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What is the deal with backer cards!?!?

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What is the deal with backer cards!?!?
lost-sun-princess said:
Thanks for the clarity - is there any rhyme or reason to which pins have these numbers? I think it's a good idea, personally... like a serial number on a computer or something...
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The thought is that it depends on the manufacturer. So if one pin has it, and one doesn't, they were probably made in different factories.

Obviously, backer cards aren't fool proof. But it's about minimizing risk. Not everyone dealing in fake pins is going to go to the extremes to make sure they have a card for every single pin they are getting rid of. For the "Jessica as" pins, a card is certainly not going to be enough to prove authenticity. But for your everyday limited edition, or open edition park pin, having a card where everything matches is going to limit your risk.
 
I have 2 of the 'same' Alice keyhole pin. One came in all the Disney Shopping packaging (ziplock/foam/card/SKU's match Pinpics) and I bought it from a seller I trust, so I'm fairly certain it's authentic. I actually bought it because I wanted to compare it to the other one I'd bought, and determine whether that one is authentic (it had come on a generic card which wasn't the correct size). I have looked at these two pins at length, and I can not see a single difference. Even the thickness is the same BUT the one I've decided is fake is 6 g lighter. I guess if I wanted to be dishonest I could put the fake in the packaging from the good one, and no one would know the difference unless you held one in each hand to feel the different weights. ...so the packaging isn't a guarantee, it's just one piece of what you're evaluating.
 
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If the pin is coming from a reputable trader/seller, the card shouldn't count. I usually save the backers from purchased pins but I'm not turning down a pin just because the card isn't there...especially if it's a great trade/price. I'm pretty sure a lot of people equate original backer card to authenticity because they're so afraid of losing a great pin or a lot of money to a fake one.
 
Personally, I don't care about the backer cards. They take up too much room, and, I mean, what am I supposed to do? Stick the pin through the card and pin it in my book that way? Leave them loose? I'm starting to think that if I buy a pin knowing that it'll be traded, I'm almost forced to keep the card. Ugh.

That said, both of my PODMs have been left on the cards, as well as a Haunted Mansion clock Vinylmation pin since the card was signed.
 
I personally don't care too much about the backer cards although I do keep the backer cards for the pins I buy that have them if I intend on trading them. I do understand that people like them to make sure pins are authentic but i think if its a grail pin that you want badly why would it matter. That's just my opinion. I usually let people know when I trade them if I have a backer card or not if they have blemishes or not pretty much let them know the entire condition of the pin so they know before hand so they can make sure they want to trade or not.
 
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I think it's literally 50-50, some prefer cards, some don't....personally for me I prefer the cards.....99% of my collection are on the cards, and I always ask in trades if they have the cards....however, If I really like the pin, I would trade for it regardless, I just prefer to have them carded in my collection....I wouldn't personally think it detracts from the value of the pin unless its a special pin, or a special card such as a podm etc......it's basically down to personal preference!
 
I only keep backer cards for open edition pins because I like having them on cards when shipping. It helps keep them safer. However, I've also shipped pins on foam, cardboard, and cut up mailers. However, for limited edition pins if I got the pin with a card, I keep the card in a safe place incase I ever plan on selling it or trading it. People are nuts when it comes to pins being on the original card. For the open edition pins I just grab a card out of my drawer to ship it on.
 

But, you can _tell_ they are fake, right? So that helps right there. If someone has a pin on a fake backer, you know to walk away.

If it's a completely generic backer then I don't necessarily need it (but if it's unique, I always want it, and will re-buy the pin just for the backer if I can), but I usually like my pins to include the original Disney barcode, where ever that was placed. Some of the DSF pins have the barcode on the plastic bag, and nothing on the backer (in that case, I'd want the plastic bag), other times the barcode is stuck to the backer itself... I'm a collector of TONS of things (why to many in fact), and even dating back to toys from the 50's, original packaging is always key to increased value of an item. If I see two identical pins that I really want, and one is loose and one is still on it's card/in it's bag, I will happily pay more for the bagged one knowing that I have the 'complete' pin (pin + packaging). I actually think it's kind of funny that so many people in the pin collecting don't care about the packaging! It's the complete opposite with nearly every other kind of collectible. I don't even like that many people will take the pin-backs off the pin, and then poke the pins through the plastic bag to pin them into trade books... But I've never actually complained about that.

