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| Seems legit! |
"Lot of 50 Disney Pins - $22" on eBay was far too tempting of an offer, and without a moment's hesitation, I decided to buy them, fully aware of the existence of what is known among Disney pin traders as "scrappers." So what are scrappers? Usually, scrappers are pins cast from the molds of discontinued pins - essentially, bootleg pins. What you end up purchasing is an inferior product - usually the enamel paint used to color the pins is chipped, or, in some cases, not even present at all.
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| Sure is a heck of a lot of Hidden Mickey pins... |
So when you're shopping on eBay for lots of Disney pins, what should you do? Well, for one, if the lot seems suspiciously inexpensive, you should probably do some investigating before carrying on further. A seller might have extremely good feedback from people who don't know any better. While I usually try to lean towards the optimistic, there are certain cases (especially with collectibles) where it's definitely worth taking a moment to read feedback on the seller.
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| Something doesn't seem quite right here...
Often, you'll discover that more experienced, keener-eyed pin traders have posted comments that the product which they received consisted of mostly, if not all scrappers. The sellers, of course, will dispute this and claim that they got all of their pins from Walt Disney World or Disneyland, which is, of course, plausible, but it is highly unlikely that they'd be selling the pins for less than fifty cents a piece. These sellers also often advertise that the pins have the official Disney Pin Trading seal on the back, as well as official Mickey rubber backs, but if they're using discarded molds, naturally the back will match the front, and you can pick up extra Mickey rubber backs from the parks.
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| A colored pin and a pin lacking enamel |
So is all hope lost for those who just want a bunch of pins for a relatively low price, specifically for trading? Not at all. There are Disney pin sellers on eBay that sell lots of pins for a discounted rate, usually around two dollars per pin, which is still much less than picking up pins at the park for trading purposes. If you search for "Disney pin lots no scrappers" you'll find these sellers, but still always check their feedback, just in case.
Lastly, I would like to address one more question that might pop up. Say you've already ordered pins that you strongly suspect are scrappers, but could pass for authentic pins? I definitely received a few in the lot that may be authentic, or at least are extremely well done. If you have several that you like, feel free to keep them in your collection, but please please please don't trade them. At best, the cast member (or guest) that you are trying to trade with will refuse these and take them away from you to remove them from circulation, and at worst, you'll keep scrappers circulating in routes that should be safe for everyone to assume is legitimate.
After all, if you trade that scrapper to an unwitting cast member, who then trades with a child, who might try to trade said scrapper again later to a more experienced cast member, do you want to be responsible for that kid being told they were given a fake pin? It ruins the fun and the experience for everyone, so please don't try to trade these.
That said - head out, pick up some lots of legitimate pins, and go hunting for those pins that your heart truly desires!
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Cast members will not tell you no if you try to trade a scrapper. There is a huge bin in each area's management office that they put the bad pins in and then toss them. As a former CM, were are not allowed to ever tell a guest no for a pin trade.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information, Meghann! I'll have to make some slight modifications to this post, as I'd been going on mostly anecdotal evidence, since was the first time I'd run across scrappers personally.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, when still on stage, do cast members remove any pins they suspect/know are scrappers from their lanyards while still on stage, or do they stay on the lanyard until break/end of shift?