what's pin trading?

[mtquinn]

I know there are tons of Disney pins out there. I see them when I shop at Disney online. But what's the dilly-o with trading? How does that work? My 7year old may love that.

 

[bradk]

in essence, you trade one pin for another. assuming it's a disney cast member you're trading with. private traders may have different rules depending on how the pins are valued.

spend some time checking out http://www.disneypins.com - there's a FAQ there that should get you started

 

[mef78]

Your 7 year old will probably LOVE it!

Disney develops pins to commemorate everything--rides, holidays, special events, etc. You can purchase these and wear them on a lanyard around your neck, trading pins with other people and cast members as you go through your day in the parks. I believe Disney Store cast members have pins as well.

There's proper etiquette to learn regarding pin trading (e.g. don't grab somebody's lanyard to look at their pins!), so have your kiddo read up on that before you go. Here's the Getting Started page fromthe official disney pin trading site (referred to by bradk).

You can buy lanyards with starter pins all over disney online, the resorts, and the parks.

Have fun!

 

[disneymomofmyca]

My DD6 LOVES it! You can also purchase starter sets at ebay for much cheaper. Type in Disney starter lanyard into a search. Don't let the ettiquite part scare you. It just means, like the pp said, that you can't touch a CMs lanyard and you are only allowed to trade 2 pins from the CMs lanyard at a time. So in other words, you can't see 5 pins you like on one lanyard and trade your pins for all of them. All you child has to do is walk up to a CM with a pin lanyard around his/her neck or on their belt and politely ask if they would like to trade pins. Have the pin you would like to trade off of your own lanyard and in your hand with the back on ready to hand to the CM. After you ask they will hold out their lanyard for you so you can choose your pin. Point out which one you want and they will remove it for you. It really is super fun! Try it!

 

[matt&jakesmom]

Be careful-it can be ADDICTING! My DH got caught up in this on our trip last year with our DS's. He bought 6 pin sets at about $30 a pop and the boys would go around and trade for a particular pin. My DS loves Chip and Dale, he came home with about 20 new ones.

 

[Jaffa]

Pin trading always sounded weird to me.....
Never got into it.

What if a CM doesn't want to trade for another guests pin?
Can they do that?
Is it always 1 for 1?

 

[annabelle26]

Be careful-it can be ADDICTING! My DH got caught up in this on our trip last year with our DS's. He bought 6 pin sets at about $30 a pop and the boys would go around and trade for a particular pin. My DS loves Chip and Dale, he came home with about 20 new ones.

And costly...

 

[bradk]

the CMs really have no say in the matter unless they believe the pin to not be tradeable (for the sake of other guests). the pins are supplied by Disney, they don't belong to the CM.

CMs must trade unless safety is a concern. and it's always a 1:1 with CMs. and it's the guest's choice which pin for which. the key exception is that CMs are not supposed to accept a pin from a guest that they're already wearing (but since many CMs carry pins, a little creativity can get around that)

unfortunately you'd be quick to find that most CMs are covered with cheap pins that people get either as a completer for a $1 (or even 'free' now that paying for parking yields you a pin) or from the sets of 7 pins where the individual pin cost is a little over $4.

which is also why there are certain CMs (green lanyard) who will only trade with children (12 and under or so). to help keep the less scrupulous serious traders from interfering with the process.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

What if a CM doesn't want to trade for another guests pin?
Can they do that?
Is it always 1 for 1?

The Cast Members must always trade with the guests if they are asked to and the pins they wear on their lanyards are property of WDW managment, so they are not trading anything they own. Besides that the rule says it's a limit of 2 trades per Cast Member, however in the past I have traded for maybe 3 or 4 at one time and a lot of other people I know also do that.

 

[Jaffa]

I read in the FAQ's that someone posted that there are "Retail outlets" for CM's to buy certain pins.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I read in the FAQ's that someone posted that there are "Retail outlets" for CM's to buy certain pins.

Sometimes the Cast Members go to special sales events only for them, where they can purchase such items like pins at a low cost. Besides that the only other retail outlets is the Disney Character stores at the Premium Outlet and Prime Outlets International, where they sell WDW merchandice no longer sold in the parks and half the cost or more and pins are some of the items they sell there.

 

[bradk]

CMs have access to certain exclusive pins, yes. pretty much every arm affiliated with the theme parks/studios has its own pins available to all cast members. CMs can trade these pins with the public if they wish, but they're not allowed to re-sell them.

WDI is a popular source of such pins for example (they have a shop on site called Mickey's of Glendale). They often even make pins available for sale through the hub/CM portal. I have a few from there although I'm not a huge pin collector.

I also have a pin from Walt Disney Studios which is marked as being from the Disney Employee Center.

and this not to be confused with other types of cast member pins (or hidden mickey pins nowadays) which are special pins released by Disney only through cast members, so they were never available for purchase.

 

[t_catt11]

A nice guide (if I do say so myself) to pin trading:

http://www.wdwinsiders.com/view_article.php?articleid=23

If you have other questions, feel free to PM me - I'm happy to help!

 

[mtquinn]

That is great advice! I read the link and now I am prepared to send my children into pin-trading oblivion. It will be such fun seeing my 7 yo DD keenly observe the CM's and try to trade. I see no Hannah Montana pins, but lots of HSM pins. Does anyone know of HM pins? DD loves her.

 

[t_catt11]

Welcome to the addiction!

Beware - we began with it to just "be something for the kids to do". After a few days, the appeal was too much for us, and now both my DW and I are avid pin collectors/traders. It is simply a blast.

 

[Nikisha421]

you can even go to disneyshopping.com and create your own personalized pin

 

[bradk]

just an fyi, personalized pins are not tradeable with Disney CMs (any pin that has an individual's name on it to be specific, even if the pin was originally sold that way). there's the limiting factor that the appeal is automatically reduced to people with that name.