Pin Trading 101... or, Will Work For Pins.

What up Dorks?

I am back with my first fan request! Whoot! Brianne from Petaluma(she was the winner of my first contest) is headed to the parks next weekend and wanted to know more about pin trading.

WELL, YOU ASKED FOR IT! *Shaking fist*

This topic is so overwhelming with info... I will try to give you as much as I can, but I am sure I will miss something.

There has been collectable pins at the Disney parks since the beginning. I have run across a few at an antique shop or on the occasional "old man" hat that he has adorned with pins from different places or events. In late 1999, during the Millennium Celebration, Walt Disney World added a new twist and introduced pin trading. In 2000 the fad jumped to the West Coast(best coast) and landed at Disneyland and has since made it's way to the other Disney parks who all have their own and unique pins to buy and trade, the exception being the Tokyo Disney Resort who has recently suspended pin trading but pins are still given out as carnival game prizes(as a consolation prize! I would totally try to lose!).

From Disneyland Paris

Also from Paris

 Great! How do I get started?

Pin trading is simple. You get a lanyard or "hip lanyard"(I don't mean a really cool lanyard... it is a 5x5 inch card that you can attach to your hip). You find some pins that appeal to you. You put those pins on your lanyard. Pretty easy so far, right? You can actually buy starter sets that come with a lanyard and a few themed pins. My hip lanyard was part of a starter set...Disney Nerds!

What a hip lanyard! Is what they would saw if I ever wore this

Lanyards go from plain jane to fancy nancy.

Depending on fancyocity(apparently not a word) they will run you about five to ten bucks. The starter sets are a little more pricey because they are turn key(open the package, put it on, start trading)and will start around twenty dollars.

You can find pins at most of the larger shops at DL and DCA. My favorites are: Fly'n By in DCA(it's right across from Soarin').

Soarin'? More like Snoren'! Wow, reader.... That was a little rude, not that I don't disagree.

In Disneyland I recommend Westward Ho in Adventureland and Store Command in Tomorrowland.

STORE COMMAND? More like-   Stop, just... stop.

Also, Downtown Disney has Disney's Pin Traders right next to the monorail station. This is the place where they do most of the big releases. 

So, now you are set to strut your stuff with some swanky new swag(crammed full of alliteration!).

What's next?

Time to trade! It's easy. Well... It's easy to trade with Cast Members. If a CM sees that you have pins a lot of times they will just hold their lanyard out for you to get a better view. If you see something you like you can trade them, one for one, for a pin off your lanyard. Don't forget to thank them! Easy peasy. If they don't have anything that catches your eye, you don't have to trade! Be sure to thank them for that too! There is some etiquette involved in pin trading with CM's that help keep everything positive and fair. Let's see what that is all about(I am going to jazz it up a bit to keep it entertaining)..

*As a general rule. Pins need to be legit. It must be made of metal and have a representation of a Disney character, park, attraction, icon, or other authorized affiliation. Importantly, the pin must have a Disney copyright on its back.

There is a variety of backs but they all should have the copyright

*Anything on a CM's name tag is not tradeable...

Don't know who this "Amanda" is... But none of that is tradeable. Am I the only one who can't NOT say Huginkiss after someone says Amanda?

*Counterfeit pins and poor quality pins(more on this below) are not acceptable for trading. If there is a concern the discretion is up to the CM to make the final decision.

Has the copyright... But the border around the outside is a sure sign it is not a legit pin... You could probably trade it with a CM or guest... But it's not what pin trading  is about. More on "bad" pins in a future blog.

This one just feels wrong. Too light and edges are rough from the casting.

 *Pins should be in good tradeable condition.

*Trades are made hand to hand one pin at a time.

*Keep the pin back on the pin for safety sake!

Pin backs on!

*Don't touch someone else's lanyard. If you want a closer look ask them to hold it out. Seems like common sense? You'd be surprised.

*"Name" pins are not tradeable with Cast Members.

 *You are allowed two trades per lanyard per day. So, if a CM has ten pins you want, you can only trade two.

*You should not offer a trade with a CM if they already have the pin on display.

*No money should be offered for a pin.

*CM's with a teal lanyard are only trading with children ages 3-12

*Have Fun!

WOW! THAT WAS FANCY! Thanks Jumba! You ARE the best!

