What is Your best advice for pin trading???

[kbritton]

Its been about 3 yrs since we have been to disney. We are going in the fall and my kids 12,9,8 just cant wait to trade. I was wondering what is your best advice or secrets for trading. Thanks so much! KB

 

[poorunfortunatesouls]

Don't expect to get anything extremely valuable in a trade. Also, don't really expect any pins you'd find currently in park stores. Just look for characters and themes you like.
I probably traded 30 pins on each of my last two trips to Disney parks. It's fun, but not every castmember will have pins you want. Best of luck!

 

[Jessica527]

1) If you have a pin on your lanyard that you really like, either get locking backs or leave it in your room. I have lost tons of pins while in the park because of this.

2) Have fun with it! Make it a mission! Last trip we did "mission to find cars pins" -- and we came back with 7 off of lanyards!

3) Pin trade early, CM get to pick which pins they want on their lanyard before they start work that day.

Have fun!

 

[redboxcar]

I would say that you should be *aware* that there are a LOT of fake pins out there - but on the FLIP side, I tend to go with the frame of mind: trade for what you like, because if you spend all your time trying to figure out if pins are real or fake, it can taint the enjoyment a bit.

 

[nym4588]

My advice is to just have fun with it and don't take anything too seriously. You will end up with scrappers when you're trading with cast members, it's unavoidable. I keep my favorite pins in a pin bag or on the lanyard. I have some cheaper (real, not scrapper pins) pins that I will use to trade. That way, if I end up with something not 100% legitimate, it doesn't bother me.

I agree with Jessica527...locking pin backs are your friend. I once lost a favorite Pirates pin...never again!

Have a wonderful trip!