Pin Trading/Scrapper Pins About This Page:

[jenifermg0]

I recently purchased a small batch of pins from E-bay for my son to trade while we are at WDW. They all look to be authentic pins - have the Disney logo and all. BUT... I'm terribly paranoid that they may be "scrapper pins" and I don't want to trade something that isn't authentic. I went to a web site ( Pin Pics: Home ) and I didn't see any of these pins on there, but, again, being paranoid, I am trying to make sure these are authentic pins. Anyone have any ideas how to be sure?

[EmpressLizBunny]

where in the world was the seller located they might be euro disney pins or sedesma pins but the rule is that if it has the disney stamp on the back it can be traded i think

[jhoshowski]

As long as they are copywrited Disney pins (with the Disney logo on the back) you should be okay to trade them.

[Disney Groupie]

We got some pins last year on ebay from a guy in Kissimmee. They were eurodisney pins and did say Disney on the back. We thought they were okay, but we ran into a cast member in MK that said that they were counterfeit. He traded with my son anyway, but I felt really bad because I didn't intentionally try to "hoodooo" anybody. No other cast member ever said anything. We had bought off ebay a couple of times before and never had that problem.. I'm like you, now I'm skeptical. I was wanting to get some for trading on our upcoming trip but am hesitant.

[TLisi]

PinPics is the best source that I know of to find counterfeit pins...though the site isn't all that user friendly. If you go to this page: Pin Pics: Search (don't worry about checking any of the boxes) go to the bottom of the page and in the search box type in counterfeit or bootleg, you will get an extensive list of pins. However, none of my counterfeit pins show up on that list. I had to type in more specific descriptions like "Minnie Ballerina" to find that my pins are counterfeit.

I had purchased pins from Ebay also and all but 3 of the lot of 20 were counterfeit. Sometimes, there's just no way to tell if a pin is counterfeit. Of the one's I purchased, some of the examples of counterfeiting were that the backstamp wasn't readable, a Donald Duck pin I bought should have had a fuzzy hat, the counterfeit version doesn't...I bought the one that doesn't. The Disney pins are crisps and have clean lines...counterfiet pins may have words/letters running into the outline of a design or letters that sort of run together. Other counterfeit pins will have a backstamp that says "Disney Hong Kong" or "The Disney Store" and those particular pins were never released in those places. The Jedi Mickey is a good example. He was released at WDW and DL not Hong Kong...counterfeit version has a Disney Hong Kong backstamp.

It would probably ease your mind if you could take the time to check each of your pins individually on pinpics, but that will take up a whole evening. If you have any other questions you can PM me and I'll try to be as helpful as I can. After I was taken, it's kinda been my goal to expose counterfeiters and their sellers...but it is such a huge industry...more than one person can handle...I always refer people to pinpics. Hope that helps.

[snoozin]

We've purchased pins on eBay for years, and never had any problem trading anyof them. There are over 50,000 legitimate Disney trading pins, and it's impossible for any one person to know which are and which are not counterfeit. That being said, always look for the Disney@ logo. That's hopefully, maybe, a guarantee that even if you unknowingly purchased a pin that was counterfeit, you'll still be able to trade it.

[BelleoftheBallNV]

if anyone is interested in saving money on pins, i live down the street from a disney discount store (lucky i tell ya) and they sell pins for between 2.99 and 4.99-5.99 and they are all 100% authentic...i stock up on trash pins there for trading before i go to DL every time o go.......i wont buy on ebay anymore, to much work if you get something that isnt authentic...

and i would NEVER charge to go get them....just send the $$ and then whatever shipping is after i sent the package...and i am on ebay.....i would even be willing to do small amounts of *upfront* buying, where you could reimburse me after you recieved the package, as long as it was under 50 dollars....

again, i just want people to have a safe way to get authentic pins, and i would NEVER EVER EVER charge to help! pm me if you are ever interested....again...no charge..not soliciting...just want to help!

