Today I’m sharing a tip about a treasured (by kids) and dreaded (by parents) souvenir: Disney Pins. If you’re new to Trading, basically what you do is buy some pins at $5 (if you’re lucky) to $10+ each before going to Disney. Then you trade them with any cast member for ones you like better.
Cast members have to trade with you as long as you have an official Disney Pin. I think trading is lots of fun but wouldn’t have even considered letting my kids trade pins if I had to pay retail. Fortunately I found a way to Deal Mommy it up and buy Disney Pins wholesale…on good old Ebay.
Buying Disney Pins Wholesale on Ebay
Turns out there are vendors who buy pins (either factory seconds, used pins, or even from the Disney outlets in Orlando) by the truckload. They turn around and sell them in wholesale lots for as little as 50 cents per pin. Of course you pay less each the more you buy, but even if you only buy 10 you should get them for under $1 each. Just search “Disney Pin Lot” and see what turns up. Here’s a vendor both friends and I have bought from numerous times.
Now remember, because you’re buying wholesale, you’re not going to have any control over what pins you get. That’s okay, because they’re for TRADING, right? Many sellers will guarantee you no duplicates, though. I always check seller feedback. Go for sellers who have buyers who said they had no problems trading pins or for sellers who have sold a lot of pins.
You can often find sellers on Ebay that will either overnight or hand-deliver pins to your hotel in Orlando if you forget before you leave for Disney.
I’ve bought over 1000 pins over the years and am both buying and selling pins at the moment. Why? Because I use pins as gifts from the “elves” in the Deal Kids’ Advent Calendars. It started when Deal Kid was 4 and Deal Girl was turning 1. Now that they’re 11 and nearing 8, it’s a tradition cemented in concrete. I’ll buy a huge lot and pick out 50 or so I think the kids will like. Then I can sell the rest for what I paid. This year I’ll hold back a few for our trips to Japan and Hong Kong so I can get in on the trading fun!
Wanna learn more Disney World Hacks? Check out my eBook!
Enter Ebay through Ebates for cash back to save even more.
As someone who is an avid pin trader in the parks, I strongly urge against doing this. There is no such thing as “wholesale” pins, and these aren’t just kind souls who sell pins for dirt cheap. Lots like these are filled with unauthorized versions of pins (commonly known as Scrappers) and by buying the lots, you are releasing (essentially) fake pins into the parks.
McKenna,
Thanks for your point of view. I definitely understand where it comes from, but at over $10 a pin, I’m comfortable letting Disney take a bit of a hit on this racket.
I totally agree! After spending $6000.00 on my one week vacation I think that Disney won’t be losing much $ by me purchasing pins that they probably paid .75 for at a discounted price from someone else. These pins are ridiculous at Disney. You can drop hundreds on pins that you will trade! No way!
Glad to hear that you’ve seen the light!
It isn’t about Disney taking a loss. I could care less if Disney loses money. What I do care about is those of us who trade authentic and legitimate Disney pins and end up trading our $15 pin for a $0.45 cent scrapper that isn’t even close to being real. I have lost thousands of dollars by trading my authentic pins only to find out later the ones I obtained were fake. There are several thousands others like me. Please don’t promote a practice that is harming other peoples pocket book.
Hi Matt,
Thanks for your comment. I’ve heard a version of it from others and understand your concern.
I just happen to view it differently- collectors choose which pins to trade and aren’t forced to take a pin from a pin board or employee that they think is a scrapper. I’m not buying the pins from China or off the back of a truck, I’m buying them from a eBay vendor in Orlando with a high feedback score. On occasion I’ve received a pin in a lot that looks funky- I toss it before trading. However, if to my eye and the eye of a Disney employee it looks genuine, I see no reason not to trade it.
If you haven’t learned to tell the difference between a real pin and a scrapper pin by now…you need to educate yourself! Also, it’s you COULDN’T care less. If it was “could care less” than it means you could care even less than you do. Make sense? I hope so! I am not going to go and spend $10 on a real pin or as you claim to have spent thousands for what more than likely will be traded for a scrapper. So no matter what you say…I’m going to trade scrappers.
I NEVER see any idiot trading a $15 pin with a CM for a $0.50 CM pin. If you do, you are an idiot. One in 50 CMs have a decent pin worth trading for. If I find one of the great pins, I trade a great pin for it. All others are the eBay pins.
I can’t agree with you more. The ones that are taking a hit and loosing out are those that are trading authentic pins for what turns out to be scrappers and worthless.
