Fake Pins :(

I just started collecting pins on my first visit to WDW over Christmas. I've bought all the pins I have so far myself but recently made some purchases on eBay. I've been so pleased with my purchases. That is until today!! I received a lot of 25, at the time I thought it'd be fun not knowing what pins I was getting. I was so excited checking my mail today and couldn't wait to see what I got. I opened up my mailer and spilled them out onto the table. I picked up the first one and thought hmmm something seems off about it. Then I picked up another, another and yet another. Each pin was worse then the preceding one!! This makes me so sad, sad that people taint something that should be fun for everyone! Young or old, different countries or different languages. I would never knowingly trade these pins. The quality is horrible!! Definitely not at all like the pins I've purchased from the park!! What's shocking is that the feedback on this guy is fantastic!! I can't imagine anyone being pleased with the quality newbie or not. I'm just so disappointed and saddened by this experience. I feel so stupid, but I guess I've learned my lesson. Any advice for newbies wanting to buy pins but can't get to the parks. I'd eventually like to have extra so I can trade and have fun. I'm just leery of purchasing anything online now. Almost makes me want to stop collecting

Thanks for listening to this newbies sad story. Just wish I didn't feel so stupid. :facepalm:

Check with Bricklayer. He has a sales thread where he sells authentic pins for $1.80 postage paid (minimum order is 10).

jadestarr was selling booster packs of 7 for as little as $5 last time I checked! I almost made the same mistake when I was really new, it really is scary how all the sellers have really close to if not 100% feedback

Ok thanks! I'll check those out.

on ebay, if the lots are cheap, they're probably fake. Also if the pictures shows mostly hidden mickeys and booster pack pins, they're probably fake. The high feedback is probably from people who don't know the difference (I was in this for 2 years before I learned to tell the difference at least some of the time!) OR they don't care because they're just going to palm them off to CMs who also don't know and aren't supposed to argue with guests.

Me and my boyfriend were also in this situation a few weeks ago! At first, we were super excited to get so many pins but when we received them we were in shock! We learned the hard way.

Yeah, I'm new but these fakes had to be some of the worse out there. No way anyone would think they are real. It's like looking at pieces of tin with bad painting

Blingy4343 said:

Yeah, I'm new but these fakes had to be some of the worse out there. No way anyone would think they are real. It's like looking at pieces of tin with bad painting

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Did you ask to get a refund? If not you should at least get your money back.

If you want your money back, send a message to the seller and tell him you're not happy with the "counterfeit" pins you purchased. If he has a good score, he will want to keep it untarnished and will most likely return your money. NOTE: be sure to tell him you want him to return the full amount you paid for the pins including shipping AND you want him to pay for the shipping when you return the pins to him.

Good luck.

Aw geez that sucks. Don't let one bad experience discourage you though. I've been really lucky with some sellers on eBay. I've been collecting for over 10 years now on each of my annual WDW trips. I try to steer clear for used pins or lots; they're easier for sellers to misrepresent. When your buying a new pin there's no room for interpretation lol. Also make sure they have 100% feedback. I RARELY buy from anyone with less than 100%; top rated/power sellers are more appealing to me as well. Only trade cast members for exclusive cast member pins that you know they were given or purchased themself to trade. Try to get an eye for authentic pins. What to look for...markings...trade marks...etc. Once you get more seasoned to it you'll be able to spot fakes easily.

Yes, I'm getting a FULL refund!! He was a jerk about it but at least I'm not out 100 bucks. :wiggle: Thanks so much to all who replied. It's nice to know I'm not the only one this has happened to. I was introduced to some trusted sellers who have REAL pins! Your kindness turned my bad day into a good one! So great to meeting some awesome and HONEST people!!!! :bigthumb:

This happened to me when I first started collecting. Just gotta put it behind you and focus on authentic pins from super nice people from this forum! Enjoy yourself!

It's a learning experience. I'm pretty new, and I have trouble sometimes. I think it's just one of those things you have to experience. :/ I know I have. Best of luck to you!

~Merlin

I think it's interesting how some of these sellers respond to neutral and negative feedback as well. The people who seem to be selling real items tend to try to resolve bad feedback or at least give a reason for why the bad experience happened. The people with the fake merchandise are kind of nasty about it. They will call you a newbie and say that you obviously don't know what you're talking about.

DPF has a sales forum. and with the sales there you have the negative feedback AND community censorship for those who knowingly sell fake/counterfeits and scrap. So you should get decent prices for authentic pins.

Don't feel too bad, been there done that.

Hello there, fellow Texan! Where are you in TX? I live down south in the Valley.

