[BuzzLightyear]

Hey all you pin people!! I mean that in a nice way of course!!

DS, now 5 seems to be into "collecting" things. I mean he'll even collect pocket lint if you give him the chance.

Anyways, I was wondering what is a good way to start him out on pin colllecting/trading.

We have a few pins from our past trips, mostly the "free" ones we received with booking our rooms.

Thanks!!!

[ingamba]

Originally Posted by BuzzLightyear

Hey all you pin people!! I mean that in a nice way of course!!

DS, now 5 seems to be into "collecting" things. I mean he'll even collect pocket lint if you give him the chance.

Anyways, I was wondering what is a good way to start him out on pin colllecting/trading.

We have a few pins from our past trips, mostly the "free" ones we received with booking our rooms.

Thanks!!!

My advice would be to buy a "lot" of pins, preferably with a lanyard, off of Ebay. You really need to be careful when buying on Ebay, because there are a lot of sellers that don't sell official, tradable, Disney pins. Check out your seller as best you can. See if they specify that their pins are legitimate, and double check by browsing their feedback. If they claim to be selling genuine pins, and have high feedback, like in the high 90%, then most likely they are legit.

Another tip is to buy a few pins that you don't necessarily love, because those, you can use as traders on your next trip. You can trade these for pins you like better, or ones you can't easily find, such as CM lanyard pins and Limited Editions.

[The Goof Father]

When my DS was 5 he got his feet wet with pin trading. He made a lot of "head scratcher trades", but what can ya' expect from a 5 year old?

You might want to snoop Ebay for a little while so that you can get a feel for how much some of the "lots" of pins are selling for. I typically try to get a group of pins that average to about $2 each. Make sure you double check how much shipping is, because some folks charge way too much on shipping.

As you snoop Ebay, you may start to recognize some of the more reputeable sellers like Ingamba said... Some folks sell the Sedesma pins and other knock offs, and you will want to steer clear of those.

I only purchaesed like 4-5 pins at the park during my DL trip in December '05. But we brought along about 45 pins (about 10 pins for each of us) to trade, but I ended up bringing some of my old ones and had about 15 to trade. We got most of those pins off of Ebay for cheap!

HAVE FUN!

[The Goof Father]

And this may be a good idea... If you like, you can always ask our thoughts on certain deals you see, because there is a learning curve to identifying legit pins and good deals.

With the lanyard, I usually let my kids pick one out at the park. That way they get some of the park magic with that purchase and the lanyards aren't too spendy there anyways. They get lots of magic with the pins due to the trading...

[queensmama]

I bought pins off ebay. Mickey left them for her in our room. I had taken a bunch for me and a bunch for 4 yo DD. We picked out a special lanyard for her ( I already had one) Gave her 10 pins each day. Of course we came home with 500 princess pins. I let her put her special pins(one she gets to buy at the park) on her hat, those she was not allowed to trade. She did really well.
Kids enjoy this almost as much as we do.
As for looking on Ebay follow the advice already given by others. If you a questionable about it just ask one of us. Oh and PM doughnut which ones you are bidding on so she doesnt "steal" them from under your nose. LOL

[chastmastr]

Also remember you can always trade any pin of yours for any pin from a CM. I prefer to trade with CMs -- many of the big-time pin traders I have run into seem to be intense about it and I want to have more fun with it. :)

David

[CathysCAT]

I just bought 10 pins from eBay and the seller did include in her description if they were tradable at Disney. Some were not, like personalized pins, and she was honest about they could not be traded. I can't wait to get them. I'll let you know how it worked out.

[DisneyHog6]

Well, it depends. If you think that your kiddo will want to trade, then the idea to buy a bunch of pins off ebay is a good idea. You can get a bunch of pins that you don't particularly have a connection with and trade them. Then, when it comes to the pins you buy or trade for, I'd pick a theme. Like your DS's favorite character, or the resorts you've stayed at, or favorite rides, etc. Then you can buy or trade for those. But a theme helps. Otherwise, you will just be spending a TON of money buying whatever strikes your fancy... The pins can be VERY addicting...

[BuzzLightyear]

Thanks guys!
I know very little about pins. Here is one on e-bay that interests my DS.

Is it a "good" one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/CAST-LANYARD-SER...QQcmdZViewItem

[karliebug]

Buzz, Cast Laynard pins are the most collectible and therefore will go for the highest price. These are the pins that are only given to CM's to trade. You can't buy them in the parks. Does your DS have a favorite character? DD11 only trades for Goofy pins, DD7 trades for the princess pins, and DD16 loves tink. So they are always on the lookout for them at the parks. DH always tries to get the latest CM lanyard pins. When searching on ebay try putting in disney pin lot. That way you don't have to buy them individually. If your son likes collecting things, another and cheaper thing to collect is postcards of his favorite rides, parks, etc. My oldest daughter has been doing this. No matter where you go there is a postcard, and they are generally really cheap. Another collectible idea is refridgerator magnets. They have them for all the resorts and most of the attractions. Just a few ideas.

[CathysCAT]

How do you know which pins are Cast Lanyard pins? Do you ask the CM when you want to trade one of yours?

[ingamba]

Originally Posted by CathysCAT

How do you know which pins are Cast Lanyard pins? Do you ask the CM when you want to trade one of yours?

You can ask the CM, or some will have a little Classic Mickey somewhere on it, or there'll be a logo on the back that will tell you.

[FireAngel]

I try to stay out of ebay cause I tend to buy too many things cause its way too easy. In my local flea market I found some people who were selling pins. Pretty good prices.

[c-palace]

Yes my advice would to start off with a pin lot off of ebay. Get maybe a 10-15 pin lot to start them off. You can get a pin bag too or a cork board to display then! :D

But, the lots can be expensive at times. So, here is a few names that sell individual good pins at about a penny for the starting bid. They are very repuatable sellers as well with about 10,000 feeback on one. Their seller names are gyantzpd and dr. pinner. Hope that helps!