Awkward! What would you do?

[SoraPandora]

A few weeks ago I got an invite to a pin group on Facebook. It looked legit.

The owner of the group posted a picture of his traders and asked me if I'd like to trade with him. I asked him for his PinPics username, but he said he didn't have one. He just traded on Facebook. I looked at his pictures, but didn't really see anything I was interested in. Eventually, I picked out two easier pins, and asked him what he'd like for them. Note that these pins are a high limited edition (1000), but not hard to find. (Average BIN price on eBay - $5-8 each.)

When I sent him the link to my PinPics he immediately picked out one harder pin with a very high t/w ratio. (6 trading/60 wanting.) I told him (truthfully) that I was planning on zapping a friend with that pin - Did he see anything else? He said no, he didn't, he really wanted that one. I said okay.

A moment later he chose another pin - Since I was trading for two pins - he wanted two. I got his logic. (I usually prefer to trade a pin for a pin, myself.) This second pin was a much "easier" trade than the first. I was happy to add it to his package.

By now, based on average eBay prices, he was getting a slightly better deal in the trade, but he seemed like a nice guy, so I was okay with it.

But then, when I asked for his address, he suddenly realized that the pins I wanted from him were limited edition, and he asked that I send him one more LE pin (of his choosing). By now, I was getting a little bit suspicious, but I still wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and complete the trade.

The scale was definitely tipped in his favor... but it still wasn't a HUGE difference in value. We were still dealing with $25-30 worth of pins, on my end, versus his $10-15.

While waiting for his address, I casually asked him how long he'd been trading. He said about a year. I asked him why he didn't have a PinPics account, and he said he preferred just working through Facebook. Okay. Fair enough. Then I asked him if he had any references. He said yes. (Yay!!!! This made me feel so much better.)

But then... He sends me his FB group page.

I said, "Oh okay. Do you have any references on Dizpins, or on any of the forums?" He said "No." I said "Can I make a suggestion? If I were you, I'd start getting references on Dizpins. It's free and trustworthy. If you only have references on your own page, people might believe you make them up yourself, or that you delete any negative feedback." He said "Thanks for the suggestion, please look at my FB page."

I looked. He had one short reference listed by another group member. ONE. I asked if this was all the feedback he had accumulated in the past year, and he said yes. I said "I'm very sorry, but my gut is telling me to cancel this trade. You seem like a very nice guy, but I am uneasy trading with someone who has only one reference after a year of trading. I would love to trade with you another time, after you have more feedback, though!"

He was VERY nice about it, very gracious, and I felt much better walking away.

(Please note that I do not usually arrange trades only to pull away at the last minute. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is the ONLY time I have cancelled any trade in over a year of trading. It just didn't feel right that this guy was trading over a year, had his own FB pin trading group, but didn't have a PinPics or any references. Seemed a little shady.)

This all happened about two weeks ago.

Today, I get a bubble envelope with the two pins I was trying to trade him for. He zapped me. Which makes me feel like a total ***** for canceling the trade at the last minute. But to make matters worse...

I'm about 98% sure both pins he sent are scrappers. There's that definite tell-tale edge all around the back of them. They also feel "light" and they're on the wrong backer cards.

I'm unsure of what to do.

I think I'm dealing with a nice, honest guy... (Why else would he send me the pins I wanted, even though I cancelled the trade?) I don't think he knew they were scrappers. So what do I do?

Should I send him the pins HE wanted, even though at this point, it's like throwing away pins, since I just got scrappers in return? Should I just send him a thank you note and walk away? Should I TELL him he sent me scrappers? Should I send them back? It seems to me he should know, but at the same time, I don't want to sound ungrateful for his act of kindness.

What would you do?

 

[Vixy]

Did he put a note or anything in to say why he sent them even if the trade was clearly cancelled?

