Pin Trading

[Isaiah4113]

I need the skinny. I’ve been reading a lot of websites and in Facebook groups and I’m getting conflicting information. I thought perhaps the experts who are in the parks all the time can tell me. I read on some pin trading is a fantastic thing and to only buy legit pinS. They tell you who sells scrappers and to avoid him to avoid sellers on eBay and Etsy. When I read others that say pin trading has improved 150% and to be sure to take a lot of pins with you. Which is correct?

 

[china mom]

Just my opinion:. Pin trading is fun if you do it "just for fun", collecting pins based on what you like and chasing down series.

To enjoy pin trading today you have to not take it too seriously and not worry about fakes and scrapoers. The kids and I have a lot of fun with it and I could not tell a scapper or fake if I tried.

 

[squeezle]

I do a little pin trading. I like to collect some of the series in the blind boxes/bags (boxes and bag with with multiple pins that you can't see until you open them), so I buy the bags until I complete the set and used the duplicates to trade. It seems most of the pins cast members have to trade come from sets like these, and it is rare (but not impossible) to find the the full sized character pins when you are trading. Honestly, I have found fewer and fewer pins that I want to trade for in the past several years. That said, it is still fun to hunt!!!

Others may have a different experience.

 

[lucas]

You might want to check over on the DIS Collectors Board, where they talk everything pins:

https://www.disboards.com/forums/disney-collectors-board.37/

 

[Lothlórien]

Unfortunately, pin trading has not improved. Disney Corporation has no interest in controlling scrappers/fakes here in the US. They have taken over the pin trading/CM lanyard in the parks. CMs are not allowed to deny a trade, even if it is obviously a scrapper, as that is against policy. Most of these pins come right from two of the sources you named, ebay and etsy. People also purchase on Amazon, MousePinsOnline, etc and they are all scrappers/fakes. If a pin is that inexpensive (50 cents, $1 each), they are not quality pins. My suggestion is to avoid those sellers and not be a part of the problem.

There are legit sellers on FB who use real distributors and sell real Disney pins for a decent price. If you want info about that, you are welcome to PM me as I do not believe it can be posted here.

If you are doing it just for fun or for kids and do not care about quality collections, the pins on CM lanyards will not bother you. However, if you want nice pins that you can display, you may want to stick to buying in groups where scrappers are not allowed and buying directly on property.

 

[starry_solo]

Pin trading has not improved. But, if you know what to look for on CM lanyards, you can avoid the scrappers.

There are legit FB sellers that sell RANDOM blind bags (you don't get to pick out the pins) for $1.50 each + shipping. Outlets clearance out pins (at least in FL and then Company D) for 99-cents each

 

[mathgeek]

I have two sets of pins. The "real" ones I purchase that I want to collect that get put away and not traded, and the Hidden Mickey CM pins that I trade for fun to complete sets even if those end up being fakes and scrappers.

 

[Cornucopiaoflove]

I went to Disney in May and I would say it was like 70% scrappers, 30% real pins. I just keep those pins in a separate section on my pinboard. I took some booster pack pins with me when I went, so nothing too valuable. I just liked the fun of it, and in the grand scheme of things I know I'm not going to be bringing my limited edition pins to trade with cast members so I don't feel like I'm losing a ton of money or anything!

 

[monorailrabbit]

Like most others here, I pin trade just for the fun of it. I LOVE collecting pins and we always purchase a bunch on our trips to commemorate favorite rides or characters. We definitely have pins to keep and pins to trade which are kept separate. We also get a bunch of blind boxes and will trade those without worrying too much what we get in return. I will say I think WDW had a bit more of a "quality" selection over DLR last fall, but we still saw a LOT of scrappers.

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

Almost all scrappers on the CM lanyards. I would do as suggested above and find some sellers on Facebook or buy from Disney.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I purchase the pins I like generally. Those are the ones I collect.

I have a few duplicates I don't care about or mystery pins that we collected. These are the ones we trade. I *may* be getting a scrapper from a CM, I wouldn't know. However, I generally only trade with CM's and VERY RARELY one of the EPCOT traders. I don't purchase from ebay or etsy.

At the end of the day, I trade for pins I want. I don't support scrappers, but I really am not able to tell myself - if the pin looks like something I want, and I have something to trade it for, I will. But I will not purchase directly (with money) from unknown or untrusted sources.

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

Pin trading is a lot of fun. Collect what you like!!!

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Never done it or saw the draw. We have purchased some pins for the kids over the years, but just went in and bought them. Never had interest in having a lanyard around my neck all day. With all the fakes and junk out there, Im better off just buying what I want.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Unfortunately, pin trading has not improved. Disney Corporation has no interest in controlling scrappers/fakes here in the US. They have taken over the pin trading/CM lanyard in the parks. CMs are not allowed to deny a trade, even if it is obviously a scrapper, as that is against policy. Most of these pins come right from two of the sources you named, ebay and etsy. People also purchase on Amazon, MousePinsOnline, etc and they are all scrappers/fakes. If a pin is that inexpensive (50 cents, $1 each), they are not quality pins. My suggestion is to avoid those sellers and not be a part of the problem.

There are legit sellers on FB who use real distributors and sell real Disney pins for a decent price. If you want info about that, you are welcome to PM me as I do not believe it can be posted here.

If you are doing it just for fun or for kids and do not care about quality collections, the pins on CM lanyards will not bother you. However, if you want nice pins that you can display, you may want to stick to buying in groups where scrappers are not allowed and buying directly on property.

Hello, I saw your post and had a few questions about pin trading and ebay. Could you PM me please, as I am not able to PM you. Thank you!

 

[HokieSLP]

You can trade pins with others on PinTradingOnline or buy/sell pins on PinTradingDB. PinTradingDB also has a search engine to search for pins by character etc. You can make wish lists etc.