Pin Trading questions from a newbie

[AmyPond]

I have never traded pins before so I'm sorry if these are dumb questions.

Do they have to be Disneyland specific pins or can they be official pins from WDW as well?

I know a lot of people sell random pin lots on ebay. Does anyone know of a reputable ebay seller that has good prices? I don't want to spend a lot but I want to make sure I don't get fake pins.

I own some Disney pins already but I only purchase pins I like so I don't want to trade any of those.

Hmm, I think those are the only questions I have right now. I'll probably think of more later though. Lol.

Also, if you have any other advice or tips about pin trading, feel free to share! Thanks!

 

[redboxcar]

I love pin trading at Disneyland! I just moved from about 20 minutes away to about 5 hours away, so I'm going through withdrawals!

My mother and I used to go pin trading there about 3-4 times a week.

A few tips:

• You can use ANY official Disney pins, as long as they have the Disney stamp on the back. I have traded for pins that came from all around the world! =)
• Downtown Disney usually has the best pins (newer pins, hidden mickeys, etc.) - inside the parks, I haven't had as much luck.
• You can trade pins at the hotels, too! Look in the gift shop and front desk areas.
• Usually around noon (I forget the exact time) there is a pin shop in Frontierland that has cast members with big books of pins (rather than just the small selection from their lanyard) - lines form, but sometimes you can find cool pins there.
• At the same pin shop mentioned above, as well as the one at the exit of Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, there are tables set up for pin traders and a lot of people come and just spend the day hanging out there and trading pins - beware, though - a lot of the people who "set up shop" there are very particular, and CAN deny you a trade (they often only trade for what they want) - so if you have kids or are easily saddened, I might just be cautious

As far as eBay goes, I can't recall any reputable sellers right now, but I do have a word of advice: When you're reading the listings on eBay, a lot of people use the phrase "100% TRADEABLE" to trick people into thinking they are AUTHENTIC Disney pins. Tradeable means that the cast member will not deny you a trade (this is because, as long as you have a Disney stamp, a cast member will not deny you a trade, even if they suspect it is fake). Look for listings that say 100% AUTHENTIC. These, as long as these people are not liars, are usually authentic. I have had some good luck, but be very careful.

If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help. I'm no expert, I only got into pin trading about 10 months ago, but it's so addicting!

Have fun!

 

[AmyPond]

Thanks for all of the info.

I remember someone saying certain colored CM lanyards are just for kids to trade with. What color? I want to make sure I don't go to any of them by accident.

Some listing I saw on ebay do say they are all authentic/official pins and not Europins or some other name (can't remember.) Some have many, many past sales and a 100% rating. So I'd think that's a good sign.

Is there an easy way to spot a fake pin?

 

[Raindown]

I remember someone saying certain colored CM lanyards are just for kids to trade with. What color?

Teal is for kids only.

 

[JaxsonsMom]

I like to buy pins on ebay to trade, I am like you, I usually only buy ones I like so why would I trade them!

Heres a few tips I have learned...

-Look for auctions that show the back of the pins, compare it to pins you already have.
-Look for people that have good explanations. i.e. -worked for Disney or collectors cleaning out.
-Vinylmation are the number one counterfeit pins... For Vinylmantion and Vinylmatin only, the Mickey's stamped on the back should go over the edge and should not have a border.

Remember to have fun trading! My 4 yr old just started doing it and has lots of fun!

Terese

 

[stormys]

I trade pins to, my first trade was on the Magic Disney Cruise (Xmas 2007), later and more traded pins was on WDW (oct 2009). My family and I have plans to go to DLR next November.
I have bought single pins on eBay from serious and reliable persons, but these pins I have bought it principally for my personal collection. Only once I have bought pin lost (50 pzs), I am not sure but if I believe that 5 were conterfeit pins, I separated them from the group and I have them in my collection. The majority of the times when you buy pin lots on eBay it is very probable that at least 2 or 3 are couterfeit pin. If you want to be 100% sure of that what buys it is original, visit this link: "http://dizpinsboards DOT yuku DOT com" (Or make a searh on google for: dizpins boards).
and go to the "Dizpins Sale Board" section. Here you will be able to find people that they sell 100% authentic tredeable pins, it is not economic, the prices go from $1.25uds up to $2.00usd each pin, you even can ask some persons some topic or personage especially pins. I have plans of buying some pins in this place so that my family and I tarde some pins in our next trip to DLR.

p.d. Here are some link where you can see part of my pin collection.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2207034 Post #11.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2177616&page=4 Post #46

 

[pixiewings71]

I like to buy pins on ebay to trade, I am like you, I usually only buy ones I like so why would I trade them!

Heres a few tips I have learned...

-Look for auctions that show the back of the pins, compare it to pins you already have.
-Look for people that have good explanations. i.e. -worked for Disney or collectors cleaning out.
-Vinylmation are the number one counterfeit pins... For Vinylmantion and Vinylmatin only, the Mickey's stamped on the back should go over the edge and should not have a border.

Remember to have fun trading! My 4 yr old just started doing it and has lots of fun!

