Pin trading can be a lot of fun, but it can also be very addictive and expensive! I love to trade pins and it's a major part of my trips to Disney, but I only trade with Cast Members.
How to Trade: Essentially, you purchase some pins (there are many options for where, how, etc.) and then take them with you. You'll see CMs that are wearing lanyards (either neck or hip) of varying colors (e.g., black, maroon, green/teal). The green/teal lanyards are for trading with children only. When you see a CM with a lanyard, you just go up to them and ask if you may look at their pins. If you see one you like, you offer to trade one of your pins for that pin. Aside from a few limitations, the CMs cannot refuse a trade.
The CMs can only refuse to trade if the pin you are offering is already on their lanyard (i.e., a duplicate), if the pin is not in good condition (i.e., scratched image, broken, etc.), not a Disney pin (no Disney copyright on the back), or not a pin (i.e., buttons cannot be traded). For the CMs, they only have to trade the pins on their lanyards, so any service pins that they might be wearing on their costume or nametags are not for trading.
Disney has published some guidelines:
http://disney.go.com/eventservices/howtopintrade.pdf
In addition to the neck or hip lanyards that CMs may be wearing, you may also find pin boards, books, or other objects (e.g., Ive seen a life preserver at OKW ). Those can have lots pins to look at. The trading rules are the same, as with the CM lanyards. Some boards/books/objects are out at all times, but others may only come out at certain times.
In terms of the CMs that wear lanyards, look in the shops, at the ride entrances, janitorial, management, and (sometimes) security. The ride operators and loaders tend not to have lanyards.
Costs: Pin trading can be very expensive, especially if you buy pins after you get to Disney. Disney sells individual pins (don't buy these for trading, they're very expensive) and starter/booster sets. Starter/Booster sets are usually sets of 7 or so pins for about $30. If you run out of pins or decide to start trading after you've arrived, booster/starter sets are your best bet. Other sources include the Disney Stores, Disney Outlets, and the
DisneyStore.com. I would keep an eye on the DisneyStore.com's clearance section for good deals. You can also buy pins on eBay or non-Disney sites, but be careful. Those can often be scrappers/ counterfeits /fakes, especially if they're super cheap (e.g., less than a few dollars per pin).
Caveats: there are a few other things worth noting about trading. The first are the "professional" traders and the second are "scrappers".
Professional Traders: My advice is to be wary of the professional pin traders. These are the non-CM traders that are sometimes found outside of the store in Tomorrowland, Frontierland, and over in DTD (they might be elsewhere, but that's where I've seen them). These folks do not have to trade with you nor do they have to adhere to the Disney trading guidelines (e.g., one pin for one pin). I'm sure some of them are nice folks, but I would be cautious when approaching them for a trade because for many of them this is a business so they're out to get the most valuable/expensive pins possible from you. So if they will trade your pin for their pins, that's probably fine. If they ask you go buy a pin or pins for them, I'd walk away. If you're new to pin trading and do not have a sense of the value (in terms of dollars) of the various pins, I'd avoid the professional traders.
Scrappers, Counterfeits, and Fakes: The second issue is scrappers, counterfeits, and fakes. For some folks this matters, for others it does not. You'll need to decide which camp you are in before you get heavily into pin trading. To the average pin trader, I don't think the difference between a scraper, fake, or counterfeit really matters (because none of these are legitimate pins), but there are slight differences.
- A scrapper is a pin that looks legitimate, but is not. It can be a factory overrun (i.e., the factory was contracted to make 1 million, but they made 1.1 million instead) or a pin that has some kind of error that should have been "scrapped".
- A counterfeit pin is a copy of legitimate pin made by someone that was not authorized by Disney.
- A fake is a pin design that was never authorized by Disney.
Unfortunately, it's not always easy to tell what pin designs are fake unless you know a lot about pins and what designs have been released. These pins can often look like legitimate designs and may contain all of the markings (e.g., copy right) to look legitimate, but they are not. Luckily, I tend to think that outright fakes are the least common type of non-legitimate pins out there.
In terms of the scrapers/counterfeits, those are harder to distinguish the legitimate from non-legitimate. You'll often be able to tell a scrapper/counterfeit because the colors are weird/off, elements are missing or incorrect, or the back stamp (the copy right) is wrong/missing/damaged. Others say you can tell because they feel "rough" or the edges are sharp/pronounced. Sadly, there is no sure fire way to tell a scrapper/counterfeit. My guess is that it's easier to identify the counterfeits and the scrappers that should have been "scrapped". The factory over-runs probably look exactly like the ones shipped to Disney, so those are nearly impossible to distinguish once they're in circulation.
It's worth noting that if you do end up trading with CM, the CM lanyards tend to be filled with scrappers, counterfeits, and (to a less extent) fakes. So if you really dislike scrappers/counterfeit, I would avoid trading with CMs. That's the crux of the argument: those that dislike scrappers/counterfeits feel they cheapen the trading and make it not worthwhile. Those that don't care, tend to say that they like the pin, so it doesn't really matter if it's a scrapper/counterfeit or not (they also say that if you can't tell, does it really matter?). Both points are valid.
eBay: eBay is a popular source for pins, but it can be a tough place to buy legitimate (i.e., non-scrapper/counterfeits/fake) pins. The general rule of thumb is that you buy a "lot" of pins (e.g., 25-pins) and the price per pin is less than a couple of dollars each, you're likely buying scrappers. Also, if you buy pins that come in little baggies (instead of pin cards like the ones you see at the stores in WDW/DLR), those are more likely to be scrappers as well. My recommendation is to look for sellers that are selling pins still on their backing and/or unopened booster sets (also still on their cardboard backing wrapped in plastic). In truth, unless you only buy from Disney directly, it is hard to say whether you'll get scrappers/counterfeits/fakes or not.
3. Do you recommend keeping the pins on a lanyard while in the park? Or something else?
Lanyards are fun because you can show off the pins you've collected, but lanyards can get heavy, they can get hooked on things, and pins can fall off and get lost. If you're going to go the lanyard route, I would look into locking backs for the pins you want to keep.
