How to Enjoy Pin Collecting, While Avoiding Scrapper and Bootleg Rip-Offs

Collecting pins is a blast.  But uninformed eBayers are being ripped off by unscrupulous sellers every day.  Although it seems that the vast majority of Scrapper and Bootleg pins are associated with people cashing in on Disney's phenomenal success with pins, other areas are also being abused.  Familiarizing yourself with some great resources and realizing that some people don't know the meaning of honesty and ethics will help keep pin collecting the enjoyable hobby you want it to be.

Unauthorized Pins

Dizpins and PinPics lists 1900+ Disney pins they consider Unauthorized...pins that The Disney Company has not sanctioned.  There's over 200 Coca-Cola pins that are considered unauthorized and nearly that many McDonald's pins.

A few pins are innocent creations by fans who don't understand copyright laws; but most are created by people seeking to make a fast buck off the good name of these corporate giants.

Some pins are obvious rip-offs of Disney characters: Roger Rabbit's wife Jessica Rabbit is routinely shown in various provocative poses on eBay pins.  The same thing has happened to Tinker Bell being reduced to a porn symbol in certain poses.  Disney's characters are combined with McDonald's and Coca-Cola as well.  Some of these pins are so ludicrous both in their subject matter and quality that it's obvious that they are fakes...yet some of them can be quite professional.

While there are a few of the Disney-McDonalds and Disney Coca-Cola pins are legitimate, the vast majority of them are unauthorized.

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.  Again, some of these bootlegs are quite professional in their duplication, but unless you're specifically a collector of fake pins, true collectors avoid them.

Scrapper Pins: The Ultimate Scam

Scrapper pin selling is not 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.  Most of the time, Disney pins get the most attention by the Scrapper sellers, but Olympic and other pins have also been known to have been produced, as well as more expensive costume jewelry.

What are Scrappers?  Most pins are made in China, though you'll find some in Europe as well as South America.  Scrapper pins are ones purchased from factories that use old pin molds to create unauthorized copies.  (Think of this as if you were buying bootleg DVDs or CDs.)  When the pin is made, 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 the original company that placed the sale.

Chinese companies offer these pins at cut-rate costs to people willing to market the pins as being "real" or genuine pins; THEY ARE NOT.  If they are not sanctioned by The Disney Company, Coca-Cola, etc. for production, they are illegal at worst but unethical at best.

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 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 pin collectors.

Why You Should Care About Scrappers on eBay...

The main reason you should care is because scrappers dilute the market with sub-standard pins.  Until you get one of these pins, it's virtually impossible to tell in an auction if the pin is legit or not. I've seen "Limited Edition 25" pins being sold by the dozen, all commanding extreme prices...and most every one of those buyers got ripped off.  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 three 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 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).  Though catering to Disney and Olympic pins more than others, it's a good place to catch Disney-Coke tie-ins (same with McDonalds).  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, McDonalds and Coca-Cola and complain; ask them nicely to prosecute eBay sellers who market counterfeit pins.  Though bootleggers abuse the name of Disney more than any other company, writing to Coca-Cola and McDonalds can also help.
• 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.  But the Seller needs to be able to provide a history of how they came into possession of so many multiples.
• Become an informed collector.  Just because a pin has the Coca-Cola logo obviously doesn't mean it's a legitimate pin.  Do your homework; check out the pin trading places and talk with other traders.  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).

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" pin when it's not been authorized for production by McDonald's or Coca-Cola or Disney is a shame.

Pin collecting can be great fun; but hopefully now, you can trade with a little bit more knowledge.

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