Newbie pin trader - ??? about trading with CM's

[fam4jc]

Hi. I've just began to collect pins for my two dds. We will be going in April and I plan on bringing a lanyard with only pins on it that we want to trade. What is the pin trading ettiquite for trading with CM's? Do we just walk up and ask? Are there certain places designated to do this? I just don't want to offend anyone or tell my girls to do something rude.

 

[disneysnowflake]

When we went to WDW in Dec. DS2 (age 11) was all excited about pin trading. He only traded with CMs. He'd go up to a CM who wasn't busy and ask if he could see their lanyard. They'd say yes and if he saw something he wanted to trade he'd trade with them. He's traded with CM's who were in stores, just out and about, etc. If they had a lanyard with pins DS2 would most likely ask them unless they were busy.
We only found 2 CMs who refused to trade. Both of those people were in AK.
One was a girl who was standing outside Camp Minnie/Mickey before it opened. DS2 asked he could see her lanyard, and she said no. The other was a guy who was running register in a gift shop in AK. DS2 wanted to trade him an authentic Disney chipmunk pin. The guy wouldn't trade because he said it was too small. He looked at the pin to make sure it was authentic, said it was, but said it was too small to trade with him. We just left and DS2 forgot all about it.
Several times CMs would come right up to DS2 while in line, walking around and especially waiting for parades and ask him to trade. Some of those cast members were so friendly, and it just made DS2's day. Some CMs would tell DS2 about specific pins he had. We learned some new things while pin trading at WDW.

We're going back in October and DS2 plans to pin trade once again. We just bought some pins from a lady on eBay.

 

[daber]

CMs are not supposed to refuse to trade. They don't have to wear a lanyard and it's an open invitation to interact with the guests. I'm surprised to hear that not one but two CMs denied your DS2 the possibility to trade.
I've never heard the excuse that a pin is too small! If it was authentic, and they said it was, then it was a valid trade.
The only thing that can sometimes stop a trade is that the pin you are trading should not be on their lanyard. This stops the lanyard from having 10 of the same pin.
However CMs will normally go out of their way to do a trade with a child and will bend the rules for them. If you do run into a problem trading with a CM ask to see their manager or someone who is in charge of pins in the section where you are.

ONE thing you should do is go to the 1:00 Scoop Pin Talk. It's in the Main Street Expo Hall (to the right of the train station when you enter MK.) Tell him you are new at pin trading and want to learn about pin ettiquette. There's no one better and more entertaining to teach you. Tell him "daber" on the boards told you about him.

 

[disneysnowflake]

I knew that the CM was supposed to trade with DS2, but we didn't want to cause a scene and just left. It wouldn't have been worth our time to ask for a manager and then get that CM all irate and force him to trade with my boy. KWIM? Both the CM and I knew that pin was authentic. I bought it from Cheappins last year, and even the CM said it was authentic. I guess he was just being a big jerk.

DS2 just acted like nothing happened. He decided he felt sorry for this little chipmunk pin and said he's going to keep it forever. I was ticked though.

We were more happy with the many CMs who really went out of their way to trade with kids. While waiting for the afternoon parade at MK 2 CMs came over to DS2 while we sat on the curb and looked at his pins. Then they traded with him and brought a few other CMs over to look at his pins, too. He didn't have anything great on his lanyard, but they were just being nice.

At Epcot while waiting for opening a CM asked DS2 if he wanted to trade. He then took DS2 over to 4 other CMs who were waiting for opening. They were talking to him about pins. DS2 only traded one, but he was really smiling. Even a bus driver asked DS2 if he wanted to trade while we boarded a bus.

I guess some people are friendly and other aren't. That guy didn't deter DS2 in any way though. He just kept right on trading and just accepted no as the answer and moved on. DS2 has no idea about pins. He just collects the ones he likes.

 

[fam4jc]

Oh Wow! This sounds like so much fun! I can't wait! Do you think I should get a second lanyard for my other DD? I bet I should... guess that means going back to ebay! Thanks for the information

 

[OBrienofFM]

Thanks for the pin trading advice. My family will be going in June and I think this would be a fun thing to do. We will make a point of stopping by the Scoop Pin talk to learn more about it.

The lanyards I would like to get in advance, but I read somewhere that different colors mean different things. I wouldn't want to get the wrong color so additional advice in this area would be appreciated.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The only thing about lanyard colors is a CM with a green lanyard can only trade with children. There are no other restricitons.

There are two things to remember.

One is that CMs with lanyards are required to trade with guests, there is no obligation for guests to trade at all. If you feel that a trade may not be fair, walk away from it.

The other is that trading should have a purpose other than just trading. In other words, a person should be looking toward a collection of a particular type of pin (or particular character, etc.).

 

[OBrienofFM]

Thanks, Cheshire Figment. Good to know about the green lanyard.