Pin Trading Lots and Ebay etc... long ranting

[Mickey527]

Money is one of the biggest reasons I have given up trading. When I look at the pins I have and add up what I spent I can't believe... But I was working full time back then.
But I can never replace the friendships I have made because of these pieces of metal. When I was going through chemo, my pin friends were the ones who kept in touch and sent me gifts and cards. My friends who lived near me and worked with me for 15 years of more shyed away like I was contagious.
Anyway, now that I am disabled I do buy some pins but have stopped trading. I just can't afford to buy a pin for me and a pin to trade like I used to. I remember being at WDW when a group of great pins were released and having (forcing) my family wait in line with me to buy two so I could bring them to my pin friends in our CT trading group. Who here remembers when they would only let us buy 2 per day of a pin and if we didn't get them the first few hours they were sold out?
I have been trimming down my collection and putting some of my pins for sale. Some I have asked more than what I paid because lets face it my Mickey For President cost me an Angry Donald and a Millenium Banner. (those oldie traders know what I am talking about.)
I have tried to sell some of my rack and CM traders for less than cost, $3-4 and have gotten no bites. I did have a few emails telling me that they can get the same pin in a "lot" on ebay for $1.60 a pin. The problem with that is the pins I have are original, bought when they were released, the pins in the lot are most likely scrappers. So I can't sell pins for what I paid for them and I can't even sell them for $2 or more less.
Unless Disney does something about the companies making scrappers those who continue to trade will most likely get scrappers from lanyards. I have been away from trading for so long that I don't know how to tell the difference. I don't want to give up one of my good older pins for a scrapper that I am stuck with forever. I won't trade back a scrapper if I know it is one, I would rather toss it.
So if any of you newer traders have gotten this far in my rantings, please think twice, three times and however many you have to hold yourself from buying those lots of pins or pin groups. If a Disney sells a pin for $8.95 or more at the parks how do you think anyone can sell 100 of them for $150.00. Because they are selling junk that is not worth more than $.50. I am sure they are making at least double what they paid for the junk they are selling.

 

[thelionqueen]

I totally agree!! Well put!

 

[~Kathie]

I have been trimming down my collection and putting some of my pins for sale. Some I have asked more than what I paid because lets face it my Mickey For President cost me an Angry Donald and a Millenium Banner. (those oldie traders know what I am talking about.)

I do remember those pins and I never owned any of them!!!

I have tried to sell some of my rack and CM traders for less than cost, $3-4 and have gotten no bites. I did have a few emails telling me that they can get the same pin in a "lot" on ebay for $1.60 a pin.

Tell them to go for it!!! It's a sign of the times that people are looking for a bargain. If people want to pay $1.60 for a pin that retailed for $9.00, they can't be surprised if they get junk.

There have been several threads on this board about how people have bought the so called 'lots' on ebay and received scrappers. A fool and his money are soon parted.

Unless Disney does something about the companies making scrappers those who continue to trade will most likely get scrappers from lanyards.

Wouldn't it be nice if they did?? You and I both know it probably won't happen.

So if any of you newer traders have gotten this far in my rantings, please think twice, three times and however many you have to hold yourself from buying those lots of pins or pin groups. If a Disney sells a pin for $8.95 or more at the parks how do you think anyone can sell 100 of them for $150.00. Because they are selling junk that is not worth more than $.50. I am sure they are making at least double what they paid for the junk they are selling.

Remember..........you get what you pay for.

Good luck selling your pins Peggie. Not a good time for sales of any kind but hopefully the economy will turn around soon.

 

[scuba]

Look, some of you have no one to blame except for yourselves, I got on here one evening and described what happened to my beloved sports cards and it's eventual collapse, when folks start assigning a value to your pins then it lets in folks that my have less scruples than yourselves....I have no doubt that most of you on this board are very passionate about your pins, but it's just that , a pin, you assign value on said pin by what you get from it...like the OP indicated the friends you made from the little pieces of metal. You have to have more enjoyment in the pin instead of looking at a book of pins and saying....thats worth alot of money. I wrote ealrlier in the year about a miserable experience where my 3 year old was shunned buy a pro collector at DTD, and I have since regrouped myself because of it. My 3 year old.......MY CHILD could care less if she has a Laynard full of "scrappers" that we bought at one of the tourist traps outside of WDW. My daughter has mostly original pins on her lyanrd, however I also traded for a scrapper if you will at WDW from a cast member.....so it's at all levels. I'm sorry I'm ranting, however if you would have been there at DTD after my daughter was sent packing I cannot help but think that alot of the Pin traders are more interested in VALUE than the enjoyment of the pins. I was told over and over that I shouldn't lump everyone in to the same groupos, however your post would seem to imply that the pins are more valuable then what you paid for them....truth of the matter, they aren't, expecially in todays economy.

