Pin Trading Disneyland California June 2017

[BadPinkTink]

Just back from 2 days at Disney. Pin trading is alot less then previous years so you just have to work harder for it.

Most regular CMs do not have pin lanyards. The CMs to look out for are the higher level CM's, the ones who are walking around checking areas and lands. I traded with males who wore business shirts and pants. They tend to have more genuine pins and less scrappers as people mostly dont "see" them.

The pin boards in the park shops and pin trading stations are full of scrappers. On day 2 this was more obvious to me, as I recognised the same pins on different boards.

A few times I stayed nearby the pin boards and managed to trade with park guests who were checking the pin boards too.

I also took a wander into The Grand California Hotel lounge and lobby area and found 2 CMs with pin lanyards.

Out of my 14 trades over 2 days, I managed to get 1 genuine pin for my non trading collection, and 6 genuine pins for future trading, as well as 7 scrappers. I checked all trades I received on PinPics

 

[Nonsuch]

...I also took a wander into The Grand California Hotel lounge and lobby area and found 2 CMs with pin lanyards...

Hotel managers and other CMs participate in pin trading every afternoon, around 4PM (I don't have a schedule available). This takes place at all 3 onsite hotels. These events allow hotel management to interact with guests.

 

[Jedi Mouse]

It's gotten to the point I don't even bother trying to collect the Hidden Mickey pins from the parks. We still buy pins to commemorate our trips to the parks and the special events we celebrate there and we collect the mystery box collections, but there are just so many scrappers and fakes out there. Our kids trade with cast members for fun still, but don't focus on collecting.

[rant] What really irritates me is the Ebay sellers who try to hide behind claims they trade for every pin they sell with Disney cast members. In other words they buy cheap scrappers, go trade them at the parks for other scrappers and then try to pass them off as legit. I call it "Pin Laundering" and it's a shame because it has flooded the parks with junk pins. I've also noticed there are certain pins that are very common in the parks that are also very common in the pics in the Ebay adds for bulk pin lots. [/rant]

 

[figment_jii]

[rant] What really irritates me is the Ebay sellers who try to hide behind claims they trade for every pin they sell with Disney cast members. In other words they buy cheap scrappers, go trade them at the parks for other scrappers and then try to pass them off as legit. I call it "Pin Laundering" and it's a shame because it has flooded the parks with junk pins. I've also noticed there are certain pins that are very common in the parks that are also very common in the pics in the Ebay adds for bulk pin lots. [/rant]

I had never thought of that...I just assumed it was something they put on their listings without really every having done the trading. I suppose it would be lying/false advertising(?) if they didn't actually do the trade...still, it hadn't crossed my mind that they actually traded in the park for their bulk pins.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hotel managers and other CMs participate in pin trading every afternoon, around 4PM (I don't have a schedule available). This takes place at all 3 onsite hotels. These events allow hotel management to interact with guests.

Aha, that must have been it I didnt know that and just got lucky.

 

[3DisMunchkins]

Question...do the CMs even pay attention to scrappers vs. genuine pins? We have some scrappers...most of which came off of a pin board. I feel guilty trading them but realize we will most likely get scrappers in return. My daughter loves to trade and while she knows the difference, she doesn't really care when trading. She pretty much buys pins she loves and then doesn't trade those and keeps ones from pin board for trading if she likes something better.
Please don't flame me! We have even ordered some pins on ebay. While i realize this is supporting the "pin laundering", it seems the only way to trade for fun without buying expensive pins and trading for "junk". Anyone else have thoughts on this? Is there a better way to trade?
thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

Question...do the CMs even pay attention to scrappers vs. genuine pins?

I would say that most CMs do not care and/or know how to tell a scrapper from a genuine pin. However, I have run across some CMs that do seem to care and/or know (or think they know) and will sometimes try to remove pins they suspect as being non-legit from boards/lanyards. I've never had a CM refuse a trade because they suspected the pin I had was a scrapper (I used to also buy bulk pins off ebay until I got a lot that was so bad, there was no way I could bring myself to trade them in the parks and most went into the recycle/scrap metal bin at home - after that, I quite wasting my money on scrapper lots from ebay), but they may give you a funny look if they suspect your pin is a scrapper/fake/counterfeit.

Anyone else have thoughts on this? Is there a better way to trade?

If you're going to trade with CMs, I don't really think there is anyway to completely avoid scrapper pins. The best you can do is try to avoid putting pins that are really bad into circulation (e.g., Belle with red hair). In terms of buying pins, I try to buy pins that say they come in the original packaging (mostly this pertains to booster sets). While they could still be over-runs, at least they aren't as likely to be knock-offs/fakes/counterfeits.

