Pin Trading for Adults

[DBarber600]

During our recent trip, I found that pin trading for my children was a great diversion when they began to get restless: At start of meltdown ... "Oh, look ... they have pins ... see if they have a monorail!"

Worked like a charm, but DH and I found ourselves getting sucked in; looking at pin lanyards left and right and now we're hooked.

My question has to do with the pro-pins. We ordered some for the children to trade and they didn't have a problem. In fact, some CMs encouraged our children to trade those instead of their nicer pins. But, do they take them as readily from adults as well? I have no idea what is valuable, I just want to have a collection of characters designed by Ward Kimball (he's famous in our household for the "I Love Toy Trains" series).

However, I will refuse to trade my pro-pins "A Goofy Movie" pins!

TIA!

 

[IWannaBeAPrincess]

We had propins on the trip before last. Honestly, I didn't know that it was a problem, before coming back here to read on the boards that it was discouraged. I bought them on sale and I just thought I lucked out.

Anyway, I didn't have the first problem trading pins. I did have one CM tell me that he wanted to keep his Mickey back, but that was it.

Good luck with Pin trading!

 

[tinkwannabe2]

We traded ProPins before and never had a single CM bat an eyelash.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

Of all the lesser quality disney pins out there propins are better than the rest esp as IMO (as a CM) they have a better chance to be taken off lanyards by guests instead of being a dead pin that you wear for weeks on end because no-one will trade you for it. But they still are a poor quality pin that if you look hard enough you can get high quality pins for the same price. (last disney shopping sale I bought pins for as low as 1.59 a pin)

They are becoming more prevelant where Ive seen guests not able to trade as the pin they had were already on many lanyards.

-em

 

[t-beri]

That's strange (about the mickey back) I've always had cast members tell me to keep my mickey back if the pin they had didn't have one.
I think pin trading is great for kids. It teaches them a sense of value ( trading a 3d pin for a flat pin is not a good trade) and it helps with social skills. It forces my son to use manners as I won't let him trade if he doesn't ask a CM politely. But We too have gotten hooked. I trade, my DS and DH collect. (they think they trade) I usually leave MK with less pins than I started b/c they just CAN'T get rid of anything on their lanyards and there's a pin they've just GOTTA have. I'm a good mom.
I think i'm gonna look on e-bay before we go for MNSSHP so they have pins they can bare to part with.
...t.

 

[NYMomof4]

Add me to the list of pin traders! I got hooked 2 trips back and now we advanced to buying the pin book to keep them in since the lanyards got full. I buy our traders on ebay that are official Disney trading pins and have paid about $2.25-3.00 each when I get the lots (best idea for trading). I think the main problem with the other pins filtering in is that it gives kids less Disney pins to find on the CM lanyards. My oldest son got one by trading with a CM and then other CMs wouldn't accept it for a trade later.

I have started to try out ideas for displaying my pins at home, so that is my new project for the months that I'm not actually at Disney (11 1/2 months a year)!

 

[mum of two pirates]

Sorry, We are going at the end of nov, and I bought 40 pins at the disney outlet for my boys (o.k. really me). I don't think I have ever heard of the pro-pins. Are they the nock off brand. My DH would like a few train and fire (fighter) pins. Are there any disney ones out there? Thanks

 

[JPG]

Sorry, We are going at the end of nov, and I bought 40 pins at the disney outlet for my boys (o.k. really me). I don't think I have ever heard of the pro-pins. Are they the nock off brand. My DH would like a few train and fire (fighter) pins. Are there any disney ones out there? Thanks

I saw several FireFighter related pins around WDW this year. I bought a couple different Law Enforcement related ones myself.

As for the pin trading/collecting deal. I myself have a hard time with the trading part. Its fun to do, but I hate parting with my pins. I do like to look for pins with "hidden Mickeys" and trade the CM's for those. I can always go back and buy what I traded for them, LOL.

 

[DBarber600]

ProPins are Disney copyrighted pins but are not the WDW Pin Trading pins they sell at WDW or Disney Stores. I believe they are made in Germany. They cost about $2 a pin. We bought these to trade, but DisneyShopping will have great pin sales where pins are about $2 and they are a much better quality. We didn't realize this until we bought a bunch of ProPins.

DS traded for a Donald Duck dressed like a firefighter this summer. Pin trading is something we like to do while we're waiting. It's a great distraction if, for example, we're waiting to be seated at a restaurant. This is how DS traded for a Doc Hudson pin this summer at Tony's Town Square which was very lucky because the CM said they had just been released that week.

The conversation goes something like this.
DS & DD: "When is it our turn, what's taking so long, yadda, yadda, yadda!"
DH: "Oh look! They have pins!"

Works like a charm!

Look for the CMs wearing the green laynards. They only trade with children and some of them actually encouraged or kids to trade the ProPins rather than others they had already traded for. They didn't. It just depends on what the kids like.

 

[karinbelle]

Head over to eBay. I just bought a group of 20 real Disney pins (not propin) for about $41. Just a shade over $2 per pin. I bought from eBay seller james_n_gv_sc( 1021) and shipping was very fast. We are very pleased. DS will be trading again. We are remodeling our basement and will probably make some kind of display (we have accumulated a lot of pins in the last 3 years).

DH likes Donald and included were three Donald pins plus a 3D Huey-Dewey-Louie halloween pin.

I know this seller had other lots of multiple pins.

 

[Vickie46]

mousepinsonline is who has the propins.

 

[Plantlady]

If you ever have a problem trading a propin with a CM, just ask another CM. We occationally would have problems trading a pin (not even one started with, just something our kids traded for, and it turned out to be a propin), but, we would just trade it with the next CM we saw. We didn't come home with anything we didn't want.

 

[MickeyMaz]

Head over to eBay. I just bought a group of 20 real Disney pins (not propin) for about $41. Just a shade over $2 per pin. I bought from eBay seller james_n_gv_sc( 1021) and shipping was very fast. We are very pleased. DS will be trading again. We are remodeling our basement and will probably make some kind of display (we have accumulated a lot of pins in the last 3 years).

I just discovered the same thing at ebay. We are going in Dec and wanted to get a inexpensive number of pins to give to the DD and DS when we announce the trip. The pins cost about 2-3 bucks each.

Is there a forum on disboards that talks about this?

 

[Donald - my hero]

Sorry, We are going at the end of nov, and I bought 40 pins at the disney outlet for my boys (o.k. really me). I don't think I have ever heard of the pro-pins. Are they the nock off brand. My DH would like a few train and fire (fighter) pins. Are there any disney ones out there? Thanks

WOO-HOO! someone who knows that the correct term is fire-fighter! A fireman is the guy who throws the coal into a steam engine train My grandfather was the chief of a very large department and NEVER let us forget the difference

 

[MickeyMaz]

To trade Pins with Cast Memebers, do you need to be wearing yours on a lanyard?