Is pin trading still a Thing?

[rdaky]

They are professional traders. Imo, most of them are there to brag more than to actually trade. I have yet to meet one that is interested in casual trading the way most of us are used to doing Pin Trading.

We also saw a homeschooling pin trading group. Just a bunch of local kids who were pin trading together and brought all of their lanyards.

On the note of pro traders, I've seen them in the parks. Some of them are intense. Some ruin the fun. Some are rude to cast members about the types of pins on their boards. Sometimes they have kids and their kids just want to trade because they like a character or color and the parent is absolutely freaking out because the kid is trying to trade a good pin for a cheap one. I'm local and I know a lot of cast members, and I've heard so many stories about how so many of them hope that the lanyards never come back because people constantly touch without permission, grab their lanyards, complain that they don't have "good" ones and make it personal.

 

[Ltfightr]

The first time we went, I had heard the stories of the traders with the notebooks and I told my son, at the time a young 10 and special needs, that he could only trade with Castmembers or another kid. This time, he took a ton of extra pins and every time I turned around he would be handing out his extra traders to little kids so they would have something to start trading with if they wanted to.

 

[parasail_of_congress]

They are professional traders. Imo, most of them are there to brag more than to actually trade. I have yet to meet one that is interested in casual trading the way most of us are used to doing Pin Trading.

Every one I’ve approached, was only interested in trading something if you had the original card it came on. The worst I ever had the misfortune to meet was about 10 yrs ago at DL. Without a single word of lead-in, I had one of them literally jab at a pin on my lanyard and bark, “You know that’s a scrapper— a fake! You should take it off and throw it away!” I replied that I had bought it at a shop on Main Street not 1/2 hour earlier… still had the receipt in my pocket (although I threw the card away… no reason to keep it). The woman proceeded to loudly call me a liar and then beckon her buddy over to look. The other woman agreed and then said *I* was giving Pin Trading a bad name. I told her if she wanted to meet someone who was besmirching the ‘good name’ of Pin Trading, she and her friend there should look in the mirror, then I turned and walked away (& yes, I used the word “besmirching” ). As I walked away, she kept getting louder and louder (she wanted me to keep hearing her) behind me telling people they needed to look out for cheaters like me. Yeah, right I’m the cheater…sure. I hadn’t even asked to trade with those women… hadn’t said a word other than “hi” as I approached. I’ve chatted with other pro traders before… and while they were kinda stuck-up and snooty, maybe even borderline rude, NONE could Ohold a candle to those last two. I haven’t approached a picnic table of pins again.

As an aside, there’s something else I’ve noticed: I’ve yet to meet another adult (who wasn’t a CM) willing to trade with a child. Sometimes, I think I’m the only one… I hope not. I have a baggie in my backpack with mostly popular character pins that my younglings abandoned after they grew up. If a kid asks about my pins and trading with me, I explain that the ones on my lanyard (or nowadays, my backpack) are my special ones, but I have others they can look at, and they can trade for one of those if they want. I’ve even slipped them an extra if they just couldn’t decide. Sadly, I’ve seen way too many adults at Disney who seem to be related to Foghorn Leghorn: “Go away kid, you bother me!” I can’t stand that, and I never want that to be me.


For me, Pin Trading is all about the fun. And about never knowing what you’re gonna find next. I honestly don’t give a whole lot of scrutiny to pins I trade for, as to whether they’re scrappers or not. If it looks right— no *really* “wrong colors”, or anything that is clearly “off”— and it’s one I like or have been collecting, I will trade for it. My pin collection is not an investment for my financial future (dh would probably say it’s an investment in my future poverty) I see it as an investment in my future happiness. I enjoy seeing my pin groups displayed in their shadowbox-style frames hanging in my hobby room. I get to remember happy memories of past trips, and dream of future ones. Those memories are what is important— not whether I traded for a scrapper somewhere.

Beginning in about 2017 or ‘18 (5 yrs or so after meeting the poorly behaved pros), I started to notice more & more that many of the pins in the shops on property, and on shopDisney had “suspicious” traits that have been said to mean they are fakes. So with quality control going downhill and legitimate pins showing “scrapper” traits, how can anyone know for sure anymore?