[bradk]

here's the rub. those scrappers or counterfeits are usually made with disney molds. they're typically unauthorized overruns. like if disney says make us 500 of these pins for a LE, they do. but then they go and make 2000 more using the same dies.

if you're going to buy off eBay, all I can suggest you do is buy within 2-3 months of you using the pins. you have 90 days i believe to leave feedback on an item. so if you try to trade them and they turn out bad, you can either confront the seller about it or leave negative feedback.

[BelleoftheBallNV]

Originally Posted by snoozin

We've purchased pins on eBay for years, and never had any problem trading anyof them. There are over 50,000 legitimate Disney trading pins, and it's impossible for any one person to know which are and which are not counterfeit. That being said, always look for the Disney@ logo. That's hopefully, maybe, a guarantee that even if you unknowingly purchased a pin that was counterfeit, you'll still be able to trade it.

personally i think that trading a pin that is counterfeit kinda cheapens the whole idea of it. i spend alot of money (most of my pins i paid full price for) and alot of time on pin trading, and if im trading with a cast member (i dont trade with other people, becuase they can say no) and they are in a hurry, or i am, and i dont realize until later that i have a counterfiet pin that i just traded my authentic pin for, that would make me sad. i wont put it back in rotation either, because that is unfair. maybe i take pin trading more seriously than some (but really, i dont take is as seriously as others, i just dont like people who lie or break the law, which is what couterfeiting is) but i dont think its fair that just because you *can* do something you should...innocent people lose out when people dont respect the hobby the way they should, NOT (i cannot stress the not enough...i dont know you from steve, but what you said was related to what i wanted to say...) saying that you dont....just a mini rant inspired by your last sentence...

basically: i dont think that anyone should trade a couterfeit pin because its wrong, and if i get a counterfeit pin i wont put it back in rotation (i usually throw them away, i dont like stolen things...i even pay for my music)

[BelleoftheBallNV]

Originally Posted by bradk

here's the rub. those scrappers or counterfeits are usually made with disney molds. they're typically unauthorized overruns. like if disney says make us 500 of these pins for a LE, they do. but then they go and make 2000 more using the same dies.

if you're going to buy off eBay, all I can suggest you do is buy within 2-3 months of you using the pins. you have 90 days i believe to leave feedback on an item. so if you try to trade them and they turn out bad, you can either confront the seller about it or leave negative feedback.

leaving negative feedback is actually bad for you....because alot of sellers will leave it back...thats why i just threaten with negative or if they are selling licensed merchandise, i threaten to inform the company...and get my money back....that usually works...

i hate leaving negative, becuase i dont want to get negative...and whenever i look on people's feedback, there is always some retaliation negs....i only have 30...just one would be bad for me.....lol

[EmpressLizBunny]

one of my favorite sites is Pinfinder Home Page another is PinSeller.com - Disney Pins, Hard Rock Cafe Pins, MLB Pins, NFL Pins, NBA Pins and Olympic Collectible Lapel Pins they both sell lots/grab bags of high quality pins i often keep 25% of the pins i buy from them

i have never gotten any counterfit pins from them manny times i get cast lanyard and le pins in my order

[Evil_Queen]

I agree if they have the copyright then your ok. If your still not sure then I would check the Disney Pin Trading site. They have a picture of all pins.

[mrnrgrs]

I'm new to pin trading and I have a question about wearing the pins. I don't have a lanyard and wanted to wear several pins on my hat. I have a couple of rather large pins and found that sometimes they will fall off when I remove my hat. Is there any such thing as pin guards. or something to keep the pins from coming off?

[bradk]

losing pins is not uncommon. disney does sell bags of locking backs which basically use a small allen wrench. you can buy them on site where pins are sold.

[BelleoftheBallNV]

Originally Posted by Evil_Queen

I agree if they have the copyright then your ok. If your still not sure then I would check the Disney Pin Trading site. They have a picture of all pins.

unfortunately, they may still be counterfeit, but they can still be traded....true collectors will go through and weed out the fake ones, it just costs us money....there is nothing wrong with trading a pin as long as it has a copyright on it though...you are the victim in the situation...