Be careful with auction pins:

[Sirsnoozit]

Be Careful With Auction Pins

TONS of posts recently both on here and other forums regarding a certain auction site and the pins that are available for sale at the site. We believe that greater than 80% of pins being offered for sale on this site are Scrapper Pins. You have to be real careful buying from this site. Ask for pictures of the pins. If the seller sends the PP picture, stear clear of this person and their pins. If they can't send you a real picture of the pin, it's because they're not real pins. Not because the person doesn't have the means necessary to take pics.

To many people point fingers at the HM'S. What these people do not realize is it's not the HM'S you have to worry about as they normally sell for a lesser price than the LE'S or DA'S. These are the pins you need to be concerned with, the pins that sell for over $40 per pin. The scrappers know that most people are concerned with the HM'S so they've started stearing clear of these. Now, does that mean they have quit scrapping HM'S, NO not by any means. As long as the demand exceeds the supply, the scrappers will remain. The pins we are concerned with are the pins selling for top dollar. Pins like the Jessica As Series, Disney Auction Pins, Soda Fountains, Etc... These sort of pins sell for top dollar every single day. If we notice this, so do the people pushing the scrapper pins. It's amazing to us if you look at the auction site, just how many of these LE 100 pins are available for sale. Sometimes it seems every one of the 100 made are being sold on the auction site. You need to be real careful with these pins as we have personally responded to several people concerned with these sort of pins purchased through the auction site.

It seems the Scrappers are getting good with their quality control as well. Some of these top dollar pins are even throwing the best of us. A few tell tale signs that might help Newbies better control the pins they purchase.

1st - Ask for pictures of both the front and the back of the pin(s) your looking at purchasing. Then post them on here for confirmation. Pay close attention to the pictures of the backs. Nothing should touch anything else on the back of the pins. So the post shouldn't touch the ODPT Logo which shouldn't touch the (C) Disney Logo and so on.. Their should be clear seperation between all of these Logo's on the reverse of the pin. It might not be much but nothing should touch.

2nd - Check the persons refrences, look at the amount of pins the individual has sold or is selling. Then look at some of us who post on these sites regularly and see how many pins we have in our collection. You'll notice some of us don't even have 1,000 pins in our collections let alone have sold that many in the past month.

3rd - Don't take refrences as Gospel. Understand the majority of people purchasing pins off of these sites do not even realize fakes exist. So, just because the seller has 100% feedback doesn't necessarily mean this person's pins are the real deal. Again, look at the amount of pins each person has or is selling.

4th - Don't be afraid to ask the seller straight up, "ARE YOUR PINS SCRAPPERS?" If the seller is selling real pins they will go out of their way to answer this question for you. If the seller throws in the classic these are "Traders" or "Traded with CM'S" STAY AWAY!!! This will help you if, by chance, you do pick up scrappers and want to return them to the seller. The more questions you ask BEFORE the auction ends, the more leverage you'll have with the owners of the Auction Site. Don't wait until the auction is over to ask questions!!!

5th - And this is one of the more important ones. DON'T TRUST ANYONE!!! Just because the person lives in Kissimmee or Anaheim doesn't necessarily mean their pins are real. We see to many people say, "They live near the park so I'm sure they have real pins"

I hope this helps people who purchase pins of certain auction sites. We're becoming frustrated by the amount of people being ripped off on these auction sites. BE CAREFUL WITH AUCTION PINS.​

 

[mojoscout]

Thank you so much for taking the time too post this... it's going too help me a lot! I just hava few questions
1ther than ebay what are the worst scrapper auction sites?
2:Should I trust that the pins being sold on this site(from trustworthy members) are real?
3:Why do scrappers continuie too plauge this hobby!?
Scarappers you made my list! lol!

