Cast Member's Reaction to Scrappers/Counterfeits?

[ethanwa]

My wife started collecting some Hidden Mickey pins and noticed that some didn't match the others in her set - she looked it up and *surprise, surprise* some are scrappers. Well, in DTD WDW, she was talking to a cast member at the pin trading hut and he actually got upset with her when she mentioned scrappers, or that there might be fake pins out there. He said that any pin with the Disney logo on it is a Disney pin, totally denying the existence of fakes. She wasn't asking for her money back or anything wacky like that - so why did he get upset? Are cast members not supposed to go along with it or something?

 

[Redrose]

This is interesting and sounds like plain ignorance to me. I'm not sure if he was told to deny the fact that they exist though. I love how there are people on ebay the say that there pins are 100 % real and were traded in the park. Then get angry when people who buy the pin say that it is a fake and go on to say they traded for it so it is real and authenic. If you trade in the park or at DTD you might get a scrapper it is a possibility and some scrappers look very authentic. You have to be really careful and like what I have read and learned from others just ask to look at the pin more closely and look at the back also. If you are unsure just don't trade for it.

 

[Abyssinian28]

I still like the whole "If it has a Disney logo on it, it's a Disney pin"- makes an *awful* good defense for anyone who wants to make a piece of fanart or produce their own shirts and slaps a Disney logo on it in the Disney font, then sells it.

Seems like a dangerous legal precedent for the cast members to be setting to me.

It really is baffling- like, do people just not KNOW about counterfeiting in general? Fake purses, fake DVDs...I used to go to conventions all the time when dealers would try to get away with selling illegal DVDs. If it can be made, it can be bootlegged. Duh.

In the case of this CM, the only thing I can think is that he's been instructed to TAKE anything to make guests happy, and maybe he just put his own personal thoughts behind it (maybe he doesn't understand the situation fully?). ::shrug::

 

[JKrolak]

In the case of this CM, the only thing I can think is that he's been instructed to TAKE anything to make guests happy

You have it right on target here. Except in cases of obviously broken pins, or clearly fake pins - non Disney, pealing paint, or distressed - heavily worn/scratched/poor condition, cast members will accept the pin. Some of those who are more familiar with pin trading will take the pin out of circulation by not returning it to their lanyards. But most of those who view trading as just part of their collateral duties, will trade them right back out.

But short of embedding some type of tracking chip in new pins and refusing to trade older pins without the correct security markings, it is easier for them to just accept all pins offered for trade.

 

[calveezzzy]

Sounds more like ignorance than anything. Just because something has a Disney stamp on it, doesn't mean it's an authorized good. It's just like saying, "Oh hey, that Coach bag HAS to be real because it has the Coach logo on it." PSHHH That's why they're counterfeits!! They're supposed to seem authentic, but obviously they're not.

 

[Alexa]

There's a new wave of fresh CPs so not all of them actually know right from wrong.

 

[SamOfSiam]

I was in DTD in Anaheim and I noticed talked to some CMs about counterfeit pins and what they (CMs) did to check if they any pins are fake. They said that there are so many pins out there that it's hard to keep track. They mainly just check using by feel and weight of the pins they get. They can't deny any trades, but they try to take the fake ones out of circulation... but this is all dependent on the CM. I respect the pin store in DTD. I always see them checking their pins.

I say this because I think some CMs are aware of the fakes out there. But in your case, I think it was just ignorance.

 

[Alexa]

CPs?

College Program (Internship CMs)

 

[JKrolak]

Sounds more like ignorance than anything. Just because something has a Disney stamp on it, doesn't mean it's an authorized good. It's just like saying, "Oh hey, that Coach bag HAS to be real because it has the Coach logo on it." PSHHH That's why they're counterfeits!! They're supposed to seem authentic, but obviously they're not.

I've never said it's "right". But normally whoever has a "counterfeit" when it's discovered takes the loss.

Disney wants to protect their reputation and ensure that their guests have a good time. So rather than have guests get upset learning the pins they bought or may have traded to obtain from other cast members are "fake", Disney made the decision to accept them anyway. And unfortunately the cast member who commented that they cannot check them all is right. Older pins lack the security features that are being slowly incorporated into new generations of pins.

Even the scrappers are getting better, as fewer and fewer bad pins have the tell tale border on them.

