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(Updated August 2008)
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How to Enjoy Disney Pin Collecting, While Avoiding Sharks, Scrappers and Bootleggers
Collecting Disney pins is a blast. But uninformed eBayers are daily being ripped off by unscrupulous sellers. Familiarizing yourself with some great resources and realizing that some people don't know the meaning of "Disney Spirit" will help keep Disney pin collecting the enjoyable hobby you want it to be.
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AUGUST 2008 UPDATE - This has gone on for a while, but has become SUCH a trend that it's worth mentioning. Scrapper sellers are buying up Disney backer cards and placing their Scrapper pins on on them, selling them on eBay as "NEW" and "ON CARD." This doesn't change the fact that they are FAKES. How can you spot these? Cast Lanyard series pins are never sold on cards! If you see Sellers placing them on cards and selling them as legit, don't be conned!
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This Ain't Disney (Unauthorized Pins)
Dizpins and PinPics lists close to 1900 pins they consider Unauthorized...pins that The Disney Company has not sanctioned.
A few pins are innocent creations by fans who didn't understand copyright laws; but, most pins are created by people seeking to make a fast buck off the good name of Disney.
Some pins are obvious rip-offs of Disney characters: Roger Rabbit's wife Jessica Rabbit is routinely shown in various provocative poses on eBay auctions. The same thing has happened to Tinker Bell being reduced to a porn symbol in certain poses. Disney's characters are combined with McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Breast Cancer Awareness among others. While there are a few Disney-McDonalds and Disney-Coke pins that are legitimate, the many are unauthorized and education is needed to detrmine which is which.
Mouse Club pins are an example of fan pins. Though unauthorized by Pinpics, I don't fault the creators of the Mouse Club pins. According to MouseTreasures.com, "In 1979, 12 'Disneyana collectors' gathered in Anaheim, California and decided to form a club to share their appreciation of Walt Disney and his legacy. The club was called 'The Mouse Club.' The leaders of the group, Ed and Elaine Levin, had operated a Disneyana shop fromt heir home called the 'Nickelodeon' and began publishing a newsletter in 1980. The Mouse Club had wanted to use Mickey Mouse in their logo, but Disney would not allow it. As a comical compromise, legendary Disney animator Ward Wimball provided the club with his own rendition of Mickey Mouse with a bag over his head, for use in their logo..." In subsequent years, they put other items over Mickey's head to not break the copyright laws. Most pins - if listed as unauthorized on Pinpics - are bootlegs. This is one of the few exceptions to the rule that I make on collecting unauthorized pins. Mouse Club pins are not bootlegs or scrappers...they are legitimate fan pins...simply not official Disney pins.
Bootlegs
Other unauthorized pins are not so noble in their origin. Some are direct rip-offs.
At times, an existing pin will be altered in some small way, or a character will be taken and placed on a different background. A lot of times, one pin design will be remade multiple times in different color combinations. Other times, the pose of the character will be mirrored on the bootleg. Some of these bootlegs are quite professional in their duplication, but if the pin was not created by The Disney Company and it features actual Disney characters, it is illegal and should be shunned by any true collector.
Scrapper Pins: The Ultimate Scam
Scrapper pin selling isn't new, but it's become so prevalent on eBay that it threatens the legitimate pin collecting. Tens of thousands of Scrapper pins are sold on eBay each week.
What are Scrappers? Most of Disney's real pins are made in China. Scrapper pins are ones purchased from Chinese factories that use old Disney pin molds to create unauthorized copies. (Think of this as if you were buying illegally-made DVDs from China.) When the pin is made - I've seen as low as LE 25 pins - the mold that creates the pin is sometimes not destroyed. Then, the unethical company takes the mold and produces 1000s of pins not ordered by Disney or authorized by them for sale. CAST LANYARD PINS ARE ESPECIALLY HOT TARGETS FOR SCRAPPERS!