 

[KT07]

i would not say its just a aucton site thing. As with all things in life. If it is to good to b true...guess what it is a fake. Do not try to get pins for one buck... Try and buy from a member here and pay the 2 or 3 bucks. still avery good deal. I think the low pins are still the big trouble. Not many if any of the ppl that would b going after high end pins would b new and not know about scrappers. Plus as said above.. the ppl that make fakes are getting smarter. So why would they make one pin to sale for 40 and than have to work hard to get ppl to buy it. They would rather shark the newbies and sale lots of cheap low end pins all day long. yes the "hard to get" stuff will get faked at times.. but if u know enough to go on a "hard to get" pin hunt.. i hope u know about scrappers b4. hope that makes since..

 

[Sirsnoozit]

1 - Any site sells pins including some people in these forums

2 - Ask yourself, how can this person possibly be selling a pin that retailed for $8.95 yet they are selling it for $3. Come on now, just think about it. Yes, CM'S do get discounts and Yes pins do go on sale. But even CM'S who have been there for years only get 40% off. Plus, something people don't mention, it's against policy for CM'S to list anything on an Auction Site. If it is found out a CM is listing, lets say pins, that's grounds for termination.

3 - Scrappers continue to plague our hobby simply due to people being to cheap to actually purchase pins directly through Disney. For example, another member sent me a PM telling me about a particular incident that just happened to them at WDW Friday. They were at DTD PT when the board opened. 2 kids jumped in line in front of this particular person. As the kids picked pins off the board their mom pulled the little bags from her pocket to give the kids to trade for pins off the board. When this person was confronted by a particular trader, she said "It's a cheap way to get pins for my kids to trade". This is the Majority of people not the minority. That seems to be the underlying answer people give when confronted about their pins origins. "Oh, I bought them off a certain auction site, FOR MY KIDS". Yet, you follow these same people and never notice any kids but do notice every trade they make is out of a plastic bag with individual pins. I mean really??? Can't you even put them on a Lanyard?? What will really make you angry is when a trader follows you because they know you have real pins and you notice this trader taking all the pins you just put on a CM'S lanyard with fake pins from their plastic bags.

Thank you so much for taking the time too post this... it's going too help me a lot! I just hava few questions
1ther than ebay what are the worst scrapper auction sites?
2:Should I trust that the pins being sold on this site(from trustworthy members) are real?
3:Why do scrappers continuie too plauge this hobby!?
Scarappers you made my list! lol!

 

[KT07]

thats the worst.. i hate to know that some one is walking around behind me and cherry picking the lanyards. I have fun putting sum real nice pins on the lanyards and nothing gets me more upset than.. when i know my pins are going to sum lame #*$ shark.


side note...i love to get the pin on the lanyard that i know the shark is tring to get. I think of it as there falt for trying to cut in line and point out what pin they want. lol

 

[Sirsnoozit]

I agree with this somewhat, however, it's much simpler to sell one pin at $40 than it is to sell 40 pins at $1. Take into consideration postage on those 40 pins vs postage on 1. Also, just look at the amount of DA Pins available today on this auction site. Their are over 4,000 of them. This isn't just today, these are the numbers on any given day.

As I said, this doesn't mean they aren't scrapping HM'S, trust me they are. We're seeing less and less of these HM Scrappers selling individually and more and more of these DA or DSF or DS LE'S showing up on auction sites...

And it is the people on these sites that are getting burnt. It isn't just your regular Joe. I've replyed to, at least 10 posts regarding these sort of pins within the past 2 weeks from members of forums.

i would not say its just a aucton site thing. As with all things in life. If it is to good to b true...guess what it is a fake. Do not try to get pins for one buck... Try and buy from a member here and pay the 2 or 3 bucks. still avery good deal. I think the low pins are still the big trouble. Not many if any of the ppl that would b going after high end pins would b new and not know about scrappers. Plus as said above.. the ppl that make fakes are getting smarter. So why would they make one pin to sale for 40 and than have to work hard to get ppl to buy it. They would rather shark the newbies and sale lots of cheap low end pins all day long. yes the "hard to get" stuff will get faked at times.. but if u know enough to go on a "hard to get" pin hunt.. i hope u know about scrappers b4. hope that makes since..

