Tell me about lanyards & pins

[MrsPinup]

You can get pins on ebay. They usually come in a "lot" of 15, 25, or more. They are random, and may not be super high quality that die hard traders would want. But if you are looking for fun for kids, they are fine. (I hope I am not breaking a DIS rule!) It doesn't matter if the pins you get are your favorites or not because you can trade them with Cast Members (staff). CMs that wear lanyards or square black pin holders (like a flat fanny pack) on their belts will trade. My kids really enjoyed talking with the CMs and deciding on whatever was their goal for the day (i.e. my daughter wanted all the Chip and Dale pins she could find). We also had some so that we could give one to a new friend they met in line so that the other child could trade to get a favorite. It is a create way to meet CMs and other people and a good alternative as the kids get too old for character autographs. Happy Trading!

Good to know about the lots! I have never seen "lots" of pins, just singles. I know what site I am headed to now...lol

 

[Brancaneve]

Let me change the subject before my computer burns up......yikes!
My kids had a wonderful time trading with CM's in WDW, yet I got very paranoid and frustrated when pins were dropping off the lanyards right and left. After I got home, I looked on ebay for the locks to place on the back, yet a good deal was hard to come by. In fact, there were many other types available at a good price(non Disney) but I wasn't sure if they would fit. Does anyone have any suggestions? I will have to pay upwards of $50 or $60 at the parks to buy backs for the whole family. Thanks!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Originally Posted by abbie13_15 View Post
I am even more confused now about these pins. I thought all disney "not fake" pins have that stamp on the back. How am I to know if they are fake or not before I trade???

Simply put. There is no way to be 100% sure other than buying from Disney. The close out store near Disney also has them. Many bogus pins will have the official stamp on them. Many end up on cast lanyards.

But if you choose to buy elsewhere or trade pins, there are certainly things you can do to minimize your chances of ending up with a scrapper.

1 Look at several of the pin info sites such as Dizpins and the pin trading thread on this site. Many have pictures of known scrapper pins, have lists of sellers known to sell scrappers and the like. Some will have descriptions front and back of what the legit pin looks like, and then the scrapper version.
2. Read several trading guides. Ebay itself has several of these. There are many many legit sellers there.
3. Avoid the red flags I listed up thread. Some more.
4. Provocative poses of Tink and Jessica Rabbit are very likely to be fakes.
5. If the pin hasn't been released yet, it's probably a scrapper.
6. On auction sites, watch several auctions so you can get a feel of the going price before you buy.
7. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
8. When you're onsite, don't go buy a $12 pin for someone in order to trade for a cast lanyard pin. They aren't rare even though they are a bit harder to get for the casual visitor.

 

[skiingfast]

My kids had a wonderful time trading with CM's in WDW, yet I got very paranoid and frustrated when pins were dropping off the lanyards right and left. After I got home, I looked on ebay for the locks to place on the back, yet a good deal was hard to come by. In fact, there were many other types available at a good price(non Disney) but I wasn't sure if they would fit. Does anyone have any suggestions? I will have to pay upwards of $50 or $60 at the parks to buy backs for the whole family. Thanks!

There was a great suggestion here on the DIS a long time ago. It was to buy a part for model airplanes(IIRC). I think they were about $1 a piece when you bought a bulk package of a couple dozen. They had a link in the post. It was either on this board or the DL community board. If I come across the post or site I'll post it on this thread.