Disney Pin Trading Tips
Pin trading is a popular thing to do at Walt Disney World. It’s a fun way for kids to interact with Cast Members, collect souvenirs of favorite characters, rides, and more. This guide offers money-saving tips & tricks, offering a great entry point to trade without breaking the bank. (Updated March 22, 2024.)
Let’s start with a bit of background. Disney Pin Trading began during the Millennium Celebration. Since then, Disney Pins have become easily the most popular merchandise and collectibles in all of Walt Disney World (and beyond–pin trading is also now popular at Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, etc.) with the possible exception of Vinylmations, which are now rising in popularity.
While some fervent Disney fans scorn Pin Trading (presumably because they oppose good, clean fun), there is no doubt that Pin Trading has been embraced wholeheartedly by the general public and by legions of Disney collectors.
One downside to Pin Trading is that it can be very expensive, as individual pin prices start at $8.99 and only go up from there! When we first started Disney Pin Trading, it was relatively inexpensive. It can be super expensive if you are serious about collecting.
Let’s take a look at what you can do to maximize your Disney pin trading enjoyment!
Disney Pin Trading Tips
Pin Trading is relatively simple in practice: guests interested in the hobby and Cast Members stationed at pin boards trade. While Disney itself allows trading between guests, this is quite uncommon in practice. At present, Cast Members who trade are typically stationed by pin boards found in or outside gift shops and various locations around Walt Disney World.
One way to get the best pins is to trade early. Look for Cast Members by pin boards in the morning as they tend to have “fresh” pins. These pins get picked over during the course of the day (they are often replenished at shift changes), so your best bet is to trade early or hope to get lucky later in the day.
Cast Members are trading pins provided to them by Disney and they will accept whatever trades are offered to them regardless of whether it’s “fair” from the perspective of value.
The good news is that we have another update on pin trading protocol for 2024: Disney Parks has announced on social media that Cast Member-to-guest Pin Trading officially returns to all of Walt Disney World on April 7, 2024.
This follows an update last November that brought Cast-to-guest pin trading back to Disney Springs. Starting next month, it extends to all of Walt Disney World.
Here’s the original announcement of the return of direct pin trading: “Keep an eye out for cast with accessories such as lanyards and pin boards, and ask them how you can join in the Disney pin trading fun. We know just how much our fans have been looking forward to the full return of this beloved tradition of Disney pin trading and can’t wait for this pin-teractive activity to come back to even more merchandise locations across Walt Disney World in 2024.”
In case you don’t follow pin trading closely, the big development here is the return of proper lanyards. Up until now, it’s been pin boards for the last couple of years, with some Cast Members having little badges of pins on their waists. This marks the first return of neck lanyards for pin trading since March 2020!
In addition to trading pins with Cast Members, there are also some “professional” pin traders, but they’re far less common than in years past. From a value perspective, you are always going to save so much more money by purchasing pins in lots on Amazon before your vacation, so we don’t even recommend approaching these “professional” pin traders.
Beyond that, we think they sort of take the fun out of it. Pin trading is great if it’s with Cast Members or even other fans who are casual about it, but many of these pros take a no nonsense approach that’s abrasive and off-putting for pin trading newbies.
It’s unfortunate that a few bad apples give the hobby a bad name, and by no means is every guest who may ask you about trading in Walt Disney World doing it with negative intentions. Nevertheless, you might want to think twice about trades with guests with binders full of pins, as too many of them are overly serious and not particularly fun.
With that said, most regular guests who randomly ask you about trading have no such ill motives–it’s only the super hardcore who bring colossal collections into the parks who can be rude and condescending. While we recommend trading primarily with Cast Members, trades with other guests can be fun and a great way to interact with your fellow guests–most of whom share a common interest in Disney!