Disney cannot do anything about pins being produced in the phillipines, China or any other third world countries for that matter. I don't think that folks with scrappers on laynards are not going to be denied into the parks. the problem lies when folks sell the pins, original or not on Ebay......I'm sorry about my rant, let the flaming begin, but the truth of the matter is this happened in the sports card world about 10 years ago, when adults started trying to sell cards for more than the cardboard it was printed on, It drove the exact population that it was directed at away......children..... So beware! hopefully there are enough folks out there in pin trading world that still see your pins as a hobby and not a ways to income.

lastly, I speak first hand, a recovering addict if you will, I would stand in front of department stores and Toy stores and the disney store in hopes of getting a hold of that rare Star wars figure, beanie baby, starting lineup, and in the very end.....I had boxes of stuff. I started taking them to the Hospital I worked at and started donating the items to sick children did I find their true value!!!!!! I say the next scrapper you have, or seriously if you are trying to sell pins for 2.00 on ebay, next time you go to Disney, pick out a few pins and give them away. Smiles are much more valuable!

 

[wdw4us2]

Scuba - I'm sorry to hear of the trouble you encountered trading in DTD. My family and I have steered clear of trading there since very early in Disney pin trading history because of bad experiences.

As far as your child trading - it's always better for kids to stick with trading with Cast Members. The CM's always seem to make the experience an enjoyable one for kids. You might also want to try to attend a pin trading event and look for traders who keep a special board/page with their traders just for kids. I have often given pins to just so they would have a special experience and want to continue trading.

 

[thelionqueen]

Look, some of you have no one to blame except for yourselves, I got on here one evening and described what happened to my beloved sports cards and it's eventual collapse, when folks start assigning a value to your pins then it lets in folks that my have less scruples than yourselves....I have no doubt that most of you on this board are very passionate about your pins, but it's just that , a pin, you assign value on said pin by what you get from it...like the OP indicated the friends you made from the little pieces of metal. You have to have more enjoyment in the pin instead of looking at a book of pins and saying....thats worth alot of money. I wrote ealrlier in the year about a miserable experience where my 3 year old was shunned buy a pro collector at DTD, and I have since regrouped myself because of it. My 3 year old.......MY CHILD could care less if she has a Laynard full of "scrappers" that we bought at one of the tourist traps outside of WDW. My daughter has mostly original pins on her lyanrd, however I also traded for a scrapper if you will at WDW from a cast member.....so it's at all levels. I'm sorry I'm ranting, however if you would have been there at DTD after my daughter was sent packing I cannot help but think that alot of the Pin traders are more interested in VALUE than the enjoyment of the pins. I was told over and over that I shouldn't lump everyone in to the same groupos, however your post would seem to imply that the pins are more valuable then what you paid for them....truth of the matter, they aren't, expecially in todays economy.

Disney cannot do anything about pins being produced in the phillipines, China or any other third world countries for that matter. I don't think that folks with scrappers on laynards are not going to be denied into the parks. the problem lies when folks sell the pins, original or not on Ebay......I'm sorry about my rant, let the flaming begin, but the truth of the matter is this happened in the sports card world about 10 years ago, when adults started trying to sell cards for more than the cardboard it was printed on, It drove the exact population that it was directed at away......children..... So beware! hopefully there are enough folks out there in pin trading world that still see your pins as a hobby and not a ways to income.

lastly, I speak first hand, a recovering addict if you will, I would stand in front of department stores and Toy stores and the disney store in hopes of getting a hold of that rare Star wars figure, beanie baby, starting lineup, and in the very end.....I had boxes of stuff. I started taking them to the Hospital I worked at and started donating the items to sick children did I find their true value!!!!!! I say the next scrapper you have, or seriously if you are trying to sell pins for 2.00 on ebay, next time you go to Disney, pick out a few pins and give them away. Smiles are much more valuable!

