What Traders I Should Stay Away From at DLR
movingthestars
Well-Known DPF Member
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I don't know why anyone is bringing up race. That has nothing to do with anything.
Anyway, if you want to tell if a trader is fair or not then try to do a kind of a test trade question. Wear a really awesome hard to find pin on your lanyard along with a bunch of regular pins. Ask the pin trader to trade for an obvious fake in their book (but don't tell them that). Then show them your lanyard and see which pin they pick to trade for their scrapper. If they choose your treasured pin then say no thank you and move on.
Apparently you shouldn't have read past the warning. I'm not the one that called a guy a cholo. I don't feel like sugar coating everything in life. I said I call it like I see it. No offense meant to anyone. I live in Cali and go to the park just as much as you. Some of the most lop sided shark trades I've encountered we're with 40 year old white guys. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I think Hispanics, as a generic demographic, are generally more shark like than other general demographics.
Apparently we are all in high school and are insecure with reality... Posts removed
As all people react differently to others, I would not say to "avoid" anyone. But there are a few general rules.
1) NEVER, EVER accept a trade where you are told to go purchase a specific pin off the racks for a trade. Not only is it supposed to be against the rules, unless you are trading for a similiar Limited Edition / price pin, you are about to be taken.
2) Hidden Mickey pins should generally only be traded in return for other hidden mickey pins or at best starter lanyard style pins. If you're buying a $6.95 pin for a Hidden Mickey, you've been taken.
3) Remember many of those at the parks have regular, daily access to both parks, Disney Store, Disney Hotels, WDI, Mickey's of Glendale, local tourist shops for Jerry Leigh pins, The Disney Soda Fountain, AND the pin events in the area. Simply put they're locals and have taken full advantage of this status. (In the interest of full, fair disclosure, I'll confess. I'm openly envious of that opportunity.) Realize going into the review, they most likely already HAVE the LE pins, rare pins, and pins they want and some collect. To be blunt, they're JADED. Most will not be intersted in trading for your pins, even your most precious LE treasure except at heavily unbalanced terms; that is unless you have that rare unusual something exceptional they have somehow they managed to miss. Even then, you getting a fair return on something that extraordinary would be a long shot. Many times it seems those traders brought out their high level pins to show off, not to trade.
Do not let them spoil your pin trading experience. By all means, admire their pins. Use them to discover new pins that you'll want. See if you are able to make an equitable / fair trade, but if not they will not be offended if you say 'no, thank you."
4) Look for those pin traders at the park who are willing to play by cast member rules. They can be found and you'll find them happy small trades just as much as large ones. That's not to say they'll be accepting scrappers and hidden Mickey's for LE pins. But you will find someone who will accept your starter pins in return for something that catches your fancy in their book.
In pin trading at unusual places, one other hint I can give was the DL monorail terminal. They used to have a pin store just before you go up the stairs. And I recall some excellent traders there, including some higher edition LE pins at an equal trade. - mind you that was a few years back.
Cash value of pins shouldn't matter anyway. But to some it's what it is all about. I can understand matching pin prices when you bought it (i.e. $16.95 LE 500 Roger Pin in trade for a $16.95 LE 500 Big Al pin) There are also a lot of people who go to boast and brag with their "epic" pin book of WDI, LE, or Event only pins. Who let you look and not trade, just to show how "Awesome" they are. If boasting and bragging is what you like to do, this hobby is not for you. Makes the rest of us feel inadequate with our collections, and it makes you look like a. . . *Donkey Cry*. . . It isn't right but they do it anyway. What I do is, and this is just me, I bring keepers I wouldn't mind trading to get pins I really want. It uually works out for the best. Just don't get carried away. Request even trades and not a lopsided trade in which you give two pins for one, unless they have a low edition size and you have a slighty higher then it makes sense. Ask the trader if they see anything on your lanyard or pin book theyre interested in and so youre not looking through their book and wasting your time.
That's true, pin pal. Again, it's all trial and error. Learn as you go.
To be honest, I find the best way to trade is to take a totally different approach than what everybody else seems to be recommending: try to trade with everybody. If it doesn't work out, it's not a big deal, and you're only out a few minutes of your time. In return, hey, you took a shot, and you probably got to see some cool pins anyways! At worst, someone may be a little brusque with you, but frankly if you're an emotionally stable individual it's usually pretty easy to brush off what little trauma an overly-serious pin trader might dish out. I mean, seriously: just how much damage is even the most vicious shark, trying to grind out a $5 profit by hanging out at Disneyland, really going to do to your day?
We're not talking evil geniuses or proponents of racial cleansing, here, folks. They can only wound you as deeply as you allow.
If you consider everybody to be at least a potential trade partner, you're going to make more trades. In addition, while some people may be a bit more difficult to trade with because they value their pins by a different system than you, are looking to make a bit of a profit or trade up, or may want a bit more of your time than others, you'd be surprised at how often that actually works in your favor. There's a particular trader at the park who has a big reputation as a time waster and being hard to trade with; he's actually been called out in this thread at least once. But honestly? He's one of my favorite traders at DLR. He chats me up for 20 minutes while I go through his books, and I always end up walking away with several new pins for my personal collection, at what I consider to be a totally fair rate. Folks who are looking to pick up new stuff by getting people to buy things from the store? They're pretty useful, because they also HAVE the new stuff for trade. The people who go strictly by eBay values? Pretty convenient to trade with if you use a different value system. Don't get me wrong, some big collectors just won't budge on anything, but I usually find it easier to trade with a big collector who has multiples of a particular pin, than it is to trade with a novice who has one of each of something and is thus more attached or more concerned that they may be making a mistake.
Talk to folks. Get to know everybody. Spend a little time, and people may surprise you. Heck, I'd say that half the people with bad reputations at DLR (which is really a very small number) are more socially impaired than authentically predatory. The hobby attracts some nerds, and sometimes nerds don't know exactly what to say, or how to behave. It happens, and it can be annoying, but a little patience goes a long way. Know the value of your pins (both on the open market and your personal value), and you'll be fine.
It's probably a better system than just avoiding everyone that happens to have a goatee.
Watching All The Sharks Go Shave Their Goatees For The Weekend,
-JD
Avoid anyone who repeatedly tells you that whatever pin you're looking at regularly sells on ebay for $50 (or whatever amount).
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