Common Types of Disney Pins
One of the fun aspects of Pin Trading is that there are so many pins (if you’re a completionist, this can be a drawback). This means that you can go for certain categories of pins (my favorite are pins with the Epcot character “Figment” on them), and there will be plenty of different pins within that category for you to collect. Some fun options include:
- Hidden Mickeys (These are semi-common pins with small mickey heads hidden on them that are available in a series that are unique because they’re not available for sale in stores, and can only be found with Cast Members)
- Characters (Choose your favorite character and trade for as many pins containing that character as you can)
- Series (These are groups of ~4-8 pins that have a similar theme but are substantively different)
- Retro Disney (Pins featuring Disney attractions, characters, and films from years past)
These are just the basic common categories. There are tons of specific series, including ones that are only available to Annual Passholders, Disney Visa Cardholders, and LE Pins for special events. There are even pins made specifically for special pin trading events! The number of Disney pins available is quite mind boggling!
Pin Trading Controversies
If you buy pins from third party sellers, the pins you purchase might be “scrappers.” We think of these as being like factory seconds or production overruns, which is essentially what they are. Hardcore pin traders view them as bootlegs or counterfeits, and not worthy of being added to their collections.
However, all Cast Members accept scrappers for trades. Walt Disney World had no official policy against scrappers, and the pin trading boards you encounter around the parks and resorts usually have scrappers on them. Nevertheless, we advise against purchasing scrappers like the large lots you’ll find on Amazon or eBay for $1 to $2 per pin or so. Although they’re significantly cheaper than the real deal, they are fake. Just like we don’t recommend buying bootleg mouse ears, we don’t recommend scrappers.
Scrappers are controversial with hardcore Disney Pin Trading fans, and you’ll see many complaints about them in the comments below. Scrappers exist because Disney produces pins at factories that are known for producing overruns and counterfeit items. If Disney wanted to put an end to scrappers, they could easily do so by producing the pins elsewhere. Disney has made a business decision to allow them to continue, likely because moving production would cost more money and would be bad for business. Regardless, we do not recommend rolling the dice on scrappers. It’s simply not worth the savings.
Using Disney Pins?
If you’re collecting Disney Pins, you probably know what you want to do with them. You have cases or some method of displaying them. Of course, if you already collect pins, you probably don’t need an article like this introducing the hobby of pin trading to you.
However, if you’re a novice or a parent who is contemplating buying some pins for a souvenir, you might wonder just what you can do with Disney pins. Unlike shirts, hats, or other souvenirs you can wear, although you can wear pins around on a lanyard or hat, most people don’t actually wear lanyards full of pins in the real world. So pins might seem to have less practical purpose than other souvenirs you can buy at Walt Disney World.
However, we’ve found a great use for Disney pins, and that’s pin boards. Move over, Pinterest, because these are real life pin boards that you can hang up around the house. The boards can serve a practical purpose (such as posting notes or messages) or can be purely for novelty or fun.
Pins are great for dressing up these boards, and are a great way to display them. All you need are pins and a cheap tack board. We use our pin board for fun, pinning Disney countdown calendars, old park tickets, and other paper goods we’ve collected from the parks. It’s a great reminder of your Disney trip and great way to look forward to the next one! There are plenty of potential unorthodox uses for pins besides just storing them in boxes or cases, so get creative.
Our Disney Pin Trading Story
We were once avid pin traders. Pin trading allowed us to interact with more Cast Members than we ever did prior to trading, we’ve had more fun hunting pins than Hidden Mickeys on attractions, and it even got us selected as the “family” of the day in the Jammin’ Jungle Parade!
Moreover, I have found that pin designs are by far the most unique merchandise in all of WDW (extinct attractions, attraction anniversaries, rare characters, you name it). If you do it right, it’s an incredibly cheap hobby, and it provides you with cheap souvenirs, especially in comparison to those costly and large Big Figs I had been collecting.
The size of the pins is a big deal for us. We love to collect things, but if we continued to accumulate large items at our pre-Pin Trading pace, we would have needed to invest in a large warehouse to store everything. I have boxes upon boxes (we have storage rooms reminiscent of Citizen Kane or Raiders of the Lost Ark) bursting with Disney items that are just waiting to be unleashed, upon our future home. In this regard, especially, pin trading has been a good hobby, as our entire collection can be condensed into just a shoe box!
