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QUESTION Tips for Introducing the next generation of Pin Traders?

So I've been pin collecting since 2005ish (omg when did time pass?) but was last in the parks in 2015.

I'm going to the Girl Scout convention in Disney World this July and have been tasked with teaching the girls joining us (just the ones from my area) about Pins (buying, trading, lanyards, etc)

My question(s) is/are:
What would you have wanted to know about pins and pin trading when you first started out.
And what, if anything, has changed about trading and etiquette since I was there last?
I want them to enjoy it like I have so they have a part of the Park they can show off and a hobby they can partake in when they aren't in the parks. :)

Thanks for your help in advance!!!

(I purchased/am donating traders/my less fave pins to start them out)
 
Click to expand...
There must be some way to try and warn them about scrappers so they don't end up disappointed later having traded good for bad. Maybe a handout for them on what to look out for basically with photo examples. And/or maybe a table with actual scrapper examples vs actual authentic pins that they can see touch understand before they go into the parks? Could easily make a game of it where they have to pick which one is fake and which one is real with a simple sticker/candy/or cheap pin prize or something at the end? (If you have multiple pairs of fakes/authentic pins then they could retry after getting it wrong so everyone can end up getting confidence getting it right in the end) And if there is a handout/card they could carry with them in the parks to reference to try and stay clear of the fakes.

Perhaps a list of places outside the Parks themselves where they can trade like @stratasfan was able to on a recent thread. going resort hotel to hotel etc. So that if they are in the area again but not spending money to get into the parks they know that they can still trade in the free areas? And info on where they can purchase pins at a discount safely like the Disney outlet etc.

Lastly maybe a tip or two on how they can have fun displaying there collection when they get home like with a corkboard etc. Ideas that they can easily do that would be fun for them to enjoy after their trip :)

Oh and one more. A tip for them on not trading a expensive pin for a cheap pin. Helping them know that if you bought an individual pin its probably better to keep it and by a package of multiple pins for trading as the value of the pins they are trading for is likely to be more even. So many sharks try to take rack pins or LE pins from kids for scrappers or HM pins. :(
 
Age?

Scrappers are not avoidable unfortunately as 99% of boards are all “questionable origin” focus on their favorites Or memories

Then focus on being good trades, asking to see the board, not taking forever to trade, saying thank you etc.
 
-em said:
Age?

Scrappers are not avoidable unfortunately as 99% of boards are all “questionable origin” focus on their favorites Or memories

Then focus on being good trades, asking to see the board, not taking forever to trade, saying thank you etc.
Click to expand...
That's a great point, depending on age it may be too much for them to try an handle the concept of scrappers. Plus there families may have already bought some online "lots" for them.:eeyore:
 
Maybe limit the amount of pins you give them for trade to a very small number - sometimes having a lanyard full of pins inspires more constant trading, whereas only having two or three pins each inspires more selectivity for what they will wind up with and less disappointment at one person winding up with a lanyard full of good stuff and others with a lanyard full of junk.

Because as noted, there's a lot of junk on boards and lanyards (speaking from a DLR perspective but assuming same for WDW.)

Best guidance to the girls on avoiding fakes as they go if they're old enough to understand the concept: if they see the same dozen pins on every board, assume they are fake. Look for what's different on there.

But ultimately, they should trade for what they like, with the understanding that not everything they see is a great quality pin and the focus can be on manners and socialization during the trading process.
 
Jabberwocky said:
Maybe limit the amount of pins you give them for trade to a very small number - sometimes having a lanyard full of pins inspires more constant trading, whereas only having two or three pins each inspires more selectivity for what they will wind up with and less disappointment at one person winding up with a lanyard full of good stuff and others with a lanyard full of junk.

Because as noted, there's a lot of junk on boards and lanyards (speaking from a DLR perspective but assuming same for WDW.)

Best guidance to the girls on avoiding fakes as they go if they're old enough to understand the concept: if they see the same dozen pins on every board, assume they are fake. Look for what's different on there.

But ultimately, they should trade for what they like, with the understanding that not everything they see is a great quality pin and the focus can be on manners and socialization during the trading process.
Click to expand...
Yup it’s mostly ‘PoQO’ pins (pins of questionable origin) at WDW- few decent pins surface but it’s rare… on my office days I’ll swing by the Studios boards on my way in and out and am lucky to trade 2-3 over the few days-
 
I had another thought as well, if the girls each got a package (do they still sell those baggies with 5 pins in them?) of mystery pins then they could all trade with each other. Then they would be guarenteed to have traded for legit pins, had the fun of trading if they wanted to. And have a few pins to wear on a lanyard. Just a thought :)
 
-em said:
Age?

