So how many trading pins do we start with?

[malcontent]

We are taking DD9 for her first trip to WDW in August.

I have read quite a few posts on trading pins, and think it would be a great thing for her to do.

I anticipate buying a number of pins to get her started, but I want to make sure we don't go down there with too many or too few.

Anyone have any suggestions as to how many to give her for her starter set?

 

[cowtownmom]

I guess I would say it somewhat depends on how much she likes pins and how many you think she would like to have. Real sure answer for you isn't it?! LOL

There are a lot of sellers on ebay who sell pins in large quantities for really great prices - usually @ $2 - $3 each. These are good to buy for trading.

 

[Aliceacc]

I have no idea; I'm new to this.

But I went to www.mousepinsonline.com and got them at about $2 each. I have 3 kids and we now have a total of 27 pins, so we'll be going down with 9 pins for each of them.

I think I'll give them 4 each day to start with, and each night they can re-evaluate which pins they want for the next day.

 

[glitterkittyy]

I think you'd be good to start with 20 pins for that age. She'll have a lot of chances to trade and keep trading during your stay. It's a lot of fun and really enhances the trip. Hope she has a blast!

ETA: I have found going with too few pins results in the "I wants" from the kids meaning they'll want to buy some while there. It's way cheaper to buy them ahead of time!

 

[rt2dz]

Last year was our first time pin trading. I had been told 10-15 each. I bought for all three, not that I thought DS2 would, but just in case he at least wanted them... Thankfully, he could care less.

I started with 12 each and split DS2 between the older two so they had 18. Not enough. We ended up buying, at the outlet store, about another dozen or so pins. This year, I've been buying at Disney shopping semi annual pin sale, off eBay, and thinking about mousepins (it's the pro-pins that have stopped me so far). I'm trying to make sure each kid (just in case DS2 has an interest this year--last year he had just turned 2, this year he'll be just shy of 3) has at least 50 tradable. I'd really prefer closer to 100, so that is my true goal, but I think DS2 pins could be split again. I think as they go through them, there will be some keepers. Have to get some keepers too!

It might depend on how long your trip is too. We go for 10 days.

 

[dobtia]

We are going in June. All three of us love Disney pins. We buy many there each year, and some during the year from EBAY.

My son is five, and I know about the special lanyards for cast members who deal with just kids. How good are the CM's with trading with young children? He is not a shy boy. This will be the first time any of us had did any pin trading. We are mainly wanting our son to have a good time.

 

[missj1975]

We are going in June. All three of us love Disney pins. We buy many there each year, and some during the year from EBAY.

My son is five, and I know about the special lanyards for cast members who deal with just kids. How good are the CM's with trading with young children? He is not a shy boy. This will be the first time any of us had did any pin trading. We are mainly wanting our son to have a good time.

In my experience, all the CM's have been very friendly when pin trading.
I think the fact that the majority of the CM's are so friendly and talkative makes pin trading all the more enjoyable and addictive.

 

[glitterkittyy]

My kids started with about 10 each. My youngest counted her pins yesterday (we're going to the parks tomorrow), and she now has 88 pins! This is why I buy in lots. lol

CMs are fabulous about trading. It's almost always a very enjoyable experience.

 

[Amirah95]

I now seek pin trading advice over at dizpins.com and/or ask down in the Collectors forum here on the Dis. I also refer to pinpics.com. I only buy official Disney pins from Disney or Ebay (if it's a hard pin to get). And how many to buy depends on your wallet. I would start her out on five since she's a little girl.

 

[kakiegirl]

My DD is nine and loves pin trading she has been doing it since she was three. We put an average of 10 fresh pins on her laynard each day. Actually all three of us trade now. We start buying pins on e-bay about once a month every time we get back from a trip. However, when she first started trading she did not trade that many and she would trade some over and over she would see one she liked on one CM and get it then later see one she liked better and trade the one she got from the first CM. However, now she is a little expert she likes to collect certain series and the Hidden Micky Cast Member pins and anything Stitch. You can find reputable sellers on ebay that sale them for around $2.00 a pin.

 

[DisneyPoohBear]

I just purchased 25 pins from Mousepinsonline.com for $49.00 with shipping and we got some really nice ones. There weren't that many propins and i have heard from many people on this board that the cast members will trade them. I did however get shorted one but they were quick to to respond and send another to me. I will for sure be buying form them again!! (I don't work for them , i just was excited to get so many for my son to trade for pirate ones!! )

 

[mitchwebb]

Is there a way to know if they are official Disney pins. I bought some back in 2005 for our trip on ebay and they where cheap pins not official. I ended up not taking them to trade.

 

[mousebouncer]

We went with our DD and bought just a few to start (3 or 4 I think). As we were in Epcot, a CM saw our DD with her "few" on her lanyard and said, "You don't have nearly enough!" He pulled out a bus pin (UGLY) and told her to go trade it for something she really would like with another CM. It was really sweet. Then we brought the grandparents and they also thought she didn't have enough. The buying ensued and now she has so many on her lanyard I think she'll need physical therapy! So how many to start with? We started with 3 or 4 and eveyone else did the rest!