You just wait, someday people will start evaluating the _condition_ of the backer cards too... A crease in the corner?? Oh, that's worth less...


The numbers are some kind of SKU/tracking # used by the manufacturers (possibly also at Disney's request) that I think represent a series. When I look through all my DSF marquees, for example, they are all different and the last 5 digits are slowly increasing. But looking at all the Lady & the Tramp trains that came out last week, all of them have the same number (and actually, the Mulan ones have the same number... So I'm confused now. ). So far every PTD I've seen (the last 5 I think) has had the same number as well (but different from the other pins I mentioned)... But the nice thing is that if you have a DSF L&TT Engine pin, you know it should have a certain number on the card, though that number isn't unique to _just_ that pin...
 
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For me...the backer card is important, but than again I'm a little particular about things. I'm definitely a little OCD lol. I usually don't wear my pins on a lanyard or put them in books. I'll wear one at a time, unless I'm at Disney World than I have my lanyard with my trades. When I buy or trade for a pin that I intend to keep I look at it when I first receive it. If it isn't purchased direct from Disney, I inspect the pin to try and determine if its authentic than note any flaws or damage. I try to get my pins in the best condition as possible. If I decide their keepers I wrap them in bubble wrap and box them. If I really like a pin I try to get 2 this way I have one that I am able to wear. I would always suggest using the locks for your pins if you do wear. I've lost many pins using the Mickey ear backers; be sure to tighten the locks gently too as that may end up bending the post if too tight.

If it's a grail I might be willing to take the pin as long as its in good condition. However, if its from a set and I already have some on cards than I'm going to want the others on their cards too: just to make it more complete. It's kinda more important with LE pins...if you prefer to store your pins in a book all you would need to do is take a piece of scotch-tape and write the pinpics id on a piece of paper you can tape to the backer card that you store; this way you can always match it up to the pin. It's usually much easier with the plastic backers too. I don't recommend doing that on paper backer cards because it can peel when you take the tape off.

At the end of the day its all about preference. Some people are going to be more particular than others. Imagine if pins were graded by PSA or Beckett or something? LoL The cards would be so much more important than. Who knows, maybe in years to come some pins will be so rare and scarce people will want to encapsulate them and have them graded. Especially for those pins that people spend hundreds if not thousands on.
 
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I had a trade go south on here when the person told me the pin was on the wrong backer card even though it was sealed in the bag lol they said the black numbers on the back of the card that you have to hold a certain way to see we're wrong when I first started trading I didn't keep the cards either as i started buying from DA and DS I started keeping the cards along with spreadsheets on where and when I bought them so I know for a fact the pin and card were good. If a person asks I tell them if I have the card or not. I think it is the person who wants the cards responsibility to ask. If you bid on ebay ask first because most are as is. I can see the podm cards being needed I had a bad trade again on here where I traded two very expensive pins for two PODMs and the person sent them no backer cards and not even wrapped in bubble wrap.


i have also ordered sets from DS and had the entire set shipped in bags that were not correct but the cards and pins were.,strange yes but it does happen ALOT with DS. Last pin I bought came in a bag that said Donald when it was stitch. When I called them I was told that very rarely they have people buy the legit pin then keep the pin replace it with a fake one then return it and get their money back Disney then repackages the pin unknowingly I couldn't believe the lady actually told me this.

i display my pins on foam boards on my walls so I do hang them with backer cards however its not a deal breaker with me.
 
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PODMS I like backer cards for display purposes and because my PODMs hang on my wall by their backer cards in a square display Any other pin, I'm not as picky. If it were my grail and came with no backer card, I could honestly care less. Not sure why the backer cards are so important otherwise unless it's for reasons others have said...to attempt to re-sell the pin or it gives the illusion of authenticity to a pin (even though yeah, scrappers can easily be stuck to a backer card with a mickey pin back and be called "authentic"). Although...I guess one could argue that pins are collectibles and pretty much any collectible is "worth more" if it is "mint in package!" I dunno, with pins it seems nit picky to me but to each their own. Everyone collects differently
 
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I'm kind of in the same boat... Before I was really collecting pins I didn't keep the backers. They were just souvenirs, so there was no point. Once I did start getting into actually building a set, I figured I better hold onto them. Some day when I'm 80 I may want to sell or give them off (otherwise they may go to some offspring to do that), and the person who gets them might want the cards. Unfortunately I don't have all the cards, but thems the breaks.

