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AuroraCastle
07-29-2015, 06:48 PM
Hello all!

Most Thursdays and Sundays pin traders tend to gather in Frontierland, in front of the Rancho Zocalo restaurant, just west of the shooting gallery and Westward Ho pin trading store.

This past Thursday my DH and I noticed there were far fewer people, only a small handful instead of usual several dozen. We were only there a few minutes when a Cast Member came by to tell us that the area now was for "dining purposes only" and that we had to leave. When we asked where we could go to pin trade, the answer was a curt "nowhere." We promised to comply but stayed around a few more minutes to complete our trades. Soon after, a Manager approached with the same instructions for us. We left and relocated to the old boat dock area in fantasyland, where we continued to trade uninterrupted.

My concern is, Disneyland went from having scheduled pin trading times, to scratching that concept, to now discouraging the idea entirely. Are we moving towards a 'no pin trading inside the park' policy like other parks? Does anyone have any more info on the incident early that week that was the catalyst for this change? I only heard that pin traders were asked to leave and wouldn't, and ended up being escorted out of the park.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...

candles71
07-29-2015, 07:01 PM
There was an article, I believe in the park update, several months ago about them taking out the tables by the store in Frontierland. Some of the reason was unscrupulous "pros" taking advantage of others, iirc.
A search perhaps would find the article.

AuroraCastle
07-29-2015, 08:13 PM
Thank you for your reply! I did find the article. I do remember when those tables were removed.
I see that this has been an ongoing problem of people being asked to leave from dining areas while pin trading.
I guess I'm more looking to the future, and this info may not be out there... Trying to figure out if pin trading at tables will be banned and the only trading activities allowed will be simply trading with cast members.
I heard another guest mentioning that another park (HK or Tokyo I believe) had banned trading in the parks and I'm just hoping Disneyland doesn't go this way also.

candles71
07-29-2015, 08:53 PM
I could see them going that way if it is an ongoing problem. I don't know much about pin trading actually. I just remember reading that article, glad you were able to locate it.

Janis and Aaron
07-29-2015, 08:58 PM
I always wondered why Disney tolerated so many of their restaurant tables being taken over by the pin traders. We visited them a time or two but were always wary of being taken advantage of. I don't think Disney will ever eliminate guest-to-guest pin trading in the parks, but I can see why they want to break up these huge clusters dominating areas for long hours.

Last Friday, DS13 and I were trading at a Cast Member board outside a Frontierland store, and another guest noticed my pin bag and asked if I wanted to trade. We moved to a bench a short distance away and made a few trades. No one bothered us or tried to drive us off. That same day, we happened to be in the lobby of the Grand Californian at 4:15 PM, when they apparently bring out a big pin trading board. About 8 guests stepped off to the side to make personal trades. No one bothered them, either.

bumblebeeonarose
07-30-2015, 06:32 AM
I'm sure there are multiple reasons for them pushing the traders from that location, but my first thought is that it can sometimes be difficult to find seating to eat and by discouraging trading at dining tables they're setting the precedent that those tables are for diners. That said the CM could have been more polite than saying, "nowhere." Glad you guys found somewhere else to trade.

Niwel
07-30-2015, 08:12 AM
At DCA on Sunday, the traders were at tables near Garden Grill/Goofy's Sky School

danyoung
07-30-2015, 08:19 AM
AuroraCaste, I'm sure you're a nice person who trades pin in a proper way. But I know from both personal experience and from stories my CM brother has told me that there are a lot of really pushy and downright rude folks who have given pin trading a bad name. I don't know this for a fact, but I'd imagine that Disney has had enough and I discouraging pin trading for that reason.

AVP
07-30-2015, 11:20 AM
AuroraCaste, I'm sure you're a nice person who trades pin in a proper way. But I know from both personal experience and from stories my CM brother has told me that there are a lot of really pushy and downright rude folks who have given pin trading a bad name. I don't know this for a fact, but I'd imagine that Disney has had enough and I discouraging pin trading for that reason.I wonder if Disney is also trying to crack down on pin selling. I just now saw a post on a Facebook group from someone who bought up a large quantity of today's limited edition pin, and is now offering to meet people inside Disneyland to resell them. It's all being done by PayPal, no cash being exchanged.

olegc
07-30-2015, 11:24 AM
I wonder if Disney is also trying to crack down on pin selling. I just now saw a post on a Facebook group from someone who bought up a large quantity of today's limited edition pin, and is now offering to meet people inside Disneyland to resell them. It's all being done by PayPal, no cash being exchanged.

sidebar - but I hope some of the decade pins are left when I get there after work. This whole "limit to what you can buy" is not controlled enough when the pin is sold in multiple locations. initially when they do wrist bands OK - but many times the 3K LE and up don't have that control.

danyoung
07-30-2015, 11:43 AM
I just now saw a post on a Facebook group from someone who bought up a large quantity of today's limited edition pin, and is now offering to meet people inside Disneyland to resell them. It's all being done by PayPal, no cash being exchanged.