If you really do believe he was a nice and honest guy, I would definitely *tell* him, in a polite way, that they are scrappers, explaining what makes you think so. Maybe also give him some links to where he can read up on finding out more about scrappers. If he's nice and honest, he'll surely want to know info that will help him to make better trades, right? Then ask him whether he wants you to mail the pins back to him. (And if he reacts with anger or other negativity to being gently told that they are scrappers... you'll know he's not really so nice.)

I would NOT send him YOUR pins, since you did not agree to any trade. You do not owe him anything.

 

[YoSoyAhPuch]

I'd send him the pins back along with a letter thanking him for his generosity. But on that letter I would also point out that the pins were not real and were fakes/scrappers. I'd describe what things to look out for when trying to figure out the legitimacy of a pin. And as a helpful little gift, I'd zap him with a real pin so he could compare the fakes with a real deal pin.

 

[markheardjr]

Send them back with a "how to identitify scrappers" handbook. All kidding aside, not really sure. Sucks if he seems like a nice guy but maybe is still new. When you first start out and you are just lanyard trading LE's seem like a huge deal becuse they are so rare to find on lanyards. So probably in his mind, he spent hours looking at every lanyard and maybe only found a few LE's where as you and I know those LE's are kind of junk and possibly scrappers/counterfeits. I've never dealt with Facebook pin groups, but I know Facebook isn't moderated so people can get nasty on there. Hopefully he is in a learning mood and not a defensive one.

 

[LittleMermaidAriel]

I would send the pins back and politely explain that while you appreciate his generosity, that the pins he sent are not real tradeable Disney pins. You can explain to him how to identify counterfits. If he was nice enough to send them to you knowing that you had not sent any in return, I don't think he will get mad if you nicely explain whats wrong with the pins. Good luck with everything! Let us know how it went.

 

[tiggeriffic]

I'd send him the pins back along with a letter thanking him for his generosity. But on that letter I would also point out that the pins were not real and were fakes/scrappers. I'd describe what things to look out for when trying to figure out the legitimacy of a pin. And as a helpful little gift, I'd zap him with a real pin so he could compare the fakes with a real deal pin.

THIS! It's exactly what I was going to suggest. Beat me to it lol.

 

[Romancing_Train]

THIS! It's exactly what I was going to suggest. Beat me to it lol.

And me!

 

[drb195]

If you want to approach this with kid gloves, just bring up his general knowledge of scrappers. You do not necessarily have to send the pins back, but you can maybe get a feel for his knowledge of the topic. If you send them back, regardless of how you word your note you might insult him and You seem like you do not want to do that. If you can make him aware of scrappers your efforts might go a lot further than if you send them back and say "no thanks for your generosity". Maybe you can make a magnet out of them or something cool. I've seen other threads talking about how people re-purpose scrappers!

 

[Romancing_Train]

If you want to approach this with kid gloves, just bring up his general knowledge of scrappers. You do not necessarily have to send the pins back, but you can maybe get a feel for his knowledge of the topic. If you send them back, regardless of how you word your note you might insult him and You seem like you do not want to do that. If you can make him aware of scrappers your efforts might go a lot further than if you send them back and say "no thanks for your generosity". Maybe you can make a magnet out of them or something cool. I've seen other threads talking about how people re-purpose scrappers!

Or really beautiful jewelry!

 

[Zagales14]

I'd send him the pins back along with a letter thanking him for his generosity. But on that letter I would also point out that the pins were not real and were fakes/scrappers. I'd describe what things to look out for when trying to figure out the legitimacy of a pin. And as a helpful little gift, I'd zap him with a real pin so he could compare the fakes with a real deal pin.

Great Alex's think alike!!

 

[asteriskos]

I'd send him the pins back along with a letter thanking him for his generosity. But on that letter I would also point out that the pins were not real and were fakes/scrappers. I'd describe what things to look out for when trying to figure out the legitimacy of a pin. And as a helpful little gift, I'd zap him with a real pin so he could compare the fakes with a real deal pin.

