Disney Pins from EBAY What would u do?

[dalmatian7]

I bought two lots separetly from 2 different sellers. They were small lots so I thought I'd be alright...plus the sellers have close if not 100% feedback. Well the funny thing is I got one "rare pin" (a hidden mickey 6 of 6) and then from the other seller I got the SAME pin with the SAME number on the back...yup that is definatly a fake. I labelled both lots fakes told my fiance to choose his favs to not be traded and we will give them to friends(who we know won't go to Disney) as gifts from our trip. ah well...live and learn and move on

Similar thing here. I bought a small lot for not a rediculously cheap price from someone with an almost 100% feedback. when I questioned the pin being legit, they said "just keep it". I am guessing to keep me from hurting their 100%. They are pins I never planned on trading anyway, I just liked them. But it has me really hesitant to trade at all.

 

[torinsmom]

I don't have the time or energy to look all the pins I have gotten and compare them to some picture online. Mine all seem the same quality as what I see in the stores at WDW and they have the Disney stamp on the back. Some were cheap on ebay, some were traded for. I figure if a serious trader tries to trade for them, they will notice and not do the trade. Most people trade to get pins they like anyway.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Most likely you did get some scrappers but the CM lanyards are full of scrappers and the CM's don't really care. I have bought my kids pins off of ebay for the last couple of trips and will be purchasing soon for this trip. I doubt that many serious collectors trade from CM's and if they do, they surely can tell a real from a fake.

 

[humboldthny]

I've gotten a number of pin lots off of eBay over the past few years and have noticed a marked increase in 'scrappers' - some with missing color or flaws in the finish (like bubbles or uneven surfaces), slightly different colors on duplicate pins, loose or poorly attached stems on the back.

For this trip I decided to go ahead and pay a little more ($2/pin) from a seller (bizzybee1) who was selling booster sets in their original sealed packaging. It was more $$ for fewer pins, but it was getting to the point that the quality of the "official" $1/pin lots was so poor that I didn't feel comfortable giving to my dd7 to trade anymore.

We've only ever been turned down on a trade once by a CM - dd was trying to trade a pin she had gotten from another CM....we weren't well informed on scrappers at the time and didn't realize it was one of the Spanish Sedesma pins.

At this point dd is getting fairly good at spotting the more suspicious pins on CM lanyards.

If you have a car at Disney you can also go to the outlets nearby and find pins at the Disney store for anywhere from $1.50-$4 each, depending on what they have in stock at the time. Our last trip we had to make a resupply run

 

[jdyer09]

I just posted about that same seller. I had a good experience with them? From what I could tell the ones received were real Disney pins. Got two sets for the kids. Bought 1, the second set is on its way.

What did you get in your assortment that was fake?


edited to add: my kiddlets just trade and trade and trade, and give pins away too. They each gave away a handful to other kids on busses etc last time we went. (thought other kids would want to trade too. :O) )

I got pins that were off color, and had rough edges with rough backing and a few didnt even have the disney stamp on the back. When they did have the disney stamp on them they were misspelled or clearly not of disney quality.

While a pp flamed me for my choice of actions, I refuse to be taken advantage of and pay for a fake item. The seller refused any refund and ebay sided with me stating that I shouldnt have to pay return shipping for a fake item, when the seller refused to pay return shipping and refund the money the ebay rep said just keep them, its the sellers fault. It certainly wasnt my intention of keeping a product I didnt pay for, it just worked out that way. I was merely trying to help a fellow DISer get her $100 back. I would only have been out $15 and was furious, I cant imagine what being taken for $100 would feel like!

 

[stargazertechie]

I'd be contacting Disney Fraud and eBay. That seller knows they're selling scrappers.

I also would NOT trade them with CMs. You know the disappointment you feel now? Think about the fact that you would be disappointing 100 other families when you put more scrappers into circulation.

 

[stargazertechie]

I also wanted to add that I bought 50 pins yesterday at the Disney Character Premier for $110. Sure, not as cheap, but I know for sure that they are the real deal

 

[mickeyonasticky]

I'd be contacting Disney Fraud and eBay. That seller knows they're selling scrappers.

