New Buzzfeed article encourages fakes.

[Patrick]

Buzzfeed just posted an article of reader-sourced Disney Park hacks.. see below for one of their suggestions (pictured with a handful of fantasy pins, mind you.)

5. Upgrade your Disney pins with cast members.

"Buy a bunch of cheap Disney pins off eBay and bring them to the parks. The cast members wear lanyards with a lot of cool collectible pins just waiting for someone to ask to trade. It's a cheap way to get souvenirs and it's kind of fun to see who can get the coolest ones." —yosephu

People On Reddit Shared The Best Disney Parks Hacks And They're Super Helpful

Ugh 🙁


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[akarih]

I saw that! I was going to post it but decided it wasn't all that interesting... don't take advice from Buzzfeed articles people

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[Abyssinian28]

Ugh. I mostly feel sorry for the collectors just starting out. Because, let's be honest...for a lot of kids and parents, this is a temporary amusement, a way to keep the kids (or themselves) entertained while on vacation. So if you tell them about how the cheaper pins on eBay are fakes, they might or might not care (depending on how they feel about counterfeits in general).

But tourists, young and old, who do it and then catch the trading bug...they're the ones that get the crushing news that the beginning of their collections are likely all fake pins.

 

[pincrazy]

Ugh! No wonder there's so many bad pins lately at the park!

Seems there's new people trading and have their trading pinfolio, small Mickey pin trading bag, etc., with mostly common pins, but trading pins with CM is in a plastic bag. 🙁

 

[dancecats]

Here's something even scarier: when I first started collecting pins (way back when), I was given that exact same piece of advice (buy pins in lots online and trade them onto lanyards) FROM a CAST MEMBER in order to save money.

But I think @Abyssinian28 has it exactly right. Most people dabble in pin trading at the parks as a diversion, a way to keep young children from having a meltdown between meals or attractions, or perhaps keep themselves entertained or just as something new to try. I very much doubt the vast majority of them know (or care) there's a difference between counterfeit/scrapped and legit pins - at least, until they decide to start collecting seriously. And how many of these casual holiday traders likely are going to make the leap from dabbling to serious collector status? My guess: not many. At most, if they enjoy pins, they'll continue trading with Cast Members during future trips, but very few will expand beyond that.

 

[Shelterkat]

Well I wrote to Miss Farrah about it so I'll let you know what she says.😛

 

[krand1276]

On the last day of our trip to DLR, my husband and I camped out at the Starbucks in DCA (Fiddler Fifer) to get shelter from the 90 degree weather. He went to the restroom near Humphries and stopped in to check the pin board on the way back. He said that the CM was turning people down and letting them know their pins weren’t real. Sort of applauded the action, however... the pins the CM had to trade were also scrappers.

 

[Patrick]

On the last day of our trip to DLR, my husband and I camped out at the Starbucks in DCA (Fiddler Fifer) to get shelter from the 90 degree weather. He went to the restroom near Humphries and stopped in to check the pin board on the way back. He said that the CM was turning people down and letting them know their pins weren’t real. Sort of applauded the action, however... the pins the CM had to trade were also scrappers.

Wow... I didn’t know they were allowed to do that! At least he was trying? Yikes.


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[dancecats]

Wow... I didn’t know they were allowed to do that! At least he was trying? Yikes.


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I didn't know Cast Members are allowed to do that either. I believe that Cast Members at DLRP are allowed that sort of discretion in declining trades, but that is the exception, not the rule. It's my understanding that unless something has changed, Cast Members at DLR/WDW are REQUIRED to accept in trade ANY Disney pin that has Disney's backstamp that isn't already on the lanyard. I don't know about pin trading policies at Shanghai or HKDL, but I know that pin trading was banned at TDR for reasons that have nothing to do with this ... but I digress.

Getting back on topic to the $64,000 question (well, questions): is this a new policy? Do DLR/WDW Cast Members now have the right to decline trades when they believe the offered pin in trade is counterfeit/scrapped? And more to the point, if this isn't the new policy, are they overstepping by declining trades when the current, official policy states that they MUST accept any 'official' pin that meets Disney's criteria?

While I appreciate the effort that Cast Member is making to curtail the spread of counterfeit and scrapped pins, I would have more respect if he/she also removed them from the lanyard from which guests were trading. I think it's a bit hypocritical for a Cast Member to knowingly require (possibly uneducated or uninformed) guests to trade real pins when they're receiving nothing but counterfeit or scrapped pins in return. I think it would have been far more effective under the circumstances to make the trade and quietly educate the guests about pins.

