What can anyone here tell me about pin trading?

[C.Ann]

Do you think it might be something that DD, DGD, and I might be interested in?

How do you get started? How do you do it? And what's the story of trading with CM's?

Would love to hear what it's all about..

 

[Mickey527]

Come on over to the collectors board and ask there. You will get alot of good advice.
I think your DD and DGD would enjoy it. But it is a very expensive hobby.
You have to make sure that you buy tradeable pins from a reputable person. Some pins are made in Germany that WDW will not accept. If you see something on ebay feel free to ask on the collectors board if they are good traders. My recommendation is that you stop over to the Belz outlet and buy some of the cleanance pins and use these for the girls to trade with.
The girls can trade with an CM who is wearing a lanyard. The CM's with the green lanyards can only trade with children, but the children can trade with the CM's with black lanyards or green.
You might come across another visitor who will trade with your children but explain to them that only the CM's MUST trade. Some people carry pins for trading with children because it is so much fun to see them smile. But there are other traders who try and take advantage of children or even talk rudely to children. I am not a child but I couldn't tell you how many time I have hear "You don't have anything good". That really hurts especially to a new trader or a child.
Hope this helped a little. Feel free to ask me more if you need, but check out the collectors board also. Peggie

 

[Jockaroo]

Word of caution--Pin Trading is ADICTIVE!

You have been warned.

To trade you must first have a Disney pin. You may buy these at the parks (cheapest ones are around $6.50 with some low limited editions running to $12 and $15--but you won't want to trade the limited edition pins probably.) The $6.50 pins are called rack pins and are basically general issue pins. You may want to buy a small collection of pins from Ebay to get started trading. I think we found some small groups of 10-12 pins for $3 - $4 each. Occasionally you may find some pins at the Disney Store or at Disney Store outlets. You may trade any Disney authorized pin that is stamped "Disney" on the back.

You might want to check on the lanyard/pin trading packs. These are about $25 at the parks and come with 4 pins (2 of each style so you have one to keep and one to trade.) The lanyard is a nice way to display a collection. You may approach any cast member at the Disney parks and resorts who is wearing a lanyard and ask to look at their pins. If you see a pin you would like to trade for, and the cast member doesn't have the pin you wish to trade, the cast member will trade with you. Remember to be nice (I'm sure you will!) and don't touch and/or poke the cast member (I've seen this.) Also, it is nice to make eye contact and not just look at the rope around the neck.

If you decide to collect pins, you might want to focus on a special character, ride, etc. because there are a lot of pins out there! Hubby collects Donald Duck and crew; I collect Disney dogs and Daisy Duck. Pin collecting is a fun way to meet cast members, but remember it can addictive! Have fun!

Check out this link for Disney's official policies and info.
http://psc.disney.go.com/eventservices/

 

[marymrg]

Some CM's have special lanyards (green I think) that only kids can trade with. My son(7) buys pins from the attractions that he likes to keep. He has bought some others to trade and we recently bought some cheaper ones on Ebay so he'll have a stash to trade on our next trip. Since it is an expensive hobby, we do limit the number that he buys. (unless of course he has saved up his own money - then he can spend as he wants)

 

[Parkhopper]

We have been pin trading since December 1999 and love it! It is a great hobby for the whole family, and expecially good for children (it helps them to approach adults -CM's- and practice their manners and eye contact). As others have said above, it CAN be highly addicting. When our DS was smaller (he is almost 10now) we learned the hard way that we had to purchase multiples of the same pin if we wanted him to trade. If we offered him 10 different pins, he would just remove them from his lanyard and say "I don't have any of those in my collection". I REALLY helps if you can find a focus, a particular character/s, or attraction pins, etc. Our DS has "narrowed" his focus to "any Disney pin with a point on the back" -LOL!

Feel free to PM me if you have other questions. I would be happy to help!

Suzi