I love reading passionate posts, and yours is definitely one; thanks for taking the time to share! I have seen young kids shunned by the "professional" pin traders at Disney and it chaps me too. Especially if it were my kid (luckily, never was). Those people are very serious and on a much different level than the general population of traders. Most are "less than desirable" as well (not all, just a general statement).

However, I think you missed one of the points trying to be discussed here. I would hasten to say that most people agree that kids don't care what kind of pin they have; whether it's worth $100 or .01 cent. They love the trade (heck, don't we all?). What is at issue is not the value of the pin, or the value of the collection (speaking for myself) but that there are counterfeit pins overloading the entire pin trading community. Ones that are reproduced by the thousands (millions even? don't know) and are infiltrated into the community by those pin traders who do care. I buy my pins to trade for other pins of the same quality. To me it doesn't matter what a pin is worth in dollars, but if I'm going to trade a pin I expect to get one of the same quality.

There are those that DO care, very much, about the value of a pin or their collection, but I think they are in the minority. Most pin traders like to trade and find "treasures" to add to their collection. But when you have these completely low quality and mass produced "scrappers" everywhere you turn, it completely changes the face of how pin trading is supposed to be.

The CM's are usually clueless about these scrappers and trade them over and over for the most part. Then you get a savvy CM who does see a scrapper and the trader can (not usually though as I've seen) get turned away. Likely the person got the scrapper from a CM too; it's VERY annoying!

Disney is doing something about everything they produce in the US and abroad and I know this is one issue they are "tackling" head on. Whether or not we see any changes in the immediate future is highly unlikely. But the fact that they are aware and at least attempting to "police" the process is hopeful.

I just don't want people to "turn a blind eye" and trade scrappers, when they know they are scrappers, for authentic pins; it hurts everyone. Just my .02

 

[scuba]

I love reading passionate posts, and yours is definitely one; thanks for taking the time to share! I have seen young kids shunned by the "professional" pin traders at Disney and it chaps me too. Especially if it were my kid (luckily, never was). Those people are very serious and on a much different level than the general population of traders. Most are "less than desirable" as well (not all, just a general statement).

However, I think you missed one of the points trying to be discussed here. I would hasten to say that most people agree that kids don't care what kind of pin they have; whether it's worth $100 or .01 cent. They love the trade (heck, don't we all?). What is at issue is not the value of the pin, or the value of the collection (speaking for myself) but that there are counterfeit pins overloading the entire pin trading community. Ones that are reproduced by the thousands (millions even? don't know) and are infiltrated into the community by those pin traders who do care. I buy my pins to trade for other pins of the same quality. To me it doesn't matter what a pin is worth in dollars, but if I'm going to trade a pin I expect to get one of the same quality.

There are those that DO care, very much, about the value of a pin or their collection, but I think they are in the minority. Most pin traders like to trade and find "treasures" to add to their collection. But when you have these completely low quality and mass produced "scrappers" everywhere you turn, it completely changes the face of how pin trading is supposed to be.

The CM's are usually clueless about these scrappers and trade them over and over for the most part. Then you get a savvy CM who does see a scrapper and the trader can (not usually though as I've seen) get turned away. Likely the person got the scrapper from a CM too; it's VERY annoying!

Disney is doing something about everything they produce in the US and abroad and I know this is one issue they are "tackling" head on. Whether or not we see any changes in the immediate future is highly unlikely. But the fact that they are aware and at least attempting to "police" the process is hopeful.

I just don't want people to "turn a blind eye" and trade scrappers, when they know they are scrappers, for authentic pins; it hurts everyone. Just my .02

Nice post, I appreciate very much not getting drug too far, I understand now alittle more of the substance of the post, I think that everyone can agree that the Pins in themselves are not very difficult to reproduce in counterfit, and lets face it, the scrappers are actually counterfit, however I have actually purchased pins from department stores, that for the most part are authentic licenced disney products, To an advid Dis pin collector that might be considered a scrapper I would believe. The question is then to the pin collectors is how much would one be willing to spend for more security? maybe an encription chip, something enbedded in the metal that could be scanned, hopefully we wouldn't see and civil liberties groups getting involved citing that the goverment is tracking pin collectors now. I did run to My personnal laynyrd that is filled with scuba disney pins and pirate pins and founs several that I know 100% was purchased at disney that had different stampings on the back, you have GOT to get Disney 100% on board with keeping everything consistant. several of my pins are stamped year 2000 where some have the traditional Mickey ears. I would contend that if WE, the non-pro pin collectors, knew what to look for then we would be less wiling to buy a scrapper.