I also would NOT trade them with CMs. You know the disappointment you feel now? Think about the fact that you would be disappointing 100 other families when you put more scrappers into circulation.

Unless they either a) don't care about scrappers or b) are serious traders and know what to look for. It wouldn't be jdyer09's fault for the families' disappointment.

 

[stargazertechie]

Unless they either a) don't care about scrappers or b) are serious traders and know what to look for. It wouldn't be jdyer09's fault for the families' disappointment.

If you KNOWINGLY put scrappers into circulation, yes, it is your fault that someone else unknowingly gets a scrapper.

 

[disneybirds]

We went with a family in April that had never been to Disney. I bought pins for their kids off eBay since our kids have tons that they have collected over the years. It never occurred to me that they might not be real, but the kids had a blast trading them with the CMs in the parks.

 

[bytheblood]

I will first say this: I do not approve of anybody cheating, scamming, lying, etc. I am referring to the people who make or sell the pins, not those who receive them or trade them.

However, if the person who has the pin likes the pin or can trade it for one they do like and Disney really does not care (they have to know), why place such a huge emphasis on it? If the pin looks like junk that is one thing, but if it looks fine on the front then let people have their pins. If you are putting it in a collection, displaying it, putting it in a book, etc - really, why is it such a huge deal? People place too much emphasis on personal possessions it seems. It is not like a pin collection is going to make you millions.


To the OP - if they look like junk, I would ask for a refund. If they are obviously not good pins, I would report those sellers.

 

[shalom]

If you KNOWINGLY put scrappers into circulation, yes, it is your fault that someone else unknowingly gets a scrapper.

The only ones who knowingly put scrappers into circulation are the ones who manufacture them. After that, it's all guess work, because Disney is not saying word one about it.

If you have a pin that doesn't look good, of course you shouldn't pass it on, but that's true whether it's a scrapper or got beat up in someone's pocket or just hasn't aged well.

 

[torinsmom]

Question---Do some official Disney pins say "Disney China" on the back? I have it on some pins I bought on ebay and also ones I bought at the parks. None of my pins have weird colors and they all seem to be of the same quality. In this case, how would one know they have "scrappers"?

 

[kmann728]

This is such a sticky subject! I've been pin trading since 1999 and I honestly couldn't tell you 100% if a pin is real or not. There are just too many variables, and unfortunately it is possible to buy a pin from Disney that's just poor quality. Doesn't mean it's a scrapper.
I'm also downsizing my collection and have been listing on eBay. Just because my pin lots are selling for $1 a pin doesn't necessarily means they're all scrappers. The pin market sucks and I'd rather get $100 in my pocket then have have 100 pins right now. I'm always afraid that someone is going to think that I've tried to pass off a scrapper but if I've done it, it's been unintentional.

 

[shalom]

Question---Do some official Disney pins say "Disney China" on the back? I have it on some pins I bought on ebay and also ones I bought at the parks. None of my pins have weird colors and they all seem to be of the same quality. In this case, how would one know they have "scrappers"?

I think all the ones I've bought direct from Disney say "[copyright mark] Disney China" on the back. Certainly most of them do. But I know some don't.

There's no way to know if a pin the same design and quality as those you bought direct from Disney is a scrapper. Disney has announced that there are unauthorized pins being exchanged, and provided pictures for some of them, but these are pins Disney never sold. Pin Pics will tell sometimes you if a pin is being offered direct from China, which makes it very likely there are some scrappers on the market, but if it's a standard over run there will be no way to tell the ones Disney sold from the ones the factory made without authorization once they're in the U.S..

Disney is the only one who can do anything about the guys in overseas, which is where scrapper pins originate. All you can do is to not buy your pins from sellers in China or that area (which I always forget to mention!) -- meaning check your seller's location on ebay -- and don't trade pins that you know are flawed (whether because they were poorly made scrappers or because they've been beat up). You can also get your pins at Disney outlets if you want to be dead sure you're at least starting with authorized pins (there are at least three authorized stores in Orlando; usually there are some for a dollar, then some more for two dollars and on up). But after you've done what you can, don't worry about it.

