Pin Trading questions About This Page:

[QuiltsbyNini]

I am thinking of getting some pins for trading off ebay for the kids to start trading. I have never had an interest in it, don't know much about it, and not 100% sure my youngest will want to even do it (mentally challenged).

Where should I start reading to get enough information to make an informed decision? I have read that a lot of people on ebay are not 'responsible' sellers (imagine that!), but I really only want to see if they enjoy the trading aspect before I start to put a lot of money into it.

Fakes, knock offs, 'scrappers'...I'm not 100% sure that really matters much, however I would hate to knowingly trade something inferior...

So confused...Where do you suggest I start?

Nini

[Stephanie0419]

We buy ours off ebay, and we have never got any fakes. I would just check the sellers feedback, and make sure he has sold pins before with positive feedback.

[jovigirlnj]

I have also brought them on Ebay - All of mine have always had the stamp in the back - I have heard even some of those could be scrappers but I have never had a CM tell me they were fake or wouldnt trade....The ones I have gotten always look great. My kids love going through them - they even keep some.

[Gin]

Pin trading can be a lot of fun. I think my children do it more for the interaction than for the pins.
I think I just Googled "pin trading" to get started. I know there's information on allears.net, too.
I buy most of our pins off of eBay, from sellers that have good feedback, and almost exclusively from one seller now because they have a huge variety, good prices, and free shipping. I haven't gotten a dud yet.
Good luck and have fun!

[belletw77]

I got several sets off ebay for our trip in Oct. I wanted to get several for my dd6 so that she can trade, but didnt want to pay a lot so ebay was a great idea. I like opening them up to see what we got since it was a mystery bag of like 20 pins. Also like doing this since we got several that we didnt care to keep so it will be easy to trade these for ones we want. Of course there were a few we did want to keep . It is well worth getting off ebay.

[NurseLesley]

Agreed! I just purchased my first bunch off Ebay (30 pins total) ...the seller had 100% positive feedback, we got them very quickly, they all look great & have Disney stamps, AND the seller threw in 3 extra!!

[mom2twingirlies]

I purchased a starter pin set (and lanyard) for my girls for their first trip, when they were 4. They didn't really get into the trading until last year when they were 6 - and then they loved it! They trade almost exclusively with CM's, so all but one has been super nice to them and willing to wait while they sometimes take forever to decide which pin they want to trade for. They start collecting their favourites, but the next day, sometimes even these they re-trade the next day for yet another new one. For our trip in January, I just ordered 2 lots from an ebay seller who had great feedback on previous sales of pins. I got a total of about 50 new pins for them to trade, because I know that some in the batch they will not be willing to trade once they see them.
We just have to keep an eye on the backs of the pins to make sure we're not losing any as the days go on.

[WeLvBCV]

We did not exactly start off the inexpensive way. My oldest asked to start trading so we bought him a lanyard at WDW with 5 pins. 5 pins were just not enough but he had a ball trading. My youngest wanted a lanyard too since he saw his brother trading so of course we bought him one too. He trades just to trade whereas my oldest has things he collects.

For our next trip I bought from a seller on eBay. One with lots and lots of trades and 100% positive feedback. Read the actual feedback as well. Look for return buyers. We bought 40 pins for $39. I gave each of my sons 20 pins.

During our last trip my oldest bought a little pin holder bag because his lanyard was hard to wear with all those pins. Plus some kept falling off. My youngest put the ones he wanted to save on a sun hat and only kept trading ones on his lanyard. Though he kept handing me his lanyard to carry.

If you stay at AKL on M-F the King of Pins comes out to trade with the kids in the afternoon (I am thinking it is 3pm but call first). He is really great and my kids are begging to go see him again. He will do two trades with each child. He has a red trading carpet to stand on during your trade. He has some new pins and old and a mystery bag.