Trading Pins from Ebay

[thelionqueen]

FYI, it's sleepys_emporium.

Hilarious! At least I was in the correct dwarf family..LOL. Thanks much for the clarification!

 

[pixiewings71]

LOL No problem!!! I'm in the processing of making purchases from Sleepy, some really nice pins!!

 

[ariel53098]

In my daily ebay trolling I DID find, what looks like a legit, ebay seller! YES, believe it or not, I'm not bashing a fake seller (which out rank the authentic pin sellers 100 to 1). The ebay seller is hppydiztrader, and here is one of his/her auctions. Nice pins, no fakes, good deal for those wanted pins to trade that aren't fakes. Just wanted to share!
http://cgi.ebay.com/DISNEY-PIN-LOT-...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

THanks for this reference! I just ordered way too many pins. I'll update to confirm I got what was described. Thanks again!
Rachel

 

[Danauk]

I too have just ordered from this seller, I will also report when the pins arrive.

 

[bgohre]

I hate playing devils advocate here, but:

If the pins cost $7-$11 a piece, why are they selling them for less then $2? How did they get these pins?

We are so quick to jump all over the scrappers, why aren't we looking at why these "authenic" pins are going so cheap. I noticed many of the pins listed by hppydiztrader are duplicates, so my assumption is that they are not from their personal collection.

Why/how did this person come to have 5 or 6 of the same pin still on the card????

Please note: I am NOT saying they are stolen, I am simply pointing out that it seems a little hypocritical to crucify someone who may have some scrappers in their lot and yet glorify those that sell "legal" pins for the same price that may/may not be from their personal collection.

If everybody is honest with themselves then we would have to admit that some of these "legit" pins are stolen. It just doens't make any sense to buy a pin for $7 and sell it for $2 on ebay. That's AIG business logic there.

 

[thelionqueen]

I hate playing devils advocate here, but:

If the pins cost $7-$11 a piece, why are they selling them for less then $2? How did they get these pins?

We are so quick to jump all over the scrappers, why aren't we looking at why these "authenic" pins are going so cheap. I noticed many of the pins listed by hppydiztrader are duplicates, so my assumption is that they are not from their personal collection.

Why/how did this person come to have 5 or 6 of the same pin still on the card????

Please note: I am NOT saying they are stolen, I am simply pointing out that it seems a little hypocritical to crucify someone who may have some scrappers in their lot and yet glorify those that sell "legal" pins for the same price that may/may not be from their personal collection.

If everybody is honest with themselves then we would have to admit that some of these "legit" pins are stolen. It just doens't make any sense to buy a pin for $7 and sell it for $2 on ebay. That's AIG business logic there.

I see your logic, but I can tell you a couple things you may not have thought of. Number one, first and foremost, NONE of these pins are scrappers!! They are all rack pins. Number 2, in my collection I had (traded many of them) hundreds (literally) of duplicates and here's why. I buy them in bulk when they go on sale. I buy duplicates because I intend to trade them, so it really doesn't matter what they are, as long as they are authentic.

If I decided to sell my personal collection, I would literally have at LEAST 24 of a several pins. I also keep the backs/cards on every pin I've ever bought so I would have the cards too. Did I steal mine? Absolutely NOT. Did this person steal these? I have no idea. Could they be stolen? YES. Are they? I don't know. I do know that they are not fake/scrappers, and will not assume someone is a thief unless I am certain.

That said, if I were strapped for cash, and could get $2.50 per pin, that would equal a lot of money for me if I needed it. I easily have over 10,000 pins. So I can totally see the logic of selling cheaply on ebay for quick cash. I certainly would not expect ANYWHERE near the actual cost I paid for a rack pin; that's just not realistic.

I will continue to "bash" scrapper sellers because, truly, they are thieves and it is obvious they know exactly what they are doing and what damage it causes. For this seller in particular, I cannot tell you the reason they are selling their pins and will NOT assume they are stolen. I know they are authentic rack pins at a good price period. I think you should be careful saying, as you put it" if we are honest with ourselves we would have to admit some of these are stolen". This is a very damaging statement with no evidence to the fact. I understand your intent, but the way it was worded indicates that this person stole them which is totally inappropriate IMHO.

 

[bgohre]

I was refering to all "legit" pins in general that are sold for under $2 a pin. Not this particular seller, I apologize if I did not make myself clear.

