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/)
-
-
-
Email
Share
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?
