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Shucks! Got bamboozled my a bad trader in the parks :(

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Shucks! Got bamboozled my a bad trader in the parks :(
MerlinEmrys

MerlinEmrys

Hicitus Pinicus!
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So I've never taken my trader pins into the parks because a) I'm afraid I'll lose them or b) I don't want to carry them. XD well, I condensed down to some "low stakes" traders and some I've had for ages into a small trading bag and was ready to make some trades in EPCOT!

Well, I met a very eager trader today who had some pretty good stuff, and wasn't asking the world for them, so I thought it was a solid experience. Come to find out, two of the three pins she traded me were fakes (the one safe pin was still wrapped) and after doing some searches for others I remember, every blessed one was fake. :(

b15c556592f1ef1f91c87193573c8730.jpg


The was the one I was most excited for, and the more I stared at it later today, the more it looked off.

bce7caf3f8f51cb433663bd8dc6d54c4.jpg


But it has that number print! I thought surely it's fine. Well, I compared it to one from the same set that I know is real and this one is an obvious fake:

e33b7bb369c88a716ce9aa07e6f30f1f.jpg


The "Temple" text is all wrong. And the printed number on the back isn't the same font.

I mean, honestly, I didn't lose anything earth shattering. It's just frustrating that I finally take my pins to the park and this chick has to put a smudge on it. *sigh* oh well, live and learn.


But fear not! Check the Zap threads and you'll see something that majorly made up for this. ;P not to mention the ton of fun I had at the International Festival of Art! :D

Just be vigilant, friends! :3

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Sorry this happened to you, Merlin. I've been burned at the parks before, and it's no fun -- even less when you're trying to trade for something you want! Hopefully it was an innocent mistake, though that doesn't necessarily make it any better. I'm glad the grail zaps made up for it :)
 
Thanks guys. :3 I'm more frustrated than anything. XD now I'll just have to trust my gut more. XD but I'm definitely brining my traders again. Can't let this be the one experience. ;P

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Wow that isn't fun! Sorry to hear that happened to you. :( You were at Epcot today? I was too! But got ripped off on a trade with a some guy....oh well. I should've just said no to the deal. It wasn't as nice of a pin as the one you just had a bad experience. Trading in the parks is for sure I guess interesting.


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WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!? No one messes with my Merly!!!!! I'm jetting back down there ASAP to sort this ... this ... pin-fink out.

<3 Sorry this happened to you. But I'm glad you won't let it deter you from more park trading.
 
I'm sorry this happend to you :( I had a similar experience at Epcot tables he was trying to get me to trade uk pins for his Jerry Leigh pins and I said no and he was going on about How hard to find his pins are I just walked away I did see a couple of fakes in people's collections and as soon as I see them I stay well clear of them what I find helps is taking a torch with me as it's very hard to look at the pins at the Epcot tables as there's not a lot of lights hope you can see him again to sort this out was this person a regular trader? If so I would pop back and explain to him hope this helps Damien
 
Awww so sorry to hear that, Merlin.

I had the same thing happen at Epcot actually, back when we just started trading I traded a new LE release for a pin I really liked, only to realise it was a fake when we got home and started logging our pins to continue the hobby. Luckily we also met a bunch of other traders who were very friendly and gave us great trading memories. So we'll definitely be going back there to trade next time we do WDW, but with more caution.
 
Ugh. That sucks. Partially the reason I don't trade much in the parks, especially my good stuff. Epcot has some sharks and obviously some scammers. Shame, because they tarnish the reputation good traders try to build up.
 
maxtrexmom said:
So sorry that happened! I like to think people just don't know better yet but sadly that's probably not always the case.
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Considering the AMOUNT of pins she had, and the fact that she mentioned pinpics, I think it was deliberate...

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momin.ator said:
Maybe you could find her again and get your pins back. :(
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Probably not, but again, I didn't lose much. So in all honesty, it could have been a lot worse. Hahah. If nothing else, I'll know to trust my gut more when I trade there. :3 that lesson alone is worth the pins I traded. :)

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SiuJerkJai said:
Oh, no! The way people can be dishonest about Disney pins of all things continues to astound me.
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I feel that way about all the ways sharks feed. So many ways to ride the back of the mouse. Very sad to take advantage of such a happy place.
WWWDD
 
Oh man, this sucks to read. When I went to WDW (first/only time) a few years ago I didn't know anything about pins. I bought some starter packs on the advice of my cousin who I went with (a seasoned 12-year-old WDW veteran, lol) and traded with some cast members and some pin boards in the shops. Come to find out recently as I started to collect pins "for real" that almost everything I traded for at the park was fake. I primarily got suckered by the dreaded Villains bowling pin set. :(

I want to go back to WDW but I won't be doing any trading there until I'm much better at spotting fakes. Thanks for the heads up!
 
I don't know what is more frustrating, the fact that all of these unauthorized pins are available, or knowing that there are traders that know perfectly well they are unauthorized and buy them to dupe traders out of authentic pins. It makes it hard for me to purchase and trade online because I don't know what long-time traders are willingly engaging in defrauding other traders, which traders just don't know any better, and which traders are trading authentic pins.
 
hopemax said:
I don't know what is more frustrating, the fact that all of these unauthorized pins are available, or knowing that there are traders that know perfectly well they are unauthorized and buy them to dupe traders out of authentic pins. It makes it hard for me to purchase and trade online because I don't know what long-time traders are willingly engaging in defrauding other traders, which traders just don't know any better, and which traders are trading authentic pins.
Click to expand...

Definitely traders that buy and trade fakes! If traders didn't give them business there wouldn't be as many available!
 
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