Pin Trading in Asia Parks

SWofDisorder

Expatriate Fun
Joined
Feb 12, 2014
Can you tell me if pin trading is a big thing in HK, Shanghai and Tokyo? We are now at 38 days to go.
 
TDR does not have pin trading.

Hong Kong has a bigger pin trading scene than Shanghai since Japanese and mainland traders come down for our pin trading events. You'll miss the pin trading carnival at the beginning of April and the Spring weekly pin release but you can check for when this page updates with the April LE release (https://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/events/disney-pin-trading/). Saturday through Monday of pin release weekend, there will be a pin trading game across the street. Pin traders will be around during the morning these days but will not usually bring too much good stuff unless they had pre-arranged trades. You could try bringing a bag to show off one day and then arrange the trade the next day.

Karibuni Marketplace in HKDL also has pins for prizes. If you win the grand prize at 3 designated games, you can give up your stuffed animal to get a coupon. Get all 3 coupons from that day and you can get a marketplace LE jumbo. I've seen people win in 250 HKD but also some that spend over 1000 HKD for one LE jumbo. Second place is the season's regular game pin and if you lose completely, you can select a Hong Kong hidden mickey pin or tsum tsum.

Shanghai's LE release schedule is erratic but people usually just run to the store and don't have any reason to trade. Sometimes, they will give out pins for completing the Magic Passport which is a book you can buy in the store. Your trip is probably too early for Shanghai's pin trading fun day which is the only time you would expect lots of traders to bring pins into the park.

As far as CM trading, you'll see the same fakes that you see in resorts elsewhere in the world. Most pins are fake but you may find some interesting mystery pins or rack pins that aren't seen in other parks. In Shanghai, there are some stores where if you buy designated merchandise, you can trade from a special pin board. If you buy an LE or see a pin board in a shop, ask about it because it's not advertised. I've gotten LRs on them and found that almost all the pins on those boards were real.

Be aware that the CMs in Hong Kong and Shanghai are instructed to look for the pin trading logo and often will reject trades for authentic Disney pins that do not have that logo. So Japanese pins, Marvel pins, etc are all commonly rejected. Also be careful if you're buying pins in the Disney stores in Shanghai or Japan because many do not bear the pin trading logo (they are accepted for trade in the US though).
 
Gelatoni, thank you so much for the complete guide to pin trading. I will be sure to pack a lot less than I had originally thought. I have a lot of pins with the mickey head and hope that we could do some trading. I will be sure to check the backs as I would like to trade in HK and Shanghai.
 


Thanks for the great info. I remember seeing pins specific to HK when we were there way back in 2008 but I wasn't trading/collecting at that point. (Darn it!) Am I likely to find pins specifically made for Shanghai there these days? We're going to be there in July!
 
Thanks for the great info. I remember seeing pins specific to HK when we were there way back in 2008 but I wasn't trading/collecting at that point. (Darn it!) Am I likely to find pins specifically made for Shanghai there these days? We're going to be there in July!

Pins vary by season but you'll find a lot in the store on Mickey Avenue. There's some for each land and some saying "Shanghai Disneyland". They also have some Shanghai exclusive framed pin sets but those are expensive and hard to travel with. The pins sold in Disney Town tend to be more generic. Very few traders look for things specifically from Shanghai so I recommend you just buy what you personally want to collect.
 
We currently at Tokyo Disney and pins don't seem to be a thing here. My kids collect but aren't really into trading, so I can't talk about the trading aspect. Even though there was only a very small section of pins in the stores there were a few interesting and unique ones for Tokyo Disney at good prices so it was fun for them to find some new ones that they wouldn't find at home.
 



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