Chinese companies offer these pins at cut-rate costs to people willing to market the pins as being "real" or "genuine" Disney pins. THEY ARE NOT. If they are not sanctioned by The Disney Company for production, they are illegal at worst but unethical at best.
I talked with Disney management at the 2007 pin celebration at WDW. They are concerned and are working to deal with the issue.
If eBay Sellers were to be honest about the pins and say, "These are 'seconds' from a Chinese factory," or "overruns," I would still be angered because it undercuts real Disney pin collecting...but at least they would be honest. Sadly, Scrapper sellers on eBay hide the source of their Scrapper pins, so they can make a quick buck at the expense of both Disney and Disney pin collectors. They sell them by the 100s and 1000s...I've even seen 5000-pin lots!. Shame on you if you market Scrapper pins!
Why You Should Care About Scrappers on eBay...
Why should you care? Here's one of the problems: There are some legitimate pins that have so saturated the marketplace that you find them on virtually EVERY Cast Member's lanyard (and if CMs have a certain pin on their lanyard, they are not obligated to trade for another). Some eBay sellers auction 100, 500 and even 1000 of these pins without showing what pins they are. The ploy is that you can buy these pins cheaply and then use them for traders within the park. Sadly, many unsuspecting vacationers buy these pins, only to find it very hard to find a lanyard without one. When you buy dozens of the exact same pin, you have to ask yourself, "Is this really tradeable?"
Scrapper pins are one step worse...they're not even real Disney-authorized pins! Disney DID NOT AUTHORIZE these to be used as traders....but because they are virtually identical to the real pins - and because they have a Disney copyright on the back - they end up having to be accepted by Cast Members. When the market is saturated with Scrapper pins, people end up trading these second-rate non-Disney authorized pins for legitimate Disney lanyard pins. Literally tens of thousands of junk pins end up on Cast Member lanyards, ruining the trading possibilities for Guests who have spent good hard-earned money to buy real Disney pins to trade.
So how do you fight the unethical practice of selling Scrappers on eBay?
We've made a difference...but we can to do more.
Over the past two years - from the 100s of comments and questions received - I know that people are becoming more savvy about Scrapper pins. They've been forced to reduce their prices, and hopefully, that will hurt their bottom line enough that sooner or later they'll have to quit selling these unauthorized Disney pins. How can you help?
- BE INFORMED. Places like Dizpins and PinPics list warnings on their site when a legitimate pin is also being produced as Unauthorized (a Scrapper). Dizpins' boards has a Counterfeit List with pictures of many of the Scrapper pins. You'll be amazed at how many eBay auctions sell them!
- Write to Disney and complain; ask them nicely to prosecute eBay sellers who market counterfeit Disney pins.
- When you see a seller selling the same pins over and over and over and over - it's quite possibly a Scrapper. Don't you wonder how people are able to get the very same exact pins to sell? Look at a Seller's Other Auctions; are they running the same groupings of pins multiple times? Do they sell "grab bags" and the pictures have lots of Scrapper pin designs? Do they use the same picture of multiple pins over and over and over again? Question where they got the pins; if they can't give an acceptable answer, don't patronize them!
- Not every person selling multiples is a crook. I purchased a collection of 1970s Disney pins that featured over 50 of the same pin. But I can prove that they came on their original 1970s sale cushions and I have a history I can give people. But if I couldn't give you a straight answer and the pin was listed as a Scrapper, I wouldn't expect you to buy even from me!
- Become an informed collector. Just because a pin has a picture of your favorite character, don't assume it's from Disney. Check out the pin trading places. Talk with other traders. Become educated. It will pay off for you in the long run.
- Turn Scrapper sellers into VerO, the copyright infringement organization (search eBay's HELP section for details... Disney's info can be found under Music and Movies, but you can still report pin sellers).
If you follow my auctions, you know that my philosophy is to give as much history about a pin as possible, and if the person wants the pin after that they'll bid on it and the market will dictate how valuable the pin is. But for a person to mislead, suggesting that what they are selling is a "real" Disney pin when it's not been authorized for production by The Disney Company, is a shame.
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