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Best place to get pins??

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Best place to get pins??
hayleygurl9693

hayleygurl9693

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Hey Everyone,

I brand new to this forum so sorry if its in the wrong section...

I've been on and off with pin trading for a couple of years now and I'm just getting back into it. I know the basics but I was just wondering where the best place would be to get some pins that would be somewhat valuable and worth trading. I know ebay is def nott the place to go, but are there any sites similar that wont break my budget for getting?

Thanks!

Update: Also I've never really been able to choose one set of pins to look for at a time. ANybody have suggestions or stories about how they picked theirs?
 
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Actually, eBay is the place you want to go, especially for older, valuable pins. Just make sure to watch out for those inflated "Buy It Now" prices, and avoid lots.

The Sale Forum here has had some great deals, as well.

I used to buy some of the newer stuff from ds.com, but lately, it's been crap.
 
I love to go to the Disney outlet warehouse and stock up on pins or if you have access to company d that's an extra plus! :)
~jessi
 
Abyssinian28 said:
Actually, eBay is the place you want to go, especially for older, valuable pins. Just make sure to watch out for those inflated "Buy It Now" prices, and avoid lots.

The Sale Forum here has had some great deals, as well.

I used to buy some of the newer stuff from ds.com, but lately, it's been crap.
Click to expand...

Do you think you could elaborate for me why buying in lots is a bad idea? Unfortunately that was what I was planning to do! I'm hoping to go to a PTN and, well, don't have many traders! I figured it'd be a quick way to get a few traders so I could at least get the ball rolling, but, hmm, now I'm not so sure.
 
franken_stein said:
Do you think you could elaborate for me why buying in lots is a bad idea? Unfortunately that was what I was planning to do! I'm hoping to go to a PTN and, well, don't have many traders! I figured it'd be a quick way to get a few traders so I could at least get the ball rolling, but, hmm, now I'm not so sure.
Click to expand...

The lots are usually filled with scrappers
 
Do you think you could elaborate for me why buying in lots is a bad idea? Unfortunately that was what I was planning to do! I'm hoping to go to a PTN and, well, don't have many traders! I figured it'd be a quick way to get a few traders so I could at least get the ball rolling, but, hmm, now I'm not so sure.
Click to expand...

Sure! As someone said, the lots on ebay are usually filled with scrappers. If you don't know what those are, they're pins thrown away by Disney factories for having flaws and such. The workers scoop them up and sell them illegally. They're poorer quality, and aren't officially released pins. In addition to scrappers, sometimes the workers will us a base pin as a mold and print their own line off, with bad paint jobs and such.

Hidden Mickeys are the worst, likely because Disney prints so many of them, so the workers can get them easier. Open edition pins are dangerous, as well.

I don't know what you mean by "good" trader...from your original post, I had assumed you were looking for Disney Auction or something at that level. However, if that's not the case, you can find some good lots here on the boards from trusted members like Rocke01. I can also do some LE and open edition lost for about $2.50/$3 or so a pin (I went a little crazy and bought too many pins at some cast sales a few years back, now I'm drowning in them). There are other good deals, too...

Also, the Disney outlets have good pins for around $4-6 per pin, and sometimes they have left-over event framed sets and such for cheap. I don't know if you're going to WDW or DLR PTN, but both Parks have outlets nearby.

Hope that helps- feel free to ask more.
 
I think the website says there are only in fullerton, pomona, las vegas.just google ams liquidation. During the holidays they usually have more stores in other areas of the country. But it looks like they are only near Disneyland right now.
 
Abyssinian28 said:
Sure! As someone said, the lots on ebay are usually filled with scrappers. If you don't know what those are, they're pins thrown away by Disney factories for having flaws and such. The workers scoop them up and sell them illegally. They're poorer quality, and aren't officially released pins. In addition to scrappers, sometimes the workers will us a base pin as a mold and print their own line off, with bad paint jobs and such.

Hidden Mickeys are the worst, likely because Disney prints so many of them, so the workers can get them easier. Open edition pins are dangerous, as well.

I don't know what you mean by "good" trader...from your original post, I had assumed you were looking for Disney Auction or something at that level. However, if that's not the case, you can find some good lots here on the boards from trusted members like Rocke01. I can also do some LE and open edition lost for about $2.50/$3 or so a pin (I went a little crazy and bought too many pins at some cast sales a few years back, now I'm drowning in them). There are other good deals, too...

Also, the Disney outlets have good pins for around $4-6 per pin, and sometimes they have left-over event framed sets and such for cheap. I don't know if you're going to WDW or DLR PTN, but both Parks have outlets nearby.

Hope that helps- feel free to ask more.
Click to expand...

Thanks a bunch for the detailed answer! I saw a bunch of lots being sold on eBay that I thought weren't so bad because the sellers had good feedback scores, but I suppose the buyers could be people who just didn't know what a scrapper is... or something like that.

I'm going to try to go to the DLR PTN! As of now though because I barely have any traders (just a booster pack bought from Downtown Disney) I'm not sure it'd be worth it for me to go :( Maybe I could just go to look around and see what it's all about.
 
On PTN they have pin boards usually (or at least they use to) where you can trade any pin for any pin. Your booster pins will work for them. Some of the Cast Members will be wearing vests or lanyards as well. The PTN nights are fun. I use to go to them all the time but since we no longer have a pass we have not been in quite a while. I also tended to just sit at my table and visit with friends there.

I would go. Get there early if you want to trade on the boards as there is a huge line for them most of the time. As far as traders go... I have pretty much emptied everything I have for trader packages, even sold most of my last years WDW hidden mickey set I had put together so I am afraid I can be of little help to you, sorry. There are others that sell on the sale board though. Try Brea, she usually has some inexpensive pins ($1.50 each) and there was a seller from Arizona, Nikkiaz I think, that sold traders too but they were a little more (about $2.25).

BTW... I think you can still get traders on Ebay if you buy a lot that the seller shows the pins you will be getting. You have to do your research and the lots are usually small but it is doable. You can also buy pins starting at .99 or less in single aucions and with combined shipping hand pick your traders at a reasonable rate. Most times averaging under $2 a pin including s/h.
 
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Thanks a bunch for the detailed answer! I saw a bunch of lots being sold on eBay that I thought weren't so bad because the sellers had good feedback scores, but I suppose the buyers could be people who just didn't know what a scrapper is... or something like that.

I'm going to try to go to the DLR PTN! As of now though because I barely have any traders (just a booster pack bought from Downtown Disney) I'm not sure it'd be worth it for me to go :( Maybe I could just go to look around and see what it's all about.
Click to expand...

No problem :) And you're actually right- the positive scores are because people either don't know, or don't care, that the pins are not official. Most of them are families and people who just trade when they go to the Parks. But as the old saying goes, "Sounds too good to be true..."- the reason they can make a profit off $80 for 100 pins is because they don't pay for those pins...they just pick them up off the ground or out of the bins. I'm always wary of any seller from China, because they don't enforce international copyright laws.

And *definitely* go! Besides being fun, it's a real eye-opener...you'll see pins you've never seen before. It's true that you probably won't trade for any high-end pins, but there are traders that have all types and level of pins, so you should be able to find lots of stuff. And if not, that's okay, too...it's still fun to look! Some nights I get a lot of trades, and other times, I'll barely trade...but it's always worth going!
 
Thanks for the info! I discovered there's a Disney outlet about 2 hours away from where I live, but near family, so next time we visit I'm going to stop by.
 
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