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Trading Pins
- Thread starter emma c
- Start date
juniorthomas
Well-Known Member
I've been wondering the same thing. I don't want to get fake pins, but I'm not sure how to prevent that.
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lovepooh
Well-Known Member
Everytime we go to disney we get a lot of disney pins from ebay. they have always been real with the disney emblem on back and with mickey ear backs. we are planning to do the same. We are going to get 50. for our family of 4. but my kids are little so they are just getting into the pin trading. my husband and I love it so we do a lot.
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SAV
Well-Known Member
From what I have read, the difference between real and scrappers are somewhat minute that a regular person really can't tell. It's that a color is lighter than the original or a bit different, etc. I have bought multiple lots on eBay and all were traded in WDW.
I first started with a lot of 20 and gave each kid 10. Then I upped it to 30 pins and that seemed to work well. If the price difference is small, go with the lot of 50. Then you can always take ones they really like out of the rotation. We just went with the $1 lanyards from Wal-mart as well.
I first started with a lot of 20 and gave each kid 10. Then I upped it to 30 pins and that seemed to work well. If the price difference is small, go with the lot of 50. Then you can always take ones they really like out of the rotation. We just went with the $1 lanyards from Wal-mart as well.
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MacVenture
Member
The only way to guarantee you are receiving a 100% Disney authentic pin, is to purchase it from Disney (at the park or from their site). I would encourage you to read up on the subject (ebay has an article also).
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SAV
Well-Known Member
No clue what a quid is, but I got my 30 pack for about $18 on eBay. They were a random lot, so no guarantees of what you will get.
Do you really want to purchase a lot of princess pins? What I mean is that you can purchase random ones she will most likely not "Like" and then trade those for princess ones she does like at the parks. If you start with Princess, it will be hard to get her to trade any away.
Do you really want to purchase a lot of princess pins? What I mean is that you can purchase random ones she will most likely not "Like" and then trade those for princess ones she does like at the parks. If you start with Princess, it will be hard to get her to trade any away.
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juniorthomas
Well-Known Member
Goes without saying. OP, and I'd imagine a lot of other people would certainly like to take advantage of the fact that on property, those pins can be expensive. If you can get 5 times as many for the same price, it's at least worth looking into.
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dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
The only foolproof way to avoid getting fakes is to buy them, from the racks, at a Disney Store/park. That said, fakes aren't necessarily the best term for the knockoffs. Some are errors, over runs, etc. Others are made on the real equipment, just off the books. IE WDW orders 10,000, the factory makes 15,000 and sells 5,000 on their own. Some are made by other factories using faked dies, and yet others are completely unauthorized, never actually made as pins, but the factory may have taken the art from a sticker, or something else and made pins of it.
Buying from eBay, some pins will be legit, but many are not. If WDW is selling the pin for $8-15, odds are that someone selling it for $1 is up to something sketchy. Think of it this way, if you walk through Chinatown and see Coach bags for $50, or through Times Square and see Oakleys for $10, would you think they are 100% authentic? Pins from eBay are similar. If you see someone selling pins for $.50-$2, quite possibly fakes. $8-10, more than likely real. Look at the sellers history, and other items for sale. Much like our "Coach" purses, if someone has dozens of 25/50 pin lots for sale, or keeps relisting the same item, they are most likely not legit. Now someone could have found that Coach at an estate sale, or an estranged GF, much in the same way someone could be getting rid of their collection and selling them on eBay, but then you would most likely only see 1 of a given item being sold by the person. Most resellers on eBay list the same lot multiple times using the same information.
Pins that come in little individual ziploc baggies? More likely than not, fakes. Pin lots that state "Pins shown are an example only, you may receive different pins", likely fakes.
The seller may include something like "100% tradeable", which may technically be true. The offical rule is
Now if you have the pins in hand, there are a few things you can look for.
Check for clean edges on the pin. Often non official pins won't have all the flashing removed from the edges. This is especially obvious around small delicate areas, more than often they will just leave the excess material and not bother to trim it.
Colors. Non official pins can end up using funky colors. Things like a radio active yellow/green for Donalds beak or Belles dress. Something that we as a WDW guest might know isn't right, but someone unfamiliar with Disney might not know is wrong.
Backstamps. Several things to look for. The most obvious tends to be a backstamp that is too small. Some of the pins have a Mickey head pattern on them, that should run off the edge. Fakes, the pattern will sometimes stop just short of the edge, so that Mickey just gets cut off. Others have the pattern running in the wrong direction (the heads should be north/south facing, on some its east/west facing). Things like that.
Metal/weight. Many fakes are done in a lighter/different/thinner metal. So holding a fake and a real pin you would notice the difference.
Now keep in mind that many of the pins on the CMs lanyards are going to be fakes. There are lot of people who buy the lots and then try to trade them for reals. So even though your pin may be 100% legit, the one you receive back may be fake. As I mentioned before, most CMs don't know/don't care, so just keep that in mind when making your decisions.
Hate to break it to you, but those are very probably fakes. These are often made in the same factories, so have the back stamp and mickey pin backs doesn't mean anything. And remember, factories in China can make functional fake electronics, so knocking off an embossed stamp or a rubber piece is childs play to them.
