Ok Somebody Give Me Some Pin Trading 101

[Disney_Dad88]

Ive been wanting to collect something Disney. We already do the DVD's but those are almost a given, and Vynilmation seems a little too expensive, so I thought about doing the pins. Just wanted to know what's the best way to start, are there rare ones, and does it have to be authentic Disney or just anything with a Disney charater on it. Also how does the pin trading work. Appreciate any advice.

 

[disnerd]

Collecting and trading pins is a fun hobby. To trade pins, they must be the authentic Disney pins. On the back, there should be a stamp that says Official Pin Trading. You can find really cheap ones on ebay but you have to be careful about fake ones if you go that route. Pin trading is really easy. You just simply find a cast member that has a lanyard with pins on it and you ask to look at them. If you see one you like, you simply pick one of your pins to trade. I know there are rare ones but I don't really know what they are. Hope this helps!

 

[-em]

Best Pin Trading advice- Run Run away

But if you must- its a horribly addicting hobby (ive been collecting 13 years and my collection numbers in the thousands) but can be very fun and manageable if done correctly.

First decide what you like character/theme/event wise. Since now days its horribly unrealistic to collect 'everything' having a theme to go to helps-

Pin trading can be done on many levels and you often have to go step by step (unless you have a LOT of money to blow)

First are 'collectors' who buy pins just to have and don't trade them
Then 'collectors/park level traders' people who mainly collect but trade just with cast members in the theme parks
Then 'collectors/entry level traders' people who mainly collect, trade mostly with CMs but start to dabble with 'guest to guest' trading
Then 'collectors/mid level traders' ones who do a fair amount of guest to guest trading and trade more mid level (lower edition and or older) pins that would on estimate have 50-100+ 'better traders'
Then collectors/high level traders' these are the 'bigger dogs' that have 500+ traders with most mid to high level pins

Research- Join a pin discussion group, search though pinpics.com etc and start learning the lingo/pins. Start talking with pin traders- most are very easy to talk to about their pins, pins in general and advice esp when it comes to 'guest to guest' trading so you can steer clear of 'sharks'

Pins range in value from pennies to thousands of dollars- Most do not apprecaiate in value (most of mine I'd be lucky to break even overall) but I dont do it for the monetary value- 99% of my collection is never being sold..

-em

 

[Redjpang]

So how do the CM get their pins and Land yard?

 

[pauluk]

go to disneypinforum.com or pintalk.com , there are many people on these sites who can help you.

Paul

 

[habuma]

Also how does the pin trading work. Appreciate any advice.

Likewise, I am thinking that pin trading is something that my family can enjoy while in the parks, but I just don't get some of the basics. My line of thinking is this:

1. If I buy a pin, it's because I like the pin.
2. If I like the pin, then why would I trade it?
3. If I have nothing to trade, then it's really more of a "pin buying" hobby than "pin trading".

I used to collect and trade sports cards and that made more sense to me. You buy a pack of cards, never knowing what you're going to get and then you trade stuff you don't need/want with someone else who got stuck with stuff they don't need/want, but that you do.

But with pins you know what you're getting, so why buy something you don't want in the first place if all you're going to do is trade it for something you want? Why not buy what you want in the first place?

Now that my main question is out of the way, let me share some wisdom I've already earned in this hobby:

FWIW, I do understand (from experience) to not trust buying lots of pins on ebay. I thought that would be a great way to get my hands on stuff I don't necessarily want that can go into my trade stash. But it didn't take much effort on my part to realize that the pins I got were scrappers and seconds (see, I'm starting to learn the lingo). So I will not be trading those.

Let my experience serve as warning about buying pins on ebay: There are reputable pin sellers on ebay, but they're usually selling one or only a handful of pins at a time...and they usually show photos of *exactly* what pin you're getting, both front and back. Anyone selling a lot of 25, 50, 100 pins are suspect. If they have a large lot of pins to sell and if they claim that you'll get duplicates if you buy multiple lots, then logically you have to wonder how they got their hands on so many pins and so many duplicates. I doubt that they paid full price in the parks for them and are now generously giving them to you at a bargain price. They probably bought them on the "Disney pin black market" of scrappers and seconds.