I have no evidence that this or any other seller is selling stolen pins, nor do I have any evidenece that anybody is/isn't selling scrapper pins. Therefore, I would NEVER specifically target a specific person unless I have their pins in hand and I have cold hard facts. But lets be honest, I would bet that a good chunk of the truly "legit" pins that are being sold cheap are stolen, unless, it is somebody liquidating their collection for cash and even then, can you really just "trust" what somebody says on their ebay page?

Many folks on here are saying you should ask where the seller got the pins to make sure they're not scrappers. Maybe we should also ask why they're willing to sell them and lose $5 a pin? How did they come by those pins that they're so willing to lose money.

A am a little confused though, if you have pin cards and you sell a pin online and you put it on a card, that doesn't make it legit. You can still get a scrapper or counterfeit and put it on a card and then call it legit. So to me, having the pin cards really has nothing to due with the authenticity of the pin. If you traded a pin in the park...then decided to sell it online...put in on a pincard...it could still be a scrapper or counterfeit pin. I don't know if that's very clear. Let me try this. Let say I buy PIN A, then go to the park and see PIN A on a lanyard and trade for it. Now I'm home and I look at PIN A and say hey, the one I traded for doesn't look right, maybe I'll just put it on the pincard and sell it on ebay. Now a looks like a rack pin and is being sold on ebay with a pincard so it looks more legit.

Please don't get me wrong, I hope Disney finds a way to get rid of the scrappers and I hope anybody that knowingly sells them gets put out of business. I just don't like all the figure pointing and then looking the other way when we think we find pins that are "legit".

 

[pixiewings71]

Well it's been my personal experience that rack pins are not scrapped. Of course I could be wrong and every pin I've won from the past few sellers I've dealt with could be fake but I won't know until I get them. I HAVE purchased from happydiz and sleepy in the past, I've been extremely satisfied with my purchases from them, I'm very much looking forward to getting my latest wins to confirm the legitimacy of them. I would NEVER assume that anyone is selling fakes, but when I get them and I can tell they are then I will discuss it on this board.

 

[bgohre]

A quote from Pinpics:

"Every pin released by Disney has the potential of being a scrapper. Once again, no one can guarantee the authenticity of any Disney pin unless it was purchased directly from Disney. "

 

[pixiewings71]

A quote from Pinpics:

"Every pin released by Disney has the potential of being a scrapper. Once again, no one can guarantee the authenticity of any Disney pin unless it was purchased directly from Disney. "

That is the most basic notation ever. Of course no one knows unless they have purchased the pins directly from Disney, kinda makes sense right.

 

[thelionqueen]

I think any pin could be made into a scrapper, however, the ones currently in circulation are not (at least the ones I've seen). Currently, nearly all scrapper are cast lanyards.

 

[2littleprincesses]

Since I have had such a bad experience with this seller, I have messaged several other pin sellers.

I sent this mention to bibbidi_bobbidi_boo_colectibles

"Where did you get the pins from. Are these scrappers or pins purchased from Disney. I am looking for trading stock, but will not tolerate counterfeit contraband. I am sorry if this sounds negative, I just got burned by another dealer selling fakes. "​

I got a response from them first of:

"First of all what is a scrapper?"​

I then responded with:

A scrapper is the pins that are sold to dealers from china that are not actually purchased from Disney. Many of these pins are overruns or 2nds. Dealers that sell these pins are committing criminal acts.

Where your pins purchased from Disney?​

I then noticed that they use the term "scrapper" in some of their other listings. So this seams to be a baiting type question.

You are asking me what is a scrapper. In a different listing, you mention that it does not include and scrappers. So if you put that in some of your auctions, why would you ask me this. I am a serious bidder looking to get about 50 pins. I want real pins, not counterfeits or scrappers/2nds.​

This morning I got a response from bibbidi_bobbidi_boo_colectibles:

please don not waste my time.​

So I guess you can use your own judgment as to whether or not this person is selling bogus pins or not.

I ordered from this seller earlier today before finding this thread. I worry about the pins I will be getting. I have sent her a message asking if they are authentic. We will see what my response is...

 

[pixiewings71]

I ordered from this seller earlier today before finding this thread. I worry about the pins I will be getting. I have sent her a message asking if they are authentic. We will see what my response is...