 

[nWoJeffDW]

Wow. Paranoid much? It's rantings like this that keep driving so many of us old-timers out of the hobby. If everyone is to be mistrusted and every pin suspect, then how the heck do you trade or sell any pin? I've seen people pass by good legitimate Disney pins all because of paranoia over a small imperfection or lack of backer card.

 

[mojoscout]

1 - Any site sells pins including some people in these forums

2 - Ask yourself, how can this person possibly be selling a pin that retailed for $8.95 yet they are selling it for $3. Come on now, just think about it. Yes, CM'S do get discounts and Yes pins do go on sale. But even CM'S who have been there for years only get 40% off. Plus, something people don't mention, it's against policy for CM'S to list anything on an Auction Site. If it is found out a CM is listing, lets say pins, that's grounds for termination.

3 - Scrappers continue to plague our hobby simply due to people being to cheap to actually purchase pins directly through Disney. For example, another member sent me a PM telling me about a particular incident that just happened to them at WDW Friday. They were at DTD PT when the board opened. 2 kids jumped in line in front of this particular person. As the kids picked pins off the board their mom pulled the little bags from her pocket to give the kids to trade for pins off the board. When this person was confronted by a particular trader, she said "It's a cheap way to get pins for my kids to trade". This is the Majority of people not the minority. That seems to be the underlying answer people give when confronted about their pins origins. "Oh, I bought them off a certain auction site, FOR MY KIDS". Yet, you follow these same people and never notice any kids but do notice every trade they make is out of a plastic bag with individual pins. I mean really??? Can't you even put them on a Lanyard?? What will really make you angry is when a trader follows you because they know you have real pins and you notice this trader taking all the pins you just put on a CM'S lanyard with fake pins from their plastic bags.

Thanks again and will kep this in mind whentrading/buying pins.I will try my best 2 stay away from eveilbay and auction site and only buy pins here... from members I trust and know would never sell or trade me a scrapper and even if they do they would give me a refund or trade pins back or something. I agree that's the worst 2 ave a shark follow you and trade for your authentic pins for some cheap old scrappers! What i'll do if I know they are following me i'll go on ride and see if they get on also or if they don't and go find someone else.

 

[mojoscout]

Wow. Paranoid much? It's rantings like this that keep driving so many of us old-timers out of the hobby. If everyone is to be mistrusted and every pin suspect, then how the heck do you trade or sell any pin? I've seen people pass by good legitimate Disney pins all because of paranoia over a small imperfection or lack of backer card.

That's true and like I said only from trustworthy members.

 

[Abyssinian28]

2 - Ask yourself, how can this person possibly be selling a pin that retailed for $8.95 yet they are selling it for $3. Come on now, just think about it. Yes, CM'S do get discounts and Yes pins do go on sale. But even CM'S who have been there for years only get 40% off. Plus, something people don't mention, it's against policy for CM'S to list anything on an Auction Site. If it is found out a CM is listing, lets say pins, that's grounds for termination.

Ummm, actually, I can sell pins sometimes for $3 or less because I used to hit SALSA sales, where I could pick up pins for $1.50 or less (the pins were often 80% off). one year I went a little crazy, and ended up with close to $1,000 in pins (and yeah, that's after that discount). Needless to say, I'm *still* getting rid of some of them.

*Also*- the outlets here in Orlando used to have $2 pin deals.

So while being cautious is a good thing, not everyone selling pins for cheap is peddling trash. Some people can afford to, because they got the pins on sale, while others are taking a hit (i.e. they just want those pins GONE).

That said, as far as higher edition sizes go, in all my years of trading, I've only received maybe 5 scrappers/counterfeits that were higher end...every other one I've come across has been a HM/Open Edition pin. Of course, some of them I was able to dodge because I knew better. But I think once you educate people, they'll know what to look for, high-end or HM.

