Scrappers - what do you do with them?

[tarheelz]

But those are the best people to dump them on...

Avatar checks out.

 

[budgie]

If I like the pin I hang onto it for my own collection. That includes any scrappers on cast lanyards etc. I try not to trade scrappers if I'm aware of them. I haven't done much trading in the parks but I have a few store purchased pins that I don't really care about that I keep around to trade so not to make the scrapper problem worse. I care way less about trading scrappers with cast members but I do care a lot once money exchange comes into play like at outside events and collecting groups. Just my opinion

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Now we buy the packs of mystery sets on eBay, because those are guaranteed to be real but it's still cheaper than buying them in the parks.

I just used this advice and bought several sets of pins on ebay. My conflict was that, since I'm not going to be a serious trader/collector and will only be going to the parks probably once, I did not want to spend a lot of money on genuine pins, especially since the ones I trade for in the park will probably be fake anyway. I also do not want to contribute to the problem of there being a bunch of fakes in the park. I think getting the sets is a good compromise. You're probably spending under $2 a pin still, depending, so if you trade for a scrapper it's not a huge loss.

 

[figment_jii]

I care way less about trading scrappers with cast members but I do care a lot once money exchange comes into play like at outside events and collecting groups. Just my opinion

But money almost always comes into play because someone bought the scrappers in the first place and then traded them. I highly doubt Disney starts with scrappers/fakes/counterfeits, so the scrappers have to be introduced by guests wanting to trade. While usually it's not a lot of money, there is still money being paid to the eBay (or other) seller for the scrapper pins. I honestly doubt that anyone selling large lots of pins (e.g., 100 pins for $50) doesn't know that they're selling scrappers/fakes/counterfeits. I suppose it would bother me less if people weren't making money off selling scrappers to unsuspecting individuals.

 

[Whatsthegoodword]

I recently had several pins made for a Boy Scout event. They're "official" in every sense of the word for this event. I only had 200 of each type made, but they still only cost a little more than a dollar a piece. Disney is probably paying something like 10-25 cents each for these things, but charging $10, $20, $30 for them? If I can get them somewhere else cheaper, you better bet I'm going to. I've bought several lots off of eBay, and haven't found a "scrapper" yet. They all look legit to me...

 

[figment_jii]

I recently had several pins made for a Boy Scout event. They're "official" in every sense of the word for this event. I only had 200 of each type made, but they still only cost a little more than a dollar a piece. Disney is probably paying something like 10-25 cents each for these things, but charging $10, $20, $30 for them? If I can get them somewhere else cheaper, you better bet I'm going to. I've bought several lots off of eBay, and haven't found a "scrapper" yet. They all look legit to me...

I agree that Disney is probably paying very little to have the pins made, but I don't see how that means there can be eBay sellers selling pin lots for less than 50 cents per pin. I doubt Disney is selling pins wholesale to these folks, so I'm skeptical that they're buying legitimate pins from Disney. I think tends to means they're dealing in scrappers/fakes/counterfeits/over-runs/etc.

A good resource is pinpics.com; you can look up the pin design and see if there are known scrappers/fakes/counterfeits/over-runs of that design in circulation.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

I agree that Disney is probably paying very little to have the pins made, but I don't see how that means there can be eBay sellers selling pin lots for less than 50 cents per pin. I doubt Disney is selling pins wholesale to these folks, so I'm skeptical that they're buying legitimate pins from Disney. I think tends to means they're dealing in scrappers/fakes/counterfeits/over-runs/etc.

A good resource is pinpics.com; you can look up the pin design and see if there are known scrappers/fakes/counterfeits/over-runs of that design in circulation.

The problem that I have with pinpics is that sometimes, with the legitimate Disney pins, there is variation in color. I have seen the mystery pin bag openings on youtube where the exact same pin will come out of another bag with a much lighter shade. It seems like Disney already has quality control issues with their legitimate pins. The only sure-fire way to know if your pin is real is if you pull it out of the original packaging yourself.

 

[Whatsthegoodword]

I agree that Disney is probably paying very little to have the pins made, but I don't see how that means there can be eBay sellers selling pin lots for less than 50 cents per pin. I doubt Disney is selling pins wholesale to these folks, so I'm skeptical that they're buying legitimate pins from Disney. I think tends to means they're dealing in scrappers/fakes/counterfeits/over-runs/etc.

A good resource is pinpics.com; you can look up the pin design and see if there are known scrappers/fakes/counterfeits/over-runs of that design in circulation.

I agree, but I'm saying that I don't care. I just like what I like. I buy (grossly overpriced) pins in the park, and on eBay. I don't care if they're "fake" or not.