Never pin traded before - tips/advice please

[puppytrainer]

My daughter will be 7 when we head down this fall and I thought pin trading might be something fun for her to take part in. Given that we'd be new to this, it's just going to be something for fun...I don't think we'd be looking for the rare ones, new hot ones, one to complete a collection or anything like that. I would like to head down there with a few on hand already so I was thinking of looking on somewhere like E-bay for a small group of them (not any of these 100 lots or anything like that) rather than paying full price for something she picks out when we get there that she then won't want to part with. I can imagine that there is some danger of looking for something like this on E-bay, so I'm hoping someone can give me some advice.

What is a good way to get started? How do you do it once we're there (do you just walk up to CMs and ask)? What etiquette do I need to know about? Anything else to know to make this a fun and enjoyable experience for my daughter? TIA!

 

[Robin K]

If she is ok with asking for something she wants, there will be no problem. It helps to have a child that is outgoing. I have seen several children act like they want to trade then won't talk! I don't mean that in a rude way..it just is something I've seen.
First-the CM with the green lanyards or green square things confused3 on the proper term) will trade with ONLY children. She might have better luck finding something she likes there. But, other CMs will trade as well. I was told once CMs can not refuse a trade, not sure if that's true but I've never seen them refuse anyone.
Second-when she sees someone she wants to trade with (or even just look at) she just walks up (providing they aren't busy) and says "may I look at your pins? or something to that extent. After she looks, if she finds one she wants she just describes the one she wants or points to it. (some people get really upset about people touching pins before they are technically yours). She will then in turn takes off one she wants to give away, puts the back on it and hands it to the CM and takes her "new" pin.
I would suggest getting some metal backs for the ones she doesn't want to trade for two reasons. 1. the metal backs dont fall off as easily 2. the metal backs are easier to seperate when she looks at them on the lanyard!
I would also suggest your daughter go for a set of something. It will be easier to find something you like when you have a "plan". The first year I collected pirates-any and every character dressed like a pirate. The next year I collected anything Chip and Dale. I think this year I'm going for Villains!
Good luck and hope your daughter has a great time!
When are you heading down? We will be there in Sept.

 

[puppytrainer]

Thanks!

We're heading down in October, just miss you by a bit. My dd is fairly outgoing, so I think she'll do ok at it. That being said, it will take her a couple trades to get into it, but after the first couple, and seeing what is out there, I think she'll really enjoy the "hunt" for ones she'll like.

 

[kycanonist]

My kids are going to give trading a shot as well. I don't think they'll go so much for sets as for what they'll like.

 

[Figmificent]

Good pin trading etiquette:
Any CM wearing a lanyard or hip square will trade with your child (green is only for kids <12). If the CM is busy with another guest, wait your turn. If they are checking out people in a store, the proper thing is to wait in line for your turn (that doesn't mean you won't see people barging in). Don't touch the cast members lanyard. They will pull it away from themselves for you to get a better look at, if you want to see a pin better just ask. Trading pins must have the copyright Disney on the back and they must have the rubber mickey backing. Only trade pins with the backs on them already (unless directed otherwise ie: from a pin board). You may make 2 trades per CM. You have to give the CM a pin that is not already on their lanyard.

Pin trading is a fun and addictive hobby, and you can meet a LOT of amazing people this way! Good luck and have fun!

 

[sharonabe]

If you go to disneystore.com and click on pins, and then pin sets, they sell a 7-pc set for $29.95. You can also get these at the parks or your resort if you want to save shipping. These are great for starting to trade, and you know you have the real Disney pins. We got the princess set for my SONS because I knew they wouldn't want to keep any of those girlie pins. Not sure that would work for your DD, but they do have other 7-pc sets that will work for her.

 

[scrapbookmomma74]

On our first trip to WDW in 2007, my dds were 4 & 7. My 7 year old got so into pin trading, I think we spent about $100 on pins (which isn't very many). Mom and Dad liked it, too.
SO, fast forward to 2010, we were going on the Disney Cruise...Mom gets smart and buys a lot of 100 pins on ebay...SUCH A GREAT PLAN! We all had 25 pins to trade throughout the 7 night trip.
Then, did the same thing, but 200 pins, for our 7 night cruise in 2011. We do have some left for our upcoming WDW trip in July, but I plan to buy another lot of 200, since we'll have 7 adults and 2 kids on that trip.
So, my point is this...better to have TOO MANY pins than not enough and then have to buy them at the park. We still buy a couple of special pins on a trip, but none that we'll trade.
Each night, I have the girls "shop" from the pin bag and take off the pins that they don't intend to trade. If they are trying to find an entire set, I let them keep the set on so that they can remember which one they are searching for.
On our last cruise, 1 dd collected only Tinkerbell. She wound up with about 25 different Tink pins. It is a great souvenior of our trips.