 

[Jedi Mouse]

Question...do the CMs even pay attention to scrappers vs. genuine pins? We have some scrappers...most of which came off of a pin board. I feel guilty trading them but realize we will most likely get scrappers in return. My daughter loves to trade and while she knows the difference, she doesn't really care when trading. She pretty much buys pins she loves and then doesn't trade those and keeps ones from pin board for trading if she likes something better.
Please don't flame me! We have even ordered some pins on ebay. While i realize this is supporting the "pin laundering", it seems the only way to trade for fun without buying expensive pins and trading for "junk". Anyone else have thoughts on this? Is there a better way to trade?
thanks!

They don't pay much attention, if any at all, which is understandable; the CM's aren't experts and refusing a trade on a questionable pin could cause guest relations issues. If the pin resembles a Disney pin they will make the trade.

When we first got into it I used to buy bulk pins online to trade, I honestly thought they were legit. Now if we need more trading stock for the kids I try to look for booster and starter sets with original packaging online. You can usually find them for around $3/pin in sets of 5 or 6. So far all appear to be legit or at worst are gray market over runs and not out and out fakes. We also trade duplicate pins we get in mystery box collections.

 

[Jedi Mouse]

I had never thought of that...I just assumed it was something they put on their listings without really every having done the trading. I suppose it would be lying/false advertising(?) if they didn't actually do the trade...still, it hadn't crossed my mind that they actually traded in the park for their bulk pins.

I may be giving them more credit than they deserve, some may just flat out lie about it. I figured it was a way to maintain plausible deniability.

 

[twodogs]

I buy unopened Disney mystery bags that usually include 5 pins off eBay (like the Tsum Tsum series, the nesting doll series, etc). I feel these are legit pins, and if I'm patient, can be found at around $3/pin. I only buy series my kids collect, so they keep the ones we don't have and trade the duplicates.

Contrary to CMs removing scrappers from their pin boards, my DD traded an Obie Wan Tsum Tsum mystery pin which was a dulpicate from a mystery bag. The CM was super excited about it, made a big deal about how cool it was (made my DD happy!) and put it under the counter (wonder if he wanted it?). Another guest was waiting behind us to trade with the CM, and asked him for that pin. He had to fetch it from under the counter and grudgingly let her trade him for it.

 

[figment_jii]

Contrary to CMs removing scrappers from their pin boards, my DD traded an Obie Wan Tsum Tsum mystery pin which was a dulpicate from a mystery bag. The CM was super excited about it, made a big deal about how cool it was (made my DD happy!) and put it under the counter (wonder if he wanted it?). Another guest was waiting behind us to trade with the CM, and asked him for that pin. He had to fetch it from under the counter and grudgingly let her trade him for it.

I've seen this happen too...yes, most likely the CM was hoping to keep the pin out of sight and trade for it himself after his shift ended. I've seen a few CMs do that (they'll put the pin their pocket or elsewhere). One CM actually told me that's what she was going to do with the pin I had traded.

 

[twodogs]

I guess some of the CMs are into pin trading too! We did have a sweet episode of pixie dust at one of the shops on Main Street in May. Our DD9 wanted to look at the CM's board, and he chatted with her about what she was collecting while she was browsing. He didn't have anything she was looking for, but she is always polite and thanks the CM for letting her look. She had told him she was collecting Tsum Tsum pins. As we were about to leave, he asked which she was missing, and she said she was missing only one from Series 1. He said "is it Donald?" It was ( no idea how he guessed that out of a 15 pin mystery series), and he reached into his shirt pocket, and pulled out the Donald Tsum Tsum pin! OMG I almost cried! It was near park close on our last day and it made her day! Love that type of disney magic!

 

[Delilah1310]

we just got into pin buying and trading last year at WDW.
I think I can gather about what "scrapper" means, but how would I recognize one?

We bought a couple sets that had 5 or 6, with a couple that DS9 wanted to keep and he traded the rest. Is that want most people do?
And then also like others have mentioned, if we got a mystery one that he didn't care for, that one went on the "trade" lanyard.

Any other ways to get "legit" pins for trade at a reasonable price? I'm not an eBay person.
thanks in advance for any advice you can provide!

 

[BadPinkTink]

we just got into pin buying and trading last year at WDW.
I think I can gather about what "scrapper" means, but how would I recognize one?

I use http://www.pinpics.com/index1.php to check every pin I get when trading. They have a ton of info about each pin, and tell you how to tell a scrapper from a genuine, ie, if a colour is different or the back info is different or if there are something missing etc. After a while of reading the notes on pin pics about the scappers, you can start to tell them from genuine ones on the boards and lanyards.