Cash or no cash, I'd call that a HUGE problem, one that I'm not surprised that Disney is trying to eliminate.

sjhanksaz
07-30-2015, 04:09 PM
I usually see people on tables trading over by the Pin store by the shooting gallery. No where near dinning tables.

AuroraCastle
07-30-2015, 06:07 PM
At DCA on Sunday, the traders were at tables near Garden Grill/Goofy's Sky School

Thanks! This is good to know :)

AuroraCastle
07-30-2015, 06:12 PM
AuroraCaste, I'm sure you're a nice person who trades pin in a proper way. But I know from both personal experience and from stories my CM brother has told me that there are a lot of really pushy and downright rude folks who have given pin trading a bad name. I don't know this for a fact, but I'd imagine that Disney has had enough and I discouraging pin trading for that reason.

I totally understand Disney contemplating changing this policy. There are some unfriendly, exclusionary folks who make it fun for none and I get why many people avoid them. I consider myself a casual, hobby based pin trader who always keeps my pins (I never resell) and simply enjoy collecting, so I don't understand people who come to the parks to try to buy more than they are allotted and then resell on eBay or through PayPal. I think this prevents people from being able to buy these at regular price and is unfortunate. Not everyone wants to or can afford to pay 2-3x the price and simply shouldn't have to.
I appreciate everyone's comments and I hope that pin trading for the rational, friendly people who enjoy it and the ones I have met and enjoy seeing isn't ruined by the ones who are aren't.

AuroraCastle
07-30-2015, 06:16 PM
I usually see people on tables trading over by the Pin store by the shooting gallery. No where near dinning tables.

The tables I was referring to in the first post are just to the left of the shooting gallery. These are the ones pin traders are no longer allowed to hog :) they do have a few benches in front of the pin store and formerly tables to the right of Westward Ho, but Thursday and Friday folks tend to congregate right near there, until the policy had changed.

Janis and Aaron
07-30-2015, 07:43 PM
sidebar - but I hope some of the decade pins are left when I get there after work. This whole "limit to what you can buy" is not controlled enough when the pin is sold in multiple locations. initially when they do wrist bands OK - but many times the 3K LE and up don't have that control.

I've found that the pin kiosk in DTD often has limited pins long after the other locations have sold out. It could be worth a try.

olegc
07-30-2015, 07:57 PM
I did and they had them. Usually an le of 3000 lasts a full day ( usually).

Nightwing
07-30-2015, 08:15 PM
Kind of gotten from trading. Not much in selection at the places. Had a bad experience with two ladies demanding I give them pins. No trades. Just give us pins! Can't believe how fast some pins for sales go in a heart beat. Add in the pin trader meeting last year that all I can say is. Will never go to another one of those again!

Nightwing
07-30-2015, 08:16 PM
The Kios in DTD actual had Arial when the rest had run out.

AuroraCastle
07-30-2015, 09:46 PM
I did and they had them. Usually an le of 3000 lasts a full day ( usually).

Glad you found some! I usually find a friendly cast member in one of the pin stores and they are usually willing to call around quickly to a few of the stores to check stock. I prefer that at the moment to trekking around both parks, since my mobility is limited at the moment. Or send the DH on a little chase for me!! Lol

Angie2009
07-31-2015, 12:56 AM
Tokyo has banned pin trading for a lo ng time, I found out when packing for our trip there a few years ago. Didn't need to bring the pins! The story I remember was that it was too popular and taking up too much space.

danyoung
07-31-2015, 07:06 AM
There are some unfriendly, exclusionary folks who make it fun for none and I get why many people avoid them.

I'll never forget the day that I was talking to my CM brother while he was at work in a shop in DCA. Now, I know he's at work, and from time to time he'll have to break away from me and take care of a customer. But this time, a guy wearing a couple of lanyards totally loaded with pins rushed up, stood between me and my brother, and shouted "TRADE" in his face. My brother, always the consummate CM, politely showed him his lanyard. When the guy didn't see anything he needed, he turned around and walked away - no thank you, no excuse me, nothing. One of the rudest displays I've ever seen.

cstephens
07-31-2015, 07:13 AM
Had a bad experience with two ladies demanding I give them pins. No trades. Just give us pins!

Wow, that's ridiculous! How did that happen? Back when pin trading first started, I heard about too many unscrupulous people taking advantage of newbies and even kids when they knew they had a pin someone really wanted, and even if it wasn't a particularly limited pin. With maybe one or two exceptions, we only ever traded with cast members.

AuroraCastle
07-31-2015, 07:58 AM
Tokyo has banned pin trading for a lo ng time, I found out when packing for our trip there a few years ago. Didn't need to bring the pins! The story I remember was that it was too popular and taking up too much space.
Thanks for this info Angie! Another guest mentioned that it was banned at another park but I didn't know which. Since it's becoming something that takes up lots of space here, I wonder if we're heading in that direction.

sjhanksaz
07-31-2015, 09:06 AM
When I see a cast member with pins to trade I kind of just lurk a little ways away and take a look before approaching them if I see something I like. I am sure it kind of looks funny to others.