Don't feel to bad about the scrapper pins... I think most of us have made the same exact mistake. If you check out the sales thread a lot of people are selling pins for good prices, and they are all 100% real pins!

Did you enjoy your vacation?! I miss WDW!!!

Hello Jenna! I'm just outside of Dallas. Very nice to meet you! I had the time of my life at WDW. I can't wait to go back. I gotta save a lot before I can do that though! Lol

Still haven't gotten my money back and I just opened a case with eBay. He stopped responding to my messages. One way or another I'll get my refund!

This is a random question but what breed is the dog in your picture?

I'm not sure Lizard. She is a rescued dog, she was severely abused and VERY sick when I got her. I was a sucker for those brown eyes Lots of money and six months later she finally recovered! I'm the lucky one though, she's the sweetest dog and my baby that's for sure.

Another fellow Texan here...PayPal has buyer protection as well.
My husband drafts excellent professional "return my money/pins/dog/ property etc...or else" letters (he should he manages power plant contracts). I can send you a dummy copy of our in breach of contract notice.
Yes purchase from Bricklayer, we received excellent pins!

Thanks caffeinecupcake! That would be great, I'll pm you my email address.

Boy did I dodge a bullet. I'd been looking at a 'pin lot' like that and I'll be honest I was pretty damn skeptical cause the price was so cheap, but the page said 'official Disney pins' and '100% trade-able' at the parks (that second one had me even more skeptical to be honest. trade-able doesn't mean genuine) and this person had like 100% feedback.
I debated it for ages, thinking I could just get my money back if they ended up being fake (paypal gives you pretty good security for things like this. eBay do too I believe.) but then I found the pin games section on here and ended up partaking in some of those instead. I won't get anywhere near the same amount of pins but at least I will be getting real pins!
I'm sorry this happened to you, but I guess its a learning experience right? I'm fairly sure that through eBay or Paypal (assuming that's how you paid), you will get your money back. The seller definitely hasn't done themselves any favors by not responding to you!
Good luck with the refund!

Blingy4343 said:

I'm not sure Lizard. She is a rescued dog, she was severely abused and VERY sick when I got her. I was a sucker for those brown eyes Lots of money and six months later she finally recovered! I'm the lucky one though, she's the sweetest dog and my baby that's for sure.

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My dog looks just like her! Mine is a terrier but idk which kind . Haha

This has been a very, very common thread topic in the Pin Discussion area since DPF started. Yeah, these guys are out there and they suck, a lot. I remember a thread years ago where we all just up and confessed to having bought a pin lot like that when we started. It happens to probably 50-60% of pin traders because it is an expensive hobby. I fell victim to it myself a long time ago, when Jessica and I were first starting. We were ecstatic to get 50 pins for 70 bucks, what naive trader wouldn't be? We saw the prices on the racks and thought we had found the deal of a lifetime until we tried to trade other traders in the park and got thoroughly embarrassed.

Rule #1, if it sounds too good to be true, (almost) invariably it is. It was bad enough where US customs stepped in a couple years ago (I think) and caught a shipment of fakes worth $2,000,000 coming in from China (there is an old, old thread about it if you can find it). Made a small dent, but it keeps happening.

The thing that pisses me off the most is that these guys have 100% feedback. Probably 70-80% of that comes from parents looking for a cheap activity for their kids while on their Once-Every-10-Years Disney vacation. 20-29% of that feedback comes from traders that are either 1. new 2. don't know any better 3. don't care or 4. a combination of some or all of the above. A problem arises when a buyer receives a shipment of these abominations and figures out they got duped. If they confront the seller as you did, the seller, while pissed off, does EVERYTHING THEY HAVE TO to make you happy for the sake of positive feedback. The worst part is, they usually get it.

I think the absolute best thing a buyer could ever do that figures out they got duped into buying fakes is LEAVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK no matter what the outcome. Even if you receive a 100% refund, leave negative feedback that says in big, all caps letters "THIS GUY SOLD ME FAKE PINS!!!!!!" Enough of these show up and at least that account will have to close. I think I even remember a renegade group of DPFs way back in the day that banded together and did this till they drove someone out of business, so it works. And remember, an eBay seller CANNOT LEAVE A BUYER NEGATIVE FEEDBACK as long as the buyer has paid for the item in a timely manner; they can just try to leave a pathetic note attached to your feedback you left them.

I think too that if you open a case with eBay and notify eBay that you received counterfeit merchandise there may be a way that you do not have to return the item to the seller; I wouldn't want to give a counterfeiter back his bad stuff just to have it passed on to someone else.

Blingy, please, please, please leave this guy bad feedback. Just think, you might save another person, just like you, somewhere down the road from having to go through the same process.