UK Disney Stores Question

[Takeo7789]

Hi Guys, I'm very new to the forum and to Disney pins in general so sorry for the simple question!

I see on the UK Disney Store online that LE pins are released (apparently now they are online exclusives and weren't before reading around here) every so often but what happens in the actual UK stores? Do they have any pins at all? I was planning on making a trip to my 'local' one about an hour away so I don't want it to be wasted if they don't sell any!

Thanks

 

[Stitch2814]

hery there welcome to the forum.

I doubt your store will have any pins for sale sadly. Id say to be sure ring before hand to double check but Id assume they wouldnt have any. Unless your nearest store may be a london based one who might have the London pins on sale but other than that then nothing. It does suck. It makes going to the disney store pointless for us who go for pins.

 

[pinnochiolover]

As Stitch2814 said the UK stores do not have pins any more, except for the Oxford Street branch, who I have heard do have lanyards for trading because its a tourist area. However, on my last visit there, there were no pins on display for purchase and none of the cast members wore lanyards. You may have to ask specially.

 

[PrincessxJasmine89]

Last time I asked in the Disney Store in Newcastle (or rather, Gateshead Metro Centre), I said "Do you carry pins in this store?", and I got the reply "for trading or buying? " So this sounds to me like they had pins for both trading and purchasing, and when I said purchasing, they brought out a few pins, some old, some new (and a LE 350 Hercules pin, which was what I went for ^_^)! I have also previously seen the CM's there wearing the lanyards, although I never actually saw anyone approaching them for a trade...

Keep in mind the Hercules pin was the last pin before the 'Online Only' transition, so unless they still carry the older pins (they kept them in a drawer in the store, not on display), they would not be getting any more pins, at least until Disney realises they made a big mistake taking pins out of the stores T.T' ... but at least some staff in UK Disney Stores are aware of the trading tradition, I actually had a conversation with a CM who collects pins in a personal collection! Unfortunately, all other stores I have visited as of late had little or no idea about pins or trading... I guess Newcastle is the place to be! ^_^

Hope this helped, and good luck with all your future pin collecting ventures ^_^

 

[Stitch2814]

It could be they had older pins but these were mostly recalled for when they had the Shield signing and they were part off a mystery bag of pins as they were alot of peg warmers of pins that were not selling and I believe most stores sent most of their stock of pins then back to wherever.

Most stores do not have any pins to sell like older ones as the Manchester Arndale store doesnt have any. Just a box of lanyard replace pins.

And the only other store that will stock pins is Dublin but that would be for the Dublin exclusive pin other than that, thats it.

 

[PrincessxJasmine89]

I'm not sure about other stores, but Newcastle definitely had some good pins, all the ones they showed me were LE, they had the Winter Bambi and Thumper pin, a few Earth Day Pins, and even some leftover pins from the Vue cinema ticket UP pin release. They also had a few packs of mickey rubber pin backs, which I snapped up However, they did say stocks were running dry, they had about 5 Hercules pins at most when I next looked. However, they are all gone now, so I guess pin trading is still living, at least in Newcastle... It is a shame that hardly any stores stock the pins, let alone have any CM's with pin knowledge at all :|

 

[Takeo7789]

Thanks for your help everyone, I guess it wouldn't hurt to ring and ask sometime just incase as Plymouth is 'tucked away in the corner' (and Newcastle has made me hopeful!) I was in London a few months ago but since I'm new to whole the idea of pins I never thought to go in

Any tips on starting a collection from the UK? I want to get started before I go to WDW in October!!!

 

[xbeckyx]

I know that Romford and Lakeside no longer do pins. these were my pin trading stores, but that soon stopped.

As a pin trader from the UK, I would say a good thing to do is stay away from "too good to be true" grab bags on the bay. It may seem a good deal like 100 pins for $20 but they are prob going to be 95% fakes.
You can get some awesome deals for trader pins on here

 

[PrincessxJasmine89]

Thanks for your help everyone, I guess it wouldn't hurt to ring and ask sometime just incase as Plymouth is 'tucked away in the corner' (and Newcastle has made me hopeful!) I was in London a few months ago but since I'm new to whole the idea of pins I never thought to go in

Any tips on starting a collection from the UK? I want to get started before I go to WDW in October!!!

It would be a good idea to ring before you go to the store, I may have just been lucky with my local store, but I hope the same happens in your case! ^_^

My tips on starting a collection would be to buy *individual* cheap traders off eBay (many pins are as little as a couple of quid), or even small packs (always check feedback, and make sure it isn't one of the packs that says 'pins pictured are an example of pins you will receive...etc.') as this usually means the pack will be made up of mostly fake or damaged pins with little tradability or worth. If you buy a pack, make sure all the pins you receive are listed, you can still find packs that are reasonable that aren't scams, but be wary. Pins from the US may also be feasible bet, as postage is so low for pins, and sellers often offer postage discounts if you buy more than one pin from them. I also find that they are more likely to be real of they are being sold from locations near a Disneyland park: Anaheim, Paris, etc. However, fakes still exist in these locations!

Also, a good way to otherwise ready yourself for any Disney park trip is to buy UK only pins, if you ever go to a pin meet I'm sure those will help out a lot if you see a pin you'd like, it has helped me a lot! Pins from other countries always go down a big hit.

Have a great time at WDW, and check pins thoroughly before you trade, good luck!

 

[Takeo7789]

Hey thanks for your help, I've decided to go for some mystery sets boxes of ones I want so that if I get doubles I can trade with those. I'm very weird in that I hate trading things I don't already have myself:/

 

[PrincessxJasmine89]

No problem, I'm happy to help! ^_^ That sounds like a good bet, and I understand that, I always feel like I'm trading away something I may like and want to keep in the future! ;~;