Welcome aboard.
I'm in the UK so feel you're pain when it comes to Pin access. There are some great people on here who do Park pick ups from the USA and I cannot sing their praises highly enough! A couple of people go to DLP and can do the occasional pick up, but as it's less frequent selection is limited, I'm going back in October and then the big one of going back to WDW in August!!
The UK Disneystore web site doesn't have much(in fact now there are only 3 possibles) but it's usually a little better than that.
Scrappers/fakes are a minefield..my advice avoid Ebay where possible, undoubtedly there are some good people on there, but you're chances of getting a fake/scrap' are largely increased. Do not buy any of the mixed lots and like most things in life, if it seems to good to be true, walk away!
The Guys and Gals on this forum are really helpful and friendly, so ask away if you need any help at all.
Enjoy your time collecting little bits of metal that damage your bank balance and have fun.
Oh and get a PinPics account to track your collection(Or traders)