Pin trading

[All-smiles]

Hello all,

I have never done pin trading before (only went as a kid) and for the rest of our family it's their first ever visit to disney. How does it work? Can I use the new wishables pins to trade?

I'm looking at getting lanyards and some different pins but they seem so expensive on the disney store!

I have seen some on ebay but I'm not sure how I would know they are genuine? What do you guys do? Where do you get them from? I'd like some I actually like and then some just for trading.

Thanking you

[mason1]

The kids have done trading for a couple of years. We bought our pins from the Character Warehouse in the outlets - I think they were $1 - $2 each. They also had the starter packs with lanyard and a couple of pins - I think they were around $8 from memory.

Can’t help with your other questions, but it is good fun.

[Stepaway]

We bought a big batch of pins from eBay. We then got the kids to sort them into ones they like and ones they didn’t and put the ones they didn’t on a lanyard and used that to swap in the park. The eBay pins are not genuine but made from discarded casts scooped up after Disney dispose of them. But that never caused a problem and the vast majority being swapped by CMs probably aren’t legit either.

Anyway, you just walk up to a CM whose wearing a pin lanyard and ask to swap. This is how my kids did it and I suspect adults take it more seriously. But proper pins are expensive and I’m sure I read swapping with CMs is a good way of getting “scrappers” (fakes) because they just swap no questions asked whereas proper traders only want genuine pins

[Orlandoguy]

Cast members are not wearing lanyards with pins due to covid as far as I’m aware there are pin boards around the parks with a cast member present and u can swap there

[Andi]

We last did the pin trading in 2018 and the CM’s on most occasions checked the back of the pins, to make sure they were originals.

[LOUISEACAT]

I think most pin bundles on ebay seem to be fakes.
I have bought lanyards with pins on ebay - obviously a few years old and what someone had collected/traded. I just bought a new lanyard and then DH traded most of the pins - he loves pin trading.

[All-smiles]

Ahh thanks! I might just suck up the money and buy the disney ones then or find an old lanyard on ebay. I'd hate to get told off for having the scraper pins! 🤣🤣 I'm too much of a goody to shoes! Thanks

[caj]

Originally Posted by All-smiles

Ahh thanks! I might just suck up the money and buy the disney ones then or find an old lanyard on ebay. I'd hate to get told off for having the scraper pins! 🤣🤣 I'm too much of a goody to shoes! Thanks

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I have traded pins from ebay and some given to us. At the time I wasn't even aware of scrappers (fakes). I have never heard a cast member say anything at all. I think they HAVE to trade with kids as a PT rule.

Have fun with it. I have an asd son and it was such a joy seeing him chat to strangers (cms) as he traded!

[loves2plan]

Originally Posted by All-smiles

Ahh thanks! I might just suck up the money and buy the disney ones then or find an old lanyard on ebay. I'd hate to get told off for having the scraper pins! 🤣🤣 I'm too much of a goody to shoes! Thanks

See more...

We're a family of traders, but tbh, last time we were there (Oct 2019) the boards and CM's lanyards were full of scrappers as so many people buy bundles from eBay - not just here but in the US too. It's so saturated that I think they just let it go now as it would be too hard to fight back against. It's harder to find original ones on boards and lanyards now, but you do get a few. These mainly seemed to be from people who have bought blind bags in the parks and possibly got duplicates. You can spot the real ones as they seem to be thicker and the enamelling is better quality. It's still really good fun to do, but I just wanted to make you aware so that you don't spend good money on real pins and then end up swapping for cheap scrappers that you could buy 25 for £15 or so on eBay.

[All-smiles]

Originally Posted by loves2plan

We're a family of traders, but tbh, last time we were there (Oct 2019) the boards and CM's lanyards were full of scrappers as so many people buy bundles from eBay - not just here but in the US too. It's so saturated that I think they just let it go now as it would be too hard to fight back against. It's harder to find original ones on boards and lanyards now, but you do get a few. These mainly seemed to be from people who have bought blind bags in the parks and possibly got duplicates. You can spot the real ones as they seem to be thicker and the enamelling is better quality. It's still really good fun to do, but I just wanted to make you aware so that you don't spend good money on real pins and then end up swapping for cheap scrappers that you could buy 25 for £15 or so on eBay.

See more...

Oh wow yep I would be pretty annoyed if that happened. Thank you! Maybe i should just get some off ebay then and then if they arent accepted when I get to WDW, purchase some more out there?