My kids will be 7 and 4. Is this something they would enjoy or is it more for older kids? How does it work? Do I need to buy pins and then they trade with CMs for different ones? Do all CMs have pins? What do you do with all the pins when your trip is done?
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Can someone explain pin trading?
- Thread starter WDWFan2018
- Start date
jloucks
Well-Known Member
Any age that likes pins would enjoy the process. ...and not so young they would eat the pins.
Yes, you need some pins to start. We got ours online, and started with those. But you could buy a large bulk pack at the park easy enough. Some of those are pretty cheap.
Lots of CM's have pins. You see them around their necks on lanyards. Your kids just walk up and POLITELY ask if they can trade. I think you can ask to trade with other people too, but they rarely did that.
We put all of our favorites in a display case at the house. The rest are in the kids rooms someplace.
Yes, you need some pins to start. We got ours online, and started with those. But you could buy a large bulk pack at the park easy enough. Some of those are pretty cheap.
Lots of CM's have pins. You see them around their necks on lanyards. Your kids just walk up and POLITELY ask if they can trade. I think you can ask to trade with other people too, but they rarely did that.
We put all of our favorites in a display case at the house. The rest are in the kids rooms someplace.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
I think your kids are at a perfect age for trading. lol, my youngest is 24 and he still has bag of pins.
So we started them off with 3 pins. If I'm not mistaken they even sell a "starter" kit. Almost every cm we've encountered especially in the parks have pins. lol it was funny because after a while my kids were on the "lookout'. If you eat at the ts restaurants the cm there especially tend to have them.
As @jloucks mentioned the kids usually politely ask if they could look at the cm's lanyard.
Generally my kids have their favorite one or two pins that they love and they keep those in their rooms. my youngest has all his pins in a ziplock bag. I too have a couple of pins that I love.
We generally buy a few pins also, they really do have some unique and cool pins in the parks.
So we started them off with 3 pins. If I'm not mistaken they even sell a "starter" kit. Almost every cm we've encountered especially in the parks have pins. lol it was funny because after a while my kids were on the "lookout'. If you eat at the ts restaurants the cm there especially tend to have them.
As @jloucks mentioned the kids usually politely ask if they could look at the cm's lanyard.
Generally my kids have their favorite one or two pins that they love and they keep those in their rooms. my youngest has all his pins in a ziplock bag. I too have a couple of pins that I love.
We generally buy a few pins also, they really do have some unique and cool pins in the parks.
Rsj88
Well-Known Member
Pin trading is so fun and something everybody can enjoy! My husband and I started collecting in college now my kids love it as well! Each trip we buy a few pins love to keep that remind us of the trip. Like this time my oldest bought a Rockin Roller coaster pin since it was his first time riding it. My youngest bought a test track pin because it was his first time. We also usually buy a pin with the year on it. If you want to trade it is cheaper to buy online but I never remember to order in time. So we just buy the cheapest pack we can find at the parks of 6-10 or so to trade. I think they have starter packs you can buy in the parks. Most of the CMs have pins and will happily trade with you. Sometimes we find a lot to trade and sometimes we don’t find any we want to trade for. It just depends. The kids love it and there are hundreds of pins to pick from. Warning! It’s kind of addicting! Here is what we do with them when we get home:
It’s about time to make a bigger one!
It’s about time to make a bigger one!
Ok, just so I'm clear, there's no way to acquire more pins without buying them. It's all trading. So if we go with 5 pins, we'll come home with 5 pins unless we purchase more. We've been the last 2 years and haven't taken advantage of this but I think my kids are at an age where they would like it. I just don't want it to consume our whole trip.
JIMINYCR
Well-Known Member
You have to start out buying pins. Trades are 1 for 1. They sell starter kits in the resort stores and pin shops in the parks. A lot of people buy pins on Ebay before the trips, but they generally are scrap pins. Look for the CM's who are wearing the green lanyards. Those are CM's who are restricting trading with kids only. It's not always the case but sometimes they can have some better pins. Ive been trading for years. Some pins are in display cork boards, others in pin books. Some people trade for specific characters, attractions, and other themes. When our DS was young we used pin trading as a way to get him to get out of his shyness and interact with people in the parks.
Thanks for the information. So my last question, do you wear a lanyard while walking around the parks to keep your pins on? I've read people say that the backs come off pretty easily so I'm wondering if a pouch would be better? What do you use?
