Pin Trading

[BLAMBKY]

Ok, my kids are 14 & 11. Neither have ever done any pin trading. Are there "rules"? I have seen post in the past that some people have had good luck w/ ordering online for better prices. Where do I go to find these? We LOVE Ep Are there specific pins for the countries?
Sorry if these are silly questions, never even thought about doing this before now, so I have not paid close attention.

 

[Minnie J]

Some people(like myself) go to ebay.com for some pins. They have a thread for checking pin validity

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2213419

This will help you alot!!

 

[LovesHerTaurus]

Ok, my kids are 14 & 11. Neither have ever done any pin trading. Are there "rules"? I have seen post in the past that some people have had good luck w/ ordering online for better prices. Where do I go to find these? We LOVE Ep Are there specific pins for the countries?
Sorry if these are silly questions, never even thought about doing this before now, so I have not paid close attention.

It totally made our trip and was so much fun!

We preordered a set from ebay in 40 - 10 for each of us. While there, they loved it so much I bought them each a few mystery packs for they ended up with about 14 each. Awesome way to talk to people, chat with cast members and a great souvenir!

Rules I heard about - don't touch other people's pins and don't be pushy. I had a stitch pin on my lanyard that was my daughter's because I had traded a pin for her earlier in the day. At the Stitch ride, one boy about 15 was getting super pushy about getting my pin. Like in my face pushy. It was a bad scene and his parents stood there smiling like they were proud of him for being assertive or something. Ugh.

 

[SGMCO]

My DS 14 has done it the last few trips and he really likes it and
says look for the pins with the hidden mickey shape on them they are more collectable.
Plus there are groups of pins from themed collections--EX: 1 of 4, then the others will say on back 2 of 4, 3 of 4 and 4 of 4 then you know you have all of the pins.

We always get a pin from the resort we stay at as a rememberance of our stay there. Last trip he traded with a CM and got a
Dixielanding pin (the old name for Port Orleans Riverside-this is our favorite resort and he was excited)
He's looking forward to pin trading next month.
Most of all have fun!!

 

[figment_jii]

I've bought pins from ebay in the past and pretty good luck. That being said you just have to be careful and evaluate the sellers as you would for anything else. Perhaps buying only a few the first time to make sure they are okay before committing to a larger number. It's definitely cheaper than buying pins at the park for trading.

As for trading at the parks, my family and I have had lots of fun with that. Remember, with the CM they will trade for any official Disney pin that they do not already have on their lanyard. There are a couple of different color lanyards; I think teal is for children only and maroon indicates management or leads (no restrictions on who can trade).

Yes, please do not be pushy with the cast members. Usually, you'll find them in stores and in the que line as greeters. I don't think any of the ride operators or loaders wear lanyards.

Be aware that there are other guests in the park that may be willing to trade with guests. Some have large pin books and are looking to make trades that give them something of greater value (monetarily normally). I'd be wary of those. I'm sure there are ones that are nice people, but most of the ones I've seen and spoken with are more in the "creepy" variety. I was glad to see that they've kind of started to disappear from in the parks.

 

[rcc866]

I just have my kids trade with cast members

 

[robin19871]

We always buy a 20 pin lot on E Bay for our trip to trade..We also usually buy about 5 at the parks that are special and we do not trade those.. My son (The pins are his for trading) does not like the lanyard hanging around his neck..So I bring 2 small ziploc bags and use one for trading and one for keeping. We also only bring about 5 a day to trade at the park so I am not stuck carrying 20 pins in my purse..

 

[cablguy2]

We just went over July 4th first time we traded and it was a blast. We traded probably 250 pin. We have several great ones left if you interested email me. I got em cheap. And they are the real deal. not the knock offs
Bryan
butler24(@)hotmaildotcom

 

[disneydreaming4now]

I hope this is ok to post here!! lol We love pin trading and have purchased from ebay a few times. I have never had trouble with scrappers and counterfeit pins till this year. We have been trading for many years and LOVE it, I should add. I received pins last week that were knock offs, I have developed an eye for them. I contacted the seller, explained to her the pins were counterfeit (over half of them), and asked what could be done about it. This seller admitted selling fake pins to me. OMG!! I would post the seller but think it may be tacky!! Its not just that one! I had to send 3 different lots back. I will not trade bad pins. I think its a disgrace to pin trading. I just wanted to tell you guys that these sellers know they selling bad pins. So beware!! I wasnt aware of the list thats provided in this forum, good and bad sellers. I SUGGEST (hint hint) following that list. Happy trading....

 

[klburns]

It took my husband and I a while to get into the pin trading; for me I didn't see the point in buying a pin only to turn around and trade it with a cast member for something I "like better." I don't know, it just seemed kind of direction-less. So what I ended up doing was getting some of the cheapest pins I saw (this was before we knew about buying on eBay), and then I trade for a specific type of pins. For example: Disney dogs, Toy Story characters, princesses, etc. Then when I've gotten my pins all switched over to that theme, I take a picture of the lanyard and pick a new theme. Our daughter is 2.5 and we are leaving in two weeks for WDW. This will be the first time she has her own pins, and we're going to take the same approach. Hopefully it will help her easily identify what pin she wants to trade for and not been too attached to the one she has to give up for the trade!