Oh no, I hope you get good pins! Please let us know what happens.

 

[bgohre]

From the sounds of their replies, I would say they're selling scrappers and they know it.

 

[2littleprincesses]

She/he said "Yes they are real". I will report when they arrive.

 

[thelionqueen]

I have to say that I am sorry people are finding out about the scrapper epidemic (kind of a strong word, but...) the hard way. But I am happy that people are becoming aware. By having this thread and all the information on it, we are educating those who wouldn't have known, and that is GREAT!!

If we can even make a dent in these fraudulent sellers' business, that is awesome. The more we can get on board, the more we can (hopefully) put an end to this.

Please report back if you have any questions about the pins you received, but I feel confident in saying that they are probably scrappers. If you send them back, we have listed several other sellers on this thread who are "legit". I have one more to add, and that is "retiredreadingspecialist".

I've had several conversations with this person and won 2 auctions. I have not received the pins yet, but know that they are rack pins and not scrappers.

I don't know how many pins he/she is selling, but I don't think there are too many. I won 2 auctions and see 2 more listed. The price is GREAT for the starting bid and even for the "buy it now". So if you're looking, I'd add this person to your favorites.

This is time consuming isn't it? LOL, but it's worth it. We have our trip coming up May 24, and went through our pin books to pull some traders. It's SO hard to part with them, that I am looking to buy. I got some off ebay from "hppydiztrader" and "retiredreadingspecialist" and think that should do us. My son began counting my pins and stopped at 2,147 (only one of my 6 books). One would think I should be able to find some to trade...

 

[iheartdisney]

I have no evidence that this or any other seller is selling stolen pins, nor do I have any evidenece that anybody is/isn't selling scrapper pins. Therefore, I would NEVER specifically target a specific person unless I have their pins in hand and I have cold hard facts. But lets be honest, I would bet that a good chunk of the truly "legit" pins that are being sold cheap are stolen, unless, it is somebody liquidating their collection for cash and even then, can you really just "trust" what somebody says on their ebay page?



Please don't get me wrong, I hope Disney finds a way to get rid of the scrappers and I hope anybody that knowingly sells them gets put out of business. I just don't like all the figure pointing and then looking the other way when we think we find pins that are "legit".

I have read this thread all the way to the beginning (not all in one sitting, or I would be blind!) And this post I agree the most with. I think knowingly putting counterfeit pins into circulation is wrong, but I do think the witchhunt that is going on in this thread is equally wrong.
Not accusing, but just devil's advocate, who is to say that one of the "approved" ebay sellers is not a poster, trying to promote their own auctions?
I think that if you have first-hand knowledge as to the quality of pins sold by a seller, it should be shared. I don't think that we have the right to bash a seller based on speculation.
I have a particular seller I have bought from over the last year or so, and am pretty sure they are sending me legitimate pins. They list (and ship) from the Orlando area, and the lots I have won are mixes of HM and rack pins. However, I pause to share the name of what I deem to be a good seller, because of the accusations which have been thrown around on this thread.

 

[ariel53098]

THanks for this reference! I just ordered way too many pins. I'll update to confirm I got what was described. Thanks again!
Rachel

I got my pins from hppydiztrader today. They look legit. They have the Mickey backs and WDW pricetags on the cards. My only complaint is the package reeks of cigarette smoke. I took the pins out of the bags and envelope and put them in a new bag. Hopefully that will solve the smell issue. I think it was mostly in the packaging.
Here are the pics:
This one is all of the pins:

This one is of the pins that had more than one layer to them:

These were labeled as first release:

These were the ones that have some moving feature:

Another picture of the moving pins:

I tested the weight against ones that I got on our cruise and they feel heavy like the cruise ones.
I think they are legit, but I'm sure some of you guys are more knowledgable?
Rachel

 

[tinkerbee]

I have purchased from bizzybee1 and gyantzpod both sell "legit" pins. bizzybee1's pins are still on the cards and so are most of gyantzpod. All below the cost they are to buy in the parks.

 

[zerog]

I understand the issue that some of the serious traders have with the introduction of fakes into the system. I'm not advocating poor ethics, but I wonder how many of the same traders downloaded songs or movies using Napster-like software programs. Millions of people were doing that a short while ago and it cost the music and film industry a ton of money.