Terese

Actually the bolded part holds true for any Disney pin that has the Mickey heads stamped into the back....there should never be a "lip" around the edge of ANY pin that has a pattern stamped into the back, if there is you have a scrapper.

Actually, if you click on the link in my signature it will take you to a "super-thread" on the Collector's Board, there you will find quite a lot of information regarding scrappers and eBay sellers. the first page has a list of sellers that many of us have used (myself included) and they are listed in color according to our personal experiences.

Have fun pin trading....not having APs this year sucks because we really love those silly little pins.

 

[AmyPond]

Now I'm wondering if some of the pins I've previous purchased on ebay are real or not.

 

[AmyPond]

So, what if someone buys fake pins on ebay and then trades with a CM. Does that mean that fake pin is going to be on the CMs lanyard and someone like me may accidentally trade and get it thinking it's real?!

 

[redboxcar]

So, what if someone buys fake pins on ebay and then trades with a CM. Does that mean that fake pin is going to be on the CMs lanyard and someone like me may accidentally trade and get it thinking it's real?!

Yes, this is a possibility. But from my understanding, cast members who are diligent and can tell it's a fake pin will try to take that one out of circulation by putting it in their pocket or something. That's some. Others don't care or can't tell.

 

[zeitzeuge]

Look for people with a full lanyard when walking around the parks or DTD/Hotels. They'll be able to help you with whether or not a pin is fake or not. We had a couple given to us through trading and had some of them help point it out.

We don't trade much. We collect a full lanyard each for each trip. It's the most Disney stuff we spend our money on, other than a few tshirts or something. It's our way of commemorating each trip. Christmas, we purchase a lot of Xmas pins, same with our up and coming Halloween trip. We'll collect more halloween, HM and Jack Skellington pins.

The only time we'll usually trade is when we see something rare that's on a CM or if a child comes up and wants to trade. We can't turn them down.

 

[AmyPond]

I only started purchasing pins in the last couple years. I've bought a few at Disneyland. A few at the WDW parks. And a few more on ebay. So far I don't have any I'd want to trade. I'm hoping I can find some cheap ones on ebay to trade on our next trip. I'm kind of picky about which pins I like though. I like ones that are more attraction or park specific as opposed to character pins.

If I can find some cheap pins that I don't really want on ebay, I'll probably just put a couple in my fanny pack (don't laugh!) to trade if I find good ones on CMs. I'd love some hidden mickey pins.

 

[pixiewings71]

Most CM's don't know or really care enough to learn about scrappers, to them any pin that's got a Disney copyright is good and it will go right on their lanyard. I can't tell you how many scrappers we've got from CM's, in fact I don't really want to know...it's sort of depressing. lol That's why I started to try to learn about scrappers, I love pin trading but don't want to waste my money on scrappers. That's also why we have the super thread on the collector's board, it would be nice to get rid of the scrapper sellers....

 

[zeitzeuge]

I only started purchasing pins in the last couple years. I've bought a few at Disneyland. A few at the WDW parks. And a few more on ebay. So far I don't have any I'd want to trade. I'm hoping I can find some cheap ones on ebay to trade on our next trip. I'm kind of picky about which pins I like though. I like ones that are more attraction or park specific as opposed to character pins.

If I can find some cheap pins that I don't really want on ebay, I'll probably just put a couple in my fanny pack (don't laugh!) to trade if I find good ones on CMs. I'd love some hidden mickey pins.

I was just getting ready to give you hell for the fanny pack.

Best advice is to, as people mentioned, purchase some trader pins that are marked as 100% authentic. Most of these people are truthful that mark them that way since if you find out that your pins are fake, the seller on ebay can get into a lot of trouble for false advertising their product. They don't want that OR a negative review to be attached to them. Just don't buy a huge bulk order of them. Buy someone who's selling 10-20 or so.

Also, are you near one of those Disney Outlet shops? We have one in Dallas once a year. I know there are permanent stores in CA. They usually have lots of pins that are cheap as well that are good for trading.

 

[AmyPond]

I was just getting ready to give you hell for the fanny pack.

Best advice is to, as people mentioned, purchase some trader pins that are marked as 100% authentic. Most of these people are truthful that mark them that way since if you find out that your pins are fake, the seller on ebay can get into a lot of trouble for false advertising their product. They don't want that OR a negative review to be attached to them. Just don't buy a huge bulk order of them. Buy someone who's selling 10-20 or so.

Also, are you near one of those Disney Outlet shops? We have one in Dallas once a year. I know there are permanent stores in CA. They usually have lots of pins that are cheap as well that are good for trading.

My fanny pack is by no means a fashion statment. It's purely functional.

I don't think we have any Disney outlet shops near us.

On one of the threads linked earlier, I did see a list of good sellers on ebay (a couple of them I've purchased from before.) I may go see what their cheapest pins are and just buy a few. I doubt we'll want to trade very many so I really only want to buy 5-10 pins before our trip.

 

[Funball]

what redbox car said is correct and i back up the ebay thing.. yeah i would not buy from them..but i have bought at disneystore.com before!