 

[charlesu]

Anyone here ever watch Pawn Stars? If you do, you know that Rick and family see tons of fakes from Civil War items to jewelry to well....you name it. Even guns. Some lady brought in a beautiful sculpture that, had it been real, would have been worth a fortune. Rick looked it over and commented on it, explained the history, etc. Then he pointed out that the original sculpture was made in France. The one the lady brought in was clearly stamped "Made in China". So that was an easy one. But people are out there faking EVERYTHING these days. It's best just to be smart in all your dealings. Not paranoid. But smart.

 

[supertank]

Wow. Paranoid much? It's rantings like this that keep driving so many of us old-timers out of the hobby. If everyone is to be mistrusted and every pin suspect, then how the heck do you trade or sell any pin? I've seen people pass by good legitimate Disney pins all because of paranoia over a small imperfection or lack of backer card.

I had a trade fall through because I didn't have the original box that a mystery pin came in... I didn't know I was supposed to be keeping those things, lol.

 

[nursek8]

Ummm, actually, I can sell pins sometimes for $3 or less because I used to hit SALSA sales, where I could pick up pins for $1.50 or less (the pins were often 80% off). one year I went a little crazy, and ended up with close to $1,000 in pins (and yeah, that's after that discount). Needless to say, I'm *still* getting rid of some of them.

*Also*- the outlets here in Orlando used to have $2 pin deals.

So while being cautious is a good thing, not everyone selling pins for cheap is peddling trash. Some people can afford to, because they got the pins on sale, while others are taking a hit (i.e. they just want those pins GONE).

That said, as far as higher edition sizes go, in all my years of trading, I've only received maybe 5 scrappers/counterfeits that were higher end...every other one I've come across has been a HM/Open Edition pin. Of course, some of them I was able to dodge because I knew better. But I think once you educate people, they'll know what to look for, high-end or HM.

I agree here! NOT everyone selling on ebay is selling scrappers/ fakes. i know one who will mix in the good with the bad and sells at local events (disneyanna). whats worse is i tell "new traders about this and Right IN FRONT of ME they still went and bought from this person!!! I wont trade with them without scrutinizing their pins in person now!
I occasionally sell on ebay and price the pins lower that what i paid because most people wont buy them for retail! most want bargain pins! even her on these threads it happens! even for pins with the original cards! they wont sell for retail!
Everyone just needs to be careful and research before they purchase from a non disney site! know the sellers and your pins! DONT TRASH ALL EBAY SELLERS Please. it gets me upset when that happens because when that is said it includes ME! and i know i would never knowingly sell anything not authentic.
we all have a learning curve and learn at different speeds and some never learn. when you stop learning, well..... and lastly, never assume, we all have heard the saying : assume makes an *** u me. ok off my soap box.

 

[AshJs3]

Wow. Paranoid much? It's rantings like this that keep driving so many of us old-timers out of the hobby. If everyone is to be mistrusted and every pin suspect, then how the heck do you trade or sell any pin? I've seen people pass by good legitimate Disney pins all because of paranoia over a small imperfection or lack of backer card.

So true! The paranoia is insane these days. I'm selling pins for $2ish that retailed for more mainly because I want to get rid of them. I love pins but I have entirely too many that I don't really like. For me, it's not about recouping my money on those "lower value" pins. I also think all of this scrapper panic would drive away newbies. I know that if I were to go to the park today and discover trading, then come back to see something like this I'd probably just give up.

Granted, the only scrapper pins I have ever seen have been hidden Mickey's. Are they making more high value ones now? I just don't see the value that the people who make them are getting. Selling fake high end hand bags for $300 that sell for $1000s is one thing, fake pins that most sell for less than $10?

 

[HandA]

I also think all of this scrapper panic would drive away newbies. I know that if I were to go to the park today and discover trading, then come back to see something like this I'd probably just give up.

She speaks the truth! Coming from a noob, it definitely makes me wonder at times hat I got in to, and is it worth it to keep going down this road.

