Pin trading question - sharks?

[rigsfhdgnv]

I've been researching pin trading in anticipation of my upcoming trip to WDW in June. I've found a lot of really helpful information on the boards, so thanks! Recently, though, I came across a comment that I wanted more clarification on. The post talked about pin trading "sharks" who traded cheaper pins (I would assume from a site like mousepinsonline) for ones that have more monetary value....is this frowned upon? I read through the pin trading etiquette, and mainly what I found was that the pins just had to be Disney related...can you give me your views on this?

 

[Brian_WDW74]

to the DIS!

Buying cheaper pins to trade with CMs is fine. It's also fine to trade one with another trader for a similar pin. What the "sharks" do is purposely prey on other, less knowlegeable traders. They find people with a LE (limited edition) or more expensive pin and offer them a cheaper pin for trade. They try to take advantage of traders who don't realize how valuable their pins may actually be.

It's all right to trade a cheap pin for a more valuable one, as long as the other trader knows the true nature of the trade taking place. What may seem to be a cheap pin to you just might be the "holy grail" pin the other trader has been searching for.

 

[feline figaro]

Im very much in to pin trading in a big way but i really frown upon people that do this. Everyone should always be aware of their pins value before you go in to a trade. I ve traded with people on pinpics for pins that are a much lower value than mine just because i was desperate for the pin. In that case the person i traded with got a good deal. Unfortunatly people out there will always look to take advantage of someone who they can tell is nt too clued up on trading. My advice would be to go on a site such as Pin Pics to find out all of your pins true values.

Some people take trading tooo seriously & want exact value trade matches, if they have an Le of 950 & you have Le of 1500 they may want you to throw in an extra pin to make up the value lost. Theree nothing wrong with this but i personally dont quible over differences like that.

I collect Dumbo & Bambi pins which are pretty much always Les so if someone had a pin of either character that i really wanted then id pretty much trade with the whatever i could to get it.

If people get too demanding during trades then just walk a way from the trade, i had to do this at DLRP as people were just being way too demanding on how many pins they wanted back for just 1 of mine

 

[mountdew1]

Sharks like to prey on the less informed. There is nothing saying it can't happen. They just make trades that are to their benefit. Kind of like a car dealer saying "Give me your BMW, and I will give you a Yugo. It's a one to one trade, so no one loses." If you really like/want the pin they are offering, then it's not a problem. I.E. you collect Dumbo pins and they are offering to trade a DL Dumbo pin for your WDW LE pin. You may not have access to the DL Dumbo pin, but they still have a pile of the LE pins in the store. You don't see a problem with the trade, except that the LE pin cost 14.95 and the Dumbo one was only 6.95. If you are happy with it, then fine. But the Shark can now sell that LE pin for minimum of cost, and make 8 bucks. Stuff like that.

 

[tnmomof4]

I don't know much about pins, but I think we kind of got taken advantage of by some guy trading pins in DTD at the Pin Trader store. He had books and books and books of pins. He literally had 1,000s and 1,000s of pins.

My DS started collecting Hidden Mickey pins. There were two specific Hidden Mickey pins that he needed to complete a series.

My DS found those pins in this guys books. He actually had many of the same pin.

This guy said he would trade my DS these pins only if my DS traded him a tin of four pins. Now at the time I didn't realize that these tins of pins were Limited Edition pins. So we went and bought this tin of pins, and he traded my DS. I talked the guy into trading 4 pins since the tin had 4 pins, but he wasn't going to at first, which I couldn't understand since he had many of the same pin my DS wanted.

Then later when I realized how much I spent on that tin of pins, it didn't seem like such a great trade for us. Although.... my DS got the pins he was looking for.

 

[Cool-Beans]

IMO, if you make a trade and you lose out big time, you have only yourself to blame. Always expect that someone else might be trying to get the better deal. Kind of the way the world works. You can't blame the other guy for being smarter than you are.

If you care about the money, do some research or just don't trade. If all you care about is having a pin that you like better, then just trade and don't worry about the money.

DS was very into the pins and the trading. I honestly believe that he learned a lot about business and became a little bit smarter for having done it.

 

[Need An E Ticket]

Can someone point me to a good site that shows pins and there "values"? I don't trade pins but I know my kids would love to, and I would like to learn more about it.

TIA

 

[tnmomof4]

Yep... I am blaming myself. The other guy was smarter than me.

It was the first time we traded pins. I didn't know I had to do research.

Now I know.

I didn't really worry about the money I spent, because like I said, my DS got the pins he was looking for.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

Can someone point me to a good site that shows pins and there "values"? I don't trade pins but I know my kids would love to, and I would like to learn more about it.

TIA

PinPics.com is really the best resource. It's a huge database of Disney pins that lists the date of a pin's release, where it was released, the cost when it was released, and whether it was a "rack" pin, a Limited Edition pin (usually along with the edition size) or some other type of pin, along with other useful information. It's the place that most traders--including the sharks--go to get their pin information.

