay, I can't see payng $1.80 for a grab bag that includes propins. They did have some lanyard pins I wanted, though!

 

[kdzgon]

My favorite is auctions like 200106043511. It says no sedesmas or cheap knockoffs, yet in the picture, every pin is either a sedesma or a counterfeit paris pin. People like this give pin sharks a bad name and prey on newbies.

OK. I give up. I'll NEVER be able to tell the difference! Some of those pins pictured look like those listed on PinPics, etc. And forget scrappers - how in the world will I know the difference between those "authorized" and those manufactured "after"? Same goes for those available before the "official" release - what happens once the pins are actually released? Does the value drop for the newly-released pins, or do the pre-releases simply gain value?

I'm just hoping everyone has fun trading, but I think maybe I'll try to "quit" before I start collecting (thus get addicted...)!

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

I think I am finally going to start trading. I have been collecting pins for about a year now, but I have never traded.

I am having a hard time figuring out what is a "good" pin on ebay, so I think I'm going to stick with buying from pincastle. I figure I'll get good pins and I won't unless I really like a pin (then, I don't really care if it's a "good" pin or not).

 

[Skip to my Lou]

So has anyone been to Disney lately and seen the pins on the CM's. When I went last year there were a bunch of cuties, and a few CL's.

I'm going again next month and would like to prepare the 3 little pin traders in my care fir what they will be in store for.

Any help, greatly appreciated, as I was thinking about buying a small lot from e-bay to get them started, but if there's nothing to trade for.......

 

[PinGirl]

Just want to say this is a great thread. Since DH and I live close to the AMS Character outlet - we have decided to buy our pins for our next couple of trips from there. (These are the outlets that move around from location to location -they have legitimate Disney merchandise but you never know where the stores are going to be - you get on their mailing list and they email you when the store is opening)

The Pins are running about $3.39 on up to $8.00 for LE 1,000's and $9.99 for Jumbo Pins. Luckily the guy at the cash resgister on Saturday saw how many pins I had - and gave me a 20% discount . Needless to say DH was Super Happy!

We really like to get Good pins for our collection so we decided to save up - pay a little more and make sure the pins we were trading were legit.

Since we are in CA all the pins are Disneyland pins - but since our next trip is WDW we figured that would be ok. We try to get a variety so we aren't flooding the park with the same pin. I have to say though prices are going up...the first time I shopped at the outlet pins were around $1.98 and they were Star Wars pins. In December of 06 they were $2.98 - now the cheapest ones here are $3.39 to $3.99 - average is about $4.44. I have heard of people finding them cheaper at the outlets but here in CA -no luck!

Happy trader hunting everyone and if anyone has outlets near you post current prices. I suspect some people probably sell on Ebay but with everyone expecting to pay around $2.00 for pins - I did not really think it would be worth trying to sell any - since I am paying more than $2.00 for each pin.

Here is the link to AMS - for those of you who live near one you can email them and get on the list. when the outlet pops back up in your area they will send you an email. For some of you this will be a good excuse for a road trip. If any of you have friends going to Vegas - (there is one there) ask them to shop for you!

http://www.ams-liquidation.com/stores.htm

Pingirl

 

[BONITATIME]

My favorite is auctions like 200106043511. It says no sedesmas or cheap knockoffs, yet in the picture, every pin is either a sedesma or a counterfeit paris pin. People like this give pin sharks a bad name and prey on newbies.

I found an answer further down which answered my question.