For my purposes, having a card is neither here nor there. It's nice when getting them online because it gives that air of greater authenticity, but I don't display them with cards or anything.
 
I like backer cards. I can't really explain why I feel less satisfaction getting a pin without its original backer card, but there is a difference. To me it's not about the fakes or the value of the pin without a backer card, but it just feels like I have something original and almost like new. Backer cards FTW!
 
I personally really don't care if a pin comes with a backer card or not. Like others I have been keeping mine too just in case I trade with someone who wants it. It is true that backer cards have been counterfeited too and I just returned a counterfeit pin that came with a backer card.
 
Hmm I guess I will hold on to my backer cards, in case it would make a difference to the person I am trading with.
 
I've had issues with backer cards as well. Back in the early days of this hobby, no one cared about backer cards. You get a pin, you take it off the card, put it in your trade or keep book and keep going. Most pins were traded right out of trade books with no backer cards at all. It's only been in the last few years it seems that the cards become really important as more resellers have gotten into this hobby. Everyone now wants that option to resell their pin if they decide not to keep it.

My two worst encounters with this is the very first time I sold a few pins on eBay (that I was getting rid of from my collection) I would just make it a habit to put the pins on a backer card. It didn't matter to me what card as long as I put DA on DA, Disneyland on Disneyland and so forth. Well apparantly someone compared the numbers on the back of two of my DA pins that I sent and suddenly accused me of selling them fake pins! I happily took the pins back and promptly blocked them from any further bidding. They also tried to put a scrapper warning on pinpics but Figgy kindly deleted it after I explained what happened. That person cheated themself out of a legit DA LE100 pin all because of a stupid backer.

The second instant was only a few weeks ago. I made a trade with someone and the pin I sent didn't have a backer card. I wasn't even aware it had a backer card since it was a cast member pin from DLP. Well, after they got the pin, they asked for the card as they never trade without the card unless arranged beforehand. The problem was they never bothered to ask before the trade if it had a card. If they did, I would have told them it didn't have a card nor was I aware there was one for it. Fortunately they honored the trade and didn't ask me to send their pin back.

The only time I had a problem with not getting a backer card was an auction I won for one of the marquee pins that had a specialty card. The auction stated the pin came on its original card. When I asked the seller about it, they admitted they copied the info from someone else's auction for the same pin and didn't realize it said that. I wasn't real happy about that one.

But generally I don't care about cards. When I frame the pins, I'm not going to frame then in their cards.
 
Hi,
I just like the art on some of the cards I like to get the backing card for certain cards as I keep some pins on the cards in the book as well.
Its just a personal choice I suppose...
I love the destination disney cards and PODM ones they are so nice I maybe a bit of a card geek lol
 
The ONLY time I care about a pin being on its original card is if that pin has a scrapper alert.
 
Ozzie1988 said:
http://gallery.pinpics.com/cgi-bin/pin.cgi?pin=77662&sid=9842.1361224408.v2

This is the pin the woman passed up on, I had just taken it out of my collection and into my trader book. It didn't even make it past the first hour of trading
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the "Happily Ever After " series has been scrappered. Probably, that is why the other trader was hoping to get the card too.

All of the pins from Happily Ever After series with the exception of Ariel were being repeatedly sold by a seller from Hong Kong w/o the backer cards. His auction pictures showed the pins on the backer cards to provide a false sense of security, but the auction text clearly stated that "Pin is new without the backer card"

That seller is from Hong Kong, still active on Ebay and (s)he has recently been selling pins from Summer Series, Explorer Series and Many Faces of Disney series. The same seller also offers DSF Sand Castle pins, but those are now on (probably faked) cards.

I had one up on backer cards: One buyer actually asked me to scan and send them a copy of my disneystore.com receipt although the pin was on original card and in sealed packaging as I bought it. :facepalm: Luckily, I keep all my disneystore.com receipts and I was able to proove the authenticity of my pin.
 
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Everyone has some really good comment about this. I think that the backer card represents authenticity of the pin. Theres been so many sightings of fakes, no one wants to take a chance unless its going into a personal collection, frame, box etc. It does look nice and organized with the cards but has anyone noticed how big some of these cards are? It will take up a whole page in the pin book LOL. I also notice alot of traders have the pin binders, and it seems every page has the pin on the original card.
 
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