The problem is folks outside of the pin collecting groups are seeing income, folks that could care less who is being hurt by these scrappers. I would contend that the folks on Ebay that are buying lots of pins are for the most part, uneducated pin collectors like myself, I know now the harm that it could cause serious passionate pin collectors, i could care less about the pro pin collector, But so far the folks that have responded to this thread I believe to be very passionate about these pins, and thus I'm willing to protect by not buying these types of lots if you think it might help. I am going to think twice about buying lots. I would like to ask if any of you have any suggestions in todays economy what you might suggest when it comes to buying pins that well, my daughter might just lose in a day or two, 8.00 a pop for a pin is pricey. so It is certainly tempting to buy these lots to trade. I think that disney could have sub catagories of trading pins. still have your 8.00 pin but howabout soe 2.00 pins that cast members can trade with the 3 year olds, and inturn you guys know that its a dollar pin instead?

Our family and friends are booked for a trip in september, I actually had planned on buying one of those pin Lots on ebay, in order for our Daughter trade with cast members, but knowing now what I know thanks to this thread I Won't. However it is hard to resist buying pins at $.50 cents per pin in lots to trade for a tink pin. I have no idea what each pin is worth or if its rare. We found ourselfs buying stupid pins from the stores at disney in order to trade for tinkerbells. I found myself buying more expensive pins for my daughter to keep only for her to trade it to a cast member for another pin that i darn well knew was cheaper...I just had to bite my tongue, and as a recovering collector I had to put myself on life support.

One more thing about buying Lots of pins on ebay, hopefully some of the Pro collectors I'm talking about are not scanning the listings, i would contend that most of the folks that the OP was refering to were harmless, I had a large garage sale last year, sold alot of Disney beanies for 1.00 apiece. A woman came in and nearly bought the entire lot, her rational was she leaves for disney in 1 week, was going to pack the beanies and instead of buying disney items at 10.00 apiece would whip out her new beanies she bought from me. I would contend that she stood to save hundreds. Wow i'm very wordy, but it's very a interesting subject to me

 

[thelionqueen]

I agree with everything you posted Scuba, well put! And THANK YOU VERY MUCH for deciding not to buy the lots on ebay, that is to be highly commended
There ARE some reputable sellers of pins on ebay, you just have to be cautious. There is another thread on the collectors board that I have posted on that lists several. These are all sellers that DISer's have received pins from, that were authentic and a good price.
I personally have dealt with 3 I really liked (can't remember them off the top of my head, but they are on the other thread) that were all authentic with free shipping (worked out to about $2.50-3.00 per pin). Check it out.
Again, thanks for the thoughtful and insightful post!

 

[scuba]

now 2-3 dollars a pin I can handle, but 8.00 a pin at disney for our 3 year old to trade when we can buy lots on ebay for .50 or so is very tempting to most. I'll track your thread down and take a look at some of their listings, and I aways want to be apart of the solution and not the problem, so you can hold me to my statement about the lots....regards, scuba

 

[agnes!]

hadn't finished editing - see next post

 

[agnes!]

...I think that everyone can agree that the Pins in themselves are not very difficult to reproduce in counterfit, and lets face it, the scrappers are actually counterfit,

Wellllllll, to me? Kind of...

It depends on what one thinks 'scrappers' are. I would designate what I call 'scrappers' as
pins made from authentic Disney designs on machines that use authorized metal-dies,
in factories that Disney actually contracts with and
probably even painted/colors filled in by people trained on the proper/Disney colors
*however* these pin-runs or orders are not authorized or approved by Disney corporate. These pins are an odd animal to me - I've seen these pins, they are so close to the authorized ones - the designs are exactly the same, but the finish is too brassy or the paint-colors are wrong or the lettering on the back is wrong (saying something like 'Copyright Walt Disney Productions" with a too-old year of 2007 for instance). To me they're not technically "counterfeit", but they are unauthorized. I just wish Disney would stop this diluting of available pins at the source - I think they could choose to do so if they really wanted to, they sure go after day-cares that have a Mickey Mouse on the wall - but it seems to me that Corporate just looks the other way. Disney Corporate is addicted to the cost-sell ratio - the dirt-cheap cost of manufacturing the pins in China coupled with the outrageous prices they sell them for in their retail outlets...

