Pin trading and Autograph book for 5 year old?

bsmartin2000

bsmartin2000

Active Member
I really do not know much about pin trading so I am wondering if this is something my 5 year old Grandson would like. I checked on Ebay and I am shocked at what is out there for pins!! Should I purchase a starter kit with lanyard for him or is this just a waste of money?? I am thinking an autograph book might be a good idea since I plan on alot of Character meals for him. Any suggestions?:)
 
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HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Our girls are 4 and 6 and they pin traded for the first time this last trip. They loved it!

You can actually get some really cheap lots of pins no ebay. In fact, I bid on a lot of 25 for them back in December and spent about $15 on the whole thing. There are other sellers on there who will sell you random individual pins for just over $1 per pin...i.e. a little more expensive b/c they're not selling a bulk lot.

Every now and then, you can also find some cheapies at the Disney Store online. I got each girl 2012 spinners discounted to $2.95 each.

I got them cheap lanyards ($1 at Party City) and the only complaint was that the pins didn't stay on as well. There are little pin trading bags that are probably the best for loss prevention or heavier lanyards supposedly work a bit better.

I made the mistake of getting the girls "better" pins for their first trading experience. i.e. they traded away ones they probably should have kept. We even encountered a CM who refused a trade b/c the pin DD4 was trying to trade was a "keeper." The girls actually were hoping for ugly pins they didn't like so they'd feel better about trading them away...which is another reason why the cheapie lots you can pick up on ebay are the best way to go. I think both girls want to trade away at least 2/3 of those lots...yet still loved them too.

We did autograph books (I made them) for their first trip when they were 2 and 4...haven't done them since b/c it was a hassle and they weren't really into it.

I also picked up lanyard medallions for them on ebay and saved a few $.
 
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normbalko

normbalko

Member
we've always done the autograph book for my daughter, she's 9 now and excited to go back at the end of the month to fill another book. if you do the autograph book, get the one that lets you slide a picture of the character encounter in the book next to the autograph. makes a much nicer keepsake!

never did pins, no opinion one way or the other! sorry
 
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Figgy1

Figgy1

Premium Member
bsmartin2000 said:
I really do not know much about pin trading so I am wondering if this is something my 5 year old Grandson would like. I checked on Ebay and I am shocked at what is out there for pins!! Should I purchase a starter kit with lanyard for him or is this just a waste of money?? I am thinking an autograph book might be a good idea since I plan on alot of Character meals for him. Any suggestions?:)
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My ds carried his autograph book with him every where when he was 5, Took excellent care of it the entire trip. That was his visit when he became interested in pin trading. If you think your grandson might like pin trading might I suggest getting an assorted bundle on Ebay and an inexpsive lanyard also. The only thing I would also suggest is if he has any keeper pins he doesn't wear them only the traders that way he won't loose any special pins.
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Autograph books are great keepsakes, definitely go with that. Pin trading is also great for some kids. Not all kids get excited about pin trading. Try it for a while to see how your child enjoys it. Be sure to look out for CM's wearing green lanyards, they will trade only with young kids. Maybe get your child to seek out only those pins of their favorite character to start.
 
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lunchbox1175

lunchbox1175

Well-Known Member
As much as I hate to say this because it make the line longer, I would go with the autograph books, especially if you make them yourself, leave a spot to add the photo taken later, they make great scrap books or photo albums that they will appreciate when they are older. DD13 and DD11 are into the pin trading now and have some great collectors pins, but didn't really like it much when they were 5 and 6 years old. They love their photo books though, they get them out and look at them everytime they are about to go on a trip and get so excited.
 
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bethram

bethram

Well-Known Member
We've done autograph books both times we've gone and the kids have enjoyed getting signatures and comparing the two trips.

We just started pin trading on our trip this past summer. DD9 wasn't so sure about it but she did end up trading a good bit. DS5 said he wanted to get pins and trade them before DD. However he never actually traded pins, he only bought them. We did buy them a small "album" to put their pins on and when we go back we will have them bring only the pins they want to trade.
 
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BigRedDad

BigRedDad

Well-Known Member
For a 5yo, definitely do both. By all means get the cheap pins off eBay. Since it is new, 25 would be plenty to start. For my wife and daughter, I get about 100 pins to trade for our trips now. We usually run out (thank goodness).
 
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zurgandfriend

zurgandfriend

Well-Known Member
Autograph book for sure, I will always remember my son's face when we saw the autograph Pluto gave him. Also one time on the bus back from DHS a little girl about 4 or 5 showed my dear wife and I her autograph book and told us who it was, where she got it and a little bit extra, such as Pluto is a yellow dog or Minnie wears a pokkadot dress, she was so proud of that book.
 
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RickP330

RickP330

Well-Known Member
I bought the 25 lot on Ebay with a lanyard and we forgot it at home when we left! I had to buy a starter kit when we got there, but she was too shy to engage in trading. We lost a few too walking around. I think my DD (5yo) was a little disappointed we didn't trade any but there is always next year and we have a ton of pins now!!!
 
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Figgy1

Figgy1

Premium Member
RickP330 said:
I bought the 25 lot on Ebay with a lanyard and we forgot it at home when we left! I had to buy a starter kit when we got there, but she was too shy to engage in trading. We lost a few too walking around. I think my DD (5yo) was a little disappointed we didn't trade any but there is always next year and we have a ton of pins now!!!
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The stores have locking backs for pins worth the small investment
 
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M

MandyMouse

New Member
I think they are both age appropriate, just ask him if the pin trading is something he's be interested in. The Character autographs are must IMO. I'm sure he'll be very excited to meet his favorite characters.
 
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SAV

SAV

Well-Known Member
When my son was 5, he had both and loved both of them. I did the lot on eBay and the dollar lanyards. We split them between the 2 kids. The best part is having the lot before leaving and them going through picking out the ones they would "never" trade away. Talking about them and so on. Then when there, realizing there are much cooler ones out there and getting rid of those "never" pins. It's fun to watch them and their thought process at the young age. He was a little hesitant at first, so I went up with him and then a day later was going up to them himself asking "May I see your pins?" He did have his older sister there, so maybe that helped him not be as shy.

He's now past the characters and autographs, but still loves the pin trading. They will break out the old autograph books every now and again, so they are definitely worth getting, but we will usually get the small Disney themed notebooks from the dollar store and use those for autographs. We did the fancy books the first time and they didn't care either way as long as they got the signature.
 
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englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
I started taking the kid at five, and we did pin trading, autographs and penny collecting each trip

At five, she was certainly more into the autographs and the penny machines. At age six, it was sortof a blend. And at age seven, now her third annual trip, she was more into pin trading, and the autographs didn't interest her much at all, nor the pennies.

So, I really would say it is up to the kid. A starter kit for trading isn't very expensive, and whether we trade or not we each make a lanyard for each trip with pins that signify some important things from the trip, like a pin of our hotel, etc...
 
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real mad hatter

real mad hatter

Well-Known Member
My DS started buying pins on our third visit in 2008 and we joined in also.However we don't trade ( Scots eh ) but we enjoy collecting whatever takes our fancy.We now have eleven lanyards with 127 pins all hanging up on the wall of our Disney room.I suppose it's a bit like stamp collecting tho some people take it very serious.We saw a mother & daughter going ballistic at the pin trading at downtown a few years back,when they got a rare pin they had been looking for.:eek:
 
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