 

[Psycho Pixie]

Thank you so much for taking the time too post this... it's going too help me a lot! I just hava few questions
1ther than ebay what are the worst scrapper auction sites?
2:Should I trust that the pins being sold on this site(from trustworthy members) are real?
3:Why do scrappers continuie too plauge this hobby!?
Scarappers you made my list! lol!

1~ most any online auction site will have this issue. Evilbay being the biggest, most used site, will be the worst.
2~ If the pic is of actual pin, and the seller does not have tonns of the same pin for sale, likely it is trustable. ( take me for instance. lol)
3~ counterfiets plague all collection hobbies. we are not special.

I don't buy if seller is from China, has several "lots", or does not have a pic of the actual pin. I don't even like to buy if they say "thank you to pinpics for photo and info."

 

[KT07]

yes...you can give up or you can learn. As many of you know already. i started with my fam a little over a year ago. We got told all about pins from a real nice girl (cats)... Than after she gave my son and I our first pins... We went into the WH and bought about $500 worth of pins and lanyards. Next we had been told by some other ppl that CMs are good to trade with when new and safe. So we spent 2 days trading and than went home to find that over half of our pins were fake. I was real upset and mad over this.... BUT WHAT TO DO.... I can give up.... no....i wont.... and didnt... I went out and found DPF and all the nice members there that have helpped me to know what to look out for and how to b safe in this hobby. Its now over a year later. i still love to trade with CMs.. but always ask to see the pin b4. we only have one scrapper in our collection and all others have been trashed.

ps... dont throw pins away anymore.. Please give them to the member that with give them to kids to play with. ( dont worry about comming back around. She will mark a black x on back if u have not already.

Remember that the best way to deal with anything in life is to learn all you can. If you ever need help... members like myself and Geoff and others are ready to help. We hate scrappers and like to help ppl.

Thank you to Geoff..Dan...Cats...and all the other ppl that have helpped me learn so much so fast over the year.

 

[Bellecat22]

As a few people have posted here, I also can sell pins cheap because I purchased them at the SALSA sales for under $1.50 and bought quite a few at the outlet for under $1.00. I don't sell "lots" on ebay because people believe "lots" of pins are scrappers. I try to help the community out by selling inexpensive traders that are not fake pins, because I have so many traders now I have no place to put them.

 

[Whitney]

Gracious, I'm glad I didn't read this kind of stuff when I was new to collecting, it would have scared me off of my life hobby. :/

Older pins (2006 and prior) very likely won't have their cards - I don't think many of us who started collecting back then, or prior, kept the cards. I shudder to think of the huge box of DA LE 100/250/500/1000 auction cards I threw out thinking they were just junking up the house. I had to sell some out of financial necessity and I've sold some just because the kids or I change over time. DD doesn't love the princesses anymore (I know, sad, but true) and DS has moved on from Buzz Lightyear (breaks my heart). They decide they want something else more and to get the funds, they sell their older stuff. Not everyone selling is evil; being aware is great, being paranoid will just frustrate you and keep you from enjoying collecting.

Relax, enjoy the hobby, know that you'll get your money back on ebay if you get something you don't like (if the seller won't refund you, ebay/paypal WILL!) ...and if you can't afford it, don't buy it.

Just have fun - that's what it's all about.

 

[KT07]

Please dont read just the bad post and than get scared away. As with any hobby. To b safe you must learn as much as u can and as fast as you can. So i am here to tell you..even after my bad start and all the fakes i got...over $250.oo worth...lol ( now not than) I didnt give up and feel i can keep my self safe by knowing what to look for and when i am not sure... I dont trade...

Yes its all for fun. But you can spend a bunch of money on crap... So b safe and learn all you can and dot be afrade to ask for help.
Thank you

 

[erudolf]

I agree, I think this paints eBay as much more evil than it really is. I just can't believe that 80% of the pins on eBay are fakes/scrappers. At any given time there are around 110 thousand listing for Disney pins on eBay and to think that 80% of them are fakes is outrageous. Even if you don't go by the number of listings and go by the quantity of pins which would take the lots into account, 80% still seems awfully high.

