Pin Trading

[pindecisive]

I looked through my trader pins and not a single Diamond among them, so I googled it and it says they started doing the diamond mickeys roughly three years ago (2023), which would explain it - I had mostly stopped pin trading by 2021.

I didn't run into the "diamond for a diamond" at WDW but I don't like interrupting CM's to ask directly, so that might be why. I did notice pins have become much more expensive, so I wonder if they've tacked on the cost of the CZ into the price.

 

[LKing]

Prices have gone up for everything.

At Disneyland in CA, sometimes a Mickey board will have one ear with authentic pins. The CM will usually tell you that those pins are "diamond for diamond" and will check the back of the pin. Other than those specific pins, you can trade non diamonds for anything you want.

 

[Vala]

We're talking in Paris, right? I can only share our experience. They were always gracious and polite. They check the back, look for diamonds, copyright Disney, the year, etc. If they question the authenticity, they ask if you have another that you want to trade. We had heard they wouldn't accept Loungefly so we didn't bring any. To avoid any issue, we brought current pins with diamonds that had 25 Years of Pin Trading stamped on the back. We didn't have any problems.

There are far fewer pin boards, CM with lanyards, and pin traders in Paris. If a CM is busy, they tell you to come back later. In the hotel stores, often one person was the knowledgeable pin trader. If they were on break, the other CM would not bring the board out.

Back to DL in California. The past couple of weeks there have been more CM with pin lanyards. Some don't seem to know much about the pins and have more authentic pins. The boards are still filled with scrappers, but the CM have nice pins. If you are visiting DL in California, stop by the Emporium and trade with Hartati. She's great!

Yes, we are talking Paris. American traders always seem to get a different treatment there. I've seen it with friends of mine. I usually get better treatment too when I am not being clocked as a German. My accent is kind of weird and a lot of people can't place me.

The main Paris pin store is only open on weekends, that is when you will usually find a lot of traders out. It is called Pueblo Trading Post (about the equivalent of Westward Ho in DL). Pueblo has got the biggest board of the park too. But you got to be careful there, a lot of traders will try to shark you. So yeah, I guess definitely the same as Westward Ho. lol

A lot of what I own is pre 2018 so I'm not sure what the backs look like and I'm not sure what the backs of the pins I bought in Tokyo look like either tbh.

Such a great tip and now I'm so curious about how different the experience of pin trading will be!

Pre-2018 and Tokyo do not have the Diamonds on the back that are required for some US trades now.

If you are trading Tokyo pins in DL the CMs who are a little interested will love you. Foreign pins always stand out.

But you may really be told no with Tokyo pins if the rule is Diamond for Diamond. Always makes my friends roll their eyes because I usually bring Paris pins. Paris doesn't have Diamonds either, but generally most people consider Paris "higher value" than most of the US Diamond pins that end up as traders. Same would be true for Tokyo pins. To be told "no" when you technically offer what most people would consider a way better pin is a little bit weird.

At DL trading Pre 2018 will be fine unless it's this "Diamond for Diamond" thing. The main thing is the Disney copyright on the back. There's been different backs even for the same open edition pin if it had a longer production run.

But if you pull from your collection make sure you check the value before trading. Some of the older pins have really gone up in value. It's very weird nowadays.

Oh, and one more vote for "go and meet Hatarti at the Emporium." She is an absolute joy.