"Odd" Disney Pins

[kaligal]

If you can't afford to or won't spend the money to purchase real pins, you have no business collecting or trading them.

IMO, if someone likes a pin, there is no reason to worry about whether it is approved by others or not.

Trading is arguable, but collecting? People can collect whatever they want. It does me no harm.

 

[DisGirl819]

I have some odd pins too. I have a whole vegetable collection shaped like mickey heads, as well as an apple pie. I'd love to see the characters shaped like letters and the soda bottle characters sound cool too. I may make that my mission this trip, find the oddest pins I can find

 

[Raenstoirm]

I personally like some of the odder pins. The set I am working on has villains in bowling pins. Who thought it was a bright idea to put villains and bowling pins together? I am collecting them despite the oddity though.

 

[fires_grumpy]

I also buy pins off of EBay to trade in the parks. I love the villians on the bowling pins also. Yes there are some fake pins but if you look at them before you take them to the parks. My question is how many of these pins you buy are from CMS saleing them. I buy alot from the Orlando area. Oh by the way I CAN AFFORD TO BUY RACK pins but I will not trade them they are for my collection. I can not tell you how many times I have give kids " that I don`t know a hand full of pins" It`s spreading the magic and that is what it is all about MAGIC.

 

[flortlebap]

I also buy pins off of EBay to trade in the parks. I love the villians on the bowling pins also. Yes there are some fake pins but if you look at them before you take them to the parks. My question is how many of these pins you buy are from CMS saleing them. I buy alot from the Orlando area. Oh by the way I CAN AFFORD TO BUY RACK pins but I will not trade them they are for my collection. I can not tell you how many times I have give kids " that I don`t know a hand full of pins" It`s spreading the magic and that is what it is all about MAGIC.

Your post has made me wonder how you can tell if eBay pins are official?

FWIW, if my kids are trading in the parks and they end up with a fake that they REALLY like, I don't give two hoots as they'll be happy. I don't want to bring fake pins into circulation, though, and being from the uk I haven't found anywhere but eBay to buy them!

 

[kaligal]

Your post has made me wonder how you can tell if eBay pins are official?

FWIW, if my kids are trading in the parks and they end up with a fake that they REALLY like, I don't give two hoots as they'll be happy. I don't want to bring fake pins into circulation, though, and being from the uk I haven't found anywhere but eBay to buy them!

Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is very difficult, sometimes you simply can't tell.

This is what pisses off a lot of people. They can't tell if the CM pins are fakes or not, lol. Since they can't tell the difference, they can't trade with CMs. That's how good many of the fakes are.

If they were easy to distinguish, there really wouldn't be much of a problem. The problem isn't crappy fakes. The REAL problem is that the fakes are too good.

And if your kids are happy with fakes, the happiness is as real as if you'd paid $10 for it, right?

 

[jlevis]

Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is very difficult, sometimes you simply can't tell.

This is what pisses off a lot of people. They can't tell if the CM pins are fakes or not, lol. Since they can't tell the difference, they can't trade with CMs. That's how good many of the fakes are.

If they were easy to distinguish, there really wouldn't be much of a problem. The problem isn't crappy fakes. The REAL problem is that the fakes are too good.

And if your kids are happy with fakes, the happiness is as real as if you'd paid $10 for it, right?

Most of the pins from China are not fakes they are "scrappers". These are pins that are left over from an order from Disney. Disney orders 20,000 pins. The jobber makes the run plus a number more to allow for errors, bad paint, bad pressing etc. Scrappers are the left overs. Those end up on ebay. They have the Disney logo on the back. Some are indistinquishable from any other pin in the run and some are really crappy looking. If you don't mind supporting the Chinese fraudulent merchendise market, so be it. That market includes automobile and aircraft parts, perscription drugs and medical devices, clothes etc. Will not buying pins from ebay change that, probably not. It is going to take a big change in the way our government enforces trade regulations. Me, I'll only buy from a legitimate source be that a Disney pin or my heart medication.

 

[SmallWorld71]

While I was cleaning recently, I found a bunch of pins and buttons from my former TDS cast member days back in the 90/ early part of this century. While not really "odd" there are some that I think are a bit unique. They used to give us Dalmation pins with the year on them and then we would get bones that said 101 on them to hang from the pin every time the store got a perfect score from a secret shopper. I also have ones depicting all the Hercules characters and have pins from all the movies that were released while I worked at TDS - we used to have to wear them on our costume.
I also found one of the button style from 1900 Park Fare back when Mickey and Minnie were the characters there. And one of Jiminy Cricket from Earth Day at AK in the mid-90's.

 

[Fire14]

While I was cleaning recently, I found a bunch of pins and buttons from my former TDS cast member days back in the 90/ early part of this century. While not really "odd" there are some that I think are a bit unique. They used to give us Dalmation pins with the year on them and then we would get bones that said 101 on them to hang from the pin every time the store got a perfect score from a secret shopper. I also have ones depicting all the Hercules characters and have pins from all the movies that were released while I worked at TDS - we used to have to wear them on our costume.
I also found one of the button style from 1900 Park Fare back when Mickey and Minnie were the characters there. And one of Jiminy Cricket from Earth Day at AK in the mid-90's.

I SO LOVE THOSE sPOTTED PUP ONES.

 

[DavidH]

While I was cleaning recently, I found a bunch of pins and buttons from my former TDS cast member days back in the 90/ early part of this century. While not really "odd" there are some that I think are a bit unique. They used to give us Dalmation pins with the year on them and then we would get bones that said 101 on them to hang from the pin every time the store got a perfect score from a secret shopper. I also have ones depicting all the Hercules characters and have pins from all the movies that were released while I worked at TDS - we used to have to wear them on our costume.
I also found one of the button style from 1900 Park Fare back when Mickey and Minnie were the characters there. And one of Jiminy Cricket from Earth Day at AK in the mid-90's.