It was actually after the encounter I described above that I started to research what a “scrapper” is… and started to look at pins with a bit more of a critical eye. What I noticed was that the pins they’re selling in the parks sometimes have pits in the enamel, rough or sharp edges, small areas where the colored enamel “spills over” into the space next to it, or copyright lettering on the back that is illegible, among other defects that supposedly are tell-tale signs that a pin is fake.

So I’ve given up worrying about “fake vs real”— there is just no way to ever be 100% sure unless you are going to buy every pin you collect directly from Disney & no one else will know for certain yours are real unless you intend to keep them on their cards with the receipts… and of course, that kinda defeats the point of pin trading. Instead you will just be pin collecting.

After reading this I think you have enough material for a Disney+ series on pin trading at the parks. I know my kids would watch every episode!

 

[AprilsZoo]

We also saw a homeschooling pin trading group. Just a bunch of local kids who were pin trading together and brought all of their lanyards.

That’s awesome. I kinda hope a few of them were teens, because little kids need to see that their hobby doesn’t have to be something they’re gonna “grow out” of… they could lose interest, sure, but a pin trading hobby doesn’t have to be a “little kid” thing.

On the note of pro traders, I've seen them in the parks. Some of them are intense. Some ruin the fun. Some are rude to cast members about the types of pins on their boards. Sometimes they have kids and their kids just want to trade because they like a character or color and the parent is absolutely freaking out because the kid is trying to trade a good pin for a cheap one.

Yeah, I had to tell the lady from my encounter to keep her hands to herself, or I’d report her to security, because she just kept jabbing me with two fingers, pushing the pin back into a kinda sensitive spot. I mean, I don’t care if every pin I had on was an obvious fake… who puts their hands on a complete stranger’s—ahem, bosom area— without so much as a “howdy do”? Good grief, at least introduce yourself. [Of course, this was in the days before I needed an ECV to get thru the parks (wow, that means I had the time period wrong for when it happened… I’ll go back and fix that…) so I hadn’t yet experienced the phenomenon of total strangers tripping over you and landing on you or sitting in your lap. More stories there than I can list. I should really write a book.]
I have no idea what makes some people appoint themselves to be grand ruler of [insert hobby here]. I’ve learned to give them the deference they’ve earned… most of the time = none.

The first time we went, I had heard the stories of the traders with the notebooks and I told my son, at the time a young 10 and special needs, that he could only trade with Castmembers or another kid. This time, he took a ton of extra pins and every time I turned around he would be handing out his extra traders to little kids so they would have something to start trading with if they wanted to.

This is just about the sweetest thing I think I’ve ever heard. What an awesome young man you’ve got there!

After reading this I think you have enough material for a Disney+ series on pin trading at the parks. I know my kids would watch every episode!

Idk about that, but thanks. Maybe if I do write a book, it’ll get picked up for a series. I wonder if I’d get to travel on Disney’s dime? Yeah, probably not… but hey, a girl can dream. There’s even a song about it.

 

[AprilsZoo]

We’re going tonight solely so my youngest son can trade pins.

<snip>

But youngest ds is now really getting into it. It’s been so long since we were into pin trading. I have no idea what’s a scrapper and what isn’t anymore. We tell him just pick whatever interests you.

It’s so cool that you can go to the parks just for an evening of trading. I always feel like I’m wasting our time in the parks when I’m just motoring from shop to shop, dh in tow, in search of pins. I’d to just leisurely go on a search for pins.

I think your advice to your son to just get what he likes or what will bring him happiness is perfect. Because as far as scrappers/fakes go, you’ll make yourself utterly crazy trying to figure it out. It’s not even worth trying, honestly.

Sometimes even Disney themselves adds confusion to things. For example I remember many years ago, there was a weird batch of outline only scrapper or fake pins that got loose in the wild. They were just the metal outline, no enamel. Well, fast forward a few years, and Disney started releasing sets exactly like that. Now they’ll release a set of normal pins, and an identical set of non-enameled pins to go with it.