My advice: Avoid getting those kinds of pins in your collection and, if you do, please do not trade or otherwise circulate them. This page at http://www.ebay.com/gds/FAKE-DISNEY-PINS-101/10000000001748045/g.html was very helpful in knowing what to look for.

 

[Auntrosie]

For a person interested in mid to high level collecting your advice is certainly sound. Maybe not so much for a Mom who just wants to give her little ones a shot of confidence to approach a CM and make a trade by preloading a colorful lanyard as encouragement.
I believe that most pins don't appreciate in value. The above post leaves me with the impression that Guest collectors would know the difference.
What's the harm?
The children are happy and the CM's certainly don't mind.

 

[mr.tahmoney]

A very easy way to spot a fake pin or "non WDW official" pin is to look at the front of the pin itself. If the front looks cheap and the paint is sloppily applied then just walk away. All the official pins have top quality paint on them with a layer of clear sealant on top...as well as the official pin trading logo stamped on the back. Also take note of the weight. Official pins are made of thick metal while most of the pins you find at Walmart, Publix and other stores not on WDW property are made of tin. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Bairstow]

The fakes/scrappers/seconds sold on eBay these days are practically indistinguishable from the "real" pins these days.
In years past there were a couple ways to tell them apart but since they're often coming from the same factory there's no real way to tell anymore in most cases.

If you're interested, try picking up a lot of 50 or so random pins from eBay for $23 or so and just trade the ones you don't like with cast members.
The chances of ever picking up anything "valuable" this way is about nil, but if you're just in it for fun it's easy to do.
I'd also recommend deciding beforehand to cap your collection at the original pins or something and not go over.

 

[BigRedDad]

We trade all the time. My wife and daughter love to do it. Do not go into pin trading to think you are going to get the $15 pins. It simply is not going to happen. You will find older pins and an occasional newer pin. They keep an eye out for the character(s) and sets they see early on the trip. They look to see if they can fill those sets and find those characters.

Best thing to do is buy them off eBay for $0.50 or less per pin. The pins you get are not collector pins. The pins you get from CM's are not considered "Collector Pins". The pins CMs get are for personal likes and characters. CMs RARELY get a "Collector Pin". They get the same items that you will get off eBay. They have been traded and owned before. If you want a Collector Pin, spend the money to buy it.

I have never had an issue with buying pins on eBay or trading them at the parks. I only buy from US sellers. The last trip my daughter traded over 150 pins. The best thing about it is that it is a break from running all around. You can go into an AC store and trade pins for 15 minutes as a break.

 

[Sphinx610]

In fairly new to pin trading myself but I do try and get authentics to trade. Id be annoyed if I spent $12-15 & got a scrapper pin in return. So I keep an eye out on Disney store online for sales. That way you can stock up on cheap authentics, keep one for yourself and trade one or two. Most times you can get like 3 of them for what it would've cost at full prices. Keep one trade two. I get lots of them at like $3/pin and I know I'm not contributing to the scrapper thing. If you are getting 50¢ pins you can be sure they're scrappers. I feel like scrappers are kinda like cheating. My kids don't want to trade their pins they love them but they like to collect and proudly display them. Lol so this is a way to let them keep them all and trade duplicates and I didn't break the bank or get scrappers. It can get stressful trying to figure out all the pin stuff so don't let it get to you. Yes, I would agree that chances are you won't get a rare pin or maybe even an authentic pin trading w cast members. So it is best to keep your costs down. It will be fun for the kiddos. Good luck!

 

[Sphinx610]

So how do the CM get their pins and Land yard?

The pins on a cm's lanyard are ones they've traded. I have heard there are boxes of them they can pick from before they go out to their post.