 

[kakiegirl]

I think on the collectors board they may have advice on reputable ebay sellers, I know they did at one time. Look for Sellers with good approval ratings that state official Disney Pins, no Euro, Sedesma or Pro Pins. If they do not state this I would not buy from them.

 

[missj1975]

Is there a way to know if they are official Disney pins. I bought some back in 2005 for our trip on ebay and they where cheap pins not official. I ended up not taking them to trade.

As long as a pin is stamped with the Disney copyright on the back of the pin, the pin is tradeable. Newer pins have a Disney Official Pin trading logo with the Disney copyright but older pins usually just have the Disney copyright stamp. Sellers on ebay usually list that the pin is stamped with the Disney copyright. All the pins that mousepinsonline.com sell are tradeable at the parks.

 

[bellazachmom]

I apologize in adcance for "high-jacking" this thread, but I am also new to pin trading and am not up on all of the lingo.

What exactly is "pro-pin"?

Thanks! Jennie

 

[kakiegirl]

I apologize in adcance for "high-jacking" this thread, but I am also new to pin trading and am not up on all of the lingo.

What exactly is "pro-pin"?

Thanks! Jennie

I am sure someone more knowledeable can answer better. But the pro-pins, Sedesma and Euro are not made by Disney and are a much cheaper quality pin. You can tell by looking at them they are different. However, they are licensed by Disney and have Disney on the back of them. Some people say they are tradeable with CM's and some say not. I do see some on CM laynards each trip. I would not trade them as they are a poor quality pin.

 

[IsaDun]

Could someone please tell be about pin trading? I have seen posts on these boards and, forgive, I really do not know about this. I will be traveling with 3 grandkids, ages 8,7 and 5 in October and wondering if this would be interesting for them. What exactly does this entail. If I were to pre purcjase pins for them, what happens with them at Disney. I know this question is probably lame but I really dont know about this pin trading. Hope someone can answer me. Thanks so very much

 

[Amirah95]

Could someone please tell be about pin trading? I have seen posts on these boards and, forgive, I really do not know about this. I will be traveling with 3 grandkids, ages 8,7 and 5 in October and wondering if this would be interesting for them. What exactly does this entail. If I were to pre purcjase pins for them, what happens with them at Disney. I know this question is probably lame but I really dont know about this pin trading. Hope someone can answer me. Thanks so very much

Everything you need to know about Disney Pin Trading, officially, can be found here.

Other great sites of interest and info:

http://www.pinpics.com
http://www.dizpins.com

I remember getting started in pin trading back in 2003 and I asked for help here at the Dis and got this info below PMed to me (I forget the username of the person that helped me).

DISNEY PIN TRADING

http://www.pinpics.com/
http://psc.disney.go.com/eventservices/
http://www.dizpins.com/
http://www.dizneypins.com/

Pin trading has been great for my DD 6. Here's some info/tips:

1. Trading is done with official Disney pins that you can buy at the parks, hotels, downtown Disney shops, and maybe the Disney Store (although I think they've stopped, but I'm not sure).

2. Most "standard" pins cost around $6.50. Other "special" pins cost $8 and up (I've seen some for sale for over $100). Some pins you can't buy, but get only through trading with CM's or as part of certain special events.

3. CM's will always trade any Disney pin that they have for any Disney pin that you have (as opposed to park guests and professional traders who will want to trade for a "better" pin).

4. One exception to #3 is that a CM can't take a pin if they already have it (or maybe if they already have two of it). So some of the "free" pins you can get (such as with certain vacation packages) can be difficult to trade late in the day after everyone else has unloaded their's.

5. Some CM's wear a light blue lanyard that is for trading only with children (I'm not sure up to what age).

For young children, it's hard to get them to trade a pin that they like. So for my daughter and nieces, I buy pins that I know they don't like, such as villains. My DD is just getting to the point where she gets the concept of putting together a collection. So, since her favorite character is Ariel, she now only trades for Ariel pins.

For older kids, I'm sure it's fun to build a collection with some favorite character or other theme. And for kids who like to research things, sites like pinpics.com and dizpins.com let you look up pins that you have to see where they are from or how much they're worth.

In addition to certain vacation packages, you may also be able to get free pins at one of the big pin trading stores. There's one at Disneyland, and when we stopped by they had a little presentation for kids about pin trading. When it was over, each kid was given two pins. I think there are one or much such stores at the WDW parks and they might have a similar presentation. I don't know what the max age is.

HTH!

 

[PammyJJane]

I also apologize for hijacking - Is Pin Trading mostly for kids? It seems to me like I've seen more adults than children with lanyards (but maybe that's just because I've not traded and so mostly have just noticed Cast Members).

I was - maybe - thinking of doing a short solo trip in January for my birthday and - maybe - getting a lanyard and doing some pin trading. That way I'd surely speak to other people...I can be shy at times, even though I'm only slightly younger than dirt.