How Reliable are eBay Pin Grab Bags

[Paul & Jackie]

Hey guys,

So before I get back to an eBay seller about his pin lot I won and just received with "scrappers", wanted to get everyones buy in on buying some traders this way. I thought I did my homework, found a seller who was really reputable and was out to make the customer happy, but not feel like what he sent was bad. He does say before you post bad feedback with any issues you have, email him and he'll fix it. That to me sounded like someone who sells legit pins, and wouldn't be caught dead with any of the fakes.

Got them in the mail today and checked them out, wanted to make sure were all legit so took to PinPics (super helpful) and WHOA was I shocked. A lot of the fake descriptions I had. So out of the 25 in this lot, 14 of them are "scrappers".

How do you guys feel about these type of purchases? Mixed feelings? I figure this was cheaper than buying mystery packs two for $10.95 and having some to finally trade for. Maybe I learned a lesson???

 

[echoharmony]

I always say you get what you pay for. I'm sure he has lots of positive feedback from families buying pins to trade in the parks who have no idea about scrappers, so they have no reason to leave bad feedback. I would say ask for a full refund because chances are good that even if you can't tell, 100% of what he sent, or close to it, are scrappers. I wouldn't buy pin lots like that on Ebay because a huge majority of them are scrapper-ridden.

 

[Paul & Jackie]

Thanks Echo, its funny you say request a full refund, I know exactly how Jackie is going to react; "Do we have to??". I say that because there is one pin we have been searching since our trip to WDW in April, the Orange Bird hidden mickey set of 5 pins. We completed that set with this lot, and I didn't even request it, was 100% chance; if only we had that same luck with Mega Millions!

But to your point, you are totally true, get what we paid for. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[echoharmony]

I would recommend buying trader pins here on the boards, feedback here can be trusted more since most people know enough about pins to know what they're getting, and you can still find great deals on all quality of traders from everything to hidden mickeys, booster pins, rack pins, LE's, etc. and I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding that elusive orange bird pin!

 

[Paul & Jackie]

Good call. Will look for traders here before thinking about eBay. Excellent points.

 

[julie2121]

which orange bird hidden mickey did you guys need to complete the set?

 

[karkura]

I have authentic trader pins for sale. Will send you a PM.

 

[Paul & Jackie]

 

[smallpotatoes]

I need to start this off with a disclaimer: "I am not endorsing any eBay seller", but there are a couple of sellers on eBay that sell lots for $1.50 - $2.00. They explicitly say 'no scrappers' (search disney pin lot scrappers). I did buy a lot from one of them a few months ago just to see what they were up to and was pleasantly surprised to get 99 real pins out of 100. There was one that may have been a scrapper with one low spot (this pin may have been legit as some non-scrapper pins can have low spots), but the seller agreed to send a replacement right away (they actually sent 2). The pins were mostly very common pins that you see all over WDW (like the PWP lanyard pins and booster set pins) with a few pin on pin in the mix. Not all eBay sellers are selling scrappers and fakes, but 99.99% of the sellers with large lots are selling pins they know are not real/1st quality.

 

[starry_solo]

This one actually looks real. The scrapper ones are a darker colored orange.

 

[JohnnyPins]

A lot of the sellers on eBay also put that they "check" all the pins before to make sure that they're real. Pfft, yeah right. It happened to me, really cheap bin and all were scrappers...maybe like 1 or 2 pins were real. I emailed the seller and he said, "i have so many pins, sometimes fakes get through and are sold. Send them back and i'll refund your money back." I was at DLR already. I felt really bad trading these fakes with the CM's, and some of them can tell right away when you hand them a scrapper. But like it was said, you get what you pay for.

 

[Paul & Jackie]

Thanks Johnny, I hear ya.

I took everyones advice and contacted the seller, and said I just wanted my $ back, we'll see how it goes. Good thing now, I've cleaned out my collection on pinpics.com and now everything is back to normal with no fakes, feeling relieved!

starry_solo: I actually snagged that from an eBay photo, is not my own. So like echoharmony suggested, just going to send it all back and look through my new pin fam first before going to eBay. So, who has the orange bird to trade!!! Hahah, kidding.

Thanks everyone, exactly what I was hoping to hear and get feedback on. Newbie saved!

 

[teddy_ruxpin]

i hope it all gets sorted out for you

 

[Rocke01]

If you are going to try Ebay for traders (I frown on this) I would only buy from people where you can either see pictures ahead of time or they say No Scrappers and/or guaranatee the pins. At least that way you know you will not get hassled if you have to return them. Also make sure you check the feedback. If someone wrote they sell scrappers I would not buy from them. I think the best way to go is right here on DPF.

 

[Paul & Jackie]

Pins sent back, 100% refund coming back!

Thanks to everyone who helped and chimed in, don't know why I didn't come straight here for grab bags for trader pins. Lesson learned.

One last request from anyone close to Disneyland. There is a storefront, My-D Pins and Collectibles, in Anaheim. Would you guys suggest buying a place like that? We went there and almost all of the pins in the case had the original backings, so I figured the pins were legit. The only down side to this place, super pricey. But, I'm sure its worth it, right???

Thanks again everyone.