 

[krand1276]

We didn’t take it as new policy, just a cast member doing their own thing (it wouldn’t be the first time). We had a conversation once with two cast members. They had just traded with a lady who had just learned about scrappers and they had questions of how you can tell, so we were happy to talk with them about it. We told the basics of the little baggies, wrong/missing colors, streaky paint surface and paint dips (the last two are becoming far too common on authentic pins lately, though). Our easiest example to show them were the HM Nemo fish in bags on their board and how the tops should be white, but in the scrappers they’re yellow. They seemed to think the info was pretty neat and were happy to learn about it. Anyway, the point of this story is that my husband and I just thought the CM at Humphries had probably just learned something like that and was trying do what they felt was right, but was probably not all that educated on scrappers which is why they had nothing but scrappers on their “board” (it was actually a little grizzly backpack thingy).

 

[halloweenfiend]

Disney needs to hire a number of us as cast members! 😀
** halloweenfiend holding cardboard sign "will work for pins**

 

[Jabberwocky]

I think it's CM's not being properly trained. Yesterday I was at the park and a CM came out with a refreshed lanyard of all new hidden mickeys. A lady made it over to him before I did and traded for two of them. (She gave him scrappers.) Then he asked if there were any more she wanted. As I stood there right behind her and glared. Seriously? So she took two more and gave him two more scrappers. As I stood there and glared at both of them. Seriously? Then he asked if she wanted any others?!?!? I was SO irritated. I think she must have finally seen my massive stink-eye at this garbage trading as she then backed off. If I hadn't been standing there, she'd have taken the entire lanyard of new hidden mickeys and given him back a lanyard full of garbage. He then turned to me and I traded two good pins for two of the new hidden mickeys and then he asked if that was all and I "reminded" him that it was only two pin trades per person and I walked off leaving the other new pins behind for someone else. As. Should. Be.

#soirritated

#dontfeedthesharks

#trainthecms

 

[Shelterkat]

And Jabberwocky that is why I have such a hard time finding ANY new hm's!😡

 

[stratasfan]

That is too bad about the one cast member trading off so many to the same person. However, I don't think there is anything bad about the CMs having to accept scrapper pins. It would take the fun out of trading if they were allowed to say no to any pins. Also, most people don't know and/or don't care. As they are simply doing it for "trading", I like the must trade rule.

As to scrappers . . . a friend did a fun experiment. She got a Tsum Tsum pin and someone told her it was a fake because of colour and the back edge and something else. So, she went to MK and bought 5 more of the same pin and they each were totally different. Multiple shades of colour. Some smooth edges, some not. Some wavy enamel, some smooth. It was very interesting. I got an Obi Wan pin from the park and a known scrapper version, and you know . . . the scrapper had better enamel and smoother edges than the Park bought one.

Then, on the other side, I traded for a couple of these cute square cartoon face Pooh pins, and one was really nice feeling and the other weighted less than a penny and was super rough. You could tell just picking it up for the first time!

So, some I can tell, others I can't. When it comes to trading when we get to go to Disney Springs, Sis and I don't really care, as it is for the fun of trading that we do this. We simply collect for the design we like for some reason. When we go to Disney Springs once a year, we take every pin we have that's not a "must keeps" on the boards and trade them. It is so fun to trade! I don't even care if I trade for something that isn't on my want list, as I just trade with anybody! -grin- So, we rotate our pin collection that way. 🙂 Not the definite keepers, but everything else!



Also, you have to know --- Disney allows scrapper pins to be made, to be sold, and to be traded. I've seen them jump on things much bigger than scrapper pin dealers, and if Disney was not allowing/behind the scrapper/cheap pins - they would be off the market in so short a time it would take you breath away. So, Disney is not going to be bothered until they decide to not allow it. They are totally allowing them. As it is a "trading" hobby, I'm sure it doesn't matter to them if their CMs are wearing all legit pin or all scrappers. Collectible pins are the ones sold at more prices and sold as collectible pins. Trading pins are something else. When it comes to pin trading . . . the trade is the thing, not the pin value.

