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Trader meanies

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Trader meanies
Yeah, I definitely blame Disney for part of the scrapper problem, they should be throwing them away, or at least the ones that are so bad you know they aren't real(like those icky DCA grizzly trail ones that no one likes, the real ones are equally as ugly). Some of the CM's take their boards seriously and refresh more often. I've actually found some of the best pins at DCA, they refresh way more often than DLR.

Ugh, the Disney Gangs and the Pin Mafia, that's what me and my friend call the sharks now, The Pin Mafia!

I like having a page just for little kids, they don't really know the difference in value so it's better to keep it separate from my other traders , half the time they just pick what they like, (unless theyre older and/or have a pin bag) I have some of my mystery bag extras, a lot of the Selfie ones you get in the little black bags and they really like the Candy Skulls so I keep a few of those in there and then just a mix of HM's and that kind of stuff, and I always ask the parents if it's ok, sometimes they are sharing a lanyard with their child to keep track of the pins. Really really little kids(3yr to 8yrs) like to ask me for trades, I think it's cause I don't look as old as I really am, or it's just cause I have a friendly face

When it comes to counterfeits and fakes, I think the only reason why I don't pick them up accidently as often as other people is cause of the way the metal looks, I have a really bad metal allergy so I can't wear anything but gold or surgical steel (makes my skin infected and then it bleeds)so i think it's just years of avoiding alloy and cheap looking metal that's ward's me away from them, that and my mom says I have exceptionally expensive taste so I tend to gravitate toward certain shineys that catch my eye. But I am working on a comparison board that I'll post once it's done, way easier when you can see them side by side, scrappers is another story though... they can be much harder to distinguish from the real pin.

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Well said, Sami, elitism is extremely aggravating in all of its forms. It's so unfortunate when snobby people ruin the fun for everyone who may not have as much money or time to devote to hobbies, ugh.
And yeah, even if I lived close to the parks (and oh how I wish I did!!!), I don't think I would participate in the in-person events after the way you all are describing them. I'm quite happy to stick with eBay and online trading, and I would never wear any of my Lock, Shock and Barrel pins to a park because none of them are for trading, they're just for me to hoard and enjoy, LOL! XD
 
What is your Doomboard? A scrapper display of some sort?

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Sami said:
Something like that, scappers, fakes and counterfeits side by side with their real pins. It's really just to help people see the difference between the real vs. Fake

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Ohhh I can't wait to see that. I always love to see how obvious some of the differences are.
 
I have traded several times at the park (Disneyland), and overall have had really great experiences. There are some really awesome traders that trade there, and I have gotten some great pins from my wants list.

I have been pin trading for several years now, but even so, it is still hard to know or remember the stats on every pin. When I am trading in the park, if I am uncertain about something (value wise, LE size, wants/trades etc.), I just look it up. I ask the trader if they are okay with me doing that before deciding, and no one has ever said no (If they did, I think they would probably be trying to hide something).

While my experiences have been mostly positive as I have said, my one pet peeve is when traders get "clicky." Being an out of town trader, when we go to the parks to trade, it is few and far between. It is clear that many of the traders there go very often and begin to know eachother. Sometimes as an outsider you can get the vibe that you are unwanted, or not "cool enough" to enter into their area. Honestly I have avoided approaching some traders because I didn't feel like I would be welcomed. Whether that is the case or not, the vibes they give out make you feel like you don't belong in their "pin clique." We should be welcoming of everyone, for the sake of human decency, and because you never know who may have your grail! We are all valuable as people and pin traders.
 
I think that's the main reason I trade very little at the parks, if ever anymore. There's always this weird vibe around the tables - it's hard to describe, but it's kind of like a mix of "I can tell my pins are better than yours before looking at your books" and "I don't recognize you so I'm not really interested in what you have in the first place." I know one or two people who are there sometimes that I'll say hi to if I see them as I swing by, but I often just avoid the area altogether.

It might be different if I lived closer and went all the time. *shrugs*
 
^ I always just feel sorry for people with that pin snob attitude - it's so ignorant. Don't judge a pin book or pin trader by its cover. If you can't even stop your conversation with the same person you've been talking to at the next table or bench all day to talk to the person who stopped to look at your books, you may be missing out on some nice pins as perhaps the person waiting to look at your books may have better pins for trade than you'd imagine. Or not. But you'll never know if you're busy ignoring them.
 
Does anyone have any advice, or is there a thread for talking to your kids about pin trading? My son will be turning 4 right before our trip and I think he'd love trading, but I don't exactly want to buy him real pins to trade and end up with a bunch of fakes. How do I explain to a little kid that he can't/shouldn't pick a pin from a board because it isn't real? I know the fun is in the trading, and if he likes it, who cares, but it's not cheap.
 
I think that one may be a little more difficult when they're that young, children of that age are more excitable and grab anything they like.
My sister is 13, when I started her on pins she was 12... I have fake pins that I show her so she can see what at least the bad ones look like. I told her before she pulls a pin to run her finger over it before she pulls if off, if it's flush and thick then it's more likely to be a good pin.(this trick doesn't always work but it's an easy safe for less bad fakes) She's been following that trick for a bit now and she pulls less scrap pins every time we go. Sometimes I just point out specific pins that I think she should trade for and she usually just follows what I tell her. She started to notice the bad pins as she was seeing the same ones on every board and CM lanyard that weren't good pins.
But my sister was in that pre-teen/teen stage already so it was easier to explain. I used to work with kindergarten, and in my experience with much younger children is that they need the visual to show then what's good and what's not, it's harder to explain something to them in theory, but they usually need visual and practice to gain a solid understanding. Sometimes my sister does pick up a scrapper that she just really likes I don't see any harm in that if she just really likes it and wants to keep it.

When I purchase the mystery pin bags I buy many of them at one time, they come out between $10-$12 a pack so I'm only paying maybe $2.50 per pin and I get lots of doubles so it doesn't bother me too much when I'm loosing only $2.50 if someone picks up a bad pin. I think pin trading is a very long learning process for anyone with lots of trial and error. I would limit them amount of pins you're putting on your child's lanyard, suggest to them as much as possible that this is the amount they are allowed to trade so try to only trade what they really really want and like and when they've all been traded they're done for the day. (I know that sound a little mean but I like setting boundaries and sticking to them, they can be very helpful when learning) other than that, I would say not to get mad if it isn't a good pin, sometimes with kids it's just for fun and they'll just keep trading the same set over and over again till the end of the day and are just happy that got to participate in the experience. Hope this helps!

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Here are my thoughts and opinions.

My sisters have kids and they love pin trading. My niece and nephews started trading around 4 or 5 years old. They now range in age from 4 to 13 on our most recent trip in October of this year.

We buy pins at the outlet to trade. I got several booster packs last year around $12. I give each child a lanyard with 7 to 10 pins. The kids trade for what they like.

My 4 year old nephew will trade for the same pin everyday and trade it away. He has the best time looking.

When they turn about 7 or 8, I think they appear better able to identify poor quality pins. Still my nephew who loves Chip and Dale is 10 and could care less about "value." If a pin has Chip and Dale on it and looks nice, he has and would leave "better" pins for it.

My nephew who is 7 is kind hearted and trades for what other people like. We let all the kids trade for what they want. We do try to remind them of pins we see that fit one of their collections, but otherwise we let them be.

Talk to them about being polite and following the pin trading rules. Let them have fun but explain once they trade a pin it's gone. At night we let the kids take off any pin they love and they trade the next day.

Have fun!


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