Scrappers are killing CM pin trading!

If Disney really cared about this issue they could contact EBAY and shut down those bulk pin dealers in nothing flat. The CM is in a no win postion as they have to trade no question asked if presented with pin. I am sure Disney would be in contact to Ebay if say somebody was selling say Anna and Elsa dolls at deep discounts.


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...lling-200000-in-fake-disney-collectibles.html


US customs caught persons bringing in fake pins in 2013
 
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I wonder if it's mostly because CMs can't bear to turn away children. Collectors like you or I care, but I know a few friends who took me I should boost my daughter's trading collection from eBay on the cheap, they don't understand it like we do. Then if they get those for their innocent, well intentioned children, who just want to trade for fun? Bless those CMs for having big hearts.

I think the answer is to go after the counterfeit sellers/manufacturers, me.
 
When my kids started, I worked really hard to buy from reputable sellers recommended to me that would not be selling scrappers. We have been to WDW many times and my kids LOVE trading and trade pins at every opportunity. For them, i don't even think it is a finding a special pin, but it is about the interaction, feeling they get to make choices and for me, learning to trade with manners. Pins we buy as souvenirs they don't trade, but all others are fair game. So, given they started with non-scrappers, but love to trade (and we have no expertise) i would bet they have many scrappers now. And as a parent, who is encouraging my children to interact with adults and trade politely, if a CM turned them away, and embarrassed them over a pin being a scrapper, I have to admit, I would be mad. Especially given I know it likely came from another CM, who perhaps was not as aware. For them, at this age, it is about the experience, much more than the pins. I think perhaps there should be 'official' trading events where it is more regulated, but waiting in line at a ride killing time, isn't the place. And telling a six year old their pin is 'fake' is never going to go over well. My kids have come back from trades (we try and encourage them to do it independently when appropriate) with totally non-Disney cheap ugly pins-and they are thrilled-they love it, even though i tell them they can't trade it later. We had this happen twice, but the kids don't care so I had to learn to let it go. It was kind of tough spending so much time ensuring we didn't buy scrappers only then to trade and likely get a bunch, but they love it and know no different so we just need to go into it knowing that.
 
I wonder if it's mostly because CMs can't bear to turn away children. Collectors like you or I care, but I know a few friends who took me I should boost my daughter's trading collection from eBay on the cheap, they don't understand it like we do. Then if they get those for their innocent, well intentioned children, who just want to trade for fun? Bless those CMs for having big hearts.

I think the answer is to go after the counterfeit sellers/manufacturers, me.

that is exactly what it is. When I was a CM and had a lanyard we were walked through what was real and what was fake. When you turned pins in the CM maning the backstage board was suppose to trash scrappers and replace with good ones. It is easy to tell adults no but hard to tell kids. I use to even tell kids "are you really really really sure you want to get rid of that pin about about you give me this other one" when they would want to trade limited edition pins for junk on my lanyard. One kid tried to give me his pirates and pals cruise pin! I refused told his parents to take it off his lanyard if he was just going to give it away and gave him the pin he wanted for no trade haha.
 


Personally, I think it is pretty much impossible to tell with any certainty if a pin is truly fake, unless it has a typo or something similar as noted above. I have read several blogs, FB posts, etc about how to spot a scrapper, and have applied those rules to pins I have purchased from Disney at the Disney Springs or various in-park outlets. Several of these known good pins would not pass muster, but I know they are real unless Disney has started selling scrappers as new. I can't see how every cast member can be taught all of the tells of scrappers, especially when some apparently aren't really tells at all.

Pin trading is all for fun, and if you get a scrapper in trade, and are that upset about it, trade it back out. We (DW and I) collect sets, and if there are any suspect in a set, we try to trade for better quality pins. Sometimes we'll keep both as we can't really tell which is the "correct" pin.

I think the only way that Disney could nip this is to start "chipping" the pins with a unique code that could be scanned (like your Credit Card). Considering how much pins cost, this shouldn't need to actually add any cost to the already inflated prices. If the scrappers can make a profit at $1/pin, Disney is making a huge profit at $7-15. These markers cost pennies to add.
 
This may be a 5 year old thread that was recently revived but since I recently returned from a WDW vacation and am a long time pin trader, here's my two-cents worth:

Scrappers are an unfortunate reality in the trading world but for me the bigger problem is the starter sets that Disney sells.

I understand that they are created to get more people involved in trading, but all that ends up happening is you see the same pins, over and over and over again.

As pin prices rise, fewer and fewer people are going to purchase a $10-$15 pin only to trade it away, leading to less and less variety on pin boards and cast lanyards.

Although I was able to make some trades at Epcot with guests set up at the trading tables, I had very little success finding anything I wanted from cast members.
 


This may be a 5 year old thread that was recently revived but since I recently returned from a WDW vacation and am a long time pin trader, here's my two-cents worth:

Scrappers are an unfortunate reality in the trading world but for me the bigger problem is the starter sets that Disney sells.