 

[coblj003]

For this particular CM, I don't know of anyone who would be trained to "Deny" the existance of a counterfeit Disney pin other then it might be his own level of "preserving the magic" in his merchantainment area. I wonder if it's more the issue of guests demanding a replacement of a "Scrapper" pins for "Good" pins and thus the Managers have relented to telling CM's they are unable to anymore.

 

[ethanwa]

I wonder if it's more the issue of guests demanding a replacement of a "Scrapper" pins for "Good" pins and thus the Managers have relented to telling CM's they are unable to anymore.

See, that what I had assumed too. Like, maybe the CM assumed I was bringing it up because I wanted to be reimbursed or get new pins or something.

On another note, I found a good version of one of my favorite pins and, as I was comparing the real and fake side-by-side, a CM noticed. The fake was yellow-beige and slightly larger, while the real one was pink-beige. The CM told me that the particular pin was a series of different colors and if I look on the back it would say "# ___ of 5" or whatever. As I knew this was completely wrong, first because I know the series it was in and second because both backs said "3 of 5", I chalked it up to the CM just not knowing enough about pins. No one's perfect but I did think it was interesting that the CM totally thought she knew what she was talking about.

 

[Robins Hood]

I bought a DSF pin a few days ago that has a "Border" on it. Even disney doesnt care about there own "Security measure". If you look at the more recent DSF pins they all have borders I.E.

. Sounds like the CM probably wants to make guest fell secure in trading at the resort and not ruin a good time with fake pins.

 

[pingirlkim]

The other day at Hollywood Studios, I tried to talk to a CM about fake pins. He kept insisting that the Florida sun caused a problem with "fading", and that the pin I had was real. I'm sorry, but almost 75% of the pins I've traded for from CM's have turned out to be fake! I take some fault, I should look more closely at them before trading, but it's still sad! Some of the pins I trade for I've never seen before since I'm new to pin trading, and I don't find out they are fakes until I get home. Then it p****s me off that I've traded authentic pins for fakes. Lesson learned, I'll take more time looking at them, or I will stop trading with CM's and stick to here.

 

[Sheppyman21402]

I know this sounds bad and i'm sure that I am going to get alot of comments on it. But once you know you have a fake pin. Why not trade for the ones that are good. If disney trades out the lanyards at the end of the night then they will get rid of the fakes. I trry to only trade real pins. but I am not an expert and will end up trading some fakes. When I trade on here I try to make sure they are real. I have never been told they have been fake. The ones I know are fakes will be traded. It is a bad thing to say. But most people are not as in to it as we are. Yes we grow every day. But you still have to think are the pins that I have now real?? I also know that most people that get in to trading don't have hugh amounts of money when they start. So they look for short cuts. So e-bay gets there money. Then we have to be on the look out. I don't agree with getting or trading the fake pins as a money maker. But I am sure we all have bought the fake pins to start out with. Then we got schooled and are changing how we handle things

 

[coblj003]

See, that what I had assumed too. Like, maybe the CM assumed I was bringing it up because I wanted to be reimbursed or get new pins or something.

On another note, I found a good version of one of my favorite pins and, as I was comparing the real and fake side-by-side, a CM noticed. The fake was yellow-beige and slightly larger, while the real one was pink-beige. The CM told me that the particular pin was a series of different colors and if I look on the back it would say "# ___ of 5" or whatever. As I knew this was completely wrong, first because I know the series it was in and second because both backs said "3 of 5", I chalked it up to the CM just not knowing enough about pins. No one's perfect but I did think it was interesting that the CM totally thought she knew what she was talking about.

I will say that no CM is infallible about pin trading, myself included. When I was a CP, I had a particular guest asking for the 2010 HM WDW Pendant - Orange. so we didn't have it in stock in pin replenishment so I told her we didn't have that particular pin so I offered her the red instead. I found out later it was a GWP pin which is why we didn't have a bin for it.

 

[rusports]

I find it fascinating that a CM would state there are no fake pins... I was trading with a CM in EPCOT and she looked at both sides of the pin I was trading her and actually made me feel like I had a scrapper and she didnt want it. She ended up taking it and on closer inspection of her own lanyard I noticed several scrappers. The pin I was trading her had just come out of a mystery pack and if that constitutes a fake pin, we are all in trouble...