Disney Pin trading Outside the Parks

This is part three of a three part series. You can click here to read part one and here to read part two

Once you get home from the park with your newly traded for Disney Pins, chances are good you are going to want more. There might be sets you want to complete, or maybe you saw some in the parks and didn't have a chance to buy or trade for. In my case, it's both of those, and that I just want more. You can never have too many Disney Pins! But...now what? Disney's alllll the way over there, and you aren't...

Now, you go online!

Before you dash off to Google, Facebook or Ebay, let me give you a few tips to SAFELY buy pins online.

Buying or trading pins online can be fun, but there also is a small amount of risk. If you are trading with someone, there is a chance, though usually very small, that either you will not get your pins, or something will happen and they won't get theirs. That's why it's important to trade through a reputable group.

Where can you find pins online?

Facebook

There are several Disney Pin Trading or Selling groups on Facebook. Search for Disney Pins and you will have a lot of places pop up. You can also find various Disney forums that have members hoping to buy, sell or trade. It doens't matter if you sell or if you trade, be sure that you mail your pins in a bubble envelope, mail when you say you will, and send over the package tracking number. Those three simple steps go a long way in assuring that people will want to trade with you again!


Ebay


If you'd rather just straight out buy your pins from a place, Ebay is my first stop. While you CAN buy mystery lots of pins, I prefer not to, because I like to know what I'm getting. If I can't see the actual pins I'm buying, I tend not to buy because many of the mystery lots are priced well, but will have pins that are damaged, much older and the parks will be flooded with them, and there's a good possibility the pin might be an overrun, or a scrapper pin, which are better used for crafts, or decorating, and not trading.

There are loads of people selling perfectly legitimate Disney pins on Ebay though. Some of the best buys are when you search “Booster pack” or “Mystery pouch” because those usually contain between 5 and 7 pins each. Often you can get those for around $10 a package, and if these are going to be pins you want to trade, or collect, $2 or so a pin isn't bad at all! Often I can get lucky and get them for just under $2 each. That sure beats in park prices. Another time when being prepared pays off! 

You can also find a lot of single pins, including ones that are currently sold in the Disney Parks, for half the price, so it's worth a quick look. There are several sellers I've had good luck with and both feedback, plus a listing with good photos and enough information about your pin are indications of a good seller.

Need some good suggestions? 

I am happy to suggest the names of groups I have bought or traded pins from before on Facebook. If interested, just send me an email!

There are also stores that sell the pins online, and some people sell through Pinpics. I have not done either of those myself, so I don't feel confident in recommending any one place in particular.


I've just made an online trade! What's the best way to ship it? 

Congrats! Now let's make sure that pin makes it there safe! Always secure your pin when you ship it, either with bubble wrap, in a ziploc bag, or pinned through some cardboard. That keeps the pin from being tossed around and getting damaged, especially if there are other pins in the envelope. The pins headed your way might not arrive like that, but you should always do the right thing and package it nicely. Once you've mailed it is the next most important step: always send the tracking info to each other. Tracking info isn't a fail safe, but by doing so, it not only shows you mailed or were mailed your pins, but that you also took reasonable precaution in sending them with tracking. Tracking comes free with first class mail packages in the USA. 

That's really all there is...now go have fun browsing and daydreaming about all of the millions of pins out there! Just buy responsibility! It's addictive! 


If you have bought, sold or traded pins online, would you like to share some of your favorite places?