I understand that they are created to get more people involved in trading, but all that ends up happening is you see the same pins, over and over and over again.

As pin prices rise, fewer and fewer people are going to purchase a $10-$15 pin only to trade it away, leading to less and less variety on pin boards and cast lanyards.

Although I was able to make some trades at Epcot with guests set up at the trading tables, I had very little success finding anything I wanted from cast members.

There were no CM only pins on any of the lanyards? CMs who are trading are suppose to turn their pins in for new CM lanyard pins when they have more then 50% as non-CM pins. They only release so many sets of the lanyard pins a year though so it does start to blend together but there should always be non-starter pack pins on the lanyards.
 
Most of my interactions with cast members started with them saying "I don't have anything good" or "I don't have much selection".
 
The only way to stop the issue is for Disney to train cm to spot fakes and make it a rule that fakes will not be excepted.
This will nevvvvvvver happen. Number one training employees is to costly.
Two, pissing off (unknowingly) guests who show up and are told they can't trade because their pin is fake isnt good for business.
Three, I'm sure Disney has done research and knows most people are buying real pins to trade and that the majority out there are real.
Four, as others have stated, it's more of what you like. Sure having a real pin is a plus and I would prob be a little disappointed if I got a fake but for most families having something they like outweighs if it's real. Look at how many people have fake diamonds and purses. It's not that they don't want real, it's that they don't care

Off to eBay to buy fakes in order to trade for real and build up my collection value ;)
JOKING
I love pin trading, I love interacting with the cast members. Some are more into it then others. I had one get really excited because I let her chose the one off my lanyard to trade. I don't trade with non cast memebers too often. I have, and often times its at their request. I pin trade to get Pins I like and I try and be fair with my trades to everybody, cast members included. I know I will probably pick up a scrapper or two, or even give one back, but the point is having fun and interacting and making the most of the trip.
 
This really sucks. I started pin collecting about 12 years ago during my first trip. I absolutely fell in love with it. At that time there were no such things as scrappers, so the pins I was getting in return were amazing. Lots of limited edition and just really cool ones. Now, there's nothing out there. I wanted to introduce my little brother and sister to pin trading, but the appeal really isn't there anymore. It's sad, really.
 
My kids love trading pins and our past two visits they spent a decent amount of time doing so. We were there earlier this month and noticed very few cast members that were wearing trading pins. Far fewer than we have seen in the past. I know you can ask to see boards but we ended up just passing on trading for the visit.
 
I think that for the most part, pin trading has just run its course. That's why you don't see as much of it nowadays compared to ten years ago. It has nothing to do with the existence of "fake" pins. I still enjoy picking up pins I like, and even trade a few on the boards - but it's just not as popular as it used to be. Kinda like Kool & the Gang. :)
 
I didn't know pin trading was a big thing until just a few months ago. The last time I was at Disney was 2007 and I saw a few people trading here and there, but I didn't really understand it and noticed that it mostly was just kids doing it, so I figured it was something special for them that adults couldn't take part in. I've since learned that's not the case and that plenty of adults are into it as well. I've always been a collector, but I specifically liked the idea of having something small and portable, but still pretty to look at that was relatively inexpensive compared to my past collections.

Like with most everything else that I'm interested in, I started to research and ended up buying my first 3 pins online straight from Disney. After that, I learned how to find decent sellers on eBay which is largely where I buy my pins now. I never buy lots, only individual pins or very small sets. As often as possible, I look for the ones with their original packaging and have so far had good luck.

I'm more than fairly certain that the 5 pin set of Orange Birds I got are fakes, but even if they are I love them and I'm never trading them anyway. Everything else, to the best of my researched knowledge, is legit. My biggest issue is that I like to collect from my favorite movies for the most part (Orange Bird being a noted exception) and a lot of them are older films like The Sword in the Stone, Robin Hood, and Peter Pan, so finding pins straight from Disney is challenging.

It's pretty much left me with eBay or finding other pin collectors through PinPics or somewhere similar. However, I keep running into collectors (not all, obviously, but a LOT) that have things I would love available for trade, but they refuse because "I don't have anything good." As a total pin trading newbie, I can appreciate and understand them not wanting to trade with me for whatever reason, but their intensity about it and the way they brush off my still growing collection as not having "ANYTHING good" is very disheartening. Mind you, these are adults I'm dealing with largely and they can be very rude.

If I weren't the stubborn and determined type, that refuses to let people dictate to me what is and isn't worth my time or effort, then I would probably quit collecting pins altogether and I certainly wouldn't attempt to make trades anymore. It wouldn't have a thing to do with fake vs real pins though. What would ruin the entire experience for me would be the overzealous pin traders/collectors. Maybe it's just me, but there's my two cents.
 

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