As an avid pin trader the ones losing are not only the ones trading authentic pins for fakes but also are the ones willing to help promote these fakes. Fakes are not only found on the pin boards at the park more and more limited edition pins are being found scrapped everyday because people feel the need to promote such things. With that being said a lot of these higher value pins being faked aren’t easy to spot which can really hurt a persons wallet and takes away from the true value and ohana that is pin trading. Ohana pin trading isn’t meant to be people lying and cheating there way to get authentic pins to sell for $$.
As a pin collecter I would also advise against this. You’re not just letting Disney take the hit. Your also hurting those who buy $5-25 pins. Because those “scrappers” can be accidently traded for higher value pins. How would you feel knowing you traded a high dollar pin for a fake? Personally I won’t trade my pins anymore because scrappers are an epidemic.
I do hear your concern. My personal feeling is if they pins are accepted by Disney, they’re OK by me. If Disney had a problem with the practice, they would ban it in a heartbeat.
Just gonna say, I know that pin trading is very fun, but I would not recommend buying lots of pins online and then circulating them into the parks. It’s not Disney that’s taking the blow, it’s the collectors who save up to buy and trade legitimate pins.
Not all of the pins in lots are guaranteed to be fakes, but for sure most of them will be. I would recommend taking the counterfeits out of circulation and keeping the legitimate ones to trade. The fakes make great magnets or pushpins!
Pin traders have a great online community and we’d be happy to help you guys and give y’all tips.
(Disney is also totally not okay with the practice. They are trying to crack down on the Chinese distributors, but I guess it’s hard to keep tabs on overseas manufacturers. The widespread trading of pins has actually made Disney pull back the reins on pin trading in the parks.)
Hi Minty,
Thanks for your comment. If I’d ever had a single pin rejected as trade in five years I’d be more concerned. Since the kids are just trading for fun, we don’t care what they choose so if they get something less than pristine in return it’s fine. Serious collectors might see a difference but your average kid just doesn’t.
The reason they aren’t refused in the park is because the fakes have the Disney copyright on the back but CM rarely check anyways. You mention you don’t care because your kids just trade for fun. Which is nice and dandy, but you are only investing less than a dollar a pin and trading for pins others paid $5-20 for (or worst case scenario you are trading for the same valued pin. So, let’s look at the money involved. You spend $75 on 100 pins. Then your kids trade the pins and trade away all 100 pins and receive 100 pins valued at $5 each. Your pin value went from $75 to $500 while other Disney families absorbed that loss. It isn’t Disney that loses out. It’s families like mine.
There are NO pins on a CM lanyard that is more than $1. In the extremely RARE occasion where there is one, I trade an equivalent value pin for it. Quit Lying to everyone that you trade $20 pins for the stupid CM hidden Mickey pins.
Moe, you must not go to the parks and trade alot or you dont know how to get the higher value pins from CMs… my guess is the latter. After 35 years of collecting you pick things up and learn. I would help you but you have alot more to learn before then. Best of luck!
EXACTLY!
I trade every weekend as a AP holder.. ONLY on a rare occasion do I see a pin that is better quality than what the Ebay sellers are selling. I was appalled at first that there were “scrappers” being traded …but in all seriousness..I’m not buying a $5 pin for my 4 year old to trade for a scrapper and they are everywhere. CM told me Disney does it’s best to weed through the pins and remove the bad but that CM’s are NOT to deny a trade.
I would NEVER want to knowingly trade a scrapper. People, honest hard working people, buy pins to trade in the park. Their kids save up and buy a $5 pin and want to feel proud trading it away, its heartbreaking to know they could end up trading for one of the scrappers (there is no such thing as disney wholesale pins) that has lower quality or poor at best quality. You are not robbing disney, you’re robbing other children.
And disney will very seldom turn down a trade, especially with a child, they are not their to be police but to add some fun. Then at the end of the day if those fakes have not been traded out, the pins they have left get inspected and scrappers and fakes disposed of to try to end this crap.
If you let your kids buy $5 pins to trade, you are teaching your children bad lessons. You can easily find the Booster/Starter packs for $1 or less per pin and those are not the bulk lots that I normally buy.
