WDW Pin trading 'Mystery pins'

[Yveltal262]

Hi, I'm looking to get into pin trading and have been doing a couple months worth of research into better spotting fake pins and which are the most commonly faked pins etc. I was recently watching someones pin trading video on YouTube and the cast member asked if they were interested in a 'mystery pin' that they could not see (either from the back of the lanyard or from a separate pouch). Are these pins less likely to be fakes? I am highly against fakes and do not want any in my collection, good looking or not.

 

[Arianabtd]

From my experience the cast members just pick random pins from their lanyard/pouch and flip them over. So there's really no way to know

 

[Yveltal262]

That's unfortunate Looks like I'll have to find some sort of Facebook trading site if I get any doubles this time.

 

[OB1]

Most cast members are not pin experts - so they are just trading what they receive during the day. As they say, your mileage will vary as to how authentic any pin is that you trade for. Probably the only guarantee is to purchase from a Disney store. Then you can be certain the pin is authentic.
Good luck. It is fun. I know I have some that are most likely not authentic, but I enjoyed trading and finding the pins, and my wife & I have the memory of when we traded, so it is a keeper to us. That said, I do totally understand your stance on this.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Are you looking to just have fun trading or getting into serious collecting with binders and whatnot? If you are just looking on having fun I wouldn’t stress about trying to avoid “fake” pins. I mean if one is obviously discolored, then don’t go for it, but I usually just choose pins that call out to me or try to finish a set. But a lot of serious collectors don’t really do a lot of CM trading (partially to avoid fakes and partially just because they aren’t desirable).

For me, I pay $ to collect the pins I love or have a specific memory related to. But those I don’t trade around. So many of the serious pin traders spent insane amounts of money and have binders and binders of them (I went to a pin trading event at DL and was so out of my element!)

 

[TheBunny]

The thing with mystery pins is... you're trading ones you don't care for so much, right? So if you get a bum trader - as in, either you don't like or it is a scrapper - just trade it away again later on. If you're really a good scout, and you are certain you get a scrapper from a mystery trade, just trash it. You'll be doing the collectors a service.

 

[ktlm]

My daughter always likes the mystery pins. Sometimes they are really good, sometimes they are cute but fake, and occasionally we have had a CM that turned a really bad one. If you get a mystery pin and don't like it- then just trade it again.