This!:like: You did nothing wrong. You were very straightforward, and he took it pretty well it seems. Tell him that you got the pins but you feel that it's best to send them back because the trade was never made official. And like YoSoyAhPuch suggested, send him a pin for comparison Of course you don't have too But you don't owe him anything Personally I would send them back because I wouldn't know what else to do with them :hs:

 

[Psycho Pixie]

ok. gonna be a bit of a brat here... but WHY does this guy not have a pinpics account? Seriously.... why? By now with a FB group he knows that it is basically a MUST for online trading. Which leads me to ask this: If he has no pinpics and sent you scrappers, perhaps that is WHY he has no pinpics account hmm?

Yes, send them back, with a polite note as was suggested. Play it safe, return the pins, wipe the slate clean.

 

[asteriskos]

ok. gonna be a bit of a brat here... but WHY does this guy not have a pinpics account? Seriously.... why? By now with a FB group he knows that it is basically a MUST for online trading. Which leads me to ask this: If he has no pinpics and sent you scrappers, perhaps that is WHY he has no pinpics account hmm?

Yes, send them back, with a polite note as was suggested. Play it safe, return the pins, wipe the slate clean.

Who knows :dunno: Maybe it's just like how people choose not to have a FB. There are some people who can be extremely paranoid about posting their email address online.

But like you suggested, it could be because it would be harder to track? Well, I am done assuming I have to learn to be more optimistic about people!

 

[Cjvandever]

I find this very curious. How do you pin trade for a year AND have your own trading group without knowing about scrappers? Even if you don't join a forum (and why wouldn't you, if you want to learn the hobby?), folks who trade on FB know about and are vocal about scrappers. Pixie makes a good point about Pinpics as well. On the other, if he is trying to trade you scrappers for real pins, why do the zap? I'm confuzzled. I would absolutely return the pins with a politely worded note, but I don't know that I would be moved to send a good pin as an example. Something just seems off.

 

[SoraPandora]

Thank you all so much for your feedback! I will definitely keep this thread updated to let you all know what happens.

 

[SoraPandora]

ok. gonna be a bit of a brat here... but WHY does this guy not have a pinpics account? Seriously.... why? By now with a FB group he knows that it is basically a MUST for online trading. Which leads me to ask this: If he has no pinpics and sent you scrappers, perhaps that is WHY he has no pinpics account hmm?

Yes, send them back, with a polite note as was suggested. Play it safe, return the pins, wipe the slate clean.

I find this very curious. How do you pin trade for a year AND have your own trading group without knowing about scrappers? Even if you don't join a forum (and why wouldn't you, if you want to learn the hobby?), folks who trade on FB know about and are vocal about scrappers. Pixie makes a good point about Pinpics as well. On the other, if he is trying to trade you scrappers for real pins, why do the zap? I'm confuzzled. I would absolutely return the pins with a politely worded note, but I don't know that I would be moved to send a good pin as an example. Something just seems off.

I KNOW!

The guy says he's been into pin trading for a year, and in that time, he's made a lot of trades. He even has his own FB group for pin trading - with a lot of members! But it's like... How do you pin trade for that long, with that many people, without figuring out PinPics at SOME point, or getting SOME feedback, SOMEWHERE, aside from one note on your own FB profile?

It would be different if he were a brand new trader... or even if he was an experienced trader, but just wasn't computer-literate or something. But this guy obviously is very comfortable using the Internet to make trades.

It's just all kinds of weird and doesn't add up.

I think I've decided to send his pins back, along with one other pin he wanted (the easy one) - along with a "Thank you for your generosity" note that gently explains why I'm not keeping the pins... I just want this over with!

 

[dopeydoc3]

I agree with David. Send a pin or don't send is up to you - I probably wouldn't - but I would not send his pins back. I think that would hurt his feelings.

 

[laura_uk]

I think your doing the right thing. Hopefully that will then be the end of it. The whole thing seems abit off though doesn't it.....