Hello Everyone

Hi, My name is Dawn. My son who is almost five and I are starting to collect and trade pins this year. We were very excited about starting this, but after doing all my research I feel like my head is going to explode with all the info and worring about scrapper pins. My big concern is that, I am buying these extra pins to trade with, and since my son is young I want him only to trade with CMs and other kids, who's parents probably bought them a 50 lot off of ebay to trade. So my son trades away his real pin for a scrapper. I refuse to buy off ebay and introduce the fakes into circulation, but am annoyed that we will probably end up with all scrappers after our trip. I look forward to trading in the future after we build up our collection. We go to Disney everyyear, but this is the first year we will be buying pins (yes I want to kick myself now for all the years we went and did not buy a single pin.) So should I just chill out and not worry about it. and advice is much appreciated, especially about kids and trading.

Thanks

Hey there, welcome to DPF! ^_^

Hi, welcome to DPF!

Just don't buy lots from eBay. Single pins etc. are often okay but you still have to be careful. Where the parks are concerned; you'll definitely come across scrappers and they're not always easy to identify... I haven't traded at any of the Disney parks yet so its probably best for someone else to answer that question for you anyhow.

Hello and welcome! :wavey:
You're smart to avoid Ebay yourself, but you're right when you say other people won't realize and get a bunch of scrappers, which they might unknowingly pass onto you. All you can do is inspect the pin before you trade and use your best judgment. If it has rough edges, strange colors, paint dips etc, beware! Especially hidden mickey pins. Also, if you're dealing with another kid, check out the other pins on their lanyard. Where there's one scrapper, there's many, if they bought a lot on Ebay. Some fakes are hard to catch, but if you see other clear fakes on someone's lanyard, beware!

You can check pin pics and see which pins have scrapper warnings, they'll be towards the bottom of the pin's page if there is one.

For cast members, your best bet to avoid scrappers is trading with cast members that are sort of off to the side and not as public, therefore not as traded with, such as small store workers or custodial workers. Also, try to get cast members as they come out of "employee only" areas, chances are they're just starting their shift with a refreshed lanyard! Another way to catch cast members just starting their shift is first thing in the morning - the parks just opened and they haven't traded much yet, so the chances of them having scrappers are lower.

Also, beware of pin boards and pin books/bags which are available at certain locations under different circumstances - they can be a whole lot of fun because there's so many pins to choose from, but they can turn up a lot of scrappers!

Okay, that's about all I can think of lol. Best of luck on your trip, hope you and your son get awesome, real pins!

Welcome!!!!

Just enjoy yourself!

Vicki

Hi Dawn
Welcome to DPF!

Welcome Dawn

Welcome to the forum!

Hey, welcome to the forum! My name is Sara.

The only bit of advice I have to give is this: Don't let your son wear his "keepers" (including pins you just bought at Disneyland) on his lanyard. Just keep them in your purse or something. That will prevent any accidental trades for scrappers in the future. Even if he's insistent about displaying them around his neck, tell him no and promise he can display them on cork board in his room when he gets home.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!

I just wanted to also say welcome to the second happiest place on earth… You will find out very quickly how friendly and welcoming our pin trading family is I am sure… If you ever have questions feel free to ask anyone, everybody here is helpful… Good luck on finding some pins and collectables while here on the forum as well as meeting some great people… Also feel free to contact me anytime regarding trading pins we love to trade… our wants and traders are listed to the left like everyone else’s are… Again have fun and welcome to the DPF…

Thank you everyone

Hi Dawn and welcome to the forum!