• Guest, Help The DPF Community Thrive - Join Our Donation Drive Today!

    We're launching a special DPF Donation Drive to ensure our beloved forum continues to flourish. Your support is vital in helping us cover essential server costs and keep our community running smoothly — This is more than just a donation; it's an investment in the future of our community.

    Join us in this crucial drive and let's ensure our forum remains a vibrant and dynamic place for everyone.

    Please visit the DPF Donation Drive Thread for details and instructions on how you can make your donation today!

So different now!!

So different now!!

megw717

new, but not that new
Rating - 100%
7   0   0
Messages
35
Location
NC
Okay so I've been out of pin trading for like.......more than 10 years. I think the last time I did a trip where I did a lot of buying and trading was like 2006, but I didn't completely drop out until a few years later.

Anyway. Things have changed SO MUCH since then!! Ofc you had to worry about fakes/scrappers back then, but not like now. Like we have 800 pins between my mom and me, and as far as we can tell, ONE is fake. And it's not even a scrapper; it's just non-Disney brand.

I know it's a huge worry now but also it's a little...frustrating...that pins I've had for 15+ years, ppl wanting to trade are reluctant to trade w/ me bc we don't have the backing cards anymore. I've moved 3 times since I bought some of these pins!

I'm not blaming anyone (except the dealers in fakes; they're jerks), but it's just been a little bit of a culture shock coming back in after all these years and seeing how different things are. I guess mostly I'm just semi-venting. I'm not mad at legit traders; I understand not wanting to get ripped off. I just hate that so many ppl are out here ruining the fun for everyone. :/
 
My pin collections never knew a time without high likelihoods of fakes but I definitely feel your pain. Congratulations on having so few fakes in your collections though!
 
I started collecting a year ago, and I'm pretty confident that I only have one scrapper in my collection, but I figured it probably was when I traded for it with a CM.
 
Well, if one of the ones you happen to have is this one, it's one that I've been searching for for well over a dozen years and could care less if it's on card or not:

  • Pin# 14631
    Walt with Characters
I love it when older traders come back in - it gives me hope I'll find this pin someday!
 
Welcome back! It's super frustrating! I didn't start keeping my backer cards until like 3 years ago, so trading some of my older pins has been difficult. One time, I even gave someone the original backer card with the barcode and they still accused me of trading a fake pin.

You shouldn't have that much of a problem trading here. There's enough experienced traders with extensive collections that anyone with a question about a pin can turn to for advice.
 
I started collecting and trading in the early 2000s, right before the huge influx of scrappers. It was lovely back in the day.

After a year or two, in the late 2000s because I was tired of ending up with them, I quickly became a scrapper eagle eye. I learned EVERYTHING I could about those pins. I still get tricked, but I can usually come home from the parks with at least 95% real pins that I get off boards and CM. If I am at all unsure of a pin, I don't trade for it. I feel bad for people who think that every single pin in the park is scrapped or a counterfeit because I know that is not the case, you just have to be SO careful.

Also back in the day, OE pins that were going straight into my collection, I threw the backer card away. :( I have since learned to hang on to them, but have only been doing that for about 8 years. So yeah, some of my really old OE pins, which I purchased at the park, don't have backers. Hopefully it won't be too much of a problem, since most of them still live in the collection and are not for trading.

This community is pretty great - lots of veterans who know what they are looking for and how to spot a scrapper or fake. Hopefully you will find it rewarding. I try to be discerning with my online trade partners, mostly because I have traded away real for scrapper and get a little frustrated that I can't examine pins in person before saying yes. :) 9 times out of 10 the person I traded with didn't realize the pin was a scrapper, so 9 times out of 10 I don't press the issue. I let them know, but have never demanded a pin back. I also don't trade for super LE or rare/expensive pins very often with someone I am not familiar with, unless their photos are very good, or the pin is fairly old and not a highly scrapped design. That way, even if the trade ends up being a little lopsided or I feel that I ended up with a scrapper, it isn't a great monetary loss.

