Pin Trading??

[thelionqueen]

For us newbies to pin trading, how can we know when we are ordering online? I'm considering trying this for the first time with my 8 & 10 year olds when we go this summer. If the ebay site says that the pins are authentic and tradeable, how do we know if they really are or not? Maybe for us who are new to this you could give additional helpful info. It sure seems like a good deal when they say "mystery lot of pins for $1 each, authentic and completely tradeable" (or whatever it says, I'm going from memory).

Thanks!!

It can be very confusing and there are many people, just like you, that might think that if the seller says they are authentic and tradeable, they are. That simply is not the truth.

The first thing I would suggest you do is to buy your pins directly from Disney as was the intent from the beginning. I know that is not the answer you were looking for, but especially for someone brand new to pin trading, this is the best option. Not the least expensive for sure, but the best way to start.

If you are leaning towards buying cheaper from ebay vs buying directly from Disney, I urge you to visit the collectors board and search for the ebay pin trading threads. There are at least 2 that I know of that list reputable ebay sellers. If you are definitely going to buy from ebay, please take the time to educate yourself on who is listed as reputable sellers. Many DISer's have listed sellers they've dealt with personally that sell legitimate and authentic pins for less.

The first rule of thumb above all the information listed above is this...
If they are selling pins in huge lots for around a buck, they are fake. Irregardless of the seller (many sellers listed as "power sellers" are those knowingly selling fakes), regardless of the feedback (many of these sellers have 100% feedback) and regardless of the description...if it seems too good to be true (selling a $10 pin for a buck) it is.

As the previous poster noted, there are hundreds of sellers on ebay selling fake pins for a buck (or even less) each in miscellaneous lots (100, 50, choose your own, etc.) They are knowingly buying illegal pins and selling them to unknowing buyers for a huge profit. This is damaging the pin trading community as a whole in massive ways.

Just like the previous poster listed, it has taken the joy out of the hobby for them and they are "done." That is not how this is suppose to be.

Please keep in mind that Disney pin trading is a very expensive hobby...even when you can find authentic pins for less. To get into pin trading as cheaply as possible by buying fake pins diminishes the joy for true pin traders everywhere. Many will say "I don't mind, it's just the kids having fun" or "I'm not a serious trader" or something along those lines. I just hope you know that every single fake pin you buy and trade affects every single person who comes into contact with that pin, which could be hundreds or thousands of people. If you multiply that one instance, by 10 pins per person, by the thousands of people who buy fake pins off ebay, you can see where this is a huge problem.

It is ultimately up to the buyer to determine if they are willing to damage everyone else by buying and trading fake pins. MANY choose to make whatever excuse necessary to justify buying and trading fake pins. I hope that this information educates you enough to make the best decision.

I still LOVE pin trading but have to be very diligent about what I'm trading for. I hope you and your family can enjoy pin trading as much as we do!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

For us newbies to pin trading, how can we know when we are ordering online? I'm considering trying this for the first time with my 8 & 10 year olds when we go this summer. If the ebay site says that the pins are authentic and tradeable, how do we know if they really are or not? Maybe for us who are new to this you could give additional helpful info. It sure seems like a good deal when they say "mystery lot of pins for $1 each, authentic and completely tradeable" (or whatever it says, I'm going from memory).

Thanks!!

If you do buy pins from Disney and pay full price for them remember that when your kids trade them you will probably be trading for scrappers. You won't be able to tell the difference. My kids spent a lot of their own money (and some of mine) buying pins at Disney just to trade. I'm sure we went home with a lanyard full of fakes, but we really didn't care. The kids had a great time trading. Just having fun is what it was about for us. It wasn't about finding pins that were worth money. I guess what I'm trying to say is even if you don't buy the fakes you will probably still end up with them. Then you will re-trade those, and the cycle just continues. There isn't really anything you can do about it. I'm not about to buy all new pins everytime we trade. KWIM. I don't think the CM's even can tell the difference.

BTW. I'm not promoting buying scrappers. I'm just saying what I feel about it.

 

[KiKi Mouse]

How do you tell if they are fake?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

How do you tell if they are fake?

It can be hard. The fakes are generally thinner, lighter weight metal. The font on the back of the pin is often weird. The colors on the front of the pin may be "off", there may be brush strokes visible, there may be big patches of silver instead of those areas having paint. The back of the pin will ALWAYS say Disney, so that is NOT how to tell real pins from fakes. That is generally what the cast members look at. If they are not traders themselves they don't know which pins are fakes. Think of fake pins like any other counterfeit item - purses, money, whatever. They are made to look as similar to the real thing as possible. That's the POINT of counterfeiting.

We started the "alphabet" series last summer and at least half of the ones we found were fakes. In my experience, the "Hidden Mickey" pins are fake more often than the pins you can just buy off the racks. Once in awhile we still find a pin worth trading for. More often, we trade an authentic pin for a fake piece of crap. And I do NOT trade the fakes back into circulation. I add them to a bag with my other fakes, and they sit in a box in my closet.

 

[aldapl]

If you have a Disney Outlet nearby, check there also. We recently got pins for .49 and .99.

 

[thelionqueen]

If you have a Disney Outlet nearby, check there also. We recently got pins for .49 and .99.

Disney store and online store often close out pins, although I haven't seen any pins in the actual stores for a year or possibly two.

If you can find them on clearance, and once in awhile you definitely can, get as many as you can...great idea!!

 

[MommaB]

My DD was only 18 months when she started trading and totally loved it. We also used it as a lesson in manners. She'd sign trade please and would say "please" (the word trade was to tough for her). I was fully ready to have her choose tiny scrappers over and over but she picked some really great ones, mostly centering around her true loves Minne Mouse and Nemo. The CMs were always patient with her and how long it would take to choose and would let her trade and retrade when she changed her mind. It was a perfect distraction when waiting in line for characters, there was always a CM nearby in those last wiggley moments when it was almost her turn!
We bought a starter stash at our Disney Outlet as well.

 

[pixiewings71]

Anyone intereseted in the thread on the collector's board just follow the link in my sig to a huge thread about this very subject. It is very helpful and informative and I urge everyone to give it a read. I do buy pins on eBay but only from certain sellers, use the CB thread, it's got all of my #1 sellers listed. Pin trading is fun and addictive, I hope you guys love it.

 

[enchantingodin]

For all those worried about real and fake sellers on ebay check out this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2213419

Also there is a website called pinpics, they have like EVERY pin ever made listed. You look up a particular pin through their search engine and there in the description it'll tell you if other users have come across that pin as a scrapper (fake) and what the differences were.

Linky: http://pinpics.com/

 

[Muddy Rivers]

My daughter used to wear her Disney pins to "dress up" her school uniform. We would get different holiday ones too! Now that we have quite a few we display them on a cork bulletin board. They really look nice!

 

[anorman]

subscribing

 

[Jen_in_NH]

I've never bought pins off Ebay, as I'd probably get the fakes by accident

I found the cheapest way to get them for my son to trade was to check out the clearance section on the Disney Store website. They seem to have pretty good clearance prices on pin sets, which can be broken down and traded. People might have thought my son was odd for having a lot of Princess pins when he started, but he really liked trading, and probably traded off all of the princesses in a few days.