Pin trading 101

[Jkata87]

So I'm thinking about getting into pin trading this time at WDW. I'm sure there is lots of threads on this but I use the app on my iPhone and when a post goes past 3 pages it's a pain.

How much should I plane on investing if I wanna get started with this? The only ones I would be really interested in is ones you can only trade for. What fun is it of I could just go buy one. Any insight on this would be great. I'm 24 so I know how to blow money on pointless things haha.

 

[real mad hatter]

Pins.

Well it was our son that got us started when he wanted to collect them on our third visit in 2008.We now have over 100 and are displayed on lanyards in our Disney room.The best pin location is in downtown,happy hunting?:wave:Oh as far as spending goes,well the Colour code indicates this,example green $6.95.

 

[C.FERNIE]

My wife and I both started by buying a lanard then we went for ones we just liked lol she only started last year and has been addicted since! Ive probs spent about a $1000 since i started ten years ago (i think) but we have a very unique collection now! The only problem is i can not bare to part with any of them! so i do not really trade them with anyone! I generally set a budget for when we go so i do not go overboard with them! Its either one at every park or hotel i visit or $75 per trip! :wave:

 

[nngrendel]

I enjoy pin trading. However I didnt invest a lot of money in it either. I usually only purchase pins on the things I have done. Example: Rides, Events, Shows ect ect.... I really like the Event Pins like Star Wars Weekend, 40th Anniversary and MNSSHP pins are my favs. I also collect pins that tell what time of year I was there like the Memorial Day pin I have.

Before my last trip I was fortunate to be at a Health care show in Atlanta and there was a booth for Orlando Fl there as thats where the next show was going to be. They had TONS of Trading pins there. They were nice to actually give me a handful of pins and told me to have fun trading on my up coming trip. Well thats just what I did. Learned about Hidden Mickey Pins. These were very fun to collect and from what I understand you cant buy these you have to trade them. So if you can find a set of "cheap" "inexpensive" pins I would collect them and have fun trading.

I plan on trading a bit when we visit in Sept.

 

[Jkata87]

I like the idea of buying pins for stuff that I have been on. Are there pins that only Cms have?

 

[Figments Friend]

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Hi Friend, and let me welcome you to the fun world of Pin Trading!
I never thought i would get into it, but Disney worked their magical marketing on me and i was sucked in for life. I started back in 2000, in the first year it began, and i have not regretted it although my wallet may have....ha ha! I have lost count of how many pins i have. It has to be in the thousands now.

So..how to start. My advice based on your interest to only seek out pins for trading only, and ones that are not normally availible for purchase, would be to trade exclusively with Cast Members to begin with. Many of them carry Cast exclusive lanyard pins that are neat to find. Of course, before you can start trading with them...you must first buy some Disney Pins of your own to start trading with.

While Downtown Disneys *Pin Central* is a absolute must-visit for pin shopping, it is not always the best place to buy pins you want to trade with. Oh sure there are some moderate choices as well as multi-pin sets for the budget minded, but i would highly recommend purchasing a group of pins off of eBay to begin with. The lots being offered at any given time usually consist of the perfect groupings of pins to begin trading with,anywhere from f5 to 25 pins, and any you happen to like in your lot will be a bonus that you can keep for your own collection.

You will save a LOT of money doing this, as on eBay you can buy a lot of say 25 pins for $25 or slightly more. This breaks down to paying $1 to $2 per pin compared to $6 to $8 per basic pin in the Parks.
A word of caution however- ONLY buy from respectable sellers with high transaction counts and 100% feedback! There are a lot of FAKES and bootleg Disney Pins out there floating around on eBay, so be sure to purchase only from buyers who are trustworthy and deal in authentic official Disney Trading Pins.

I have had a terrific time trading over the years.
The pattern i use is this-

Before i visit, i purchase a couple of eBay lots of Disney Trading Pins, usually 25 to 40 depending on how long my stay is and how active i want to be in trading each day.

Upon arriving at Walt Disney World, place a selection of pins on a hat, neck lanyard, or even just your shirt so others can see them. Remember, dont display pins you wish to keep! Anything you are showing is considered up for grabs.

Approach a Cast Member who is wearing pins themselves, and ask to trade. They will always say yes and take whatever pin you wish you give them.

Repeat process until your pin allotment is used up.

Return home and enjoy the memories. You will find all the pins you trade and then come back home with will have a story connected to it.
This is one of the appealling aspects of getting into the *pin thing*......the memories of how you aquired a certain pin.

Happy Trading!

:wave:

 

[jlevis]

Pin trading is a popular activity and is easy to get into. You can buy a starter lanyard with pins on it and you're in business. You can buy pins at Disney outlet stores at a reduced price. Some buy pins on ebay. I have a problem with that because of the presence of counterfits and scrappers (pin over runs at the manufacturer in China). My wife and I do not trade. We have specific pins we collect, Tink for her, Goofy and Lady & The Tramp for me for example and we don't want to part with them. Also, scrappers are turning-up on CM lanyards, for some that is not an issue but we would rather deal in a known product. To each his own. Anyway, pin trading and/or collecting is a fun activitey enjoyed by all ages. And, like all things Disney it can get to be expensive. :lol: Have fun!!

 

[Figments Friend]

I like the idea of buying pins for stuff that I have been on. Are there pins that only Cms have?

Yes, every month CMs usually received a allotment of special Cast-Only pins that can only be aquired by trading with them. Most are known as *Cast Lanyard Pins*. There have been thousands upon thousands of them released since Pin Trading started in 1999. A lot of the more serious pin collectors seek these out in earnest.

This is why it is good to trade with CMs as they often have the neat stuff!

