What is Pin Trading all About?

[julyjewel]

I am fairly new to Intercot and just took my first WDW trip 3 weeks ago. My kids got pins at our resort giftshop because the clerk messed up the total. What is pin trading all about? DO they have values or something? My son got a Chip n Dale Pirate pin and my daughter got two Tinkerbell year of a million dreams pin. One for and one to give to a special friend. I noticed they both had Disney Pin Trading 2007 on the back. I thougth I'd check out this section to see what the pins were all about. Thanks.

[DizneyRox]

It's known as a money sink

Pins cost pennies to produce, however are sold for 10s of dollars. They are created to resemble people's favorite characters in order to prompt compulsive purchases. Some are even markets as Limited Edition pins with a set number of pins created. Often those command even more $$ for the honor of finding/purchasing them.

I have not found a way to make money with pins. I have some very rare pins in my collection all have no real value until sold. And the price I can get depends on if people are looking for them. If you really want to get into pin trading (I would suggest NOT getting involved though)pic ONE character and work on that. Only buy pins that fit your theme. Personally I don't worry too much about trading with others. Too many "sharks" out there taking advantage of people.

[Clotho]

Wow, what a dismal view!

Well, I for one am not at all interested in trying to make money off of my pin collection. I do it for the fun of it. It can be expensive, but as DisneyRox suggested, if you stick to one character or theme, it can be more like a scavenger hunt, and you will keep from overspending.

I like pin trading, because I get to meet people and share in something just plain fun. I will approach other people in line or walking around, and ask if I can take a look at their pins. If I am interested in any of their pins, I say, "I really like your Tigger pin there. Is there anything I have on my lanyard that you would like to trade for it?" And I pretty much only put stuff on my lanyard that I am willing to trade away for anything. I don't assess comparable value, or anything so money-grubbing as some of the sharks that DisneyRox refers to (and they are out there).

I basically avoid anyone with an entire vest covered in pins, or anyone with a large folder of pins. They are the ones most likely to be trying to make a buck off of the trade, and will intentionally trade you something of lesser value, and is most likely to tell your child "no" when they request a trade. So un-fun! I am a self-professed "Pin Sucker!" Meaning I am a sucker for pin trading, and will trade just about anything with anyone just to get to do it.

If you want to start really slow and easy, only trade with CM's. Most of them are wearing pins. Ask if you can look at their pins, and they will hold out the lanyard for you to peruse. They will trade pretty much anything for anything else--no skin off their nose. There are even special green lanyards, which means they will only trade with children, to it makes it more accessible for little ones.

There are quite a few informational pages online you can refer to for more info. Have fun!