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New to pin collecting

Dis_couple269

Earning My Ears
Joined
May 12, 2016
Hey everyone,

My fiancee is looking to break in to pin trading. She has went on ebay and bought a lot of 25pins for 11$ When she told me I was skeptical because of cost per pin would be so cheap...Is this normal for pins on ebay? I have read up on fake pins and "factory seconds" and am just wondering is there a site for comparing what a certain pin is supposed to look like? I just want to check these pins before bringing them to disney for trading.
 
At that price, I'd be inclined to say the pins are likely to be fakes or scrappers. PinPics.com is a good place to see photos of the pins, plus information about whether it's known to have scrappers or not.

Here is a portion of a longer post I wrote about pin trading; this part is about scrappers, fakes, and counterfeits.

Scrappers, Counterfeits, and Fakes: The second issue is scrappers, counterfeits, and fakes. For some folks this matters, for others it does not. You'll need to decide which camp you are in before you get heavily into pin trading. To the average pin trader, I don't think the difference between a scraper, fake, or counterfeit really matters (because none of these are legitimate pins), but there are slight differences.
  • A scrapper is a pin that looks legitimate, but is not. It can be a factory overrun (i.e., the factory was contracted to make 1 million, but they made 1.1 million instead) or a pin that has some kind of error that should have been "scrapped".
  • A counterfeit pin is a copy of legitimate pin made by someone that was not authorized by Disney.
  • A fake is a pin design that was never authorized by Disney.
Unfortunately, it's not always easy to tell what pin designs are fake unless you know a lot about pins and what designs have been released. These pins can often look like legitimate designs and may contain all of the markings (e.g., copy right) to look legitimate, but they are not. Luckily, I tend to think that outright fakes are the least common type of non-legitimate pins out there.

In terms of the scrapers/counterfeits, those are harder to distinguish the legitimate from non-legitimate. You'll often be able to tell a scrapper/counterfeit because the colors are weird/off, elements are missing or incorrect, or the back stamp (the copy right) is wrong/missing/damaged. Others say you can tell because they feel "rough" or the edges are sharp/pronounced. Sadly, there is no sure fire way to tell a scrapper/counterfeit. My guess is that it’s easier to identify the counterfeits and the scrappers that should have been “scrapped”. The factory over-runs probably look exactly like the ones shipped to Disney, so those are nearly impossible to distinguish once they’re in circulation.

It's worth noting that if you do end up trading with CM, the CM lanyards tend to be filled with scrappers, counterfeits, and (to a less extent) fakes. So if you really dislike scrappers/counterfeit, I would avoid trading with CMs. That's the crux of the argument: those that dislike scrappers/counterfeits feel they cheapen the trading and make it not worthwhile. Those that don't care, tend to say that they like the pin, so it doesn't really matter if it's a scrapper/counterfeit or not (they also say that if you can't tell, does it really matter?). Both points are valid.

eBay: eBay is a popular source for pins, but it can be a tough place to buy legitimate (i.e., non-scrapper/counterfeits/fake) pins. The general rule of thumb is that you buy a "lot" of pins (e.g., 25-pins) and the price per pin is less than a couple of dollars each, you're likely buying scrappers. Also, if you buy pins that come in little baggies (instead of pin cards like the ones you see at the stores in WDW/DLR), those are more likely to be scrappers as well. My recommendation is to look for sellers that are selling pins still on their backing and/or unopened booster sets (also still on their cardboard backing wrapped in plastic). In truth, unless you only buy from Disney directly, it is hard to say whether you'll get scrappers/counterfeits/fakes or not.
 
Thank you for that detailed response. Ill be sure to check it out. But let me back up here, people trade fakes with Disney castmembers? Doesnt the staff know the fakes from the real?
 
Thank you for that detailed response. Ill be sure to check it out. But let me back up here, people trade fakes with Disney castmembers? Doesnt the staff know the fakes from the real?

No, they don't. And most people won't either. You probably won't either. If you're looking for a fun hobby, don't worry about it. Just have fun with it.
 


Thank you for that detailed response. Ill be sure to check it out. But let me back up here, people trade fakes with Disney castmembers? Doesnt the staff know the fakes from the real?
Yes, people do trade fakes, counterfeits, and scrappers with cast members. Some do it because they don't know the difference, others do it because they don't care, and some do it on purpose. Some CMs try to weed out scrappers from their lanyards, but many don't know the difference. Not all CMs that do the trading do it because they like pin trading, for some it's just part of the job. And remember, the rules pretty much require the CM to trade even if they think you're offering a scrapper.
 

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