Additionally, as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve noticed quality control of Disney merchandise going steadily downhill for a while. So, even the pins you buy in the Disney shops can apparently have the “telltale signs” of being fakes.

{Hopefully the following isn’t too far off topic …}
Thing is, scrappers aren’t really fakes… they are called scrappers because they were supposed to have been “scrapped”/destroyed at the time of manufacture. They typically come about in one of 2 ways:

1. They are the pre-run “proofs” made for approval before a whole batch is made. Normally the proof run is about 100-500 pins, whatever is needed to get the colors, etc just right. As CNC technology has gotten better, proof runs have gotten smaller. Sometimes not all of the proofs are given up to be destroyed after approval is given to begin the ordered batch.
2. Over-runs are produced at the time of the original manufacture. To a certain extent this is expected. Basically, they produce the number ordered by Disney, plus some extras to account for any with defects… but then they keep on going with production. Thus the over-run pins are 100% identical to the pins that are intended to end up for sale. They are indistinguishable from the pins sold in the shops at Disney… because they were made at the same time.
   
   When the ordered batch is delivered, all of the proofs and over-runs are supposed to be destroyed, and all of the molds, dies, and CNC programs are supposed to be delivered back to Disney to either be destroyed or kept under lock & key in case another run is needed at a later date.

If the factory has not given all of the over-runs to Disney, those pins may end up on the market via eBay, etc. and except for possibly the original buyer (not all of them realize that there is anything wrong with the bulk, low-cost pins), no one is ever gonna know they’re trading for scrappers.​

​

Fakes are a different story. Those come from duplicate molds, dies, etc made from the original official parts. They are manufactured later from unauthorized molds, dies, and CNC programs. Because they aren’t made at the time of an authorized run, the colors may be off or the clear top coat might be defective. The edges of the metal may not be as smooth or “finished”. The actual sharp pin is sometimes not attached securely. There may be other discrepancies in the pins that I haven’t listed, but they’re pretty much all related to pin quality.

The biggest issue lately is that quality control of the official, authorized pins being sold in the shops have some of the same issues that are associated with fakes. But obviously, these aren’t fakes or scrappers if you have bought them directly from Disney. The problem is that if you are engaging in pin trading via cast lanyards or boards, you just have no way of knowing whether you’re getting a real, Disney-bought pin vs.a scrapper, or a fake vs. a real pin that suffered poor quality control.

If it is important to someone that all of their pins are 100% certain to be Disney authorized pins, they should engage in pin collecting vs. trading, and only collect pins they have purchased for themselves at the parks or on shopDisney.

I’ve read about Pin Traders with extensive collections worth what they believe should be many, many thousands of dollars based on what they spent over the years, and the expected value of special pins or sets they traded for. They are genuinely surprised and hurt to discover that their collection is actually worth only a fraction of what they invested in it. Sometimes just pennies on the dollar.

If someone wants a collection as an investment, they should consult with other collectors, appraisers, and financial advisors before sinking substantial sums of money into anything. Never assume that because you are spending a great deal on your collection, it will be worth at least as much as you have invested in it. You’ll nearly always be disappointed.

 

[RLGNC]

They are professional traders. Imo, most of them are there to brag more than to actually trade. I have yet to meet one that is interested in casual trading the way most of us are used to doing Pin Trading.

Every one I’ve approached, was only interested in trading something if you had the original card it came on. The worst I ever had the misfortune to meet was nearly 15 yrs ago at DL. Without a single word of lead-in, I had one of them literally jab at a pin on my lanyard and bark, “You know that’s a scrapper— a fake! You should take it off and throw it away!” I replied that I had bought it at a shop on Main Street not 1/2 hour earlier… still had the receipt in my pocket (although I threw the card away… no reason to keep it). The woman proceeded to loudly call me a liar and then beckon her buddy over to look. The other woman agreed and then said *I* was giving Pin Trading a bad name. I told her if she wanted to meet someone who was besmirching the ‘good name’ of Pin Trading, she and her friend there should look in the mirror, then I turned and walked away (& yes, I used the word “besmirching” ). As I walked away, she kept getting louder and louder (she wanted me to keep hearing her) behind me telling people they needed to look out for cheaters like me. Yeah, right I’m the cheater…sure. I hadn’t even asked to trade with those women… hadn’t said a word other than “hi” as I approached. I’ve chatted with other pro traders before… and while they were kinda stuck-up and snooty, maybe even borderline rude, NONE could Ohold a candle to those last two. I haven’t approached a picnic table of pins again.

