Pin lots on eBay - help out some novice traders

[dqpowell]

Hi all,

I had managed to keep my kids away from the pin trading thing on our previous trips, but in Dec 2007 my in-laws were traveling with us and grandma bought the kids lanyards and starter sets. They had fun trading and (along with some very expensive in-park purchases) they ended up with about 10 or 15 pins each.

We're going back to WDW in January and they want to trade again. But they have a bunch of keepers that they won't trade away and so are going to need new 'trading stock' so to speak. Of the seven in our group, five want to trade pins (FIL and I are uninterested). Rather than spend $5+ in the parks, I've been looking at pin lots on eBay.

Can anybody steer me in the right direction? I'd prefer a lot of 50 or 100, because they're going to be split up 5 ways. So that's 10 or 20 each. I figure the kids might find a couple they don't want to trade away, but hopefully this will cut down on the number of purchases we end up making on WDW property.

Any advice? What should I look for, and what should I avoid? Are any of the lots of 50 or 100 worth getting for this purpose?

I know already to avoid Sedesmas and other non-Disney pins. But all of the lot auctions say the same thing -- no sedesmas, no pro-pins, etc.

David

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I would look for auctions that appear to be from people selling off their personal collections as opposed to people who buy counterfeits and sell them by the thousands. Look at the seller's current auctions, then look at the auctions they have recently completed. If they are selling the exact same lot over and over then the pins are counterfeits. Nobody legitimately has hundreds of sets of the exact same pins. They just don't. So the sellers who have been selling the exact same pins every day for the past 30 days are doing something squirrelly.

DO NOT rely on positive feedback because most buyers know NOTHING about counterfeits. When we first got started we bought lots from multiple sellers and left good feedback, only to find out later that the pins were counterfeits and/or scrappers.

Do not buy "grab bags" - make sure the pins you are bidding on are pictured. Make sure there is a return policy listed. If you can find auctions that promise "No scrappers" that would be good.

We have had so many bad experiences on eBay that we have given up. Good luck to you!

 

[Moira222]

I just wanted to post a thanks for this clear answer on the eBay lots. I have 16 days left till our trip and was considering buying a small lot of pins on eBay to trade at Disney (We really got into doing this on our last trip) and now I will just wait & buy a starter pack or two and use those to trade with.

I love this board! i lurk much more than i post and I always find great advice and answers!