Disneyland & Pin collectors

[Oswald]

Let me just say right off the bat, that I have no opinion on this topic one way or the other... I'm just alittle bit curious :monkey:

Last Sunday I was at DL, and as I exited the Buzz ride, there were 4 or 5 people standing around with thick, professional looking black albums filled with collectable pins. My first thought was, "this is an odd place to put an outdoor vending cart." But then I realized, these aren't employees, they're just guest bringing in albums and albums of pins to trade.

I know nothing about pin collecting or trading. But, am I correct in this thinking? Do people actually bring in these binders all the way from the parking deck to trade pins? Can you also buy pins from these collectors? And is Disney ok with this?

Or, was this like a special "pin trading day" event at the park?

Just asking.

[Cuzco-topia]

Ohhhh, more than you know, Oswald... these are very sick individuals who have ventured into the neverending quest for pin collecting that bring in their over stuffed binders, heavy laden lanyards around their neck, vest of shiny badges, and hats that poke from the inside.

Hi, I'm Cuzco, and I am a recovering pin collector.

[wolfy]

The first Sunday every month is "pin trading day" at the park. They do not sell anything (or at least they are not supposed to). I'ts quite an obsession, I know my family and I got hooked very easily. Disney promotes pin trading, cause you have to buy to trade....They sure knew what they were doing with that one!

It started back in 1999 and has ballooned into a "pin trading" cult. It's lots of fun and you meet lots of people. If you notice CM's with lanyards on, they have to trade with any customer for any pin on their lanyard. There is certain etiquette and rules, but mainly it just for fun! Disney has an official "pin trading" site for all the rules and how it works for the guests and CM's! Try it, you might like it!

I personally collect Disney cats (of course), my Hubby collects Pixar, and my daughter is mainly Stitch and Tink. We are going tonight, wearing our lanyards proudly!

[Retlaw Yensid]

The first Sunday every month is "pin trading day" at the park. They do not sell anything (or at least they are not supposed to). I'ts quite an obsession, I know my family and I got hooked very easily. Disney promotes pin trading, cause you have to buy to trade....They sure knew what they were doing with that one!

It started back in 1999 and has ballooned into a "pin trading" cult. It's lots of fun and you meet lots of people. If you notice CM's with lanyards on, they have to trade with any customer for any pin on their lanyard. There is certain etiquette and rules, but mainly it just for fun! Disney has an official "pin trading" site for all the rules and how it works for the guests and CM's! Try it, you might like it!

I personally collect Disney cats (of course), my Hubby collects Pixar, and my daughter is mainly Stitch and Tink. We are going tonight, wearing our lanyards proudly!

etiquette - KEY WORD
I started pin trading this year (I am a rare cast member pin collector). And I hate seeing people being impolite when asking to trade with a cast member.

First "cult" that I have joined that I didn't have to shave my head. :devil:
The pin time is the right time the pin time is the right time...Kool-aid anyone? :devil: :devil: :devil:

[BigPigletFan]

The reason why people were trading with their books by the Buzz attraction is because "Little Green Men Store Command" used to be "The Premier Shop" and was the pin headquarters for new pins, trading, gift with purchases, etc. I got started with pin trading in Oct of 2003 on our trip to WDW. I must say you will see more casual traders at the WDW park than at DLR. However, DLR has more traders aka locals who trade.. a lot. People even trade online at www.pinpics.com and there is an official Disney pin site, www.dizpins.com besides the official www.disneypins.com and www.disneyauctions.com. The sad thing is that many of these pins can sell for a lot of the auctions or on ebay. I must admit though, t is a lot of fun to trade. I finally got to attend my first pin trading night in one of the hotel's ballrooms and saw some traders with even more than I could imagine. I do have quite a few pins, yes, but not all of them are great pins. Some of the traders were literally hunting down others to almost force them into trading. That is when it goes bad. I personally have only brought my bag into the park on pin release days (when other traders will be there with their bags) and other similar situations. Most of the time I only bring in a lanyard and a pocket full of trader pins into the park.

[dramaqueen]

I must say that pin trading has been far far FAR too intense a domain to venture into for me, although I must say it is an excellent marketing plot in Disney's part. The closest I have gotten was buying the trash can pin set, which is apparantly worth four times what I paid for it. I will says it seems to be a pretty profitable hobby, and I did participate in the CM program when I worked there, it was a fuun way to meet and interact with guests, especially kids.

[Oswald]

Thanks for all the info. I had no idea. I knew pin trading was a fun hobby people did, but I didn't realize it was that big or intense.