 

[ILDisneyFan]

Hi! Really all you'll need to purchase is a lanyard (the price varies depending on how fancy they are) and pins (just buy the cheapest pins to trade, I believe they're all color coded now so I'm not sure of the prices now). The pins and lanyards can be found in pretty much any gift shop. You could also just buy the pins before you leave for your trip on eBay. Sometimes sellers will have lots of trading pins for a fairly decent price. Just put Disney Pin Lot in the search. They do have to be official Disney pins in order to trade them. As someone else said though, there are fake ones out there that are hard to identify as being fake but there's always that possibility that you'll get one. It's not cool but there's not much you can do about it.
I still buy pins but I don't trade that often anymore. I only like buying the pins from the special events, such as MNSSHP or MVMCP. I also like buying the pins from my favorite rides and stuff. I try not to spend too much on them but sometimes I find all kinds of them that I like.

Have fun!

 

[paul436]

You have to keep in mind that pin trading and pin collecting are two different things. Pin prices vary so you will probably need to invest about $50 to get at least a few pins to get started.

I've overheard some "veteran" traders talking and they were saying that you have to be cautious of traders who know the value/price of pins and attempt to "trade-up" so to speak. They attempt to trade lesser valued pins for higher values pins. I don't know how rampant this is but something to remember when trading.

 

[jlevis]

A point to keep in mind is that a trade is a pin for a pin. If you start out with 10 pins that is the number you'll have. Then when you trade for a pin you want to keep you have reduced your trading material. If you are trading to build a collection of a particular type of pin you will be buying pins from time to time.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

I have never really done pin trading, but I have been collecting disney pins since the 90's. I have one of those zipper pin holding bags from wdw and its almost filled and my lanyard that I wear each trip with certain ones on it. I would love to get into the trading part, it seems like fun. Each trip I make it a point to go to DTD to the Pin Trader store.. I can spend hours in there. I spent last saturday going through my pin collection actually.. and the Pin book that I bought during one of my trips to wdw and I couldn't believe I had almost all of them in there. Now, the book must be really big because there are so many pins to choose from.

 

[dreamfinder]

Go to the official Disney pin trading page and read there -> http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/index You can see what pins are coming out, and have come out recently along with their prices.

Not to be a killjoy, but at this point, most of the pins that CMs have on their lanyards tend to not be the ones you can buy in the stores. Lots of people look for the cheapest way to get pins, and that is what ends up on the CM lanyards. Lots of the bulk lots on eBay, are the same ones that are on many CM lanyards. You can still find older pins, as well as normal rack pins occasionally, but its the exception now not the rule.

Other guests may be very willing to trade rack pins for rack pins, but most CMs will have much more common pins.

I still enjoy trading, but go into it knowing that most of the lanyard pins will be similar.

 

[JIMINYCR]

A point to keep in mind is that a trade is a pin for a pin. If you start out with 10 pins that is the number you'll have. Then when you trade for a pin you want to keep you have reduced your trading material. If you are trading to build a collection of a particular type of pin you will be buying pins from time to time.

I caught the pin trading bug years ago and have enjoyed taking part in trading.
Thats why my budget for Disney trip is so high. I am never satisfied with just trading. I always see pins on the rack that I have to have So when I plan my trips I know I have to set aside bucks exclusively for pin purchases. My collection of notebooks are full of pins and are ever expanding. :sohappy:

 

[Retlaw Yensid]

I am another big pin collector myself. As other people have eluded to, a good strategy would be to buy cheap pins on ebay for like $0.99 so you can trade them while in the parks. If you are going to be a frequent trader this will allow you to have a lot of pins which you don't particularly care about and will have no problem trading away. Obviously, once you have traded for a pin you like, you will have one less pin to trade so you need to buy some more you want to trade. For me, the only time I trade is if I buy someone else's collection and it has some pins in it that I already have. It is true though that there are some really good pins in which you must trade to get, you can't buy them. Also, once they stop selling a pin, you can only get it through trading or possibly on ebay. It will be costly though so beware! Luckily, my dad made a deal with me in 2000 that he would buy me one pin everyday during our vacations so his wallet has taken most of the blunt! I still hold him to that every year we go!

 

[pintraderpayee]

As you can tell by my screen name, I am usually the one who pays for our pins! My DD started trading in 2002 and through the years I have found it harder and harder to trade away pins she has obtained. The memories attached are priceless so I just keep the pins and end up buying more!
I have my own personal collection and wear a different one to school every day. One day I forgot my pin and my students asked me if I was sick!!
I would suggest you check out www.dizpins.com, www.laughingplace.com, www.disneypincast.com, ebay and of course www.disneyshopping.com for pin info and/or purchases. Also, in the past few years I have noticed that Orlando-area Wal-Marts sell pins. I found a neat Princess and the Frog pin with Facilier on it at the Wal Mart on Vineland Rd. You might also check out the Disney outlet stores in Orlando. Good luck and happy trading!


Proud parent of a Spring Advantage CPCM! Flame Tree BBQ and Pecos Bill's will never be the same:ROFLOL:

 

[SAV]

My kids love to pin trade. I just picked up a 25 pack on eBay for just over $14 for my kids to trade when they are there in June. Seemed like Tuesday mornings had the best prices on the lots. Didn't see them go above $15 while other times they were in the $15 - $18 range for the lot of 25. We're getting them basic Wal-Mart lanyards for a buck each and we're ready to go. We will buy them one pin while we are there for a souvenir and they aren't allowed to trade that one away. A very inexpensive way to enhance the trip.

Yes, you can go all out "official" Disney pin sets and lanyards, etc, but you will be trading them away, so why spend the $ to trade it away like that? If the lanyard is covered with pins, you can't see the decoration on it anyways.

Either way, hope you enjoy it.