Manager made a Big stink!

Cicada said:

i thought CM's were supposed to trade regardless?

or is that only children?

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As far as I know, that's for everyone. They can't refuse a trade as long as it's a disney pin.

Geoff said:

:soapbox: Ahem.
The myth goes something like this:

"Hold a magnet up to a pin. A real pin will stick to the magnet, but a fake won't."

/Climbs down :soapbox:

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I actually have heard this OPPOSITE, that Disney uses a SPECIAL non-magnetic metal so it will never be magnetic. That's what a CM told me. This is how out of hand that rumor is.

Ultimately, it's up the individual CM to decide if they will trade with you or not (kid or adult), and that has been the rule from the beginning.

Thanks to Geoff for clarifying the magnet issue. Regardless, that manager was totally out of line berating a guest, and if the manager was truly concerned about scrappers or counterfeits being traded to her, he/she should've taken the trader aside privately (or to an office) and discussed the matter with the trader that way.

How dare he do that to a guest. I would have march his sorry but to city hall and complained about how much of a jerk he was. Hate ignorant people who think they know what is real and fake.

I love stinks

1) Manager was out of line and behaved... poorly. Disney administrative staff should deal with that issue.

2) The magnet test has been throughly discredited. As stated earlier pins are made out of available metals and the mix can rage from highly magnetic to little reaction at all.

Trade Winds Pins said:

Ultimately, it's up the individual CM to decide if they will trade with you or not (kid or adult), and that has been the rule from the beginning.
...

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It's my understanding that the CM's have the option to wear a pin trading lanyard or sash during their shifts. But, if they wear one, they must trade, if asked. Of course, CM's and guests are to follow the Disney Pin Trading Guidelines. I don't think that a CM that wears pins for trade can tell a guest that they won't trade with them.

On the topic of cast members getting funny ideas about what proves the validity of a pin:

I was at Downtown Disney a few weeks ago and asked to trade with a young female cast member for Pin 16340: DS - Magical Musical Moments #29 - Two Worlds (Jane and Tarzan) . She warned me that it was a "fake" pin, and for confirmation, she held it up and showed me the back. It was stamped with the "fotoball" logo backing, which a lot of pins were released with. I guess because of the mood I was in, I didn't want to act like I was some know-it-all expert, so I just asked if I could please trade for it anyway. She gave it to me without trading. I asked her what would have happened to the pin otherwise, and she said she had planned to turn it into her manager and she figured they would get rid of it somehow. Which I don't think they ever do. I think EVERYTHING probably ends up back in circulation one way or another. I asked one of the pin developers about that at a trading night once, and she said that they pretty much never take a loss on pins. She claimed that all those cuties that the lanyards fill up with get sent to Japan, where they are more popular or in demand. I think that is my only cast member zap so far, but it goes along with the deranged manager story in showing how CMs can be just as confused as new traders with all the ins and outs of the scrapper problem.

john gibson said:

I think EVERYTHING probably ends up back in circulation one way or another.

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Surprisingly, they don't. I've seen huge piles of fake, damaged pins that get recycled. They just dump them in the trash and go on with their day.
Or at least that's what they do down here at WDW.

But, if they wear one, they must trade, if asked. Of course, CM's and guests are to follow the Disney Pin Trading Guidelines. I don't think that a CM that wears pins for trade can tell a guest that they won't trade with them.

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They can tell a guest they won't trade with them--with a reason, of course, not "I don't feel like trading with you." I don't know if the Disney parks still have them, but they used to have little handout brochures with pin trading rules on them, and the very last thing you read was that it was up to the individual CM to decide if they were going to pin trade with a guest.

A few weeks ago, while going through some pins at my house, I came across a few Sedesmas. For those who don't know, Sedesma is a company in Europe that has legal/licensing rights to make Disney pins and sell them. They feel like they're made of plastic, but they're made of some metal Disney doesn't use. I took them to DLR to see if they would be tradeable with CMs. Some took them, a couple said they couldn't (and I didn't push it). It's up to the CM.

Trade Winds Pins said:

I took them to DLR to see if they would be tradeable with CMs. Some took them, a couple said they couldn't (and I didn't push it). It's up to the CM.

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They don't have brochures that I know of here at WDW. I have a CM lanyard that came attached with a guideline plastic card.
It has the rules on it, of course, but no where does it say they can or can't trade. So I guess it's definitely up to them.

Wow, that is amazing. The manager handled that very poorly. I would definitely follow up on this. A letter is good but at least stopping and sharing the experience at City Hall would be something.

Roxane said:

I always wish the Disney would do something about the scrapper problem. Even though the manager was wrong with the whole magnet theory, I'm glad he wants to stop the spread of scrappers. If the guy had been trading scrappers, he would have deserved to be called out about it.

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+1 the CM went about it wrong..but i for one am very happy to know that sum ppl do care. This is not the first post of CMs doing or saying crazy things about fakes or that they are looking for them now. I hope that they learn how to do there job better.... but always happy when ppl try to help the hobby...

???? Would it have been ok If it were a known SHARK and the pins were fake... ????? just wonder ???? i think a pull to the side talk would b better.... Than agian i hate sharks...so put them on blast is ok with me.. lol