 

[rt2dz]

The way I see it, my kids are doing the trading to have fun. Whether or not they "make out" or are "taken advantage of", is irrelevant. Of course, I have them trade with CMs only.

DS traded a LE pin of 500 at WDW last year. The CM was "Are you sure?" It was a valuable pin (I've checked recently), but he didn't like it--not a character he was fond of, a bit large and heavy. That CM did not put that pin on her lanyard, but in her pocket and sealed the pocket. It made my stomach turn a bit, but I gave him the pin and it did only cost me $3 on clearance at Disney Shopping. It turned out though that the pin he picked instead was even more valuable, so it was a good trade. Another CM was telling him not to trade that pin and why. The second CM was even shocked it was on the first CM's lanyard. I've checked on that pin too, and sure enough, what the second CM told us was true.

As long as my kids are happy, it is a good trade.

 

[Dead-metal]

I don't know much about pins, but I think we kind of got taken advantage of by some guy trading pins in DTD at the Pin Trader store. He had books and books and books of pins. He literally had 1,000s and 1,000s of pins.

My DS started collecting Hidden Mickey pins. There were two specific Hidden Mickey pins that he needed to complete a series.

My DS found those pins in this guys books. He actually had many of the same pin.

This guy said he would trade my DS these pins only if my DS traded him a tin of four pins. Now at the time I didn't realize that these tins of pins were Limited Edition pins. So we went and bought this tin of pins, and he traded my DS. I talked the guy into trading 4 pins since the tin had 4 pins, but he wasn't going to at first, which I couldn't understand since he had many of the same pin my DS wanted.

Then later when I realized how much I spent on that tin of pins, it didn't seem like such a great trade for us. Although.... my DS got the pins he was looking for.

Really you should trade one pin for one pin and I've found that rather than feed the sharks it's cheaper to look on e-bay if you need a pin to complete a collection. It may take time for the pin to go on sale but in general it is worth the wait.

 

[rigsfhdgnv]

This thread has really helped me clarify the difference between a shark and someone who trades to have a collection that means a lot to them. Thanks for all the great responses!

 

[missj1975]

I have never come across a pin shark on my many trips to WDW. But that could be because I only trade with cast members. There are plenty of cast members with lanyards to trade with and I have never had a bad experience with a cast member.

Pin trading is suppose to be fun and a person can start to loose that fun if he or she starts worrying about the value of the pin. All you have to do is ask yourself, do you like the pin? If you do, trade for it.

Pinpics is a great source of information for the original cost of the pin. Just like any collectible, the value of the pin is determined by what someone is willing to pay for the pin and that changes every week.

***just a note to the person who was sickened by the cast member putting the pin in her pocket. You don't know that she was keeping it for herself (especially since she could lose her job over that). She could have been pulling it aside for a pin board***

 

[Need An E Ticket]

Thanks Brian, I will check it out

 

[rt2dz]

***just a note to the person who was sickened by the cast member putting the pin in her pocket. You don't know that she was keeping it for herself (especially since she could lose her job over that). She could have been pulling it aside for a pin board***

Let me clarify; I wasn't sickened that the CM put the pin her pocket, I was sickened my DS traded such a cool pin! DH and I actually laughed that she was keeping the pin for herself--she told us that. At the time I didn't know that was a big no, no, but even still it doesn't bother me at all that she kept it.

 

[JDGOtter]

Disney Official Pin Trading
http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/page?id=getStarted

 

[missj1975]

Let me clarify; I wasn't sickened that the CM put the pin her pocket, I was sickened my DS traded such a cool pin! DH and I actually laughed that she was keeping the pin for herself--she told us that. At the time I didn't know that was a big no, no, but even still it doesn't bother me at all that she kept it.

Ahhh, now I see. Thanks for the clarification.

I am always amazed by the cool pins that I find on the lanyards. I am glad people trade all sorts of pins and not just "cheap" pins because it makes pin trading more enjoyable, you never know what you will find.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I just wanted to say not everyone who trades pins at Disney's Pin Traders in Downtown Disney Marketplace, or any other pin trading event/location would be a shark because they have a lot of pin bags. I consider myself a serious pin collector/trader, however I would never try to shark anyone on purporse for my own personal gain. Yes it's true there might be the odd pin shark there, however not everyone out there is like that. So my best advice when your trading with someone who is not a Cast Member, don't be afraid to say no thank you to a trade offer if you don't think it sounds right.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

My DD6 has a lanyard and friends have bought her some pins to put on it to trade at WDW in June. She has selected those she wishes to trade and I was planning to allow her to trade with cast members or other kids in the park. She is doing it to swap pins she doesn't really like so much for those she thinks are pretty. I don't think any of the pins she has are worth a lot of money but she is only doing it for fun anyway. We will see how we get on - never done it before.

Lx