Pin Trading

[hhockman]

I'm planning to let my boys do pin trading this year. Has anyone used reputable websites that sell a pack of starter pins? I know the websites exist, I just don't know which are reputable. Thanks for your help!

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

To begin with, you're kids will love pin trading! It's one of one of my favorite things to do! Before each Disney trip, I go on E-bay and buy about 50 pins. I actually bought a set of 50 about a month ago and it was $34 which included shipping! (It was a little less than $0.70 per pin!) I do bids and if you don't win one, you'll win another! I just trade these pins to get hidden mickeys and ones that I want to keep! This saves my parents A LOT of money since a normal Disney pin is around $7-12. I hope y'all have fun!

 

[webcs]

Your probably better off buying them from ebay then a site. You can look at their selling history. if its good then buy there. ive purchased on ebay 5 times for pins and no problem any time

Note: make sure to buy like 3 weeks ahead or more as for some reason pin sellers seem to deliver slow. look at the shipping state and county to nake sure they are close or u.s. based if you have time restraints.

make sure to get some for yourself too. it not just for he kids. A great way to get to know the cast members. note: cast members with green pin holders are for KIDS only. Blue for you. A hint: look for cast members yiu wouldnt expect to have pins like managers, cleaning staff, DVC booths. They have some great pins. never leave without your pins, some of the best finds are outside of the parks. cant wait to go back!

 

[stargazertechie]

Go check the Collectors board- they have a list of good/bad ebay sellers.

Do NOT buy pins from sellers that are based in China
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have "pick your own lot" offering over 300 pins total
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have large lots (50-100 pins) for less than $1 per pin
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have MULTIPLE large lots
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have ANY negative feedback stating that a buyer got a scrapper. Many pin sellers will have 99% feedback, and when you look close they have had 2 or 3 buyers state they got scrappers.

Do NOT buy pins from sellers who state that the pins will come in individual baggies
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who use phrases like "100% tradeable"
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have feedback from making purchases from pin sellers from China

LOOK for ebay sellers offering pins in original packaging and/or on original backers
LOOK for ebay sellers offering single pins for around $1.00-$2.00 a pin
LOOK for ebay sellers with NO feedback regarding scrappers
LOOK for ebay sellers based in the US
LOOK for ebay sellers on the collector's GOOD SELLERS list


Honestly, buying pins off of ebay is really risky- most of those large lots are either scrappers directly from China, or locals who buy large lots of scrappers and then take them into the parks and trade the scrappers with CMs to get "authentic park traded" pins.

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

The last three years we have bought pins off of e-bay and we haven't had a problem.

 

[photo_chick]

We got a lot of 50 pins from ebay for like $30 to start us off. We saw many of the same pins from our lot on CM's around the parks. I bought from a seller I had previously bought individual pins from. As always, with ebay you have to use some common sense.

edited to add... I forgot to say, of our 50 pins a handful were scrappers. We found this when we checked with the sites online to make sure what we had was trade-able.

 

[Scrooge Jr]

Go check the Collectors board- they have a list of good/bad ebay sellers.

Do NOT buy pins from sellers that are based in China
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have "pick your own lot" offering over 300 pins total
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have large lots (50-100 pins) for less than $1 per pin
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have MULTIPLE large lots
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have ANY negative feedback stating that a buyer got a scrapper. Many pin sellers will have 99% feedback, and when you look close they have had 2 or 3 buyers state they got scrappers.

Do NOT buy pins from sellers who state that the pins will come in individual baggies
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who use phrases like "100% tradeable"
Do NOT buy pins from sellers who have feedback from making purchases from pin sellers from China

LOOK for ebay sellers offering pins in original packaging and/or on original backers
LOOK for ebay sellers offering single pins for around $1.00-$2.00 a pin
LOOK for ebay sellers with NO feedback regarding scrappers
LOOK for ebay sellers based in the US
LOOK for ebay sellers on the collector's GOOD SELLERS list


Honestly, buying pins off of ebay is really risky- most of those large lots are either scrappers directly from China, or locals who buy large lots of scrappers and then take them into the parks and trade the scrappers with CMs to get "authentic park traded" pins.