And 4,000 Disney Auctions pins listed is nothing. Pinpics has 3967 listings for Disney Auctions pins. Sure, a lot of them are LE 100 but a lot of them are also LE 1000. If you guesstimate an average LE of 500 then that's almost 2 million DA pins in circulation. So, 4,000 out of 2 million is a drop in the buck.

Are there DA fakes? Sure, we know there are. But to suggest that the are a big problem at this point is misleading. I can only think of a 20 or so that are known to have been scrapped/faked. Now, I'll admit that as of late I have been very suspicious of some older Stitch pins that keep reappearing, but that's all they are, suspicions. I have no proof and am 70% confident that I'm probably wrong because the pins in question aren't "that wanted" so it is entirely possible that there are more available because demand is low and times are hard so more people are selling off stuff.

In summary, I don't think anybody should be scared of eBay. As long as you know what you are doing and know what to look for you should be fine.

 

[RiftRaftStreetRat]

2 - Ask yourself, how can this person possibly be selling a pin that retailed for $8.95 yet they are selling it for $3. Come on now, just think about it. Yes, CM'S do get discounts and Yes pins do go on sale. But even CM'S who have been there for years only get 40% off. Plus, something people don't mention, it's against policy for CM'S to list anything on an Auction Site. If it is found out a CM is listing, lets say pins, that's grounds for termination.

Company D often has Pin sales. You can get le 1000's for $3, somtimes OE's for $1 and Jumbos even for $10. Sometimes people just don't know what they're selling. You can get a great deal sometimes just by shopping around. They just want their pins GONE. Yardsales and Thrift stores also sell pins around the area, and they're also people who just want the pins gone. DSF even has sales for LE 300's at $4 each.

Oh, and sometimes a pin that retails for $8.99 loses it's value. If nobody wants a pin, it's just not going to sell at retail, sometimes.

 

[mojoscout]

ok you guys make a whole lot of sence and will just be aware and cautious not paranoid! lol! can someone pleas pm me how 2 tell a scrapper from a real as i'm still learning myself and I know for there are people with much greater knowledge about this than me!

 

[Psycho Pixie]

I agree, I think this paints eBay as much more evil than it really is. I just can't believe that 80% of the pins on eBay are fakes/scrappers. At any given time there are around 110 thousand listing for Disney pins on eBay and to think that 80% of them are fakes is outrageous. Even if you don't go by the number of listings and go by the quantity of pins which would take the lots into account, 80% still seems awfully high.

And 4,000 Disney Auctions pins listed is nothing. Pinpics has 3967 listings for Disney Auctions pins. Sure, a lot of them are LE 100 but a lot of them are also LE 1000. If you guesstimate an average LE of 500 then that's almost 2 million DA pins in circulation. So, 4,000 out of 2 million is a drop in the buck.

...*snip*...
In summary, I don't think anybody should be scared of eBay. As long as you know what you are doing and know what to look for you should be fine.

I have to agree here... How can someone claim 80% of the stuff on evilbay is fake/scrap/counterfiet????? Find me proof! Show me that 80% of the items are not exactly what they say they are. MAYBE 10% could be absolutly positively China factory crap pins.

Again, I am just very careful, and as another person pointed out, if you recieve a scrap/counterfiet pin, return it and Ebay will issue refund if seller does not.


ps: PM send

 

[nWoJeffDW]

I think that's the point now. No one is saying not to be careful. But don't go to the point that you assume every pin is a conterfeit/scrapper and every trader or seller is out to scam you. In the grand scheme of things, there are very few LE pins actually scrapped or conterfeited. And of those, the vast majority are easy to tell they are fakes.

Going into a trade or purchase with the notion that you are getting a real Disney pin is a much better experience that assuming you are always being taken with a fake.