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Pretty Sad

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Pretty Sad
breagirl

breagirl

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I recently had a dear friend take her family to Disney for the first time. She and her son (3) had noticed the pin boards at my house and was always very curious so as a going away present for her son, I fixed up a lanyard with 15 pins for him to trade while on vacation.

She recently brought the lanyard over to show me her finds. She told me they had so much fun trading and her son really got into it (as well as her!) I was so sick to see that EVERY pin she traded for with cast members was a scrapper. I didn't tell her because she told me she planned to display the pins in her son's room (I will tell her if she plans another trip back) but what is even more frustrating is that I sent at least $100 worth of good pins for her to trade only for her to come back with total junk.

At least she had fun, but man, isn't that pretty sad :(
 
That is more than sad. It is disheartening. You prepared such a fun thing for your friend and son, because you wanted them to have fun, and hopefully get a few legit pins for their starting collection, and instead, they came back with scrappers. The worst of it is knowing that your friend has these pins and plans to display them. How on earth do you tell your friend that these pins are not legitimate Disney pins? I am so sorry this happened to you and your friend.

I guess the fact they thay had fun counts for a lot though, even if the pins are not what you wanted her to come back with. Try to look at it like it was a success, just because they had such a fun time.
 
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That's sad to hear :( I'm sorry they ended up with scrappers, but I think it's nice that you didn't tell them because she wants to display them, if they are happy with them then that's the main thing, to her and her son they aren't worthless! It's disappointing that it isn't really "safe" to trade with cast members anymore :( I remember going to DLR once when I was younger (i'm 17 now :)) and seeing all the great pins on the cast members lanyards! There were all different types of pins, that is actually how I ended up with Pin 26906: DLR - Mr. Toad's Wild Ride Memorable Scene Series (#3) a cast member approached me at one of the little pin cart stalls and asked if I wanted to trade, I was 8 or 9, i think, at the time so just making the trade pleased me enough! I think something should be done about all the scrappers on their lanyards... What, I don't know though :/
 
When we go to WDW I give my wife (who is not a big Pin collector) about 20 pins for her to trade. More times than not what she ends up with are scrappers - she is "happy" with the pins she gets and I don't tell he that they are "junk".

Myself - I do not Trade off of Lanyards in the parks anymore.

Mike S.
 
That happened to me with my brother. He went to Disneyland and I gave him a bunch of pins and came back with all scrappers. It's the experience that counts.
 
That is terrible. I too wish Disney would do something about the scrapper problem. I think it's good that you didn't tell them though. It might ruin the memories of all the fun they had trading.

I always have my lanyard at the parks, but I don't trade nearly as much as I used to before scrappers were such a problem. I took a friend with me once for her birthday and gave her some pins and she traded every one for scrapper/fakes. I never told her because she was having so much fun. She still loves those pins and wears them on her smock at work. So even though they're fake, they make her happy.
 
Even as recent as 2009, I got some amazing pins off lanyards. When we went on our trip in January, I was shocked to just see the same scrapped pins over and over. The only time I found some decent pins was on the pin boards at the resorts and when we spotted a manager whose pins were hidden.
 
Getting scrappers is sad, but the fun he had trading is wonderful. When he looks at the scrappers, he'll see happy memories of looking for lanyards, talking to cast members, and picking out pins that suit his fancy. Disney magic! What a good friend you are to have given him the opportunity--and to not have lessened the experience later by telling him that the pins he ended up with aren't valuable.
 
I would write a letter to Disney. Emphasizing the fact that you provided $100 worth of authentic Disney pins that were exchanged for counterfeit goods. I know we've come to expect little out of Disney, but there needs to be a record if there is any chance that they will do something.
 
What we need to do is ask the question at the Florida Project when they have the Town Hall Meeting. If we ask as group maybe we will get an answer or they will realize we are serious about the problem.
 
swim2sea said:
What we need to do is ask the question at the Florida Project when they have the Town Hall Meeting. If we ask as group maybe we will get an answer or they will realize we are serious about the problem.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of us as a community trying to do something to get the message to Disney. I want them to know that they are going to lose my business if they don't make an effort to turn this around. I'm just one parkgoer, but I like to imagine that enough people will write in to make them take notice.
 
I've been at previous pin events when the question was asked. Steven basically ignored the question.
 
Although I can completely understand your disappointment, I have to say that you gave them a really great gift and it helped them to have a blast at the park so it's really a wonderful thing in the end. If they ever get serious about pin collecting they will realize what they have (but still have the great memories), but if not, they can always enjoy what they found on their treasure hunt!
 
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I agree it is a sad situation trading with cast memebers at the parks. Same thing happened to me when my 2 nieces, ages 11 and 13, came here to CA on vacation from Colorado. We went to Disneyland and I gave them several pins to trade with cast members and most of their trades ended up being scrappers. They had such a blast trading and finding certain characters they wanted to collect I didn't want to burst their bubble of fun. To them the pins were real it made them really happy to find pins they liked. You did a generous good deed and you should feel good you made that child's experience at the parks more fun. I know I did.
I remember finding great pins on lanyards like auction le of 100, or even a nice rack pin was great compared to now. So sad.
 
I agree with all of you that something needs to be done, but obviously it is up to us, I don't think Disney is going to do anything until we hold them accountable. They may not be responsible but they are part of the problem if they're doing nothing, as they say if you're not part of the solution YOU ARE part of the problem. While unfortunately I won't be in Florida, I think it's a great idea to bring it up and if they don't address the solution, don't let it slide. Hold them accountable, don't let them shirk the question. We could also get a petition started here on the forum to get Disney to take notice and step in to help resolve the problem.

Also I think we need to start complaining to guest services every single time. Most people on this forum have annual passes and those who don't frequent the parks pretty often, so why not inundate guest services with our complaints. We are spending money on their pins, and they are giving us scrappers in return. If all of us complain every time, surely they will start to take notice. We can also hold the CMs accountable and tell them when they have scrappers and how ethically it is not OK for them to trade them as well as being illegal. Exchanging fraudulent goods, even if it is in trade is illegal.

Finally, we can always contact the FBI fraud department. Now I'm not sure how to go about this, but I do know the import and selling of fraudulent goods is a big deal. My brother lost his ebay account forever because he let a friend borrow it and even though he was selling legitimate items, because he was getting them before they were released to the public (he worked for the company) ebay suspected that they were fakes. And because my brother's friend used his account, my brother was contacted by the FBI, even threatened. They are not kidding around. Disney is a multi-billion dollar company, I'm sure the FBI would take the import of counterfeit pins seriously.

I have some other ideas too, but the FBI one was such a doozy, I'll leave it at that.
 
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