That said, we haven’t become nearly as addicted to Disney Pin Trading as many others have; it can become just as expensive and space-consuming as collecting other Disney pieces, as Disney churns out tons of pins on a monthly basis all with varying price points, designs and edition sizes to satiate all of those interested in Pin Trading.
We pretty much stopped buying new pins once we had enough to fill our pin board, as we didn’t want to pins in boxes and not look at them for years. Disney Pin Trading has become so popular that Disney holds special conventions dedicated to Pin Trading each year, and even a few websites devoted to following the Disney Pins exist.
While you certainly don’t have to become so invested in the hobby that you have thousands of pins, sometimes it’s difficult to resist. I’ve heard of many unassuming Disney fans getting hooked and spending substantial amounts of money on the hobby. So, be warned. But if it’s something you end up enjoying a lot and it isn’t really “dangerous,” do you really need a “warning”?
Ultimately, if you commit to only buying a limited number of pins to trade, and stick to that plan, you can have fun without getting hooked. You’ll also spend a lot less money on souvenirs and it will enhance your Walt Disney World or Disneyland vacation as pin trading is almost like an interactive game!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of Disney Pin Trading? Are you a fan of it or not? If so, which pins are your favorites? What are your Pin Trading tips? Do you buy the lots on Amazon or eBay for you or your kids to trade on vacation? Let us know your thoughts or questions in the comments!
My youngest son and I are trading fanatics since 2000. We have a rule that if a kid asks to trade with us we will trade even if it is crummy pin. We also frequently addict friends and their kids by giving them some traders and a lanyard. The more the merrier! I overheard a cast member saying to another “some people are crazy, they trade old pins that are valuable”. We knowingly trade all kinds of pins from our vast collections just because we like to!
On our first trip to Disney World, we gave our girls lanyards to hold their park ticket and a gift card. We were in Frontier Trading Post (pin shop at MK) and a sweet older lady noticed their lanyards and asked the girls if they did pin trading. They (and we) had no idea what that was, so she took two pins off her own lanyard, gave them to the girls and explained what to do. The girls had a blast the rest of the trip pin trading, and we bought some of the “starter” sets and blind bags to limp us through. On each trip now, we take a few extra pins and gift them to younger kids and explain pin trading. It’s a fun tradition for us. Plus the look on the parent’s face when they realize what an expensive hobby we started for them is priceless!
My favorite place to find pins is Mercari. You can buy lots of 25, 50, etc. for trading as well as individual pins.
Is there a website that has all of the Disney pins and the current values?
For a fair market value of anything, check out the completed (sold) listings on eBay.
IMO, that has largely supplanted the need of collectible price guides. From those completed listings, you can see what actual consumers are paying for particular products–not relying on some purported expert’s opinion as to value.
Thank you! It would be really cool if Disney put together a website with every pin ever made and the product number so it was easy to search for pins…and the average eBay sale price!
What is the difference between usa disney pins and UK pins.
Is pin trading still going on? We’re planning our very first trip and this sounds fun, but I’m wondering if COVID ruined this too…?
We just returned from WDW and it is still going on. They have large pin boards in just one area of each section of each park. In Animal Kingdom, they had 8 total boards with 50 pins each on them. So, yes, it’s still going on, and we actually had a pretty good amount of success.
My kids, wife, and I went feb 5-12, 2021, we took a small bag of 30-50 pins with us to trade amongst the she and I and to get our daughter and son started in the fun. 4 PEOPLE TRADING PINS BURNT THOUGH THE SUPPLY FAST. So we had to regroup. There were pin trading board or similar types of options in various areas through out the parks and at various Disney stores, springs, and the front help desk of the resorts lobby’s or lobby shops.
One thing we noted was that there was not any cast members there wearing their lanyards with special pins. Most trading actually happened at the various Disney designated pin trading board sites.
