Trading Pins?

[inkedupmomma]

Not sure this is the right board for this, please move if it is not! Thanks!

Just bought my first ever purchase on ebay. It was for a lot of 100 pins, that included 2 lanyards "for free". I made the purchase on July 8th and to my surprise received them today.

While they are not terrible pins, they don't look as great as pins I have purchased in the past.

I think I am just being picky and nervous after the ebay thread on here though


Some of the pins have an odd looking minnie/mickey. How do I know if they are fake?

Anywho, not sure what I am really asking here. The seller communicated mostly fast and well, although never sent me shipping info. I recieved the product in full, and quickly. I'm just terrified they are fake and we won't be able to trade them :/

I'd say about 10-15 in the bag, I know are real as I have seen them in the past at WDW.

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[slamzim]

Have fun pin trading. We have gotten all of ours off ebay. Don't sweat it and trade away!

 

[GatorMama]

There is a collector's board they may be able to help you. If the seller is well known the collector's board would know if they're known for fakes or the real deal.

 

[SandrA9810]

While a CM would not decline the trade, as to not ruin your day, you will probably notice them pocket the pins to keep them off the lanyard. Then turn them into management at the end of the day.

I'm not sure if the pins are melted back down again, but I do know they spend hours going through lanyards and getting rid of old pins. This job is generally done by some one on light duty (aka can't work their normal job). Then new lanyards are made up to be passed around to the managers of different areas.

I don't really know how much this costs Disney. But it would be unpleasant for an unsuspecting cast member to trade a fake to a little kid or a collector (although they might notice).

If this seller is constantly selling high volume pins, like a 100 at a time, it might make me raise an eyebrow. Selling them in lots of 10-20 and occasionally a 100, not so much. Even at a pin's cheapest price, they're still not sold for less than a $1 a piece.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

If you bought them in a lot off of Ebay they are fake. Almost without question. How else would someone get thousands of pins and sell them fractions of what they are worth?

Are they tradeable?? Absolutely! As was previously mentioned, the CM will trade and, if it's obviously a bad fake, pocket it.

It's up to you to decide whether to buy them. Personally, I think if you're not a collector and just looking for a fun thing for the kids to do, it's not a big deal. I realize that everyone might not be of the same opinion.

 

[inkedupmomma]

well, idk that they are fakes, its just that some of them dont look as lovely as others. they all have a logo on the back and say pin trading etc....

where can i find the pin trading board? or thread is it?

this was my very first ever ebay purchase, and I thought i did everything right by look at his feedback, which was 99.6% positive.. then I saw the ebay thread and it made me question everything.

I feel like an idiot now.

 

[cinabug]

We bought ours in a lot from ebay. They looked good and we had no problem trading. As a matter of fact, my kids traded with CMs for pins that were far worse several times. I know that there are people on here who say that all of the large lots from ebay are "scrappers," but if that is the case, much of what the CMs are trading are even worse scrappers. I have to say that if I had spent a lot for the pins we were trading, I would have been pretty bothered when my kids traded for pins that were broken and pitted. Since I got the pins cheap, I let them trade for whatever they wished and didn't worry about it.

 

[delmar411]

you will be able to trade them all. CMs cannot refuse a trade if the pin is marked with the pin trading logo and honestly I've only ever seen a few CMs ever even look at what you are trading them. We've gotten plenty of non-disney Disney trading pins before. If the kids like it enough to trade for it then we just hold onto it. No big deal. If they just traded to trade something then we ask the CM for a 'real' Disney pin (at least one labeled as such so it can be re-traded).

 

[erincon23]

well, idk that they are fakes, its just that some of them dont look as lovely as others. they all have a logo on the back and say pin trading etc....

where can i find the pin trading board? or thread is it?

this was my very first ever ebay purchase, and I thought i did everything right by look at his feedback, which was 99.6% positive.. then I saw the ebay thread and it made me question everything.

I feel like an idiot now.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2213419

This is the link to the pin traders thread. At the top of the thread is a list of good/bad sellers.

 

[inkedupmomma]

thank you <3

 

[inkedupmomma]

ugh. i think I got ALL scrappers.... i got almost all the pins shown in the link on the thread you sent me to... boo

 

[pixiewings71]

Yup, you probably got all scrappers....I used to buy the lots of 100 as well, thought I was getting a KILLER deal but in reality now I know, they were probably all scrappers. We never had any problems trading them to CM's but now we try very hard to avoid scrapper sellers on eBay. The thread above (also linked in my sig) is very helpful, you don't have to read it all, just the first few pages and the last few, the most up to date info is on the last few pages and the thread owner is not around as much to update the first page....but it's a good place to find some good sellers. Good luck, pin trading is tons of fun but not cheap.