As an aside, there’s something else I’ve noticed: I’ve yet to meet another adult (who wasn’t a CM) willing to trade with a child. Sometimes, I think I’m the only one… I hope not. I have a baggie in my backpack with mostly popular character pins that my younglings abandoned after they grew up. If a kid asks about my pins and trading with me, I explain that the ones on my lanyard (or nowadays, my backpack) are my special ones, but I have others they can look at, and they can trade for one of those if they want. I’ve even slipped them an extra if they just couldn’t decide. Sadly, I’ve seen way too many adults at Disney who seem to be related to Foghorn Leghorn: “Go away kid, you bother me!” I can’t stand that, and I never want that to be me.


For me, Pin Trading is all about the fun. And about never knowing what you’re gonna find next. I honestly don’t give a whole lot of scrutiny to pins I trade for, as to whether they’re scrappers or not. If it looks right— no *really* “wrong colors”, or anything that is clearly “off”— and it’s one I like or have been collecting, I will trade for it. My pin collection is not an investment for my financial future (dh would probably say it’s an investment in my future poverty) I see it as an investment in my future happiness. I enjoy seeing my pin groups displayed in their shadowbox-style frames hanging in my hobby room. I get to remember happy memories of past trips, and dream of future ones. Those memories are what is important— not whether I traded for a scrapper somewhere.

Beginning in about 2017 or ‘18 (5 yrs or so after meeting the poorly behaved pros), I started to notice more & more that many of the pins in the shops on property, and on shopDisney had “suspicious” traits that have been said to mean they are fakes. So with quality control going downhill and legitimate pins showing “scrapper” traits, how can anyone know for sure anymore?

It was actually after the encounter I described above that I started to research what a “scrapper” is… and started to look at pins with a bit more of a critical eye. What I noticed was that the pins they’re selling in the parks sometimes have pits in the enamel, rough or sharp edges, small areas where the colored enamel “spills over” into the space next to it, or copyright lettering on the back that is illegible, among other defects that supposedly are tell-tale signs that a pin is fake.

So I’ve given up worrying about “fake vs real”— there is just no way to ever be 100% sure unless you are going to buy every pin you collect directly from Disney & no one else will know for certain yours are real unless you intend to keep them on their cards with the receipts… and of course, that kinda defeats the point of pin trading. Instead you will just be pin collecting.

I love everything about this post (except of course your bad experience with the "pros").

 

[AprilsZoo]

I love everything about this post (except of course your bad experience with the "pros").

Awww, shucks … Very kind. Thanks!

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

Is it “safe” to buy pins online from an eBay shop with good reviews? I am thinking of getting specific characters but hate the thought of getting to the parks and being told my niece and nephews pins won’t be accepted. Are there reputable eBay dealers? They’re at least a bit cheaper online and I the selection is much better.

 

[RLGNC]

From my experience, the pins you buy on eBay will be tradeable. Whether they're "fake" or "scrappers" is another question, and very hotly debated in some circles. I don't think your niece and nephew will have any trouble trading the pins, as I've never seen CMs scrutinize them before trading and, as stated above, most trading is done via the trading boards these days anyway.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

From my experience, the pins you buy on eBay will be tradeable. Whether they're "fake" or "scrappers" is another question, and very hotly debated in some circles. I don't think your niece and nephew will have any trouble trading the pins, as I've never seen CMs scrutinize them before trading and, as stated above, most trading is done via the trading boards these days anyway.

Thanks! I’m looking at shops that look like a fan collection with each pin laid out individually in a book, not places that sell bags of 20 for $10 or anything like that. I thought it would be fun to find characters that I know they won’t like, like the bad guys, so that trading them away seems more appealing.

 

[RLGNC]

I thought it would be fun to find characters that I know they won’t like, like the bad guys, so that trading them away seems more appealing.

I love that idea!