(We tried a couple times with some success) You could ask a cast member if they had any to trade, and most would answer vaguely that they weren’t supposed to suing these times…but on occasion you would find someone/cast member who would have a couple to a few personal trading stashed near by. if you were looking for something specific. And that happens to have it, then they arranged the magical transaction of helping you to obtain a pin (if they had it) that you have been searching after for a long long time ending years long search and pin trading attempts. Cast members can make your day magical. Be kind to them, be sweet to them, respect them and dreams could come true. Now not all cast member interactions were like this, most were kind and replied to that they could not do any cast person to park person trading at this time and gladly directed us to the nearest locations of the designated pin boards.
Also we did come across quiet a few people standing in lines or wait at a pin board that would want to do a person to person trade or two. This is where we realized we needed more pins to trade.
So we reached out to a local contact and was able to obtain 200 more pins to trade with. We where able to complete some sets we had been working on and trade the remainders off for other pins to start off sets.
All in all it is a blast and recommend it. Remember to practice all social distancing and mask rules Disney has in place for guest safety. They are strict about the COVID restrictions. But pin trading is still possible. Just remember to be respectful to others personal space, preference, request while trading. Not everyone will want to trade but a lot of people will.
Is pin trading only done in the Magic Kingdom or is it done in all of the parks and resorts? Thank you.
All of the parks and resorts including Disney Hotel Properties have pin trading. This article didn’t mention pin boards for trading. . Ask any cast member where the Closest pin trading board is located And they should be able to point you to one, they exist in hotel lobbies, Downtown Disney/Disney Springs and outside/inside many park stores. Pin board locations outside of the paid admission areas are open to anyone to trade, including the hotel lobby Pin boards.
Note these boards may be available only at specific times or upon asking due to COVID-19.
SAFE?
Hello! My 6 year old child is keen to start Disney pin collecting, after a holiday to Disney! How safe are they, do you feel? I know a certain amount of commonsense is needed. I just wondered if there are any safety precautions Disney use, besides ‘only suitable for ages 3+’
Grateful for your help!
They’re sturdy metal pins. The back is sharp, but they have a hefty rubber back to hold it in place and prevent pokes. Some have movable parts that, in theory, could pinch. And some are kinda heavy and could hurt if nailed in the face with it. They aren’t toys, but unless your little is prone to using them as they aren’t intended (chewing, fidgeting, swinging the lanyard around, juggling, etc) I can’t see them being too dangerous.
Love this so much. My husband and I went back to Disney for the first time since childhood last year. He loved pin trading and I was thankful I picked up some pins on etsy for cheap because we had sticker shock from the ones at the park. We did witness one of the Epcot traders asking someone to go buy her something in exchange for a pin, which was wild. We will stick to trading with cast members. Question: we liked to wear pins on a lanyard but we have magic bands- so a park ticket on the lanyard isn’t necessary. What do you hang off of the end of your lanyard so its less awkward?
I lost a magic band once, and happened to comment to the cast member at the hotel front desk that I really missed wearing my lanyard, as it bb was not as difficult to lose! She told me that they had an item in the gift shop that hangs from the end of your lanyard that holds the oval part of the magic band, and it is shaped like Mickey! I purchased that and have used that instead of the band ever since!
I enjoyed this article very much. There are many sides to every story and the same goes for pin collecting and trading.
I have been a “collector” over a “trader” and have purchased pins in the parks, from store or brand collaborations and most definitely eBay. I have been asked to trade in the parks, but decline. Not because I am worried about the value of my pin collection, or the value and/or quality of theirs, but because I am just a collector.
I have 12 different lanyards of different “themes” that I wear on each visit. On these lanyards are specific pins I chose for that theme. Like in a previous comment, I choose pins based on what appeals to me or suits my needs. And I have fun with that. And the person next to me may be a “professional”, but is it my place or theirs to critique or look down upon what we perceive as our goal or joy of pin collecting/trading? No.
