AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Well Disney's Character Warehouse is a legitimate Disney retail store so you know they are genuine. eBay is not.
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Pin Trading Etiquette
- Thread starter RyanH
- Start date
Otterhead
Well-Known Member
I think it's more accurate to say that some sellers on eBay are not. I've most definitely purchased legit pins from eBay sellers.
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Of course
Just saying a Disney Store isn't going to sell fake merchandise whereas on eBay you have to be more careful.Legitimate pins are often sold on eBay individually and usually around retail price and will often have the cardboard backing on. this is almost certainly a genuine pin. There are often people selling genuine lots of pins but the prices of these will be high, usually around the $80+ for a few. Fake lots will of course be 20,50,100,200 pins at ridiculously low prices of $10-$30, obviously too good to be true. A lot of these fakes come from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia so if that is where the seller is based then they are almost definitely fake. American, British etc people also buy these lots and sell them on again using the fact they are in the US/UK to gain a little more trust which also throws people. Annoying but what can you do.
BigRedDad
Well-Known Member
Who is the governing body in pin trading that determines if a pin is real or not? There is no proof that the pins that my daughter has are real or fake. Now, if you want to call it "fraud", that knife cuts both ways. If I trade a pin that you claim is "real" and I receive what you call a "fake" pin from a CM, then the entire WDW Corporation has just committed fraud to me.
If the WDW Corp. cannot guarantee the authenticity of pins they are trading and they cannot guarantee the pins I am trading are authentic, then who owns liability? It is WDW Corp. They are the ones that are making it a business transaction by implying that the trade is 100% authentic. That means they are responsible for insuring pins traded to them that they in turn offer to its guests are 100% authentic.
We can go on and on and on about what pins can be traded. The fact of the matter is the pins on eBay can be traded in the parks. If they want to stop it, then WDW Corp needs to stop it. They CAN do this very simply by sending eBay a cease and desist notification. This will force eBay to pull all sales of pins offline if it cannot be proven that they are real. This is a 15 minute work effort by one of their numerous coucelors.
If the WDW Corp. cannot guarantee the authenticity of pins they are trading and they cannot guarantee the pins I am trading are authentic, then who owns liability? It is WDW Corp. They are the ones that are making it a business transaction by implying that the trade is 100% authentic. That means they are responsible for insuring pins traded to them that they in turn offer to its guests are 100% authentic.
We can go on and on and on about what pins can be traded. The fact of the matter is the pins on eBay can be traded in the parks. If they want to stop it, then WDW Corp needs to stop it. They CAN do this very simply by sending eBay a cease and desist notification. This will force eBay to pull all sales of pins offline if it cannot be proven that they are real. This is a 15 minute work effort by one of their numerous coucelors.
flynnibus
Premium Member
That's not what he said... he said 'cheapest he found' - not everything priced 1.99. You've just taken two things and aligned them unnaturally to try to defend yourself.
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
And I agree, Disney needs to try harder. I am aware CMs accept and trade out fakes which sends out completely the wrong message and goes against their own policies so the rules become blurred. I think trading fakes is wrong and the official Disney policy will back me up on that but if they aren't going to follow their own rules set out to stop it closely enough then it becomes a moral issue in hopes people will do the right thing.
''Who is the governing body in pin trading that determines if a pin is real or not? There is no proof that the pins that my daughter has are real or fake.''
Well Disney is but as you say, they put guest satisfaction on top of calling out guests who are committing fraud and begrudgingly let it slide. A lot of CMs also have not much knowledge of how to spot a fake so that is also a problem. I think the problem is way too big and will need an overhaul of the system at this point. But Disney are doing things about it that we are not aware of, they just need to be stricter at enforcing it on the front line.
There is, take out your collection, watch the video I posted a page back and inspect your collection one by one and you will find they are either all real, fake or a mixed bag.
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flynnibus
Premium Member
And they do make reasonable efforts to do so.. through their training and policies which have been mentioned several times in this thread. But yet again you chose to ignore that reality because it doesn't meet impossible standards you have defined.
Oh yes... that's all it takes to stop all counterfeiting in the world on ebay. What reality are you living in? Even with takedowns from ebay (which are frequent) - the vast majority do still get through. eBay (and other overseas sites) just happily pass the buck for IP holders to try to enforce everything.. when the auction site is happy to turn a blind eye to what they know is really happening.
You act like Disney is alone in this or does nothing... are you oblivious to all the counterfeits for sale online in general?
asianway
Well-Known Member
If anyone is still worried about fakes, this video by a former Disneyland CM is very informative.
@bjlc57 As @Chernaboggles says above, don't let fakes put you off, just educate yourself on how to avoid fake pins and that way you can still have fun and still have all genuine pins at the end of it
Sorry I'm late to the party, had to go run get my gas can...
In the video she refers you to pinpics if you're not sure on a certain pin. Y'all know who bought pinpics, right?
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Pinpics.com is owned by a company called Lansam Inc according to the website's privacy policy. Never heard of them but is something wrong with that? :/
mousehockey37
Well-Known Member
Not true. Our Disney Outlet has them for like $4 on the clearance rack... so for a mark up, that would mean basically putting it back to its original price.
You can tell what pins are real and not on eBay, the ones being sold as singles more than likely are real because they want face value for them... the lots that are the same as a single real pin, they'll tell you one "real" one might be in there, but you never know for sure...
The best way is to just stay away from those sources altogether. There are plenty of other avenues to trading pins or acquiring real pins that doesn't involve eBay.
asianway
Well-Known Member
http://disneypinforum.com/showthread.php?14966-Lansam-Pinpics-Banning-MORE-Users-WATCH-OUT!
A lot. Look you're on the right side here, but it's penny ante stuff and Disney has no interest in acknowledging the problem let alone doing anything about it
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Wow, that's kinda concerning and if true, completely invalidates the website from doing the job it was created for. Strange.
asianway
Well-Known Member
The couple that created it have washed their hands. A Shame it never was offered up to the community-I know several people who would have purchased and continued the mission
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
That particular pin seems to be a genuine 2011 'Happy Orange Bird' pin, the two parts next to the pin are generally not on fake ones, although some do have them. The spelling is correct and the spacing is ok, Y and P may be a little too close. As long as the edges are smooth all the way around and not rough or sharp anywhere then it is real.I couldn't find my bag of pins but I did find one of them sitting on a shelf in my pc desk. Here's one of them:
This is the orange bird pin. I know it's not one I traded for because I don't like it and I pretty much only trade for PoTC or HM or monorail themed pins.
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asianway
Well-Known Member
Pro tip: some eBay sellers of large lots do sell legit pins. They do this by buying bulk fake pins direct from china and "laundering" them on CM lanyards.
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
It could still be fake or rather a 'scrapper' in this case, being a defective one from the official production line. Does the front have any paint chips, discolouration? Is the surface completely flat and smooth or are the silver lines on the image raised?
On closer inspection, these edges do seem a little too jagged.
A very good looking fake I must say if it is. I'd have to feel it to be certain.
Pinpics does however state that this particular pin is widely counterfeited though
But anyway, thank you for taking the time to photograph one
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