 

[collegejunkie]

you can still trade them. we usually buy in lots of 100 on ebay and trade a bunch of them, but some of them i like and i keep them with my others. it's just about what you like. don't stress over something little like pins. happy trading!

 

[SandrA9810]

While it's unfortunate to come across a fake pin, I find it very irresponsible to knowingly trade 100's of pins on one trip that you know are fake for a real pin. It's like you're trying to stick it to Disney or something. If you don't want to pay the price, then don't play the game. And you're not always sticking it to Disney, sometimes it's the Guest that gets your crappy scrapper pin.

There's some parent's out there that spend $100s on their kid's lanyards. Which they know they'll want to trade with. But they should at least expect the pin the child is getting is of equal quality.

 

[jaminmd]

Don't worry, OP. All of the pins you bought are tradable if they have the logo on the back. I've bought pins from eBay that were probably scrappers as well and DD has never had a problem trading any of them.

I do realize it cheapens things for true collectors but I believe they know what to look for. My DD usually only trades with CM's, occasionally other kids because the adult traders she has encountered took their collections much more seriously than my DD takes hers. That is their right, of course, so I'm not criticizing. I would just suggest your child stick to trading with CM's.

We also save 10% by using our AP or Chase Visa & buy the booster packs. This way, you know you have authentic pins but you get them cheaper. then you can use those to trade.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

We buy all our pins now on ebay. I doubt they are all fakes. We have seen the same ones on other peoples lanyards and on the CM's. We mostly trade with CM's. Very rarely do they trade with other guests. I wouldn't worry about it.
We trade for fun based on our favorite characters and attractions. Rarely do they specifically try to find a pin. All my kids do now is trade pins and they will trade over and over again. I would say that we spend about $50.00 on each kid on ebay for pins. I would rather spend my money on ebay buying pins to trade than paying for other souvenirs that will just go to waste.
We always buy from the same seller. He is not on the list.

 

[inkedupmomma]

While it's unfortunate to come across a fake pin, I find it very irresponsible to knowingly trade 100's of pins on one trip that you know are fake for a real pin. It's like you're trying to stick it to Disney or something. If you don't want to pay the price, then don't play the game. And you're not always sticking it to Disney, sometimes it's the Guest that gets your crappy scrapper pin.

There's some parent's out there that spend $100s on their kid's lanyards. Which they know they'll want to trade with. But they should at least expect the pin the child is getting is of equal quality.

Uhm.... You're not talking to me, right?

 

[inkedupmomma]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I emailed the guy, but can't leave any negative feed back until 7 days after the purchase. I'm scared to even get my $ back, as to how do I trust he'll send it??

They aren't all bad, just not what I know to be legit:/

 

[SandrA9810]

No, I wasn't talking about you. I was referring to the other posters who said they don't care about buying scrappers because they're cheap and the CM will still politely trade with them. It's still wrong.

Mistakes happen, and I'm not blaming you OP. Some things you chalk up to lesson learned, some times you can get your money back. I think for the most part, and even stated in that Pin topic, don't pay less than a $1 a pin, should be a general rule of thumb.

As far as Ebay goes, send a request to the seller that you would like a refund. That the pins are not of the quality you were expecting. It will require you to send the package back (insure and delivery confirmation is a must).
If the seller denies the request, open a claim up for "Item not as described". Once the seller has received the package back, he should refund your money. Once the claim is opened, Ebay and Paypal will put a hold on that money.
If the seller does not give you your money back, escalate the claim with Ebay, and call them to speak with some one that deals with the claims. They can approve a claim and get the money transferred back into your paypal account (or however you paid for it).

For the most part Ebay sides with the buyer rather than the seller. Which is also what hurts it's ability to get new sellers in there. But sometimes it's helpful.

 

[inkedupmomma]

No, I wasn't talking about you. I was referring to the other posters who said they don't care about buying scrappers because they're cheap and the CM will still politely trade with them. It's still wrong.

Mistakes happen, and I'm not blaming you OP. Some things you chalk up to lesson learned, some times you can get your money back. I think for the most part, and even stated in that Pin topic, don't pay less than a $1 a pin, should be a general rule of thumb.

As far as Ebay goes, send a request to the seller that you would like a refund. That the pins are not of the quality you were expecting. It will require you to send the package back (insure and delivery confirmation is a must).
If the seller denies the request, open a claim up for "Item not as described". Once the seller has received the package back, he should refund your money. Once the claim is opened, Ebay and Paypal will put a hold on that money.
If the seller does not give you your money back, escalate the claim with Ebay, and call them to speak with some one that deals with the claims. They can approve a claim and get the money transferred back into your paypal account (or however you paid for it).

For the most part Ebay sides with the buyer rather than the seller. Which is also what hurts it's ability to get new sellers in there. But sometimes it's helpful.

this is a giant headache and totally not worth the hassle! I shoudl have known better!