Everyone has the freedom to enjoy what they enjoy in it and gaining knowledge about the subject and adhering to your own rules for yourself is all you can do. Don’t disparage others for what they enjoy. I mean… it is supposed to be fun, right?
If Disney wanted to fix the problem of scrapper (fake) pins in the park it would be easy to do so.
One: Any Disney pins that have been rejected for quality be destroyed. Also any manufactures that reject these pins need to be held accountable that all pins that are rejected are destroyed on location where they were made and not taken outside the manufacturing plants, or sold to third party vendors
Second: Make sure that all Disney pins have an identifier that cannot be copied and is easily identified as genuine. Also have cast members trained in how to detect fakes.
This way when cast members receive scrapper (fake) pins, they can simply remove them from circulation and have them destroyed.
Third: Have two types of pin styles, trading pins and collecting pins. Trading pins would be cheap and in large quantities. They would be produced with equal amounts made with no special or hard to find items. Then collecting pins would be the limited release, special, hard to find type that would be available for ten bucks and up, for adults to collect and trade to their liking.
The problem with this is the amount of time and money it would cost to have this policed considering the large amount of pins that are made each year and the time and money it would cost to train everyone in order to make sure that every pin is genuine. In the end I can see why Disney does not try to stop scrappers from being traded in the parks. Kids don’t care about the quality as much as they just want to trade for pins they like. Money doesn’t matter to them. So it’s your responsibility to know the difference if you care about having genuine pins. Also knowing that most traded pins in the parks are scrappers and trade appropriately, When you trade with cast members expect them to be scrappers. If you are considering buying an expensive pin, buy directly from the pin stores or Disney stores, and if you are buying from a private seller know the difference before your buy it.
Finally, just enjoy the fun of collecting and trading pins. Set your own personal boundaries when it comes to trading. Make it your responsibility to know the difference between genuine and fakes and what you are willing to trade.
Thanks for the tip on the green lanyards! My entire family trades – kids did it for the first few years and then Mom & Dad joined in. We went to Shanghai Disneyland last year and there were some cast members trading – not as many as we had hoped but there was some. We did however have other guests coming up and asking to trade with us. We went to Disneyland Paris a couple of months ago and while a good number of cast members had the lanyards, they were not exactly discreet about their dislike of some of the trades or that we took a pin that they liked. No one ever said no though. WDW is definitely the best spot for trading. We also get our pins before we go & just try to trade for something that we like better. It’s a lot of fun!
Do you have to use “Disney” lanyards for this or can you just buy a cheaper lanyard on amazon or somewhere?
You can use any lanyard. It doesn’t have to be Disney.
I consider myself an Experienced Trader, but over time, more of a Pin Collector, who has been in the hobby for nearly two decades. I have traded with countless honest and fair traders over the years, both in person and online. I’ve seen our hobby start out with small number of weekly releases at the Disney stores. Waited in lines for pins to be released at the Parks. Traded pins at two tables inside the World of Disney store at DTD. Attended the grueling, summer heat and crowds at the opening of Pin Traders at DTD (now Disney Springs). Participated in pin trading events (both free and with admission). Personally hosted pin trading events at a local mall. Met hundreds of wonderful traders and even encountered a handful of Pin Sharks. I’ve witnessed our little hobby boom into a HUGE business and cash cow for Disney. Birth of Pin Sharks who gave our hobby its first “black eye”. Soon followed by unethical counterfeiters and scrappers from across the globe.
Here is my breakdown of the various kind of pin traders over time.
