What is "Pin Trading"?

[Dreamin' of Disney]

Taking the family to WDW next week, have 6yo & 4yo. Don't have a clue about "Pin Trading". Ordered a couple pins for each child just to start an intro. Then even my hairdresser was telling me info on it. Now I just have bits & pieces of info. Can anyone give me an elementary intro on the trading and simple things to know while we are at WDW?

 

[WillCAD]

I'm not a pin trader myself, but the concept is pretty simple.

If you have a pin collection, you wear some of it on your person while touring WDW (on a lanyard, hat, vest, whatever). Others who have pins will look at yours, and if they like one they wil offer to trade one of thiers. You are free to accept, decline, or haggle, whichever you want. If you see somebody else with a pin you'd like to have, make them an offer. Remember, nobody is under any obligation to trade; you make an offer, and they are free to decline; somebody makes you an offer, and you are free to decline.

Almost every CM has a lanyard or two full of pins, and it seems like at least a third of all Guests sport pin lanyards these days, too. Pin trading is very popular.

There are also Pin Stations all over the place, in the parks, resorts, and Downtown Disney, which are basically large vendors selling pins, lanyards, and other collecting paraphenalia. The pin stations tend to be hotbeds of collecting, as Pinheads (as I call hardcore pin collectors) gather to look over the vendors wares and always look at each others pins, too.

 

[Kapp]

girls involved in this both trips but that never want to trade any of their pins! We get them a few (from Ebay or when our DS used to sell them) to start with and let them buy one a day but they will not trade them! It is really funny that they don't trade but their happy with it!

 

[lovethattink]

I'm a pin trader. You might find these websites helpful.
www.odpt.com
www.dizpins.com
www.pinpics.com

My ds started trading pins in Oct 1999. In 2003 Dh and I started. It's alot of fun! We've met some really great people along the way. For children, there are several options for pin trading. They may trade with a CM. This way the child picks what pin they want to receive in the trade. They may ask another guest to trade. However, this way, the trade needs to be mutual. Also, you need to be careful, because some people will take advantage of your children. There is also Pin trading nights at some of the resorts. Fri night 7-10 at the Contemporary, Thurs night 7-10 at the All Star Sport resort, and Wed afternoon at POFQ.

There is a collector's board here at the DIS with pin traders too!

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

A CM with a lanyard will trade for any Disney pin that they don't already have on their lanyard. CMs with the green lanyards can only trade with kids 10 and under, while CMs with the black lanyards can trade with anyone.

 

[hezreck]

When we did this with my 7 year old DD, the CM's would trade any pin even if they already had it. One even let my DD have a free pin off his lanyard because she had her birthday button on. We started out with the 2 free travel pins that come with the Dream Maker package, traded those for anything "Belle". Bought 2 at the parks, and she was given 1 free from the CM at AK and 1 free from the CM working in the gift shop at AKL. Pretty good trip started with 2 free and ended with 6. Your kids will really enjoy it. Make wure you leave time to check CM's lanyards. My DD wanted to check every one she saw.

 

[sunny04]

I just got my first pin in Dec. I commented to my husband about one on the CMs lanyard. He asked if I traded, and I said not yet. So he gave me trivia questions. I had to get 3 right for the pin. I missed one, but he still gave me a fourth question (which I got right) and so I won the pin! So...now it has begun!

 

[kilee]

We also have a collectors board here on the DIS that has threads in regards to pin collecting and trading. It can be found here:
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=37

 

[canwegosoon]

My boys 6 yo (5 on last trip) love it...They primiarly traded with CM's and other children. If they got a pin the LOVED...I held it, and would give them another. They have cute pin trading boxes from WDW where they keep their Fav's and I brought about 60 pins off ebay to trade on future trips.

 

[cheyita]

My girls have a hard time trading pins we choose to buy. So for this upcoming trip, I bought a supply of pins off Ebay that were things I knew my girls wouldn't be attached to. Now we have some pins that we can trade. I enjoy the concept of trading much more than just buying, because I enjoy the hunt. It took me a little while to find one with both Lady & Tramp on it together, and on this trip I'll be hunting for Kuzco (as the emperor, not as the llama).

 

[gingermommy94]

I just wanted to add that I think Pin Trading is a great way to add a little extra magic to your trip.

We didn't do this on our first trip, then gave it a try on our second. The kids LOVED it! It encourages even a shy child (like my DS) to walk right up and interact with Cast Members. Even my DD who was 11 had a blast trying to collect all of the Princess pins.

Heck, I even got into it!

 

[Mom2RinJen]

Pin trading is awesome! Its a great way for kids to interact in the park. My girls did it for the first time last year and LOVED it. First we started out with only CMs until they knew what they were doing. After a couple days we started to let them trade with kids. I would suggest taking off any pins they really like from the lanyard because it can get very addictive and I know my girls even traded their favs just so they can trade. To them, its not so much the pins themselves but the looking on a CMs lanyard for something new or different, KWIM? If you do want to try it out, the best route to go is to get some cheaps pins off ebay (at least 6-10 for each child) and get a cheap lanyard at the dollar store. That way if they don't like it, you didnt invest alot into it. Pins at Disney World can range from 6 dollars on up. Can get expensive if they run out of trader pins and only have pins they want to keep. I have the name of a seller on ebay who gave me a good deal on some trader pins if you are interested. Just PM me.

 

[dreamscometrue47]

We pin traded for the first time on our April 2004 trip. Like other posters, I bought 3 pins each for both DS and DD to start out. Then they each bought a few more at the parks, so they ended up with about 6-8 pins each. DS (10 at the time) LOVED the trading. He'd always trade for SOMETHING. I had to remember that these were HIS pins and not mine when he'd trade a favorite of mine for one I didn't care for. DD (14) was much more particular about her trading. Once she had a collection she loved, she just stopped trading! I admire her willpower!!

This can be very addictive and can also take some time out of a carefully scheduled day. But the kids (and I) love it. The pin collections are great memories, especially if you get a real outgoing CM to trade with. DS remembers a couple CM's and the pins he got from them in trades because they were so nice!