I think of counterfeit pins as ones that are wholly made-up, for instance I've seen pins that have Mickey Mouse & Marilyn Monroe & a Coke bottle....totally unauthorized, copyright infringements galore, never sold by Disney, no connection to Disney whatsoever. But just the same, I do have a counterfeit pin that has a Stitch, Coca-Cola logo, McDonald's logo and the lettering "Walt Disney's". I know it's a counterfeit, I traded for it, but I like it anyway.

however I have actually purchased pins from department stores, that for the most part are authentic licenced disney products, To an advid Dis pin collector that might be considered a scrapper I would believe.

Oh, no those probably aren't scrappers at all! Authorized Disney pins can be bought from other places not just from Disney parks or Disney Stores or any of the other various Disney-operated/licensed venues(Disney Soda Shop in Hollywood, for instance). As a matter of fact, if you run into a true collector who specializes in a particular character and they didn't have one of your 'department store' pins - they would probably LOVE to trade you for it! Sometimes those pins can be hard to find for a collector. I got some pins years ago from a gift store that were Classic Poohs and the Pooh/Piglet/Eeyore/Tigger collectors loved them.

...I did run to My personnal laynyrd that is filled with scuba disney pins and pirate pins and founs several that I know 100% was purchased at disney that had different stampings on the back, you have GOT to get Disney 100% on board with keeping everything consistant. several of my pins are stamped year 2000 where some have the traditional Mickey ears. I would contend that if WE, the non-pro pin collectors, knew what to look for then we would be less wiling to buy a scrapper.

Maybe Disney changes the markings on the back to make it harder for scrappers to manufacture pins that look "right" but that actually dilute the trading pool...kind of what the US Mint does with changing the $5/$10/$20/$100 bills? I like the years changing, Disney re-cycles their designs and pin-dies, sometimes pins will be very rare in their initial run but then will re-surface in a later year in a bigger edition-size. Plus if you are trying to complete a particular year you probably wouldn't want a 2007 muddling up your 2000 collection.
I really think that Disney Corporate could force at least 'their' factories in China to toe the line a lot more if Disney really wanted to.

The problem is folks outside of the pin collecting groups are seeing income, folks that could care less who is being hurt by these scrappers.

Yeah, a lot of greedy people are ruining it for the rest of us.

I would contend that the folks on Ebay that are buying lots of pins are for the most part, uneducated pin collectors like myself, I know now the harm that it could cause serious passionate pin collectors, i could care less about the pro pin collector, But so far the folks that have responded to this thread I believe to be very passionate about these pins, and thus I'm willing to protect by not buying these types of lots if you think it might help. I am going to think twice about buying lots. I would like to ask if any of you have any suggestions in todays economy what you might suggest when it comes to buying pins that well, my daughter might just lose in a day or two, 8.00 a pop for a pin is pricey. so It is certainly tempting to buy these lots to trade. I think that disney could have sub catagories of trading pins. still have your 8.00 pin but howabout soe 2.00 pins that cast members can trade with the 3 year olds, and inturn you guys know that its a dollar pin instead?

Our family and friends are booked for a trip in september, I actually had planned on buying one of those pin Lots on ebay, in order for our Daughter trade with cast members, but knowing now what I know thanks to this thread I Won't. However it is hard to resist buying pins at $.50 cents per pin in lots to trade for a tink pin. I have no idea what each pin is worth or if its rare. We found ourselfs buying stupid pins from the stores at disney in order to trade for tinkerbells. I found myself buying more expensive pins for my daughter to keep only for her to trade it to a cast member for another pin that i darn well knew was cheaper...I just had to bite my tongue, and as a recovering collector I had to put myself on life support.

Oh yeah...been there done that. When our DD was younger she usually only got rack pins (or some older pins that I already had and didn't want any more) to trade, nothing LE or rare.

One more thing about buying Lots of pins on ebay,...

Disney might not be able to police the entire Internet, but I think they could certainly shut down the scrapper-sellers on EBay if they really wanted to.

As a fellow collector of other stuff (like you used to collect sports cards)... I used to collect dolls when I was a kid, recently consigned some for auction and have already sold quite a few. And I've decided that I can NEVER again collect anything with a face! Getting rid of the dolls and even some of my Ty Beanies has been too traumatic - pins I can handle, but no more dolls (and no more Beanie Babies either!)

Liked a lot of your post, hope you don't mind my looooooong reponse.
agnes!