 

[puppytrainer]

On our first trip to WDW in 2007, my dds were 4 & 7. My 7 year old got so into pin trading, I think we spent about $100 on pins (which isn't very many). Mom and Dad liked it, too.
SO, fast forward to 2010, we were going on the Disney Cruise...Mom gets smart and buys a lot of 100 pins on ebay...SUCH A GREAT PLAN! We all had 25 pins to trade throughout the 7 night trip.
Then, did the same thing, but 200 pins, for our 7 night cruise in 2011. We do have some left for our upcoming WDW trip in July, but I plan to buy another lot of 200, since we'll have 7 adults and 2 kids on that trip.
So, my point is this...better to have TOO MANY pins than not enough and then have to buy them at the park. We still buy a couple of special pins on a trip, but none that we'll trade.
Each night, I have the girls "shop" from the pin bag and take off the pins that they don't intend to trade. If they are trying to find an entire set, I let them keep the set on so that they can remember which one they are searching for.
On our last cruise, 1 dd collected only Tinkerbell. She wound up with about 25 different Tink pins. It is a great souvenior of our trips.

Thanks! So you've done ok with buying those big lots on Ebay? I'm just concerned about with lots that big at a cheap price not being authentic/tradable. Sound like you've not had a problem with it though. I've been looking at some of those and I know they all tend to say "tradable at all parks" or "stamped with WD logo on back" but I'm still a little skeptical. Good to know you've had good luck.

 

[damaris13]

My DH and I have been trading for about 5 years, and my DD started last year at the age of 1. Our first year we randomly decided to start trading because we noticed some cool pins on cast members that we couldn't get elsewhere. The next year we made sure that we bought some on eBay. You can typically get lots of 20 for about $15 or less if you watch and bid carefully. Only during those years when I discover I've run out of traders will I purchase in the parks (we've spent close to $100 on pins in the parks...easy). I've never had a bad experience with eBay sellers and the pins. Not sure how they get all those pins, though.

A couple of years ago we took 3 boys (9, 11, and 12, I believe) to Disney. We gave each of them 2 lanyards with a set of 10 trading pins. 1 lanyard was a heavy duty lanyard, usually Disney related, and the other lanyard was just a little generic lanyard. I would have them select 4 or 5 pins each morning, help them put it on the heavy duty lanyard, and then leave the rest behind. (They didn't realize I had a small bag of traders in my backpack just in case they couldn't trade any of their pins and just had to have one they found). We would trade out the pins we wanted to keep until all the pins were gone. Then they had to buy pins themselves.

A few good things to note: your pins MUST have the rubber Mickey backs on them to trade, although occasionally the CM will just hand you back your metal pin. You can buy these for cheap in the pin stores. Buy, either ahead of time or first thing when you get there, the backs that lock. Our lanyards were velcro on the bottom, so locking a pin we liked through the velcro guaranteed you wouldn't lose a pin (like I did walking through AK our first year trading).

Last note...your DD will be able to trade with CM with the green lanyards. They can only trade with children, and they are always a blast to talk to. My DD always found a pin she wanted on those lanyards...never failed.

 

[DisneyStoryMania]

Just a couple things about E-Bay buying, It is great and we do it as well. Getting traders from the E-Bay lots I would say is the thing to do we always do it right before we go to the world(Love Pin Trading) A couple of Hints though to make sure you get the real disney traders.

1. Look where you are getting the lot shipped from, we noticed alot of the lots are from Florida some actually get shipped from the property<---only ones we buy.

2. Read carefully when buying this way, sometimes it will say tradeable but not nessaraly the trading pins you are looking for, My DM bought some pins that were trading pins with disney chracters on them but not the die cast disney pins.

3. One last thing that we noticed when buying off Ebay is most of the lower quality pins tend to come from China(hope this does not make anyone made) But I have read several places on the internet alot of pin traders have been getting what they call (scappers) <---fake pins...they weigh a little less and the colors are often not the same as the authentic disney pins.

Here is a web sight that shows you the pin sets and how they should look if they are authentic..
PinPics
Hope this helps....Pin trading is awesome...and a big part of our disney trips

 

[RollTyde]

I was wondering this same thing. My daughter will be almost 4 at the time of our trip and is very outgoing, but is she still too young? I think I may want her to trade, so I can in turn trade through her. My nephews who are going with us(8,11) should be prime age to begin their trading.

 

[lindsey]

We did the pin trading last year with my grandkids. We were using the locking backs and would just ask the CM if we could just trade for the pin and request they keep their back. No one had a problem with that. I did have the original black backs with me just in case.