There are all kinds of Pin Traders, each as different as there are pins. There is the Newby or Novice who just discovered the wide world of pins and pin trading. Eyes wide open in awe of all the shiney, colorful pins. Then there is the Amateur. A new trader, with a few pins and maybe a pin bag or binder, eager to make their first trade. Next we have the Experienced trader. This traders has been in the hobby for some time, has amassed an impressive collection of keeper and traders and keeps up with pin wants to trades ratios and values. The Professional trader, much like the experienced trader, has a breath-taking amount of pins, knows cost and resale/trade values and wants/trades ratios of each pin. Most are willing to make a trade that is fair to both them and the fellow trader. Then there is the Shark. The Shark, is also a professional, however with a totally different agenda. They to possess a vast knowledge of pin cost/values, wants/trades ratios and have along with huge bevy of pins. The Shark is typically not a collector, they are pin flippers who prey on the younger or less experienced traders. They typically will propose a trade that is heavily “lop-sided” in their favor. To the Shark, pins are a money maker. A commodity.
I will always be a lifetime Disney fan and enthusiast. I still make a point to stop at all the pin trading stands and stores at WDW at each visit. Look for pins at the Disney Character Outlet. I am a member to several online pin forums, but just don’t buy or trade as often as I did in the past.
Hey I’m new to pin trading and want to know if I made a good trade. How do I know if my pin is rare? Thanks for all the tips!
PLEASE DO NOT BUY FAKE PINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The real “bad apples” that make pin trading not fun is the people who knowingly bring fake pins to the park to trade them in for real pins. (And even more so, blogs who encourage this…)
TRADING YOUR FAKE PIN FOR AN AUTHENTIC PIN IS STEALING!
Yes, it’s true that many cast members have fake pins on their lanyard, and if you trade with them you can get a fake pin. That stinks. But you can buy AUTHENTIC pins for very cheap and still have a great time trading instead of intentionally and maliciously being a part of the problem.
THINGS YOU CAN DO:
JOIN A PIN TRADING FACEBOOK GROUP! Ask where to buy cheap pins. There are known and reputable sellers who sell authentic pins in bulk for very cheap. Not much more than amazon. You can do this and end up having a good and cheap time without spoiling the hobby for everyone else.
TRADE FOR NEW HIDDEN MICKEYS! The newest hidden mickeys are abundant on cast lanyards and haven’t been faked yet. So look for these sets and trade for those! Then you know you’re getting an authentic pin for your authentic pin and you don’t have to be worried.
JUST HAVE FUN! I am a collector, but my mother is not. We went to Disney last year and she just wanted to have fun trading for the sake of it. I bought her 15 AUTHENTIC pins for $30 (including shipping) and told her to go crazy! She had the BEST TIME chatting with the cast members and picking out stuff she liked. At the end she had a lanyard full of fake pins. But who cares? She had more than $30 worth of fun – that’s for sure. She gave me the lanyard back with all of her fun and fake trades and I’m going to take the fake pins out of circulation and use them to make a picture frame and frame a memory from our trip!
Where did you buy your moms pack? I am going to Disney for the first time and trading sounds so fun.
Sorry while I love most of your posts this one irks me, you are obviously not a pin trader and it’s irresponsible posts like this that ruin pin trading. The links to pin sellers on amazon are for people selling scrapers. If anyone wants to cheat the system by buying scrappers, fakes and other low quality pins (and that’s what they are if you spend a dollar a pin) to circumvent the system because you are cheap, cast members have to trade and this blog post says it’s ok just remember it’s kids like mine with special needs that you are taking advantage of, not Disney. When my kid trades at the pins boards as an activity that allows him self confidence in interacting with other people it is frustrating when he gets cheap knockoffs because of cheapskates like the blog post author who obviously doesn’t now what they are talking about when it comes to this activity. Shame on the blog post author and shame on those that take the advice.
Way to go pulling out the special needs card
Calm down! There are people with authentic pins that just don’t want specific ones and decide to sell them, they are the same damn pins purchased or traded from Disney not scrappers.