 

[Abyssinian28]

As to scrappers . . . a friend did a fun experiment. She got a Tsum Tsum pin and someone told her it was a fake because of colour and the back edge and something else. So, she went to MK and bought 5 more of the same pin and they each were totally different. Multiple shades of colour. Some smooth edges, some not. Some wavy enamel, some smooth. It was very interesting. I got an Obi Wan pin from the park and a known scrapper version, and you know . . . the scrapper had better enamel and smoother edges than the Park bought one.

Then, on the other side, I traded for a couple of these cute square cartoon face Pooh pins, and one was really nice feeling and the other weighted less than a penny and was super rough. You could tell just picking it up for the first time!

So, some I can tell, others I can't.

Yeah, this is why I don't bother trying to tell if something is a scrapper or not. I've watched "experts" at PTNs in the past identify something as a scrapper, when it was an official pin from one of the HM bags. Unless the pin is a hot mess, there's just no sure-fire way to tell if a pin is a scrapper.

I just don't do HMs. And if I must (like with the Duffy series), I buy the bags they eventually release.

As for all the other, non-HM pins out there...I just try and be really, really careful with who I trade and buy from. If it's something I know was counterfeited, I ask if they bought the pin from Disney themselves. I haven't had that many issues, so I guess it works.

Re: your last point, about Disney not caring about scrapper trading. I think you're kind of right, but I think it's more like the amount of money and effort it would take to shut it down is not worth it to them. I think if there were a quick and easy fix that didn't cost TOO much money, they would shut it down. But I think they saw the writing on the wall and realized what a chore it would be.

 

[stratasfan]

Yeah, this is why I don't bother trying to tell if something is a scrapper or not. I've watched "experts" at PTNs in the past identify something as a scrapper, when it was an official pin from one of the HM bags. Unless the pin is a hot mess, there's just no sure-fire way to tell if a pin is a scrapper.

I just don't do HMs. And if I must (like with the Duffy series), I buy the bags they eventually release.

As for all the other, non-HM pins out there...I just try and be really, really careful with who I trade and buy from. If it's something I know was counterfeited, I ask if they bought the pin from Disney themselves. I haven't had that many issues, so I guess it works.

Re: your last point, about Disney not caring about scrapper trading. I think you're kind of right, but I think it's more like the amount of money and effort it would take to shut it down is not worth it to them. I think if there were a quick and easy fix that didn't cost TOO much money, they would shut it down. But I think they saw the writing on the wall and realized what a chore it would be.

When it comes to HMs, Sis and I just don't care. It got too much of a chore to stay on top of what has been scrapped, etc. and what hasn't. Also, we aren't HM completists, so just trade for the pin we like from whatever release. So, we decided we didn't care for ourselves.

As to Disney not wanting to go after the scrapper/fakes market . . . I know first hand about them going after harder things, so I can't imagine they are detoured by the effort/money it would take. I think they are behind it, if you want my two cents. You know how much money they make from families whose kids get into pin trading? The average person is not even going to know about fakes, scrappers, etc. Most people we meet up with trading at Disney Springs when we go . . . they don't know and wouldn't care. Disney makes way more money letting more pins get out there than stopping the average person from pin trading and going only for collectors.

 

[shooting4ownhand]

This is sadly super common advice. I see it all the time in passholder groups and other park groups on facebook. I usually get into a fight with someone about this. This is hurting new collectors and kids who will eventually become collectors. I would be so heartbroken to know that my parents bought fake pins and I started a collection with a bunch of fakes. I only bought a bag of pins off of ebay once before I knew better. Thankfully I never traded them in the parks. They ended up just being used as thumbtacks since I did more research right after I bought them. However, so many people do this and have no problem with it. It's awful.

 

[CoryTheRaven]

When it comes to HMs, Sis and I just don't care. It got too much of a chore to stay on top of what has been scrapped, etc. and what hasn't. Also, we aren't HM completists, so just trade for the pin we like from whatever release. So, we decided we didn't care for ourselves.

Same... I didn't mind getting a few scrappers if I liked the pin, under the veil that if Disney doesn't care why should I? I would never trade them to another real person, but I don't mind for myself.

I don't know if Disney is behind them, but they could very easily cut off the supply of scrappers and fakes if they wanted to... Be more strict with the manufacturers in China, pursue the sellers on Ebay, stuff like that, which would choke the distribution without harming the consumer. Then they could accept trades of scrappers to remove them from circulation. The only reason they have not to is that, for whatever reason, they don't think it's worth their time.