Scrappers are not avoidable unfortunately as 99% of boards are all “questionable origin” focus on their favorites Or memories

Then focus on being good trades, asking to see the board, not taking forever to trade, saying thank you etc.
Click to expand...
They're between 8 and 15 I believe.
 
Jabberwocky said:
Maybe limit the amount of pins you give them for trade to a very small number - sometimes having a lanyard full of pins inspires more constant trading, whereas only having two or three pins each inspires more selectivity for what they will wind up with and less disappointment at one person winding up with a lanyard full of good stuff and others with a lanyard full of junk.

Because as noted, there's a lot of junk on boards and lanyards (speaking from a DLR perspective but assuming same for WDW.)

Best guidance to the girls on avoiding fakes as they go if they're old enough to understand the concept: if they see the same dozen pins on every board, assume they are fake. Look for what's different on there.

But ultimately, they should trade for what they like, with the understanding that not everything they see is a great quality pin and the focus can be on manners and socialization during the trading
Click to expand...

noone said:
There must be some way to try and warn them about scrappers so they don't end up disappointed later having traded good for bad. Maybe a handout for them on what to look out for basically with photo examples. And/or maybe a table with actual scrapper examples vs actual authentic pins that they can see touch understand before they go into the parks? Could easily make a game of it where they have to pick which one is fake and which one is real with a simple sticker/candy/or cheap pin prize or something at the end? (If you have multiple pairs of fakes/authentic pins then they could retry after getting it wrong so everyone can end up getting confidence getting it right in the end) And if there is a handout/card they could carry with them in the parks to reference to try and stay clear of the fakes.

Perhaps a list of places outside the Parks themselves where they can trade like @stratasfan was able to on a recent thread. going resort hotel to hotel etc. So that if they are in the area again but not spending money to get into the parks they know that they can still trade in the free areas? And info on where they can purchase pins at a discount safely like the Disney outlet etc.

Lastly maybe a tip or two on how they can have fun displaying there collection when they get home like with a corkboard etc. Ideas that they can easily do that would be fun for them to enjoy after their trip :)

Oh and one more. A tip for them on not trading a expensive pin for a cheap pin. Helping them know that if you bought an individual pin its probably better to keep it and by a package of multiple pins for trading as the value of the pins they are trading for is likely to be more even. So many sharks try to take rack pins or LE pins from kids for scrappers or HM pins. :(
Click to expand...
Good points! If they/they're parents spend $20 on a pin trading it for an old trading pin might be disappointing. I'll bring my "good" pins along with my traders to show 'em.
Thanks!
 
noone said:
I had another thought as well, if the girls each got a package (do they still sell those baggies with 5 pins in them?) of mystery pins then they could all trade with each other. Then they would be guarenteed to have traded for legit pins, had the fun of trading if they wanted to. And have a few pins to wear on a lanyard. Just a thought :)
Click to expand...
They do sell the 5-pin mystery set baggies at the parks but they're now up to $35/bag so certainly not as cheap as they used to be (but what is?)!

I agree those are still the best "starters" for newbies because there is such a wide selection of pin types amongst the bagged sets and opening mystery packs is always fun. At DLR, the currently popular ones include the newest Munchlings, Food Trucks and the new Kawaii Marvel set. :) But Wishables pins seem popular amongst the tourists as well.

The newest bagged hidden mickey 2-packs are also extremely popular traders - and a low cost way to just buy a pair of pins rather than a 5-pack, but I think it's still $15 for those 2-packs?
 
Jabberwocky said:
They do sell the 5-pin mystery set baggies at the parks but they're now up to $35/bag so certainly not as cheap as they used to be (but what is?)!

I agree those are still the best "starters" for newbies because there is such a wide selection of pin types amongst the bagged sets and opening mystery packs is always fun. At DLR, the currently popular ones include the newest Munchlings, Food Trucks and the new Kawaii Marvel set. :) But Wishables pins seem popular amongst the tourists as well.

The newest bagged hidden mickey 2-packs are also extremely popular traders - and a low cost way to just buy a pair of pins rather than a 5-pack, but I think it's still $15 for those 2-packs?
Click to expand...
You've referenced great pins to purchase and trade.

