There is a lot of discussion on on-line groups, Facebook pages and sub-Reddits asking why some people get so serious about the fake pins on the boards at the US parks; that pin trading shouldn't be about the value of the pins; and that if you like a pin, then you should just enjoy it.

If you agree with this, you are a Casual Pin Trader: You're a member of a wonderful community and will have loads of fun!

If trading an authentic pin for what you later find out is a fake makes you angry, then you are a Serious Pin Trader or a Pin Collector, who will get annoyed after spending $10+ on a real pin only to come away with a $0.50 piece of tin.

Casual Pin Traders trade purely for the pleasure of what they may find. They may - or may not - know about fake pins, and will certainly be the type of customer who the bulk sellers of fake pins on eBay and Amazon will target.

Serious Pin Traders and Pin Collectors put a value on - and know the value of - their curated collection. They will have spent hundreds - if not thousands - of Dollars, Pounds, Yen and Euros on their collection.

Casual Traders and Serious Traders/Collectors co-exist but in different planes. Both are in it for fun and it doesn't mean that a Collector doesn't trade - far from it - but they are more serious about protecting their collection.

The Rude and Unscrupulous Collectors

Sadly, some experienced traders can be patronising and rude. These are in the minority and most traders are helpful and kind. However, if you've ever looked through the collections under the Breezeway in EPCOT, then you know it can be intimidating.

I've heard horror stories of the disdain and rudeness shown towards young (and not so young!) new traders. Some will take advantage of traders who don't know about pin values or fakes, and a newbie will presume that the person with 5 open PinFolio bags sitting in a Disney park will be trustworthy - but please be aware.

Some traders - and it's definitely a very small minority - would be better off remembering that they were also once an enthusiastic newbie themselves - proudly wearing a starter lanyard with 4 shiny new pins attached.

Scroungers

A scrounger is the person who knowingly buys bags of cheap fakes online then hangs around pin boards near the hotel shops - or anywhere where starter lanyard sets are sold - and pounce as soon as Little Jimmy has excitedly made his first trade on the board, swapping 2 of his new lanyard pins for 2 fakes. His parents don't know any better and are just pleased that Little Jimmy has a new hobby.

The scrounger gets in the queue behind Little Jimmy and as soon as he's left, trades from their bag of fakes for the 2 real pins Jimmy has just put down.

Each one of these pins will then be sold on eBay or Vinted for just below cost price, which becomes pure profit, apart from the $1 they paid for the fake pin (which they'll probably make up for in post & packing charges).

Sometimes they don't even have to wait for a Little Jimmy to come by. They take advantage of free parking at Disney Springs in WDW, then take the free Disney buses, Skyliner and Monorail to visit all the hotels, resorts and retail pin boards, vacuuming up all the real pins they find and replacing them with fakes. They will easily come out from a day's trading with at least 10-20 real pins, which would be worth something in the region of $200+ on eBay - with little to no cost to themselves. $1000+ a week for wandering around a few shops and hotels isn't a bad way to make a living... which is why so many do. And they haven't even had to pay for a park ticket or parking!

It's unscrupulous and immoral behaviour, which is ruining trading for pin collectors and serious traders but Disney doesn't seem to be doing anything to stop it.

Pin Resellers/Scalpers

The problem of people buying loads of pins they don't want (but know other people do), then reselling them on for a massive profit, is not new. Whether it's concert tickets or Disney pins, people will always be looking for ways to make a quick buck.

Disney has started to put limits of 1 or 2 per person on certain pin releases but even a couple of people queuing up from before dawn to get 4 new pins can make a good amount of money on their few hours investment.

Scalpers and resellers have become more and more prevalent in the last few years in two areas: The monthly collectibles (online and in parks), and at Disney's Character Warehouses (its official discount stores).

Monthly Series Scalpers

Even though the 2025 Winnie the Pooh monthly Hundred Acre Wood pins were Limited Release (LR) not Limited Edition (LE), their rarity - because of scalpers - pushed their prices out of the reach of the casual collector who managed to maybe order the first 4 (January to April) online, or bought them at a Disney store or in a park, but then found that the only way to finish their collection was to buy the rest on eBay for 3-5 times their ticketed price.

I've seen the December Pooh pins on sale for $500, whereas it cost $34.99 to buy from Disney - and remember these were LR not LE. They rarely sell for that as others will undercut them and a price war will start, but the average price for December's Pooh for real collectors who were desperate to finish their collection was around $140.

There's not a lot Disney can do about scalpers more than they're doing now, which is limiting how many of an item a person can buy, but hopefully they will eventually set up a subscription service for people who are serious about completing monthly collections, that will guarantee them a pin each month.

If they don't (and don't hold your breath), then put on your patient pants and wait, as prices will eventually come down when the scalpers can't sell, and there will always be the pin you want for trade or sale somewhere. It may take 6-12 months for prices to reduce but please don't add to the problem by buying at their vastly inflated prices.

Live-Stream Resellers

The Character Warehouses have become a breeding ground for resellers dragging festival trolleys behind them, with their phone glued to their other hand, live-streaming on TikTok or Whatnot to potential buyers. They will grab everything they can off the shelves as soon as the shop opens, then live-stream their haul (before they've paid for anything); take orders; and only buy the things that have been paid for by their customers, dumping the discarded items in a pile for staff to restock back on shelves. Anyone who visits when the store opens will be met with a queue of people and trolleys waiting outside - and the expectation of not being able to get anything they want because the shelves will be empty by the time they get through the door.

These resellers can easily be dealt with by banning festival trolleys and live-streaming from inside the stores. I have nothing against personal shoppers (as a lot of them call themselves) but they are not personal shoppers in the sense that real ones walk in with a list of orders that they need to fulfil: whereas these resellers pick up everything, which they try and sell before reaching the cash register.

The problem with resellers, though, is that they are a shop manager's dream. Who wouldn't want people who come into your shop; buy loads; and are out within an hour or two? And therein lies the problem: Disney is - when all is said and done - a commercial enterprise and not a community organisation or charity. They like scarcity and social media self-instilling the fear of missing out (FOMO) when it comes to pins: It makes their next pin release even more likely to sell out.

Also read: Why are there so many fake pins?