Again Moe, you have A LOT to learn; why are you spreading nonsense like that around. Booster Packs (lets say there are 5 in the pack) and the booster pack is 29.95, ot even factoring in tax each of those pins are $6 not 1 dollar as you say. By reading your comments you are filled with nonsense and you are not educated at all when it comes to Disney pins. Your posts/comments prove just that
nope im a kid and i buy the fake ones
There is 0 argument to be had here. Disney isn’t taking a hit. It’s the person trading legitimate pins. Even if we’re buying booster packs to trade at say $20 – $30 a pop for 4-7 pins (around $5 a pin) and you trade your scrappers (about .50c a pin) on a board or cast member and we trade our pin for your scrapper (Which is what 99.9% of these ebay pin lots are) we have now lost $4.50 of our own money. Cast members and boards have everything from HM to LE. I’ve found all sorts of pins in the parks. But, now I’m very hesitant to trade ANY pin with a cast member because of people like you who insist on making excuses for your actions and continue to devalue pin trading. Here’s an idea, if you can’t afford the hobby, maybe do something different!
Okay as someone who is an experienced pin trader and has my own “prized” collection, I don’t mind this practice in the slightest.
CM trading is for fun, especially for kids. I don’t blame any parent for buying eBay lot pins. I don’t expect quality from CM pins, it’s just fun. However, if you’re serious then you know it’s trader to trader trading where you find the good quality pins.
Also it’s a hobby. At a theme park for children. Calm down. How incredibly rude, arrogant, and elitist of you to say “if you can’t afford it don’t do it”.
I have spent probably thousands in pins. But I have never seen scrappers as a problem. It seems to only be an issue for elitist pinners who proud themselves on being able to spot scrappers. If you can spot them, don’t trade. No one is forcing you to trade for a scrapper. They’re easy to spot.
Disney is already expensive. I don’t blame any parent or guest for cutting corners to save some money.
This is my view exactly.
Mine too!
As a mother who bought her 5 year old pins to trade in the park (purchased from Disney), to find that the ones he traded for were scrappers–I’m livid. If you could care less about trading scrappers, then don’t participate. Don’t sit there and try to justify your poor actions. As for you, the person who posted this article, you shouldn’t even be posting an article or speaking on an activity you clearly don’t have the proper regard for.
Mine too. Disney has all their pins made in china thus the reason there are scrapers. If Disney was worried then they would be making them in the US. It’s business and they are not losing money. If you buy them in the park, keep them.
I just got into pin trading and I have spent up to 18.00 on a Disney pin at Disney world. I would never trade that pin or any pin that I purchase at any park. If I pay that much money for a pin you can bet it’s not going to be traded. I have bought and inspected many lots of pins they are all authentic and have the disney trading logo on them. The one I didn’t pay a chunk of money for are the ones I will trade… They are alll really awesome pins and there are many that I won’t trade because I really like them. I am totally in love with all the difference series of pins and by buying the lots I have been able to complete some of the series I wanted. I think people get too uptight about this. If you pay that much for a pin and then trade it and are upset because you paid 10.00 and I only paid .50 but my pin is authentic and very tradable just like yours. You really have no right to be upset. I just got a better deal.
Hi Sebrina,
I’m inclined to agree but as you can see people feel very strongly about this!
I agree. Same reason I shop at Aldi’s
Wow, very strong comments! However, seems to suck all the fun out of it when you start talking about vaue if this versus value of that… !!!!! If I was going to BUY a $20 pin, no way would o trade it! With that said, if I saw for example a Hidden Mickey Dangling Limited Edition turbo charged Lion King something pin that is all highly prized and beside it a “scrapper” Brer Rabbit pin, I would choose the scrapper simply because it MEANS SOMETHING to me. Has no dollar value, true, but it has value to me, which is the whole reason for trading! To enjoy it, to see the memories around it, and not to fight over.
THIS. I totally agree. I trade for stuff I like and then take them out of circulation. That’s what collecting should be all about!
It’s all about the LOVE of Disney and our memories <3 So I agree!!
Pin trading was supposed to be something for fun, not an investment like stocks. I personally think it’s the pin collectors that have driven the prices up so much that people need to go to ebay and buy in lots. Same thing happened to the comic book industry years ago. They are just pins. They are fun to hunt for and trade. Quit worrying about how much money you’ll make off a trade and just trade for what you want.
I agree.
Are any of the pins you purchase on eBay scrapppers? I am interested in purchasing some pins from eBay to save money but they do not post pictures of what the back of the pin looks like and that is one of the main ways to identify if it is a scrapper or not. If you do not know how to identify a scrapper there are a bunch of videos on YouTube how to do so. Also if the seller you purchase from is giving authentic pins could you reply the link to the seller so I could purchase some for myself.