The Cast Disney Silver Pouches are $14.99 each.



Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk
 
Wenzel said:
My question(s) is/are:
What would you have wanted to know about pins and pin trading when you first started out.
And what, if anything, has changed about trading and etiquette since I was there last?
Click to expand...
First and foremost, have fun. If you aren't having fun, why are you pin trading?

I wish someone had told me to select a maximum of a few favorite characters or themes to collect and limit my collection to those rather than collecting everything shiny with a pointy back attached that came on a card labelled 'limited edition.' Sadly, that's not an exaggeration. When I first started collecting back in 2002-2003, I was advised by several well-intentioned cast members and pin-trading guests of the characters and themes that were popular, that I should purchase anything that featured them, along with every limited edition release, because they would be 'good traders.' I didn't know any better so of course I bought multiples of every. single. limited. edition. release. for. too. many. years. My pins have gotten so disorganized, I haven't been able to trade for years. I'm in the process of getting things straightened out, but it's a task and it'll take a while.

If I had it to do over again, I would just focus on the characters that I truly love instead of buying everything at every release because it might be a 'good trader' or 'valuable' at some point in the future. Having learned from one of my biggest mistakes, I always recommend that new pin traders choose no more than a few characters/themes to collect and adhere to them to keep their collections under control, bearing in mind:
-a collection can be defined as narrowly or broadly as one chooses
-if one tires of a character/theme, one either can put it aside or trade it away and actively pursue another one
-one always can expand or downsize one's collection at any time

As far as pin trading etiquette, there's two different types of pin trading: with cast members and with other guests. As far as I'm concerned, the etiquette for both forms hasn't ... or shouldn't have ... changed much, or at all. After all, so much of it revolves around basic manners, courtesy, respect, and common sense.

When trading with cast members, don't ever touch the lanyard or pin board without permission. If you can't see a cast member's lanyard well enough, politely ask if you can see it closer (but obviously don't touch the lanyard without permission). Don't remove a pin from or add a pin to a lanyard or board without permission. Always use 'please' and 'thank you,' but don't think you must make a trade if you don't see anything you want; the pins the cast members are wearing/watching over 'belong to Mickey' and they shouldn't feel offended if you don't want to trade. If you do wish to trade, it's pin-for-pin and there usually are two restrictions on the guest:
1. that the pin is an authorized pin
2. that the pin isn't already on the cast member's lanyard/pin board (although this requirement sometimes is ignored, depending upon the circumstances)
This is the way trading with cast members always has been since I've learned to trade back in 2002-2003 (yikes!); if the etiquette has changed, I missed the memo, but the old fashioned way still works just fine.

When trading with guests, well, this can be a bit harder for several reasons, least of all they're not in the parks in the numbers they used to be. A few years ago, pin traders used to be in the parks every time there was a limited edition pin release. Now? Not so much. But assuming you can find pin traders 'in the wild' and you want to attempt to trade with them, I recommend walking up to them and asking if you can look through their book(s). If you have a book, let them look through yours at the same time. If you see something for which you're interested in trading, let them know (they'll do the same) and see if you can work out a trade. It should go without saying but do not remove anything from their book(s) without permission. The thing to keep in mind is that guests are not limited to a pin-for-pin trade and can ask for anything in trade, regardless of how fair it is. Not only will every guest not trade fairly, some guests will trade this way knowingly (I'm speaking in generalities without any one particular person in mind; in other words, I'm not calling out anyone). The best way to avoid an unfair trade is to know the value of the pin(s) you wish to trade and always use common sense. If an offer seems too good to be true, it likely is. Never make a trade unless you're 100% comfortable with it and remember that a polite 'no, thank you' is just as acceptable an answer as a 'yes, I'd like to trade, please.'

I can elaborate more on the nuances and intricacies of trading with guests, but for a first time pin trading experience, I'd recommend staying with cast member trading and enjoying the parks (I've heard there even are attractions!). If the girls enjoy pin trading, they can expand into trading with guests later, when they have a better grasp of the habit ... er ... hobby.
 
Thank you! I'll definitely advise them against trading with non cast member strangers! At least until they're a bit older/have a better handle on it. I definitely forgot about stranger danger in terms of trading! In my head I was like "it's Disney and Pin Trading people won't take advantage of a child" but, unfortunately, there are bad eggs everywhere.
 