 

[scuba]

Wow, I just got off of Ebay and it does appears as though many of you have a significant problem with the hobby you love...unlike my sports cards, there was little desire for most counterfitters, and my other hobby, collecting and occasionally smoking cigars...well even if it is a counterfit, you smoke it and if you don't like it then you just toss it out.

I was scanning ebay, looking for a semi-rare, semi-collectable Ariel or Tinkerbell pin to be a cornerstone for our daughters laynard, something in the neighborhood or 25.00 or so, but now that i know that these counterfits are running so rampant....any suggestions for a rare-semi-rare pin of Ariel or tinkerbell with a smaller incident of being a scrapper.......wow I had no idea this was such a problem....any idea how many Disney pin collectors are out there? you guys might actually out number sports card collectors?

 

[pixiewings71]

Wellllllll, to me? Kind of...

It depends on what one thinks 'scrappers' are. I would designate what I call 'scrappers' as
pins made from authentic Disney designs on machines that use authorized metal-dies,
in factories that Disney actually contracts with and
probably even painted/colors filled in by people trained on the proper/Disney colors
*however* these pin-runs or orders are not authorized or approved by Disney corporate. These pins are an odd animal to me - I've seen these pins, they are so close to the authorized ones - the designs are exactly the same, but the finish is too brassy or the paint-colors are wrong or the lettering on the back is wrong (saying something like 'Copyright Walt Disney Productions" with a too-old year of 2007 for instance). To me they're not technically "counterfeit", but they are unauthorized. I just wish Disney would stop this diluting of available pins at the source - I think they could choose to do so if they really wanted to, they sure go after day-cares that have a Mickey Mouse on the wall - but it seems to me that Corporate just looks the other way. Disney Corporate is addicted to the cost-sell ratio - the dirt-cheap cost of manufacturing the pins in China coupled with the outrageous prices they sell them for in their retail outlets...

I think of counterfeit pins as ones that are wholly made-up, for instance I've seen pins that have Mickey Mouse & Marilyn Monroe & a Coke bottle....totally unauthorized, copyright infringements galore, never sold by Disney, no connection to Disney whatsoever. But just the same, I do have a counterfeit pin that has a Stitch, Coca-Cola logo, McDonald's logo and the lettering "Walt Disney's". I know it's a counterfeit, I traded for it, but I like it anyway.



Oh, no those probably aren't scrappers at all! Authorized Disney pins can be bought from other places not just from Disney parks or Disney Stores or any of the other various Disney-operated/licensed venues(Disney Soda Shop in Hollywood, for instance). As a matter of fact, if you run into a true collector who specializes in a particular character and they didn't have one of your 'department store' pins - they would probably LOVE to trade you for it! Sometimes those pins can be hard to find for a collector. I got some pins years ago from a gift store that were Classic Poohs and the Pooh/Piglet/Eeyore/Tigger collectors loved them.



Maybe Disney changes the markings on the back to make it harder for scrappers to manufacture pins that look "right" but that actually dilute the trading pool...kind of what the US Mint does with changing the $5/$10/$20/$100 bills? I like the years changing, Disney re-cycles their designs and pin-dies, sometimes pins will be very rare in their initial run but then will re-surface in a later year in a bigger edition-size. Plus if you are trying to complete a particular year you probably wouldn't want a 2007 muddling up your 2000 collection.
I really think that Disney Corporate could force at least 'their' factories in China to toe the line a lot more if Disney really wanted to.



Yeah, a lot of greedy people are ruining it for the rest of us.



Oh yeah...been there done that. When our DD was younger she usually only got rack pins (or some older pins that I already had and didn't want any more) to trade, nothing LE or rare.



Disney might not be able to police the entire Internet, but I think they could certainly shut down the scrapper-sellers on EBay if they really wanted to.

As a fellow collector of other stuff (like you used to collect sports cards)... I used to collect dolls when I was a kid, recently consigned some for auction and have already sold quite a few. And I've decided that I can NEVER again collect anything with a face! Getting rid of the dolls and even some of my Ty Beanies has been too traumatic - pins I can handle, but no more dolls (and no more Beanie Babies either!)

Liked a lot of your post, hope you don't mind my looooooong reponse.
agnes!