On a happier note - welcome! I hope you find trading with us a way to get back into the hobby in an enjoyable environment! :)
 
Definitely agree on the really careful part! I found plenty of real pins on my trip, you just really have to keep an eye out!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
I started collecting and trading in the early 2000s, right before the huge influx of scrappers. It was lovely back in the day.

After a year or two, in the late 2000s because I was tired of ending up with them, I quickly became a scrapper eagle eye. I learned EVERYTHING I could about those pins. I still get tricked, but I can usually come home from the parks with at least 95% real pins that I get off boards and CM. If I am at all unsure of a pin, I don't trade for it. I feel bad for people who think that every single pin in the park is scrapped or a counterfeit because I know that is not the case, you just have to be SO careful.

Also back in the day, OE pins that were going straight into my collection, I threw the backer card away. :( I have since learned to hang on to them, but have only been doing that for about 8 years. So yeah, some of my really old OE pins, which I purchased at the park, don't have backers. Hopefully it won't be too much of a problem, since most of them still live in the collection and are not for trading.

This community is pretty great - lots of veterans who know what they are looking for and how to spot a scrapper or fake. Hopefully you will find it rewarding. I try to be discerning with my online trade partners, mostly because I have traded away real for scrapper and get a little frustrated that I can't examine pins in person before saying yes. :) 9 times out of 10 the person I traded with didn't realize the pin was a scrapper, so 9 times out of 10 I don't press the issue. I let them know, but have never demanded a pin back. I also don't trade for super LE or rare/expensive pins very often with someone I am not familiar with, unless their photos are very good, or the pin is fairly old and not a highly scrapped design. That way, even if the trade ends up being a little lopsided or I feel that I ended up with a scrapper, it isn't a great monetary loss.

On a happier note - welcome! I hope you find trading with us a way to get back into the hobby in an enjoyable environment! :)

Very well-said! I'm taking my time about restarting trading for that very reason -- re-educating myself.
 
Okay like to add onto my own post: some of the ppl I’m encountering on fb and stuff are SHARKS. Like they use selling pins as their business, but they’re all fairly new to the game and like this one guy was like “I don’t deal in auction pins bc I don’t know anything about them.”

Okay? If this is your business, and the trade has existed since 2000, maybe do some research into the history of it?

I’m just a casual pin collector over here. A lil pin guppie suddenly finding herself swimming with pin sharks. And they DO think fish are food!
 
I toss backer cards for anything I plan to keep. The only special pin I still have backing for is my artist's Minnie-in-kimono-with-folding-fan, cause it's a whole box and she's too heavy for my li'l board, and my Basil of Baker Street cause he's only just gone on a board at all. And the little 'pardon the pixie dust' folder they gave guests at Coronado Springs with the Three Cabaleros, I guess that's a backing...

Okay, maybe I have a handful of back cards :p I did toss the 2019 Halloween Maleficent backing, at least, cause that's mine. But I got into this as, like, a six-year-old and that's when most of my pins were acquired, so I don't even have backs for the ones that weren't board or CM trades.
 
Yep...right there with you. We've been around on and off for about 15 years, with the longest hiatus when our family was posted overseas from 2009-2014.

At this point, I only trade in person...so much more fun to visit and see everyone and their collections, and that allows for both parties get to examine the pins ahead of time. In addition to occasional visits to WDW, we have two solid groups; Maryland Disney Pin Traders and the 3-day semi annual events up at the Central Jersey Disney Pin Traders.

Happy Trading!
 
Okay like to add onto my own post: some of the ppl I’m encountering on fb and stuff are SHARKS. Like they use selling pins as their business, but they’re all fairly new to the game and like this one guy was like “I don’t deal in auction pins bc I don’t know anything about them.”

Okay? If this is your business, and the trade has existed since 2000, maybe do some research into the history of it?

I’m just a casual pin collector over here. A lil pin guppie suddenly finding herself swimming with pin sharks. And they DO think fish are food!
Boy do they ever, watch out for the ones that never even bother to send a pin after they get your pin or money....
 
Back
Top