many people who don't have experience ordering pins off ebay don't even know there is such a thing as scrappers and are dumbfounded when they get to the parks and it is explained to them.
- Which is why we provided information about scrappers (in general).
Typically when a person looks on ebay they are looking for the best "deal" the problem is if you get the best price you don't always get real pins.
- To suggest buying one pin at a time has any possibility of obtain the best deal is (in my opinion) ludicrous. After paying shipping fees, buyers may pay $4 - $5 per pin ... even for the cheapest pins. If someone is to buy single pins online, more than likely, they are looking for a SPECIFIC pin ... not traders.
- My question was, are (were) you referring to eBay, Craigslist, DIS, Bulletin Boards? I did not know what you meant, and I am guessing those new to pin collecting / trading likely did not know you were referring to DISboards. Obviously, there are many websites and bulletin boards dealing with buying / selling pins and associated scrappers.
"Major piece of advice: DON'T BUY BIG LOTS! They are often full of scrappers ... don't just judge a seller by their feedback!
- OFTEN? Again, make sure you know the eBay buyer. Casting dispersions against a seller merely because they are selling larger quantities of pins (either in one auction, or smaller quantities in multiple auctions) is problematic. In my opinion, alleviating foreign sellers is the quickest way to avoid problems ... reviewing feedback, and reviewing the items typically sold by the seller are 2nd and 3rd quickest ways. I agree ... just because a seller has excellent feedback, does not guarantee anything with regard to the specific auction ... it merely provides a history of known past performance.
As a side note, I would not suggest buying fine jewelry from someone who normally sells baseball cards. Though a seller may have excellent knowledge about SOME products ... they are not necessarily experts in all products.[/QUOTE]
The problem is that the majority of eBay buyers don't know what a scrapper is, or they don't know how to tell whether or not a pin is a scrapper."
Which is why I said ... "If you DO buy online ... I ... suggest you DO NOT buy from someone outside of US / Canada." Suggesting a buyer avoid "X" seller because they sell many pins does NOT provide any meaningful way of helping the buyer identifying whether a pin is a scrapper."
I also trade random pins for just ones I like in the parks and also display those on a large pin board, its really fun, pulled out my bag of traders last night and I had about 30 left cant wait for this event 