Actually these are commonly referred to as "fantasy" pins, I have seen so many of these and I too have a few. When I first purchased them from eBay I didn't know what fantasy pins were, I only knew they were listed as LE's and I really liked them. I got them for not a lot of $$ but when I received and realized they were not Disney pins I was quite annoyed with the seller. I felt he should have noted in his descriptions that they were not tradeable with CM's and they did not have a Disney copyright on them. He said he didn't have to do that because they were listed as "fantasy" pins, my reply was that as a new pin trader I was unfamiliar with that term and did not think to ask first. I left positive feedback because I was happy with our trans. but did note in my FB that they were not tradeable with CMs. He has since put a note on his auctions stating that CMs will not trade for his fantasy pins. I have since stopped purchasing from him because I purchased a few pins from him that I never received, after about 4 months of going back and forth with him I asked for a refund, he laughed at me so I filed with my credit card company and got a refund. So, as much as I liked his fantasy pins I won't buy from him anymore.

Wow, I just got off of Ebay and it does appears as though many of you have a significant problem with the hobby you love...unlike my sports cards, there was little desire for most counterfitters, and my other hobby, collecting and occasionally smoking cigars...well even if it is a counterfit, you smoke it and if you don't like it then you just toss it out.

I was scanning ebay, looking for a semi-rare, semi-collectable Ariel or Tinkerbell pin to be a cornerstone for our daughters laynard, something in the neighborhood or 25.00 or so, but now that i know that these counterfits are running so rampant....any suggestions for a rare-semi-rare pin of Ariel or tinkerbell with a smaller incident of being a scrapper.......wow I had no idea this was such a problem....any idea how many Disney pin collectors are out there? you guys might actually out number sports card collectors?

Who knows how many of us there are, but there are a LOT!!!! And we are all over the world too. Your DD likes Ariel and Tink? I have a few nice Ariel's that I might part with.....I collect Tink myself, I have 2 full pages in my pin book and my girls each have a corkboard covered with Tinks....lol What exactly might you be looking for and would you have something to trade?

 

[LJC1861]

This has been a VERY interesting read!

Peggie--Like you, I remember the early days of pin trading...the days when it was just as much fun to run into a pin trading friend as it was to trade for a hard to find pin. It was SO much fun planning the pin meets in NYC and Connecticut...and it WAS just as much about the friends and the friendships as it was the pins. Those days still make me smile and bring back some wonderful memories.....also some not so fun memories ( the glass ceiling falling from the weight of the ice at the Sony building...)

I too have largely stopped trading and collecting. The only things left in my collection are my disney figure skating pins, my NYC Disney Store pins and my Scoop Sanderson PTP. Everything else is gone.

I still bring my lime green girl scout type sash covered with pins to WDW in the hopes that I can do some trading with wide eyed little pin traders....that is if I can convince their parents that I am not an ogre who will steal all their child's pins. I still believe in the spirit of the trade and the connections that can be made. I still believe wholeheartedly in making someone's day and spreading a bit of magic when I trade.

Never again will I stand for hours outside of the Pin store in DTD, or Pin Central in Epcot. Never again will I barter for pins...unless it has a figure skater on it! I will always continue to give away pins and help people learn to trade.

Are some of the pins I trade with and for scrappers? Probably. Does it matter to me? Not really. Do scrapper pins make beginning pin traders smile and learn to love the idea of pin trading....YOU BET!!! Do I think it is right that scrapper pins are out there? NO I don't....but it is not going to stop me from meeting people by sharing a pin.

That's enough for now.......

Linda

 

[dannewi]

Newbie here and I just want to say that I truly appreciate all the great knowledge and information that is provided in these chats. If anyone had asked me two weeks ago about Disney Pins I would have had no clue to what they were talking about. I found this thread very interesting and also very impressed with the courtesy that was given to each opinion.

I am interested in starting my kids on the pin collecting and to be honest, the lot prices on eBay are very tempting. Especially to get started. Thinking why would I want to spend $4.00-8.00 on a pin they might trade. Why not just get the $1.50 lot and if they get some they like, they can keep, but they can trade the ones they don't like. So for a newbie it is very tempting.

My personal opionion...I don't want to support counterfeits. It does not matter if it's pins, shoes, purses, jewelry or clothes. eBay counterfeits are rampant in all items the we have all put value on. I think it has become extremely difficult for companies to pursue and take action. I was once a distributor for a craft stamp company and they had a policy for eBay selling. Not only was I competing with local distributors, but now eBay became my competitor. Unless you had a huge business on Ebay and the company could easily prove that you were in violation of the policy, the company found it very difficult to shut them down. I think we all wish that the larger companies like Disney could do it, but I don't think it will happen any time soon

Another crazy example....Beanie Babies !!! Do you remember not being able to get in McDonalds for lunch because all the people thinking they were going to get rich hoarding Teenie Beenies? And the poor little kids who really wanted them could not get them. Now people cannot get rid of regular Beanies. A guy at my work is till trying to get rid of his stockpile.

