The thing about this thread is that it is very long. Here is what I think sometimes happens on eBay:
People have some pins they want to sell. Authentic pins. They sell them. It goes well. They think "Hey! How cool was that?" They then begin to buy pins from other sellers with the intent to REsell those same pins. They get scrappers, they don't realize (or don't care), they resell them. Now you have a seller who started out with good pins but no longer has good pins.
I bought pins from a guy and they were wonderful. Later on I saw him bidding on pins from a seller who I KNOW sells scrappers, so going forward I wouldn't buy from him again. Too risky.
Obviously people are going to continue to buy from eBay. eBay sellers are going to continue importing thousands of fakes from China. I am going to continue to be very angry about it.
Everybody has to make their own decisions. I have posted my opinions on the subject, and I will continue to respond to folks who ask. I am strongly opposed to buying pins from eBay. I have never puchased from Mouse Pins or Pinseller or any of those other places, but I tend to think that overall there isn't a legitimate source for pins at less than $2 each.
I absolutely agree! That is the fact that no one really wants to face when they list off sites where people sell pin for around two dollars. They are all scrappers (imports) or they bought scrappers then traded them in the parks and are combining them with their china imports.
I have said it before, you can not buy pins from ebay (unless you run across the ultra-rare person who is selling their collection) who is not in some way using counterfeit pins.
If you want truly Disney collectible pins, stick to buying them from Disney online when they are having sales or go to Prime Outlets Disney Store in Orlando where they have discounted pins.