Pin Trading

[nkosiek]

Will be going to DL in a few weeks and have kids who like to pin trade in WDW. First time in DL. Are they pin trading at all in DL? If so, anyone have any ideas of where? Thanks.,

 

[gelatoni fan]

Cast members are not wearing pin lanyards but some locations have pins for trade on a board or a lanyard that is hung somewhere. At the Disneyland side, there's usually some traders at the pin cart at the end of Main Street to the right before you get to Plaza Inn. There's also usually some at the kiosk at the entrance to Frontierland. Some shops such as Pieces of Eight in New Orleans Square may have pin boards in the back or under the counter so you can ask the cashier if they aren't busy.

On the California Adventure side, the entrance to PhilharMagic and the shop next to Flo's in Cars Land (I forget what it's called) usually have pins to trade. They also sometimes have pins at the entrance to the challenge trail and the store next to Grizzly River Run.

The pin shops and kiosks in downtown Disney, stores in the hotels and Guest Services at the Grand Californian also usually have pins. These pin boards may also be hidden under a counter until a guest asks to see them.

Due to COVID, CMs are instructed not to touch any pins that are handled by guests so you will likely be told to keep your own pin back and pull the pin off yourself as they watch you.

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

There is also the pin shop in Frontierland and across from it is a bench where pin traders still sit with books of pins to trade...

 

[nuttynatty]

There is also the pin shop in Frontierland and across from it is a bench where pin traders still sit with books of pins to trade...

I've heard a few times though that this group of traders are an elite group and tend to only want high-end trades or trades for more rare pins. I have no experience personally but from what I've read they can be rude and definitely are for more experienced traders.

And yeah, I just ask each store if they have pintrading. I've seen a couple of youtube videos that show numerous stores are doing it so hopefully you have fun and get some good trades. I'm going in 9 days and will be pintrading so I can try to update later

 

[nkosiek]

I've heard a few times though that this group of traders are an elite group and tend to only want high-end trades or trades for more rare pins. I have no experience personally but from what I've read they can be rude and definitely are for more experienced traders.

And yeah, I just ask each store if they have pintrading. I've seen a couple of youtube videos that show numerous stores are doing it so hopefully you have fun and get some good trades. I'm going in 9 days and will be pintrading so I can try to update later

It seems we'll both be there at the same time. Have fun.

 

[Tasscrapper]

The shop as you leave It's a Small World and at least 3 stores on Main Street (ask the cashiers) had pin trading. Be aware it is hard to find unique pins. Probably 95% of what's on the pin boards have come from mass sellers on ebay. If your just trading for fun that's cool but if your kids have expensive pins you might not want them trading for scrappers.

 

[gelatoni fan]

I've heard a few times though that this group of traders are an elite group and tend to only want high-end trades or trades for more rare pins. I have no experience personally but from what I've read they can be rude and definitely are for more experienced traders.

And yeah, I just ask each store if they have pintrading. I've seen a couple of youtube videos that show numerous stores are doing it so hopefully you have fun and get some good trades. I'm going in 9 days and will be pintrading so I can try to update later

I agree with a previous poster that about 95% of the pins on the pin boards are fakes or rejects. While some of the sharks in Frontierland have quite a few fakes in their traders, it's nowhere near as bad as the regular pin boards. If you have no idea what you're doing, you can hold on to all the pins you were planning to trade away anyways and see if they'd be willing to trade. You will likely be getting a lower value pin for the one you traded away but if you were planning to trade it away onto a board for a likely fake one anyway, I don't see you as being that much worse off. The issue is when you go in wearing a lanyard with pins that you bought for over $10 each that they'll try to pick from or if they ask you to go in to a shop to buy a pin to trade them. Never agree to a 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 trade unless you know very well the value of all the pins on both side of the trade.

There are some traders there that take care to not display any fake pins who occasionally will be willing to trade a more valuable pin for a less valuable one. Often times, this is because they bought many packs of mystery pins and just want to get rid of their duplicates.

With pin trading, your first 100 trades will likely be for fakes and the value of your pins will be going down. Just do it for fun and don't worry about the value of your collection at that stage. If you get enough experience to recognize fakes and pin sets, the value of your collection can start to go up.