Wenzel said:
Thank you! I'll definitely advise them against trading with non cast member strangers! At least until they're a bit older/have a better handle on it. I definitely forgot about stranger danger in terms of trading! In my head I was like "it's Disney and Pin Trading people won't take advantage of a child" but, unfortunately, there are bad eggs everywhere.
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Even more ... I don't know if you'd say it's shocking, disturbing, disappointing, or all of the above ... but some of the biggest sharks I've encountered in terms of taking advantage of new traders have been children/teens. If you were at the parks often enough, you would see these children/teens there; these weren't instances of uninformed traders accidentally offering lopsided trades because they didn't know better. These traders definitely were versed in pin values and knew exactly what they were doing; even worse, they were using their ages to help them get away with it. If trading with a child/teen, especially for more than an open edition rack pin or cast lanyard/hidden mickey, don't make the trade without their parent's or guardian's involvement/permission.
 
Yeah back in the day i remember sharks that used kids to go off and do the trade and then they would report back to the shark with the good pins having "innocently" traded there junk for it. It was pretty awful.

Another possibility would be picking up enough $3 traders at a place like My-D Pins and making your own "mystery pin bags" that the kiddos could "purchase" for cheaper than the $35 packs. They could be setup as mystery brown bags or whatever and then they each open them and find out what they got and can trade each other etc the same for the real pins. Would be easy enough to quick wrap the pins in tissue paper inside the brown bag for that extra unwrapping fun after opening the bag to see what they got. $3 x 5 pins should work out to be alot more affordable for the scouts even if you mark it up for tax etc.
 
firechief18 said:
When we went to the parks I would show our son what pins I needed to finish a set. He was much better at spotting pins. If he saw one he'd grab me and off we'd go to my wife's dismay. ( Sometimes we forgot to tell her we got sidetracked).
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Always awesome to have a little help on the hunt :)
 
I'd stick away from the whole scrappers thing. Just get them to focus on decision making (which is something that younger gens are not really good at these days and need to be encouraged to make decisions on their own) and how to trade and have fun just trading. Manners (like eye contact, "please" and "thank you" when trading, etc.), choosing something themselves just because they like it for whatever reason, trading for the fun of it . . . I'd focus on all the fun and not worry or address scrappers. Let them enjoy looking at different characters and themes and picking something that appeals! Just my 2 cents there after trying to help a lot of little kids get interested in pin trading at Disney Springs!
 
Sounds like a fun trip and project! Pin traders always needs newbies :)
Other than the hobby, being a money pit, my addition is, pins fall off lanyards unless secured with better backers. If this has been mentioned above, sorry I'm repeating, but losing a pin that's fallen off is disappointing/frustrating.
Have a Great time!
 
Wenzel said:
New item by maria wenzel
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Had a meeting with a few of the girls last night to make swaps and talk pins! They and they're parents were all super greatful for all the tips and tricks you all passed along. They were able to leave with some starters thanks to firechief18 and they're parents were super happy to have a focus for their shopping. Pin expenses can add up but they're still cheaper than a bunch of Mickey ears! And trading helps keep things fresh. I still have several girls to meet with but that's gonna happen on the plan/in the air port. Thanks again for all your help and advice :)
 
Thanks once again everyone!! The girls had an absolute blast pin trading. I got some hooked and others are definitely going to be making life long collections. One of the older girls is a little socially awkward and was having some confidence issues and Pin Trading has really helped her bridge the gap this week. She was able to use the advice you all helped pass along while collecting SWAPS from other girl scouts which was really rewarding to watch. She went from not feeling comfortable talking to anyone to being able to ask to look at cast members pin boards to asking complete strangers where they were from and if they had any SWAPS left that she could have. (There are a couple ways to collect them that I won't go into unless someone wants to message me separately to ask.)
Two other little girls got really excited about it and one filled up TWO brand new lanyards full of pins. Her sister is 6 and had to learn not to grab other people's lanyards. Which is a good lesson to learn and I'm glad she learned it with me and not a rando.
Cute story time: I had a couple extra traders that I used when a kid was having some sensory issues or their parents did not want to buy another thing and I would let them pick one they wanted to start their collection and the parents always looked super relieved/grateful. One even found me later (kid) and gave me a hug while showing off what they traded for.
I had a random 5 year old GS who came up to me the last night of the convention and asked me in a teeny tiny voice if I would "twade wid her. Pweese it was her first trade ever!" And was extremely happy when I said "Of course!"
Thanks again everyone for all your tips and tricks! The girls all had a great time. :)
 
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