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It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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Yep, that's me. I have never done it, and I have bought some cheap-o pins at the Disney Store to trade this next trip. I have loads of pins, but none I want to part with.
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No need to be nervous!! I always just feel like I'm invading their personal space when I scope out their pins on their lanyards Like I'm staring them down or something! I stay away from the fellas with the pin pouches around their waist
I always scope from a distance b/c I hate telling them "Okay, thank you" when they don't have anything I want.... it's like I'm rejecting them or something......
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I think my kids were a little nervous at first but when they saw how easy it was and how friendly people were about it, they weren't shy anymore. And sure they had their favourites that they couldn't part with but so did everyone else. To be expected. They can't wait to do it again on our Disney Cruise.
We keep our pins in our backpack because we lost some form the lanyard the first trip. Because we don't have them visible we choose when to trade and only trade with CM's. It is always a great experience. They have no attachment to the pins because they turn them in at the end of the day. It always works in your/your childs favor.
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No need to worry. Start out by only trading with cast members. Since the guest must initiate a trade with a CM, you only have to offer a trade for something you really want, and it's up to you as to what pin you give in exchange.
Of course, trading depends on having pins you're willing to trade. I'm mostly a collector, as I usually buy only pins I like or want. I also have a supply of cheaply-acquired pins that I have no attachment to, for trading with CMs.
There's a cast member on MK's Main St. known as Scoop Sanderson. He's the Main St. Reporter, a top expert on pin trading, and he gives pin trading talks at about 1 PM several times per week. Whether you meet him on the street, or attend a pin trading talk, he'll give you a great introduction to the art of pins and trading. Ask for Scoop's schedule at City Hall.
Trading with serious pin traders is an whole other thing, since the serious traders and collectors have made a study of pins and their values. It's indeed challenging to feel like you've made a fair trade when you're a newcomer to pin trading. I only trade at this level occasionally, using pins that I know are desirable to the traders (you can look them up on pin trading sites), in exchange for pins that I'm confident are of comparable value - it's not a matter of trying to trade up in this case, but of trading duplicates from my collection for pins I don't have. But again, I only do this occasionally - easily 95% of my trading is done with cast members.
Good luck!
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I agree with everyone's advice here, especially Dave's. We're mainly collectors rather than traders also, but we always scope out the CM's everywhere we go, especially for the CM-only pins.
Mestitch:
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I always scope from a distance b/c I hate telling them "Okay, thank you" when they don't have anything I want.... it's like I'm rejecting them or something......
I feel the same way! You can almost see a CM's face fall when they know they have a lanyard full of lame pins that no one wants!
I'd like to offer you a warning about some of the...ahem...pin-trading predators. These people tend to lurk outside of the Pin Trading store at Downtown Disney, where there are tables set up for this very thing. They will have books and corkboards of pins, presumably for pin trading. But of course, you're probably not going to have anything of value that they want. Do not, under any circumstances, allow them to talk you into "buying" one of their pins. This behavior is strictly prohibited at the pin trading locales.
Also more or less ethical (but not illegal), depending on your viewpoint, is that say you find a pin of theirs that you really like, but (surprise!), you have nothing they want. They will tell you, "Well, this pin is worth x amount of the xxxx pins inside," and they'll get you to buy the pins in the Pin-Trading Store that they want.
Personally, I disagree with this kind of behavior, but it's up to everyone's preference. A friend of ours bought 2 Tinkerbell pins for one of these traders to get a completer for his CM-only set that he couldn't find anywhere else.
Anytime you are with a CM transacting business, like buying souvenirs, just take the time to look at their lanyard. They are standing there, facing you, ringing up your merchandise and you have nothing else to do anyway. If you see a pin you like, just tell them as you're signing your receipt that you'd like to trade pins with them. Or, if you don't see anything you like, don't mention it. That way you don't feel awkward asking to see their pins and then not finding anything you like.
Make sure you wear your lanyard as often as possible because there have been a couple of occasions where a CM saw one of my pins and admired it. I was more than happy to trade with them.
If you can, get those military style clutch backs for your pins. They are also known as "frogs". They hold the pins better than the Mickey head pin backs. BUT make sure you have the Mickey heads in your bag and give those when trading, not the metal clutch back. Remove your pin, put the clutch back in your pocket, put the Mickey head on and give the pin to the other person. Take the Mickey head off your new pin, put it on your lanyard with the clutch back and store the Mickey head.
I will only trade with CMs. I know that already. And I think I will keep my lanyard in my back pack and scope them out secretly, whipping out my own pins in case I want to trade.
I am also mostly a collector, and won't even bring any of those pins. Every trip I buy around 3-4 pins of either attractions that are my favorites or one that has a special memory from that trip. I could never part with those!
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I'm STILL having problems with pin backs staying on!! Is there a surefire way to keep pins attached to whatever you attach them to (aside from using hot glue)?
They have those locking backs if you have pins that you know you aren't taking off your lanyard for awhile. They sell them at Disney, they are these little cylinder shaped things that come with a little allen wrench (sp?) to tighten/loosen the back.
We only trade with CMs except the one time I had my lanyard on at the MK and this pin shark little girl came over and wanted to trade with me... The teacher in me had to do it... but now I only wear my lanyard with my favorite, LE Stitch pins when I see Stitch in the parks The rest of my pins that I want to collect and keep are in my pin book Andy gave me back in May and then I keep one or two pages of that book filled with tradeable pins. Andy carrys the book in his backpack for me and we just take it out when we see something we want to trade for. It's not one of the BIG books, it's the small photo album size one and I it!
Andy just added that he wants me to tell his idea of a special colored lanyard for folks wanting to trade. Which is a good idea I think. CMs have certain color ones for trading with kids only and then everyone. So they could make a pin trading lanyard that you can wear the pins you're willing trade with anybody and anybody can see that and know they can approach you about trading.... (like the pin shark girl that got me!)
When I was down there, I only traded with CMs. I didn't know at the time that they had to trade with you, I found that out later in the trip. The main reason that I didn't trade with regular people was they didn't have ones I was interested in trading. CMs are all super nice about it. Some of them, upon seeing my lanyard would come up to me and offer a trade. It was soooo much fun, and I can't wait to start over again next year.
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No need to be nervous!! I always just feel like I'm invading their personal space when I scope out their pins on their lanyards 
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