I wish I had this advice before I began to buy pins.

 

[stitchfan531]

Pin trading is awesome! I'm glad you guys are getting into it! New trading partners!

I would suggest waiting until you get to the World and then take your kids to the big Pin Trading store in Downtown Disney. Let your kids pick their lanyards and starter pins, and let them see the kinds of pins that are out there, so that they know how the process works and what to look for, and can decide for themselves the kinds of pins that they want. IMHO, buying pins online for a kid who's never traded before is a waste of time and money, because you run the risk of getting them, presenting them to your kid, and then getting informed that "pin trading is dumb" scared1 or some sort of nonsense like that. If you include them in the process from the very beginning, you have a much better chance of your kids really getting into it and enjoying it.

That being said, if your kids have already told you that they want to get into Pin Trading, then by all means, full steam ahead. I would still suggest getting your pins from the World itself, but I do understand getting starter pins for cheap online. I'm just kind of paranoid about buying these kinds of things online because of all the hubbub about scrappers. I'd rather get my pins directly from the source, even if it is more expensive.

Let me know what happens. I love pin trading, and I'd be more than happy to trade with your kids when they get theirs! Send me a PM if you're interested!

Good luck, Probie Pin Traders!

 

[bumbles3248]

Thanks for the advice. I bought a couple of pins for DD and DS at a Disneyana show, but they are pins that I'm sure they won't want to trade. I was planning on getting them a starter set when we get down there and see how it goes.

 

[mattsdragon]

They aren't as cheap as they used to be, but you used to be able to get a box of 4 "trader" pins (that's what the wife and I call them) for less than 20 bucks. I think they are a bit more expensive now, but they are good for getting started.

 

[Dorisk3]

Go with eBay. I hate to say this, but don't waste your money on those trader sets at Disney. Your kids are probably just going to be trading for all the same pins you see on eBay. The list on the collectors board seems very out of touch, all the green light sellers never seem to have any auctions up. At some point you just have to be realistic, the pins really don't have any intrinsic value anyway, just a fun thing to do.

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

You will absolutely LOVE pin trading!

Personally, I would not buy your pins at WDW. We did this when we started Pin Trading and spent a small fortune. Since then we have purchased our pins in advance of our trip at MousePinsOnline (MPO). --- www.mousepinsonline.com ---

Remember the purpose of pin trading is to trade pins. The ones you buy are going to be traded away. To us, it doesn't matter what the original pins are (as long as they are "real").

I do NOT trust eBay and have had many people I know use MPO and all have been happy. We first found out about them from neighbors who had bought a grab bag before their trip and saved a ton. For each of our trips we now buy the grab bags and have never received any "bad" pins. We have even received a pin or two that came in the grab bag that my boys have kept rather than trade. You never know what you will get.

Here is what the MPO website has for the grab bags that we buy...

Product: 25 Pin Grab Bag
Grab bag assortment of 25 different Disney trading pins.
Price: $37.50

Pins in our Grab Bags may include Hidden Mickey pins, Cast Lanyard pins, as well as pins you would purchase at Disney parks. We do not sell EuroDisney pins, Sedesma pins.​

I believe that they have a flat $2 shipping rate and they arrive pretty quickly.
I hope this helps.

 

[WantToGoNow]

I have bought from ebay several times over the years and have only received a handful of scrappers. There are a few good sellers. That said, I'm starting to look for our upcoming trip and there seem to be many less sellers than there was two years ago. I would not spend $6-12 a pin at Disney when your kids will probably trade them away for a cheap pin that they see on some cast members lanyard. I usually plan to take around 100 pins for my kids to trade.

 

[DJFan88]

I would not spend $6-12 a pin at Disney when your kids will probably trade them away for a cheap pin that they see on some cast members lanyard.

LOL -Not! Our first year our son did that, but learned from it. Don't let them trade a good one for a starter!

 

[DJFan88]

Oh yeah, and to encourage shy boys to trade, I buy starters they wouldn't go for so they want to get rid of them... I try not to get them flat out girly pins, but you know what you're kid is bound to try and keep and what they would get rid of. It's amazing the confidence the kids get by the end of the trip with speaking to adults.