SourcererMark79
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
They sell locking backs in the stores, and you can also order them online from amazon. If you have time during your visit, take a short ride to the outlet stores, and you can find many pins on the cheap!
JIMINYCR
Well-Known Member
I wear my lanyard. Some people have small pin trading books that are zippered closed that they carry, they are the size of a small notepad. Some people just carry pins in a baggie in their pockets. Yes the pin backs can come loose, ( Ive lost some before) they do sell special backs that will keep them more secure.
CaptainAmerica
Well-Known Member
To add to this, only use the locking backs for your "keeper" pins. They're too much of a pain to bother using for the pins you plan to trade.
OP, to manage your expectations, the pins the cast member get to trade are generally pretty lousy. The odds of finding a real gem that's as nice as or nicer than the ones you can just buy is pretty slim.
If you buy a bulk lot on eBay, you're expected to scan through them and discard any fake or damaged pins. They're usually pretty easy to spot.
Fake pins? Really? What's wrong with people? Ok, how do I know which ones are fake and is there a way you can tell before you even purchase them? I've looked on Amazon but it seems people are selling these huge lots for $60. I was just hoping to start each of them off with about 5 and maybe buying a 2019 one for them to keep. I haven't checked ebay. How much are they if I wait until I get there? I assume I can buy a starter kit at the hotel or the park?
CaptainAmerica
Well-Known Member
This is a pretty typical starter set, $30 from Disney for the lanyard and four pins:
Pin-Tastic Tuesdays | New Disney Pins Arriving Weekly | Disney Store
Have a Pin-Tastic time and collect your favorite character pins for Disney pin trading. Check out the brand new collection with new pins dropping every Tuesday at Disney Store.
www.shopdisney.com
The pins are made similar to other fakes that come out of China, like sports jerseys and handbags. They're made in the same factories as the real ones, with the local (corrupt) plant manager keeping the factory open an extra shift and producing the same products with inferior materials. They're referred to as "scrapper" pins by the pin trading community.
Those eBay lots are typically a mix of genuine pins, fake pins, and damaged pins. I think they're actually worth the price, just use your judgment when going through them. Pins with any kind of texture, movement, or dimension are usually authentic, since they're not worth the cost to counterfeit. Look at the colors, the lines, the printing on the back, etc. Use your judgment and only trade one with a cast member if you're confident that a guest who received that pin later on wouldn't feel ripped off.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
lol, as a daughter of a nyc cop I can tell you there is always someone out there with a scam.
Anyhoo, I would follow @CaptainAmerica lead and get a starter set at 30 bucks and split between the two. Yes you can get the starter kit at your resort.
Disney springs I believe still has the pin trading outpost. hundreds upon hundreds of pins there.
Personally I would probably skip ebay. IMO 1/2 the fun for my kids was actually picking out their own pins. We limited them to 1 pin from us and they each saved up money to spend and purchased their own pin.
My reasoning is there are ride specific and hotel specific pins, so it's really more memorable if they get off a ride and get a pin. they make very inexpensive souvenirs
Last edited:
This is a pretty typical starter set, $30 from Disney for the lanyard and four pins:
Pin-Tastic Tuesdays | New Disney Pins Arriving Weekly | Disney Store
Have a Pin-Tastic time and collect your favorite character pins for Disney pin trading. Check out the brand new collection with new pins dropping every Tuesday at Disney Store.
The pins are made similar to other fakes that come out of China, like sports jerseys and handbags. They're made in the same factories as the real ones, with the local (corrupt) plant manager keeping the factory open an extra shift and producing the same products with inferior materials. They're referred to as "scrapper" pins by the pin trading community.
Those eBay lots are typically a mix of genuine pins, fake pins, and damaged pins. I think they're actually worth the price, just use your judgment when going through them. Pins with any kind of texture, movement, or dimension are usually authentic, since they're not worth the cost to counterfeit. Look at the colors, the lines, the printing on the back, etc. Use your judgment and only trade one with a cast member if you're confident that a guest who received that pin later on wouldn't feel ripped off.
Thanks for the info. I found a seller on ebay who had really good reviews, so I bought a lot of 25. I'll split them up between the kids. As long as there aren't too many bad ones (hopefully none), that should be plenty. I could have bought 50 but like I said, I don't want this to be the focus of the trip; just something fun for them to do when we're not rushing to our FPs lol.
DfromATX
Well-Known Member
I love that!