Does the authenticity, or lack thereof, of a pin change the benefit to your child regarding his confidence? For my child, it absolutely did not. He was still able to go outside of his comfort zone, interact with people, and have a marvelous time! Plus, he ended up with a pretty new thing that was special to him. He didn’t care if it was or was not fake (in fact, he didn’t know which were “fake” and which were “real”). All he knew was that he had a pin of a favorite character. End of story. I would never try to convince my child to trade his favorite pin (scrapper or not) for a “genuine” pin because of its financial value if it wasn’t a pin that he wanted. (Here, Johnny. Trade that junky old fake pin for this one of a kind, million dollar pin! Yes, I know the junky one is your very favorite, but it’s only worth $1!!!) It’s sad how adults can take the fun out of a simple activity by placing a monetary value on an item and use labels like “authentic”, “collector’s item”, or “limited edition” to turn something joyful into an all-out war. Parents of children with disabilities understand that it’s the little things, the little moments in life that are most important. As an adult, I don’t even care if a pin is “authentic” or “limited edition” or whatever! If I find one that is pretty to me, I keep it! I figure that some people trade for joy and others trade for future investments or pride of collection. Both are absolutely acceptable, and I wouldn’t be so opinionated as to criticize either side. The serious traders know how to tell the difference between the two different types of pins and prefer what they call “authentic” pins. Those of us who don’t have a preference are simply collecting pins that we like, not for the investment, for future resale value, or to say “I HAVE A GENUINE PIN!” Our family has both. We keep the ones we like and trade – or simply GIVE AWAY – others. I’ve given away both scrappers and genuine pins, and ya know what? The smiles on the faces of the recipients was the same for both. That’s all that matters to me.
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d without a
doubt donate to this excellent blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to fresh updates and will share this blog with my Facebook group.
Chat soon!
Some of your so called “tips” are terrible! Disney does not want to accept scrapper pins though trade they just allow it since they cant 100% guarantee that they are real and they do this to avoid issues with guests, DO NOT BUY fake pins off of eBay and Amazon for $1 a pin. YOU ARE GETTING FAKES, SCRAPPERS and COUNTERFEITS 99% of the time.
Also, I am, what you call, a “Professional trader” I trade over 100-300 pins per day to kids, collectors, fans and other guests. Its downright awful that you say to avoid us. I carry 2 books with over 1000 pins with me. Some of the best trades come from me trading with other guests. Yes, there are bad people who try to get you to buy LE’s from the store but that is a VERY SMALL percentage of us. If you avoid trading with “professionals” then you will slowly watch the hobby die. We are the ones keeping this hobby alive and we LOVE to trade with kids, I know I do! Most of the pins on Disney cast members lanyards are fakes and scrappers.
I also end up giving pins away for free to kids who are just getting started. We “professionals” love this hobby and will do anything to keep it alive and well. Don’t disregard us, trade with us!
Best trade I ever made for pins was with a professional!! I got an extra pin from him for free!! Nice pins, too, that have a place of honor on my board at home!!
I plan to come to Disney California later this week. I went to Disneyland earlier and heard the Toy Story Pin Sets are selling out fast. Any tips to finding these popular sets?
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
I am sorry I never met you. All the “professionals” I have ever met have asked me to buy a very expensive limited edition pin to trade for one I wanted. Perhaps instead of going after the scrapper people, start a movement to get rid of the “bad apples” in the “professional” group.
Tom, I have no problem with any of the advice you give. And to all the people who disagree with you, it is okay to have a different opinion. But some people get down-right nasty, and that is not okay.
Any tips on where to buy bulk pins (inexpensive) in Canada?
I recently got into pin trading. I’m a huge Disney fan and wanted to try it. I decided to buy a lot on ebay, even though every one said they were fakes. I have been doing my research and checking all the pins for signs that they are fakes. So far all of them check. If they were fakes or scrappers they are REALLY good ones. I’ve looked and looked for signs that they aren’t genuine, but they seem to fit all the requirements. I agree that lots of fake pins are probably on ebay, but not all sellers are fake or scrappers. I also agree that kids do care if there pins are real. I sure do!
Hey there 🙂
I’d love to get started… Do you recall from which eBay seller you purchased your pins? I’ve been scouting around, but not sure which sellers to trust. Any info you could give me would be much appreciated! Regardless, thanks for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you!