I was a cast member BP (Before Pins), but we used to get ribbons for various events to hang off our nametags. We had different celebration type name tags as well. I still have all that stuff in my Disney Box. I did receive three "pins" that I am proud of - Disney Trainer, Donald (5-year) and a Partners in Excellence pin.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I was a cast member BP (Before Pins), but we used to get ribbons for various events to hang off our nametags. We had different celebration type name tags as well. I still have all that stuff in my Disney Box. I did receive three "pins" that I am proud of - Disney Trainer, Donald (5-year) and a Partners in Excellence pin.

Congrats on the Donald pin. I don't think I ever got one; I believe I was there just under 5 years so just had the Mickey. It got too hard to mange the extra job after DS12 was born. It was so hard giving up the 35% discount I'd earned, though.

I wish I'd saved all my stuff. For a while it seemed like they were giving us something every time we turned around. (Pins, buttons, cassette taped, lithographs etc...) Promotions, promotions, promotions! It didn't seem all that important at the time, but now I would love to have everything! You just never know what will be unique years later.

 

[kaligal]

Most of the pins from China are not fakes they are "scrappers". These are pins that are left over from an order from Disney. Disney orders 20,000 pins. The jobber makes the run plus a number more to allow for errors, bad paint, bad pressing etc. Scrappers are the left overs. Those end up on ebay. They have the Disney logo on the back. Some are indistinquishable from any other pin in the run and some are really crappy looking. If you don't mind supporting the Chinese fraudulent merchendise market, so be it. That market includes automobile and aircraft parts, perscription drugs and medical devices, clothes etc. Will not buying pins from ebay change that, probably not. It is going to take a big change in the way our government enforces trade regulations. Me, I'll only buy from a legitimate source be that a Disney pin or my heart medication.

And a lot of them are pins they run IN ADDITION TO the ones they give Disney. They run a bunch and sell them to Disney and then they run some more - same everything, made at the same place by the same folks and of the same quality. Scrappers aren't just the "outlet", "damaged" or "slightly irregular" pins.

There are totally fake pins, too.

There is a whole world of interesting stuff going on in China, some of it wonderful, some not. But it is a country of people who like money, like making money and have decided as a group that they want more. They are hard-working, industrious people whose standard of living goes up almost on a daily basis.

They'll also be running the world in a decade or two.

I know a lot of people in the U.S. have a very antiquated, bigoted view of China and the Chinese - especially those who have not been there much or done much business there. I am not one of those people.

As for me, I'll always do as I please, whether or not you approve.

As for you, I couldn't care less where you buy your pins. It doesn't affect me. That goes for everyone else. Everyone is free to buy whatever they please and I won't consider it any of my business.

Carry on.

 

[jlevis]

...
As for you, I couldn't care less where you buy your pins. It doesn't affect me. That goes for everyone else. Everyone is free to buy whatever they please and I won't consider it any of my business.

Yet you go on and on.

 

[cavepig]

The odd pins, like vegetable head mickeys, pop bottles, and villain bowling pins are cast lanyard pins. They have lists on pinpics for the series, most of the time they can't be bought but only traded for. They have little mickey heads on them. Right now a new set of them came out and there's UK ones, princess ones, and T-shirt ones.

We pin trade and that's great to buy them off ebay and all, but there are a lot of counterfeit pins being made and it's hard to tell the difference but as a collector I don't want the counterfeit one I want the Disney one. Cast members can't tell the difference and will trade with you anyway, adult or kid, but as a guest I might trade for that pin and the after studying it find it out's a counterfeit because it's color or stampings off. So, yeah it doesn't matter where you buy em, but as another I guest I don't want to accidently end up with your counterfeit pins.

 

[FigNewton]

So, yeah it doesn't matter where you buy em, but as another I guest I don't want to accidently end up with your counterfeit pins.

Sums it up rather nicely.

 

[Queenofspoons]

How did this Just for Fun type board about weird pins turn into a heated debate about counterfeit pins.

Any way Ive seen some weird offical pins in the past, their the minor holiday pins celebrating everything from Arbor Day to Tax Day.

Also their was a set of Jack Skeleington pins for every major holiday, for Easter his head was surronded by Easter eggs and he was wearing an Easter Bonnet and his face showed that he didn't like it.

 

[Que_Sarah_Sarah]

Random question: If you have internet on your phone, could you access pinpics to check for authenticity in the parks? At least correct coloration, anyhow.

If not, someone needs to make an app for that, lol.

 

[nicki.momof3]

We are looking into a medallion this time around. Taht lanyard swiinging up around her next on rides and such was annoying her.
.

What is a medallion? My kids have the same issue with lanyards on rides.

 

[Que_Sarah_Sarah]

What is a medallion? My kids have the same issue with lanyards on rides.

They are a "large" (3-5 inches) metal piece in the shape of a character, etc. that hangs at the end of a pin lanyard. They are heavy enough to keep lanyards from flapping around a lot. They have tons of designs!

 

[nicki.momof3]

Are you serious?! You're actually trying to tell someone what they can or cannot collect?!

Did they pass a new pin collecting law when I wasn't looking, or did you just appoint yourself as the Disney Pin Poobah?

Watch out OP.

People on these boards are being down right mean tonight. I got slammed earlier today for some typo's that I typed from my phone (hate auto correct).

People should follow the old advice - if you can't say something nice, don't say it at all.

OP - go ahead and trade any pin you want. What you do is your business. happy trading.