lack of pins

[CaptSmee]

Has anyone noticed the major lack of new pins at the parks? II'm a big fan of limited editions & they seem to be few & far between now. I sure dont see any old ones sitting on the racks so I dont think its because they don't sell. Are they running out of fresh ideas? The only series I'm looking forward to & trying to figure out how to get are the piece of spectromagic history series coming out

[cer]

We have noticed that there is not much out there either. Well, not much of interest to us.

We aren't even seeing much of the hidden mickey pins on the cast members.

I don't do much in the way of collecting them, but if I want to get something new, it seems like ebay is my best option.

[TinkerbellT421]

I agree, lacking doesn't even begin to describe it.

I am a huge collector of pins, love them, love displaying them in my shadow box.

Outside of the "character" plain pins, there is not much to be had or found. It's very disheartening to say the least.

[TracyL]

Sad to say, it's looking like the Pin Trading mania has "jumped the shark." They still supply pins for us old-timers, but I think the whole pin thing is not catching on with new and younger guests. I don't see nearly the levels of buying, trading, etc., that used to happen even a couple of years ago. Vinylmation is taking over a lot of the store spaces that used to be allocated for pins (do not get me started on Vinylmation), and it's not clear to me that even that is really working for them.

I think the "accumulate a zillion of something and trade it" idea may just not be working anymore. Or maybe it's an artifact of the economy -- people aren't spending as much on souvenirs and collecting, so there's not as much demand.

Either way, Disney doesn't seem to be going out of its way to promote pins anymore.

It also may very well be that the pin sharks, the outrageous resale prices on eBay, and the incredible rudeness of a small minority of traders caused Disney to rethink the "family-friendliness" of pin trading. I know I had a few really terrible experiences with people behaving badly, and there is a segment of folks who see pins as a way to get rich quick by snapping up the desirable pins and reselling them. It's a shame, really -- as with many things, bad behavior by a few folks can spoil the fun for a the majority.

[Capt_redshirt]

I think its more the economy of things. When I was down there in October, I saw that there was a lot of the same pins on the trader boards in the hotels. certain less than popular designs seem to flood the market. plus pin trading options like the big wall at DTD was never available. Tho i did notice I was stopped a lot more by random traders during the day. There are more pins being released but I think they are releasing them slower then usual

[Cheshire_Girl]

I used to be a pin trading freak... Not so much anymore . Last couple of times in the park I didn't look for pins ... The problem is all the scrapers. People new to pin trading buy up lots on eBay cheap to have something to trade, and the vast majority of these are scrapers...so that just leaves ****** scrappy pins on the CMs lanyards...after so long of only finding cheap scraper pins I guess the hunt doesn't even seem worth it anymore for me. I saw in another thread here about a monthly trade event at the All Star resort, every second Saturday behind the food court I think it is. I'm going to check it out and hopefully pin trading directly with other traders in a different forum will bring the thrill of the hunt back for me
And you can bet I won't have any scrapers in my trade tin!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

The All Stars trading event sounds awesome. My DD is still a pin collector/trader, and found it hard on the last trip to finding anything she really wanted.

Maybe we'll have some luck at the event?

[Susan A]

I found this interesting bc my kids and I are new to trading. We started last October on our trip. All pins were new to us.

My daughters first trade was with a cast member in tomorrow land. She traded the Beast for a tiny pennant. (I thing what the triangles are called). He looked at me and asked, "are you sure?"
"Yes".

I purposely chose pins that my kids would be willing to trade. I didn't mind that she wanted that little pin. She traded it again later that morning.

I bought our pins on ebay bf the trip. I carefully researched and paid more to (hopefully) ensure they were authentic.

I'm surprised cast members accepted scrappers. I thought a scrapper would be easy to spot.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

DD's first completed pin set was the pennants! She was so delighted to get the last one.

In terms of the "scrappers", I would think that CM's don't want to get guests upset, especially if they are children by saying "I can't take your pin".

I know for many people, pin trading has been excellent at helping their kids gain confidence in talking to new (and grown-up) people.

[Susan A]

That's true. I wouldn't want to break a child's little heart.
"Sorry, sweetie. Your pin is a fake."

[azcavalier]

My wife got us into pin trading years ago, because she thought it would be a better alternative for our kids than the whole "stand in line for an autograph" thing. And she was right. We have had a lot of fun pin trading and looking for sets.

But the last few trips have been very poor for trading. We keep seeing the same pins we've seen for *years*. Occasionally we'll see a new pin for sale at the Pin Stations, and we'll buy one or two each trip, but for the most part, we hardly trade any more.