Awww! I take back all the bad things I was thinking about you. Well, that is the basics of trading with Cast Members!

It should be noted that when trading with other guests the same etiquette SHOULD still apply, buuuut that isn't always the case. There are some unsavory traders out there. My tip for you, if someone makes you uncomfortable... don't make a trade.

So what kind of pins do they have?

I will try to put it simply. If you can dream it... they probably have it.

They range in price from about $7 all the way to... well, secondary markets, like ebay... seen pins in the hundreds of dollar range. I will focus on the pins you can get at the pin shops. The majority of those pins are "open edition" meaning that they will probably keep making them. They are usually the least expensive pins. If you are just getting into pin trading this is the perfect place to start.

OE pins.

"Limited edition" pins are also available from these shops. Like the name implies these have a limited number. Sometimes it's as big as 5000 and sometimes, less than 100. The more limited the edition the more the pin traders want it.

This one says 7 of 600... Doubt that.

One of 2000

LE 1000

LE 1000

LE Boxed set from DCA. 1 of 1000

Stitch AND Jungle Cruise? Score! LE

Limited Edition of 3000

Pins are usually released on Thursdays and it is not uncommon to see people lining up before 7am to try to get some of these pins. Recently the Nurse's Day pin was released and was sold out by 10 the same day!

A number of factors can go into the fervor over a release. The Nurse's Day pin was for a specific day, so nurses wanted it... But it also had Stitch, and trust me, he is a popular character... On top on that, it also had Scrump, who is one of the characters that is in HIGH demand(Jessica Rabbit is another a highly sought after pin character). Oh! Another recent big pin release was for Star Wars Day... Gotta show you those! Thanks Ashley and Jaymie for standing in line and surprising us with these!

Once you get bit by the bug, you are going to want to have pins that not everyone else has....

The amount of pins is MIND BOGGLING! There are exclusive pins to D23 Members, Disney Travel Club Members, WDI, Cast Member Exclusives, Special Event Exclusives, 3-D pins and it just keeps going! I will do another Pin Trading post soon going over some of the different types of pins and more in depth on what to watch out for.

3-D Yeti... At Disneyland the Yeti on the Matterhorn is named Harold

2013 Believe in Magic LE of 300

This one is real purdy! LE 300

From Minnie's Moonlit Maddness

Some of the Popcorn boxed blind set

From Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour

What do you suggest to get started?

Glad you asked. Here is where part one all comes together... First, just go for it! I walked around the Parks for years thinking I should just get started... I would have a starter set in my hands, but then find a way to talk myself out of it. Second, starter sets are great. You get everything you need in one package. They usually come with 4-6 pins with one you will want to keep and probably one you are willing to trade. I am compelled to let you know that pin trading can get balls ass expensive. If you are pin trading on a budget, start out with a lanyard and a pin you like... Don't worry about trading it. Get one pin that will remind you of your trip and get another one next time you come down. Thirdly, have fun with it.

What do you do?
My lanyard? Well, I think it represents me, mostly Stitch and always a Marry Poppins. I have a lot of pins that you don't necessarily see everywhere. I have pins from Paris, Toyko, WDI and have been acquired from many different places. I use locking backs to hold my pins on because I don't trade off that lanyard. My pins have been a conversation piece, kids and parents look at them in line. Wow! this sounds really douchey... What I am trying to say it be proud of your pins. I think it was coming across as me saying Hey everyone! My pins are awesome... Wait! They are! And so am I! Muhahaha!

Locking pin backs...

I do carry at least two other lanyards in my Go Bag for trading... But really, I tend to give away more pins than I trade. If we see a kid with a lanyard that only has a couple of pins we will usually tell them to pick one that they like. I like to help people who are getting started in pin trading(may have created a monster with Rossco.) 

Our trading lanyards

I also carry around extra lanyards(thanks Ashley and Jaymie!) so in a pinch we can give someone a lanyard AND a pin to start out with.

It's addicting. I may need a... PINtervention! Annnd maybe also a puntervention because that one was bad...

My next pin post will go over different types of pins and talk about Pin Sharks and scrappers... Oooooooh! 

Questions? Comments?

Stay... Pin tradey? Does that work?

Stay Dorky!

-Jumba

P.S. This is the first time I haven't had a P.S.! Oh shit. I was so excited to tell you and blew it!