Pin Trading Tips

This article comes from my new favorite Disney Blog, Disney Tourist Blog. They have a lot of really great trip reports and tips. They are also amazing photographers. 

(http://www.disneytouristblog.com/)

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     Disney Pin Trading is a popular hobby for Walt Disney World guests looking for unique souvenirs of their favorite Disney rides, Disney characters, and special events. Disney Pin Trading began during the Millennium Celebration in October 1999. Since then, Disney Pins have become easily the most popular merchandise and collectibles in all of Walt Disney World and Disneyland, with the possible exception of Vinylmations, which are now rising in popularity.
While some fervent Disney fans scorn Pin Trading (presumably because they oppose good, clean fun), there is no doubt that Pin Trading has been embraced wholeheartedly by the general public and by legions of Disney collectors.
       Pin Trading is relatively simple in practice: guests interested in the hobby and most Cast Members wear lanyards with pins attached to them. While Disney itself allows Pin Trading between guests, this is actually quite uncommon in practice. About the only time it will actually occur is if you happen upon one of the “professional” Pin Traders outside of the Downtown Disney or Epcot Pin Trading shops. Be warned, as these individuals are selling their pins without calling the transaction as much (since Disney prohibits the exchange of money in Pin Trading). Instead, they circumvent the “no cash” rule by sending eager traders inside the Pin Trading Central store to purchase specific items that they will then accept in trade. From a value perspective, these individuals are almost always ripping off casual traders. If there is a specific pin you really want that no longer is in Disney stores, I highly recommend avoiding these individuals, and instead checking eBay.

       The more common, and much more advisable, Pin Trading route is guests trading with Cast Members. Cast Members who trade can be identified by their pin-filled lanyards. If a Cast Member has a green lanyard, they will only trade with kids. All other lanyards are fair game for all guests.

TIP: As Cast Members are trading pins provided to them by Disney, they will accept whatever trades offered to them, so long as the trade is an Official Pin Trading Pin (denoted by a © Disney on the back of the pin). So don’t fret too much about a “fair” offer if you see a pin that you recognize as exceedingly rare, as Cast Members will trade any other official pin for it.
        One of the fun aspects of Pin Trading is that there are so many pins (if you’re a completionist, this can be a drawback). This means that you can go for certain categories of pins (my favorite are pins with the Epcot character “Figment” on them–although I probably don’t need to tell you that I’m a HUGE Figment fan!), and there will be plenty of different pins within that category for you to collect. Some fun options include:

• Hidden Mickeys (These are semi-common pins with small mickey heads hidden on them that are available in a series that are unique because they’re not available for sale in stores, and can only be found on Cast Member lanyards)
• Characters (Choose your favorite character and trade for as many pins containing that character as you can)
• Series (These are groups of ~4-8 pins that have a similar theme but are substantively different)
• Retro Disney (Pins featuring Disney attractions, characters, and films from years past)

TIP: Look for Cast Members with Lanyards early in the morning as they have “fresh” pins. These pins get picked over during the course of the day, but are replenished at shift changes.

One downside to Pin Trading is that it can be very expensive, as individual pin prices range from $8.99 to an upwards of $34.99! However, it doesn’t need to be nearly this expensive.
TIP: If you do your homework, and buy your pins on eBay before leaving home, you can buy groupings of assorted pins for $1-2 per pin. Prices like those make the hobby much less costly! The only caveat here is that some pin sellers on eBay sell bootleg pins, so you have to do your homework. Pins having copyright or pin trading stamps on the back doesn’t necessarily mean they’re legitimate. Make sure to check the seller’s feedback (long-standing members with near-100% feedback are generally safe), and ask the seller questions if you are uncertain. If they give an answer that deflects your original question, err on the side of caution, and avoid them. While this may seem like a lot of work, the savings are substantial (at least ~$350 for 50 pins), so it’s definitely worth checking out eBay.

Our Opinion of Pin Trading:
       Sarah and I were once avid pin traders. Pin trading caused us to interact with more Cast Members than we ever did prior to trading, we’ve had more fun hunting “rare” pins than Hidden Mickeys on attractions, and it even got us selected as the “family” of the day in the Jammin’ Jungle Parade in August 2008! Moreover, I have found that pin designs are by far the most unique merchandise in all of WDW (extinct attractions, attraction anniversaries, rare characters, you name it!) If you do it right, it’s an incredibly cheap hobby, and it provides you with cheap souvenirs, especially in comparison to those costly and large Big Figs I had been collecting. That said, while we enjoyed it, we haven’t been active with Pin Trading in a while because we already carry a lot of photography gear when in the parks, and lanyards with pins would just be too much.
        The size of the pins is a big deal for us. We love to collect things, but if we continued to accumulate large items at our pre-Pin Trading pace, we would have needed to invest in a large warehouse to store everything. Sarah can attest to this, I have boxes upon boxes (we have storage rooms reminiscent of Citizen Kane or Raiders of the Lost Ark) bursting with Disney items that are just waiting to be unleashed, upon our future home. In this regard, especially, pin trading has been a good hobby, as our entire collection can be condensed into just a shoe box!
        That said, we haven’t become nearly as addicted to Pin Trading as many others have; it can become just as expensive and space-consuming as collecting other Disney pieces, as Disney churns out tons of pins on a monthly basis all with varying price points, designs and edition sizes to satiate all of those interested in Pin Trading. The hobby has become so popular that Disney holds special conventions dedicated to Pin Trading each year, and that several websites devoted to following the collectibles have sprouted up. While you certainly don’t have to become that enamored with the hobby, sometimes it’s difficult to resist: I’ve heard of many unassuming Disney fans getting hooked and spending substantial amounts of money on the hobby.
         However, if you commit to only buying a limited number of pins via eBay prior to the trip, and stick to that plan, you can have fun without getting hooked. With this plan, you might even find yourself spending less on souvenirs!
What do you think of Disney Pin Trading? Are you a fan of it or not?