Buying from eBay, some pins will be legit, but many are not. If WDW is selling the pin for $8-15, odds are that someone selling it for $1 is up to something sketchy. Think of it this way, if you walk through Chinatown and see Coach bags for $50, or through Times Square and see Oakleys for $10, would you think they are 100% authentic? Pins from eBay are similar. If you see someone selling pins for $.50-$2, quite possibly fakes. $8-10, more than likely real. Look at the sellers history, and other items for sale. Much like our "Coach" purses, if someone has dozens of 25/50 pin lots for sale, or keeps relisting the same item, they are most likely not legit. Now someone could have found that Coach at an estate sale, or an estranged GF, much in the same way someone could be getting rid of their collection and selling them on eBay, but then you would most likely only see 1 of a given item being sold by the person. Most resellers on eBay list the same lot multiple times using the same information.
Pins that come in little individual ziploc baggies? More likely than not, fakes. Pin lots that state "Pins shown are an example only, you may receive different pins", likely fakes.
The seller may include something like "100% tradeable", which may technically be true. The offical rule is
Are they really going to tell little Johnny that he can't trade because his pin is fake? And even if the CM did care to try to identify the fake, some are so good that even the pin group has problems telling that they are fake. And in a few instances the only way they could tell because they pulled out the pin bible, and the pin they were looking at was never actually produced.
Now if you have the pins in hand, there are a few things you can look for.
Check for clean edges on the pin. Often non official pins won't have all the flashing removed from the edges. This is especially obvious around small delicate areas, more than often they will just leave the excess material and not bother to trim it.
Colors. Non official pins can end up using funky colors. Things like a radio active yellow/green for Donalds beak or Belles dress. Something that we as a WDW guest might know isn't right, but someone unfamiliar with Disney might not know is wrong.
Backstamps. Several things to look for. The most obvious tends to be a backstamp that is too small. Some of the pins have a Mickey head pattern on them, that should run off the edge. Fakes, the pattern will sometimes stop just short of the edge, so that Mickey just gets cut off. Others have the pattern running in the wrong direction (the heads should be north/south facing, on some its east/west facing). Things like that.
Metal/weight. Many fakes are done in a lighter/different/thinner metal. So holding a fake and a real pin you would notice the difference.
Now keep in mind that many of the pins on the CMs lanyards are going to be fakes. There are lot of people who buy the lots and then try to trade them for reals. So even though your pin may be 100% legit, the one you receive back may be fake. As I mentioned before, most CMs don't know/don't care, so just keep that in mind when making your decisions.
Hate to break it to you, but those are very probably fakes. These are often made in the same factories, so have the back stamp and mickey pin backs doesn't mean anything. And remember, factories in China can make functional fake electronics, so knocking off an embossed stamp or a rubber piece is childs play to them.
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real mad hatter
Well-Known Member
Save yer Quids.They are plenty of fakes out there.( like everything in life ) We buy all ours at Disney World.Not easy to spot the difference.But there is a mark on the back of the pin with a ........sorry,Ive been sworn to secrecy.
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MacVenture
Member
I understand, but the only way to avoid fake Disney pins is to purchase directly from Disney. I have purchased numerous pin sets (grab bags, etc) from Ebay and can honestly say, out of a set of 25/50/100 you WILL receive a fake Disney pin. So understand what you are buying, because like you said Disney pins are expensive.
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BigRedDad
Well-Known Member
Its easy to insure you get real pins. Just check the seller feedback, check the auction to be sure they are real, and look for US sellers. The number to get depends on how much he will be into it. My wife and daughter are fanatical. I think I have about 150. I am not sure if that is going to be enough or not.
Once the pin cycle has run out, Disney takes them off the shelf. Collectors buy them in bulk by weight, strip out what they want to keep, and then sell all of the unwanted ones in lots.
Once the pin cycle has run out, Disney takes them off the shelf. Collectors buy them in bulk by weight, strip out what they want to keep, and then sell all of the unwanted ones in lots.
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HouCuseChickie
Well-Known Member
Firstly, we made the mistake of getting pins our girls would really like- many of which were also good pins. Towards the end of our last trip, a kind but stern CM told the girls he wouldn't trade them for any of their good pins. i.e. they needed to learn about keepers. He was kind enough to just give them pins, but I'd highly recommend buying at least 25 random lot pins per kid from sellers with decent ratings.
The reality, you may not be able to tell if what you've purchased are scrappers or not. Still- if it's children trading with CMs, it's very unlikely they'll be turned down. However, if you try trading with regular people- especially well versed pin traders- you might find out the hard way if you have scrappers.
The reality, you may not be able to tell if what you've purchased are scrappers or not. Still- if it's children trading with CMs, it's very unlikely they'll be turned down. However, if you try trading with regular people- especially well versed pin traders- you might find out the hard way if you have scrappers.
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icecreamrules
Active Member
I try to get multiples of the same pin. That way my kids don't get attached, but keep one original and trade out the rest.
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To be honest its just for kiddo for something extra to do, little pressie on the way to surprise her with, decide to fill her carry on with disney stuff and give to her at airport so can work out where we going! I wont last not be able to tell any longer its killing we as it is!
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real mad hatter
Well-Known Member
One year at DD at the pin trade shop.people had all their pins out on boards,etc.This mother and daughter.(16) were looking thro them,all of a sudden the girl was going loopy.She had found a pin she had been looking for and traded for it.I was like" Whit the " 
Some people take it very serious.
Some people take it very serious.
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