Hi Sara,
I have a link in the post to the ebay seller I use. I have successfully traded their pins with Disney cast members for over five years and have probably bought over 500. All I’ve bought have had Disney markings and looked real to me. I can’t tell you they are definitely not scrappers, but I’ve never had any reason to believe so.
I don’t want to beat a dead horse and maybe this point has come up and I missed it, Disney can take the loss – sure, fine, whatever I guess because your trips expensive it entitles you to beg borrow and cheat your way through every loophole you find. The point remains that even if you’re not looking at the monetary value these scrappers deplete the emotional value of trading. For starters they limit the kinds of pins you find on lanyards: the range of characters, attraction designs and 3D elements. They make it almost impossible to find a treasure in the endless sea of copies. And they make the process laborious instead of new and exciting. Pin trading is a community as well as a marketing scheme, but weirdly it doesn’t work as one or the other. You have to be willing to invest in order to play the game fairly.
I have been trading pins since before I can remember and some of the first pins I ever bought and traded are some of the best in my collection, both sentimentally and financially . They are impossible to find today and they make even some of the most astute pin sharks jealous. If this is something you are doing for your children invest in their collection. Teach them to value what they have, make each pin count and make each pin special.
As for nobody turning you away, the interaction between traders and cast members is a “magical” thing. Disney is a company that is attempting to provide a magical experience. Can you actually imagine the horror of being turned down because your pin wasn’t official? Especially when a cast member looks a six year old in the face and goes “I am sorry but clearly your mommy didn’t by this from a licensed vendor and you can’t have that pin because yours is a fake.” Why punish the child? They didn’t knowing buy a fake pin from a seller on Ebay. All they did was ask nicely if they could trade a pin.
You are hurting a company, a community and an ideology. Please I beg of you, do not knowingly do this to save yourself some money. You should realize that you aren’t just hurting us you’re ripping yourself off in the process.
Ebay has some dark corners and whether you like to admit it or not buying in bulk is buying off the back of a truck. The truck is just in China and they will ship your product to the Disney Hotel you have spent too much money on, and which you are devaluing at every turn.
So, sure brush it off and say no its fine when i do it. Because of my kids, or my money or my bottom line. But don’t complain that Disney isn’t like it used to be, or that you’re constantly getting less for more. Because instead of trying to help by supporting a company you care about and a community you want to belong to you chose to save a few bucks and spit in their face.
Thank you for saying this; I totally agree. This is just my added two cents…
While it’s wonderful to save money, you are taking away the joy and fun of pin trading. Seeing the same fakes/scrappers on each Cast Member lanyard again and again is very disheartening. Where’s the fun in pin trading if all you ever see are the same ones?
By buying these pin lots, you’re not giving Disney Cast Members the chance to put some good/real pins in the mix. You’ve successfully traded pins because most Cast Members don’t even know the difference between scrapper and real pins. Maybe one out of twenty Cast Members is an avid pin trader. Like someone mentioned above, they are here to make your day magical, not decline your pin trade. So when they are selecting pins to put on their lanyards each day, they are putting the shitty ones right back into circulation. Excuse my language but some of them really are–especially the ones where the Disney Princess’ have distorted faces or lazy eyes.
Let me say this again…They are continuously putting your scrapper pins on their lanyards to trade with everyone during the day.
I fail to see how after five years of doing this that you don’t feel a little annoyed at this process. Do you honestly like seeing the 2013 Hidden Mickey Wilderness Lodge pins and the 2008 HM Footprints on every single lanyard? I don’t like seeing that at all. The only thing that seems to vary is the coloring of the same unauthentic pin.
It would be really nice to be able to complete a Hidden Mickey set with all authentic pins. But if you and your kids are happy, then I guess it doesn’t matter, right?
Ok. This is my 2 cents. I understand it’s meaningless. Whether you buy from Disney or ebay look at the back of the pin and what does it say? “Made in China”. Thats because Disney chose a cheap way to have their pins made and still be able to upmarket them by a lot. That being said, china in turn, as they usually do, black markets most US products. A quote from another website “If Disney wanted to put an end to scrappers, they could easily do so by producing the pins elsewhere or instituting different pin trading policies. Disney has made a business decision to do neither, likely because moving production would cost more money and policy changes in pin trading would be bad for business goodwill.” Disney is making a killing off of reselling these so called “scrapers”. Just look at where they or being shipped from, think about it. Lastly I buy pins in the park but they are for my own personal to keep. If you buy a LE pin in the park and trade it only to find out it’s a scraper, well, you’ve earned the title. Scrapers are here to stay and Disney has a lot to blame for this and they are still making bank.