And please don't stop collecting or trading for fear of scrappers. Disney is the one being ripped off by the scrappers, and the last thing Disney wants you to do is to refuse to trade or collect! They know how addictive those little pieces of metal can be, and that most people who start out with e-bay pins end up buying full price pins from the parks.

 

[trixiedixie]

You don't. The only way to know you have an authentic Disney pin it so buy it yourself from an authorized Disney store. The only pins Disney has made any noise about are not scrappers (over runs or copies of Disney pins), but rather out right counterfeits. Some CMs who collect pins themselves may recognize some of the most common counterfeits, although even then most of them will take the trade and then just set the pins aside instead of trading them back out.

If you're buying pins from anyone but Disney, or if you trade pins, you're at risk for getting a scrapper. But if the scrappers are of good quality, the same quality that Disney sells, and if Disney is not announcing which pins have been scrapped and asking people to watch for them, then it is not your job to watch for scrappers. Of course you don't want to pass on poorly made or defective pins, but you can buy one of those jewel gowned princess pins direct from Disney and end up with a pin that's missing some of the jewels -- the fact that it's an authentic pin doesn't mean you should trade with it.

Disney wants you to have fun trading pins and to be fair to others by not trading a pin you know is damaged. Disney is not asking you to be the scrapper police; if they wanted you to worry about scrappers, they'd be telling you what to look for, and what pins to avoid. Trading pins is supposed to be fun, not a source of worry. You're free to examine the pin yourself and make sure it's physically okay before trading, but there is no way for you, or usually for anyone, to be sure an authentic Disney design pin was originally sold by Disney or not when you trade for it.



If the fact that you got 2 "hidden mickey 6 of 6" pins from two different sellers is your only evidence that they're scrappers, then that is not sufficient evidence. I bought a bunch of pins that said the exact same thing last year from the outlet stores for less than a dollar apiece. Hidden Mickeys are not limited edition pins, and they're not hard to get, either by trading with cast members or by buying one of the mystery bags.

The reason CMs do not refuse to trade is because Disney doesn't want their CMs disappointing a bunch of kids in the park.
Orange County Register
Two men are scheduled to appear in court Friday on charges of importing $2 million worth of fake Disney pins from China and planning to sell them online as genuine collectibles. According to the DA’s office, the men sent legitimate collectible pins to a manufacturer in China to be replicated and had the fake pins shipped back to them. They are accused of receiving approximately 80 shipments of counterfeit pins from China with an approximate value of $2 million, according to the DA’s office. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Anaheim Police Department.

“American businesses and American brands are under assault from counterfeiters,” Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for ICE HSI in Los Angeles, said in a statement. “The sale of counterfeit products robs Americans of jobs, stifles American innovation, promotes crime and introduces substandard and sometimes harmful products into commerce,” Arnold said. “The only ones who benefit from schemes like this are the counterfeiters, and they’re getting rich at America’s expense.”
by Greg Hardesty

 

[PAcpl]

When I first started trading I was so extremely anal about not getting scrappers. After a while I just kind of gave up and realized if I like the pin I like the pin. Who cares either way. If there is distinct difference in a pin when I have a full set I will toss that pin and keep trading until I find the authentic one. But half the fun in trading is the search and finding pins you think are cool, so even if it is a scrapper I don't care.

 

[budafam]

I just bought a few lots of pins off Ebay for my kids to trade this time around. Are most of them scrappers? Probably. Do I care? Not really. I'm not a serious trader nor do I ever want to be (not at this moment anyways). Paying $7.95 or more per pin seems INSANE to me so yeah, I will take my $15 lot of 25 pins from Ebay and gladly trade them... I will not feel "guilty" in anyway nor really care what the CM's do with them. I can see your point being mad about the scrapper issue but if you didn't want them to be fake, why not buy in the parks?

 

[Cyrano]

Closing as this is a thread from last year