Tell me about pin trading please

[kevschickee]

This may sound stupid but who do you trade with? Where do you do it? I have been to Disney many times when I was younger but never did this.

 

[~Kristina~]

Typically people trade with cast members throughout the property. Our family just collects the pins and we rarely trade.

 

[3_disprincesses]

My daughter participated in pin trading last year. I ordered a lanyard and miscellaneous pins from ebay throughout the 6 months leading up to the trip. Whenever you see a cast member with their pins on, ask to see them then if you see one you want, you offer one of yours in trade. Here's a link that will explain it in detail: http://allears.net/btp/mil_pin.htm

 

[PatsMom]

My DD loves to trade and has been doing it since she was 7 or 8. She keeps her pins sorted by "traders" and "keepers". Avoid the professional pin traders you'll find sometimes at Pin Central at Epcot or the big pin store at DTD. They can be nice but a bit overwhelming for a beginner! DD sometimes trades with them if she is looking for a particular pin to finish a set but mostly she trades with the CM's.

If you see a CM wearing a lanyard or waist display, they will trade with you. Green lanyards will trade only with children (under 10 I think but I'm not positive). You go up to the CM and ask if you could see their pins. They will hold out the lanyard for you to look at. You should never touch their lanyard. If you see a pin you like, you just say I would like to trade for your XYZ pin. They will remove the pin and hand it to you and you give them the pin you are trading. The trading pin has to be an official Disney pin - Disney Store pins work as well as the ones from the parks.

You can find pins on e-bay to get started or purchase a starter set. Beware - pin trading can be addictive and the cost adds up! DD has a pretty good sized collection.

 

[robinb]

I second (or is it third) the recommendation that you hit eBay for trader pins. I would say that the professional traders are not all that bad. They will often ask you to purchase a limited edition pin for them in exchange for one of their pins. You will end up paying more for the pin than if you had been able to purchase it outright, but if it's a pin that you really like then it might be worth it. In any case, I would avoid the pros until you get your feet wet with the CMs.

 

[pixiewings71]

If you have a minute or two pop on down to the Collectors Board, there we have a list of good eBay sellers that many of us have had good experiences with. Be careful, there are many "scrappers" (basically overruns or misprints that Disney rejected) being sold on eBay, with some of them it's extremely hard to tell the authenticity of the pins. Anyway, we usually get our traders from certain sellers on eBay (listed on the Collectors Board) or from mousepinesonline.com. We are a family of 4, we all pin trade so it's in our best interests to find good pins at good prices, mousepins has grab bags available with very good pins.

You can approach CM's wearing lanyards and ask to see their pins, we've had some great conversations and met so many nice people that way. We also occasionally trade with the "professional" traders. In fact at times we are the pros. lol We do not ask anyone to purchase pins for us and we will not trade with anyone who does so. IF you do purchase a pin for a trader do not give them the receipt, if you do they can just return the pin and get a refund.....not worth it to take that chance IMO. If you do run across a rude "pro" please do not judge us all by that persons actions.

Have fun!!!

 

[Mama_Dis]

Pin trading is so much fun! We did it for the first time on our last trip this past Feb. I bought a lot from a man trying to raise money for his daughter's school trip on ebay and I got some GREAT pins- I had several that I chose to keep just for sentimental value. Both our boys (Ages 7y and 2y) got into it. ODS got into searching for pirate and Star Wars pins and the little one just wanted to do whatever Big was doing, but still likes to look at his pins.

Everyone here has posted good information about how trading works, how to start etc. I just wanted to say that we loved talking to the CM's and even other guests. One little girl (maybe 5yo) saw dh's lanyard and was telling him how much she loved Rex from TS (he had a Rex pin) and how much she wanted a pin of him- she told him she would trade him one of her favorites for it. He told her she didn't have to do that, but she insisted- she was so cute!

Have fun!