So, I should care more about how it affects the serious pin collectors instead of having a nice chunk of pins for my kid to trade? I can’t tell you how many times my kids stopped at one of these traders set up in the park and saw a pin they loved only to be laughed at the trade they offered! This wasn’t a single instance either! Ohhh, you value is more important? Yeah, to me too! My kids will have their Ebay pins and will have a blast! For all those that choose to take this so serious…that’s on you. This is made to be fun and if Disney isn’t saying anything then it’s all good. For the “serious traders”…
I’ve seen this argument repeated on several sites while searching something today. It’s sad because ultimately someone will lose with either party’s solution & I don’t think either should have to lose. I remember seeing somewhere that there was a meeting place for serious traders that they are organizing on their own. If that is true, that may be a start to something bigger. If Disney helped organize/support a small venue (without having to acknowledge that fake pins are on CMs), it could be a really cool thing for those avid collectors. There could be one in each park and those CMs would be known to have “special” pins and could refuse to trade due to value (since other CMs aren’t supposed to.) I’m just saying it’s maybe time for a higherarchy for pin trading. It is simply impossible to think hundreds of thousands of scrappers could be taken out of circulation even if you could change the mindset of those who just want to have some fun and not take it as seriously. Even if they are wise to the scrapper situation, they don’t want to take that enjoyment from their child and may not be able to afford to have them do it otherwise. Many simply aren’t savvy to what is happening. Sorry everyone. I love the pins. I buy from Disney. I don’t trade them because they were purchased for sentimental value. I hate to see everyone going at it over something that should be enjoyed & it’s happening on multiple sites.
We bought real pins ($$$ouch!!) for our children to trade, knowing we could purchase a ton of fakes for a lot cheaper. We told the kids that it would be wrong for other kids trading to get low quality fakes and quality is more important than quantity. So we just bought a few and let the kids decide on their own what they really wanted to trade for instead of having so many pins that they wouldn’t understand the value. It was a good lesson in integrity for them and I liked seeing them really think about their trades. The kids were still happy in the end and we had a great time.
The problem with so called Scrapper pins is that Disney does not do enough. Most, if not all of the scrappers are pins from manufacturers that Disney uses and they reject.
There have also been cases where people have bought “authentic” pins at Disney Parks from expensive sets only to have one or more of those be a scrapper or fake.
If Disney wanted to control this more they could force their foreign manufacturers go deliver all pins and plates for making the pins as part of the deal. Then, if any pins don’t meet Disney Standards they can destroy them.
As a note, I have bought hundreds of the pins off of ebay over the years and resold them for a slight markup (usually 2-5 each). I have sold a bunch to families that not only trade but collect hardcore and only like twice has someone mentioned scrapper pins. I usually tell people just so they are informed and 9p percent of my customers (I have many repeats) don’t care. If I find pins that are questionable I remove them from inventory.
I can understand the concerns people have, but Disney really does nothing to prevent this so it will go on.
As someone who has been pin trading for a couple of years now i am not sure why this is a constant fight on most websites/blogs i come across.
The people who treat pin trading as an investment instead of something fun to do at the parks are typically the ones who have the issue with scrapers yet they are the same ones who buy the limited release pins on the disney shop and resell them for three times the price they bought them for.
I have talked to numerous cast members about fake pins and they all seem to say the same thing that you don’t HAVE to trade and if the pin means something to you/has some significance to you then why does it matter?
Rarely have i seen someone trade a $20 pin for a pin that is clearly under $10 or comes from a booster pack. Nor do i see people buying expensive pins with the intent to trade them unless they are trading them online for another expensive pin.
If disney REALLY had an issue with it they would start rejecting the pins they can tell are fake when people offer the trades.
Y’all… I get it… but those “scrappers” still have a purpose.
My son and I have been planning a dream trip to Disney World since just before the virus really hit (February/April). We started watching videos and learning as much as we could about Disney. We came across pin trading and decided it could be fun. We bought a batch of pins, actually from the same seller the OP has dealt with, and we traded with each other. It brought me great joy to see how happy each pin made him. And it was fun to go through all those pins and not knowing what they could be. Some of them did have lose backs and a few are scuffed, sure. But if they brought us joy… does it really matter?
PS I get the whole “I spend money on this” aspect too. I do. I’ve paid for some rarer pins as well because of sentimental value. But the fact remains that the scrappers or whatever you want to call them still are fun and work for some people.