However, in January, we're taking my sister and her family. It will be their first time doing DisneyWorld. For them, it might be a ton of fun, as it will all be new.

[Christine]

I have given up on pins. Gave all my traders and sets to a coworker. I was so tired of seeing the SAME OLD PINS everywhere I went. Too bad, I always had fun hunting.

[BigRedDad]

We do not buy many pins. The only pins we really by are to trade with CMs. CMs seem to have the same pins across the board. They are typically filled with the Booster Pack type pins. Not a big deal, but there needs to be variety.

My DD trades for things she wants at that point in time. She may even trade that pin later in the day. We happened upon a pin trading station at Epcot where people had binders filled with pins. My DD politely asked to look, she asked a few questions on some pins she had come across, and was given some advice. After we were done with this lady that seemed so nice, she told my DD that she should not trade the pin her hand. She told her to throw it away because is it something she called a "scrapper". My DD just traded for it from a CM and this lady tells her it is trash. I brushed it off and thanked her. My DD was upset. We went back to the CM, told her what the lady said, and she took her pin back and gave her one of her choice from the pins on the racks.

I have done a lot of searching since I got home because of this. I have come to the conclusion that there are two groups in this pins business: traders (like my daughter who do not care) and collectors (are looking to get the better end of a trade or looking for rare pins). My DD is a trader. She doesn't care. She sees something she likes, she trades for it. Every once in awhile, she finds a collector type pin.

I have also learned that there are special release events for collector pins. Most of these will never make it to the pin stations. They are limited editions and sell out before making it to the stations.

[cer]

W We happened upon a pin trading station at Epcot where people had binders filled with pins. My DD politely asked to look, she asked a few questions on some pins she had come across, and was given some advice. After we were done with this lady that seemed so nice, she told my DD that she should not trade the pin her hand. She told her to throw it away because is it something she called a "scrapper". My DD just traded for it from a CM and this lady tells her it is trash. I brushed it off and thanked her. My DD was upset. We went back to the CM, told her what the lady said, and she took her pin back and gave her one of her choice from the pins on the racks.

I have done a lot of searching since I got home because of this. I have come to the conclusion that there are two groups in this pins business: traders (like my daughter who do not care) and collectors (are looking to get the better end of a trade or looking for rare pins). My DD is a trader. She doesn't care. She sees something she likes, she trades for it. Every once in awhile, she finds a collector type pin.

As a rule, we never trade with the "Pin Sharks" only Cast Members.

[Capt_redshirt]

We do not buy many pins. The only pins we really by are to trade with CMs. CMs seem to have the same pins across the board. They are typically filled with the Booster Pack type pins. Not a big deal, but there needs to be variety.

My DD trades for things she wants at that point in time. She may even trade that pin later in the day. We happened upon a pin trading station at Epcot where people had binders filled with pins. My DD politely asked to look, she asked a few questions on some pins she had come across, and was given some advice. After we were done with this lady that seemed so nice, she told my DD that she should not trade the pin her hand. She told her to throw it away because is it something she called a "scrapper". My DD just traded for it from a CM and this lady tells her it is trash. I brushed it off and thanked her. My DD was upset. We went back to the CM, told her what the lady said, and she took her pin back and gave her one of her choice from the pins on the racks.

I have done a lot of searching since I got home because of this. I have come to the conclusion that there are two groups in this pins business: traders (like my daughter who do not care) and collectors (are looking to get the better end of a trade or looking for rare pins). My DD is a trader. She doesn't care. She sees something she likes, she trades for it. Every once in awhile, she finds a collector type pin.

I have also learned that there are special release events for collector pins. Most of these will never make it to the pin stations. They are limited editions and sell out before making it to the stations.

As a rule, we never trade with the "Pin Sharks" only Cast Members.

While I agree most of the collectors are sharks you can in some rare cases find honest and decent people there. I listen to them talk to other traders you can tell which ones are looking to make honest trades and those that just **** the fun out of trading.

[BigRedDad]

I am not a pin trader. I have come to like the artistry in some pins. I will just buy the ones I like. It may be 1 or 2 a trip. For my DD9, it is just the thrill of doing it. She could care less if it is what others call a scrapper. She has learned to identify sets and tries to complete them on trips. She will trade for one pin and turn around and trade that pin the next hour. It is all flavor of the moment for her.

The other thing with pin trading for me is it gets us out of the sun. It is relaxing, in the AC, and gives her the break she needs in the early afternoon.