Being new to this pin trading, I hope it is not as crazy. In the mean time I have a good 6 months to get a little starter collection going for my kids. I'll just keep reading all the good info here.

Thanks again for all the great info.

 

[pixiewings71]

Newbie here and I just want to say that I truly appreciate all the great knowledge and information that is provided in these chats. If anyone had asked me two weeks ago about Disney Pins I would have had no clue to what they were talking about. I found this thread very interesting and also very impressed with the courtesy that was given to each opinion.

I am interested in starting my kids on the pin collecting and to be honest, the lot prices on eBay are very tempting. Especially to get started. Thinking why would I want to spend $4.00-8.00 on a pin they might trade. Why not just get the $1.50 lot and if they get some they like, they can keep, but they can trade the ones they don't like. So for a newbie it is very tempting.

My personal opionion...I don't want to support counterfeits. It does not matter if it's pins, shoes, purses, jewelry or clothes. eBay counterfeits are rampant in all items the we have all put value on. I think it has become extremely difficult for companies to pursue and take action. I was once a distributor for a craft stamp company and they had a policy for eBay selling. Not only was I competing with local distributors, but now eBay became my competitor. Unless you had a huge business on Ebay and the company could easily prove that you were in violation of the policy, the company found it very difficult to shut them down. I think we all wish that the larger companies like Disney could do it, but I don't think it will happen any time soon

Another crazy example....Beanie Babies !!! Do you remember not being able to get in McDonalds for lunch because all the people thinking they were going to get rich hoarding Teenie Beenies? And the poor little kids who really wanted them could not get them. Now people cannot get rid of regular Beanies. A guy at my work is till trying to get rid of his stockpile.

Being new to this pin trading, I hope it is not as crazy. In the mean time I have a good 6 months to get a little starter collection going for my kids. I'll just keep reading all the good info here.

Thanks again for all the great info.

Thank You for your feedback. I know your concerns, we have 4 traders in our family and we've got more scrappers than I want to think about. I've purchased pins in lots from mousepinsonline.com and been pleased with what I've received. Do note that they do send Pro Pins, which I think are very nice but many of the hard core traders won't have anything to do with them. They aren't the same "quality" as the standard Disney pins and that I do agree with but for trading with CMs they are fine. Also, there is another thread a bit farther down here where there are some good sellers listed. Check that out!

 

[agnes!]

Actually these are commonly referred to as "fantasy" pins, I have seen so many of these and I too have a few. When I first purchased them from eBay I didn't know what fantasy pins were, I only knew they were listed as LE's and I really liked them. I got them for not a lot of $$ but when I received and realized they were not Disney pins I was quite annoyed with the seller. I felt he should have noted in his descriptions that they were not tradeable with CM's and they did not have a Disney copyright on them. He said he didn't have to do that because they were listed as "fantasy" pins, my reply was that as a new pin trader I was unfamiliar with that term and did not think to ask first. I left positive feedback because I was happy with our trans. but did note in my FB that they were not tradeable with CMs. He has since put a note on his auctions stating that CMs will not trade for his fantasy pins. I have since stopped purchasing from him because I purchased a few pins from him that I never received, after about 4 months of going back and forth with him I asked for a refund, he laughed at me so I filed with my credit card company and got a refund. So, as much as I liked his fantasy pins I won't buy from him anymore. ...

Oh yeah, I know that 'fantasy' is another term for the truly unauthorized pins, but they are still counterfeit/fakes in my opinion, especially when they are sold as being tradeable/authentic.

And that odd little 'Stitch' pin? I think I traded for it off of a CM lanyard.

It's too bad about that unscrupulous EBay fantasy-pin seller, what a *jerk*.

Dannewi - I remember the Beanie Baby and McDonald Happy Meal toy craziness. Today I just gave away some of my Beanies - never had a big collection like some - to a local thrift store. And all the Happy Meal toys - the Disney stuff, the Snow White figurines - they're worth almost what I paid for them at McDonald's. *Almost*.

agnes!