I always say..to each his own! No two people on these boards is exactly the same..it's what makes us unique. I have been purchasing my pins from the same woman on ebay for several years. She has never sold me a bogus pin (although CM's have warned me that some of the pins I have traded for may be fake
) I see nothing wrong with people purchasing pins on ebay. The woman I purchase from lives in FL and visits WDW often with her family of avid pin traders. She offers me a discount since I always purchase through her. We all save money in different ways, but rest assured, I never ever do anything against DLR policy.
Well unique is one thing, and yes we are all unique, but trading scrappers isn't being unique, it's breaking the law. Because they are counterfeit pins, just as if you paid full price for a Coach or Dooney & Burke and then found out it was fake, whoever sold you the purse is breaking the law. Now, I'm definitely NOT saying you are trading scrappers, please don't take it that way!! But it would be great if you could share your sellers name, especially as it is difficult to get reputable sellers who sell at lower prices. Also, something to note, if she's trading at the parks then she's probably got some fakes, even my most trusted sellers have sent me scrappers unknowingly, that's probably why some of the CM's are saying you may be trading fakes, because unknowingly you might be.
Ok one more question!! When searching for pins what does the term "booster" set mean??
A booster set is similar to a starter set, a starter set comes with a lanyard (either neck or hip) and some pins to trade, a booster set is only pins with no lanyard. Boosters are good for trading but you have to watch because a lot of times the CM's will already have the more common boosters on their lanyards.
I'm by no means an avid pin trader, but I have done it a bit and we've come up with some tips that help us.
First of all, you can buy pins on ebay for a cheaper price, but you have to know what you are looking for. You want to be sure you are getting "hidden Mickey" or "cast lanyard" pins. These are the pins worn by cast members, and work great for trading. We bought a lot of 40 pins for about $25 a couple of years ago, and each person got to pick like five. These were just "starter" pins, that we knew we would be trading, so we didn't care what they looked like. I noticed a lot of them were weird anime characters or Club Penguin pins. A CM at WDW told me that a lot of them probably came from some of the Asian parks. So they are still official, just not as desirable in the US.
We took those pins and traded with CMs to get pins we wanted. Then we've bought one or two more pins on each trip, just to remind us of that trip. For example, last Oct. DD3 got Rapunzel, since she was dressed up as her for the Halloween party, and DH and I shared a Jack Skellington and Sally pin set.
You can also get "starter sets" at disneystore.com or at several stores in the parks. They come with a lanyard and four pins, two copies of each. One to trade, and one to keep!
At $1 or under per pin, you probably purchased scrappers. I'm not saying for sure because I didn't see them, but it is likely that they were not good pins. Club Penguin pins were available for purchase at the parks, as are some of the Anime pins. I like the pins from Japan, they are cool and unique. Pins like that would be highly desirable by many "professional" pin traders, there are quite a few who are always looking for the different pin that no one else has.
My son would like to know what the name of the vendor you use on eBay? It's hard to find someone reputable. Thank you!
Also, when we went last year my son traded several pins with CM's (good pins he bought at DL) he received scrappers from the CM's. We went through his pins after we figured out how to spot the fake ones. And sure enough, the ones he got in return from the CM's were fake.
The counterfeit and scrapper pins also have these characteristics ... it's not always easy to spot without a thourough inspection which can be impractical.
Just an fyi, HM and CL pins are the most scrapped pins out there, so buying those is not always a good indication that they are legit. Also, the Mickey heads on the back, they are not supposed to have a rim around the edge, scrappers generally have a rim. However, I have personally purchased pins from DLR myself that have had a rim around the edge, have had divets in the paint, have had off paint colors, have had surface scratches, all of which are indications of scrappers.......
Edited to add, I am not a professional, I have sold a few pins on eBay but not many, I am simply a trader who got angry at being told every pin she had for trade was garbage so I educated myself and learned everything I could to avoid scrappers. I'm not an expert.
Thanks for sharing the super thread!! 
It is sad that there are people out there always looking to scam someone, just like the fake DLR tickets sold on ebay, etc. But,like many on here, we love the fun in collecting sets. If I have some scrappers in my collection (unbeknownst to me) then so be it. I just do it for fun, not for the value of the pins. It is a great hobby for those visiting! 
