Holiday Pins Help Needed Please

[lumpy]

Hi. Has anyone bought the Holiday pins released on the 1-Oct?
If so, could you please help me?
I have a dispute with an eBay seller regarding three pins he sent me. I believe they are counterfeit and opened a dispute with PayPal but the seller is disputing my claim.
Would anyone be willing to share pictures with me so I can compare the differences?
I only have 5 days to send evidence to PayPal and have already emailed a few websites but had no replies as yet.
PM please, thank you.

[Sledge]

Well for what it's worth, October 1st is the listed release date for WDW and October 8th is the listed release date for Disneyland. I have been at Disney everyday since the 1st and keep a look out on what is on the shelf and have not seen a single box of them. So unless Disneyland got them early, chances are that they could be counterfeit.

[HitchHikingGhostFangirl]

I've seen them. They were selling them during the pin trading event on thursday at the Contemporary.

[Sledge]

Oh really? I guess they haven't made their way into the parks yet.

Lumpy, that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't fraudulent though. I don't know much about pins, but I believe the big collectors around here know of ways to tell the difference.

[HitchHikingGhostFangirl]

Oh really? I guess they haven't made their way into the parks yet.

Lumpy, that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't fraudulent though. I don't know much about pins, but I believe the big collectors around here know of ways to tell the difference.

Most likely. I forget if they had park #3, they might have.

But yea, they might still be fraudulent. Hopefully someone comes along with more knowledge about them.

Maybe post photos so we can try and help, even if we arent experts in pins.

[lumpy]

OK uploaded some pics:


The enamel on the thumb is blistered - it looks like it has melted. Also blue mark on glove cuff


The right ear has a bit of enamel missing along the bottom edge


There are discoloured blemishes on the enamel - mostly noticeable on the ears and main body


The Pin Trading logo is missing the right-hand banner tail. The Mickey-head pattern has a border and is not centralised


New Year Baby pin - no visible flaws on front, but back the same as others


A genuine pin-back?! I think not! Where did the ears go?


Is this a genuine Disney pin tack? Most pins I have only have one pointy bit. Plus of course, the stamping is way off-centre


And this is how I need to respond to PayPal:
"In order to continue with the investigation of your complaint, we must
request documentation to support your claim that the item is not authentic.
Please obtain a document from an unbiased, third-party, such as a dealer,
appraiser, or another individual or organization that is qualified in the
area of the item in question (other than yourself), which clearly
identifies the item as not authentic. If possible, the document should
include a serial number and description of the item, and must be on
letterhead that includes the name, address, and phone number of the
individual, business, or organization so that PayPal may contact them if
necessary."

[Denham11]

I do not have any Holiday pins, but I do have the Limited Release Urban ones, and the backstamp should be the same as the holiday ones ....

This backstamp is definitely suspect. For one thing, all the new Mickey icon backstamps I have seen have the icons going all the way to the edge. In your photo, there is a border around the pin. Also, the stamped text is perfectly centered on mine. Yours is crooked.

My backstamps have the (C) DISNEY / CHINA box at the top (below the pin); LIMITED RELEASE in a rectangle in the middle; and the PIN TRADING logo at the bottom. My PIN TRADING logo is perfect, and DOES have a ribbon on the right side.

I have hundreds (maybe thousands) of Disney pins ... none have Mickey's ears chewed up like that!

I have dozens of Vinylmation pins -- NONE have the flaws on the front like yours.

Did you ask the seller when/where they bought the pins? Did you ask them if they kept a receipt or the packaging? What is their return policy?

I hope you find some kind of satisfaction without having to rely on PayPal to help. I suppose your only recourse if you can't get your money back is to leave negative feedback. Please let us know the name of the seller too so we can think twice before buying from them.

Good luck ... I hope my notes helped a little.

[♥disney.princess♥]

I trade pins, and those look pretty odd. However, since the series didnt come out yet, maybe the seller got these because they color was odd and they won't be released to stores?

[disneyaddict]

I have the Leprechaun pin and baby pin I bought at WDW. There are no flaws on either one of the fronts of my pins. The backs of all my vinylmation pins have mickey icon heads that go all the way to the edges of the pins, they do not stop like the ones you have. And I have never seen black pin holder on back as bad as that. I'm sorry they probably are scrappers. There are alot of scrapper pins of the park series 1 to. All this information can be found on pinpics.com. It's is a real shame there are so many fake scrapper pins out there. Talk to the seller and see if you can return them.
Can not tell you how many scrapper pins there are of the cast members hidden mickey pins. So I don't collect those anymore because they usually have bad flaws on them just like yours.

[DLRich]

I've been collecting pins for a while and have some experience in spotting scrappers (pins not produced for Disney but counterfeit of Disney pins). It is clear to me from the images of the backs of the pins that those pins are fakes. Real pins distributed through Disney that have the embossed mickey head pattern do not have a border. Like disneyaddict stated, those embossed mickey heads should go all the way to the edge of the pin. The poor quality of the paint is another give away. It's also known that all of the holiday vinylmation pins have fakes out there. This thread on dizpins has pictures showing some fakes being offered and it includes the holiday vinylmation (along with urban 2 and park 2): http://dizpinsboards.yuku.com/topic/...er-Images.html

[Fab5Fan]

Looks like there are a lot of these going around right now. I bought a 10-pin Holiday set & 4-pin Urban 2 set on ebay last week and when they came in they looked normal to the eye but as soon as I pulled them off the cardboard they had them all attached to I knew right away something was off just they way the felt. Ironically I also purchased a box of 2 holiday pins from another seller that came in the same day and when I opened that box and compared them to each other as well as other VM pins I already own I confirmed they were FAKES for sure. They were thinner/lighter weight than the official Disney ones. Not sure who you bought these from, but I got online and sent a comment to the seller ASAP, but came across as not blaming them right off the bat, but putting it like maybe someone screwed them instead and they need to deal with that person and that I want to send the pins back for a refund. Never received an actual reply from the seller, but within hours I had 2 emails from PayPal saying I had a refund issued.

This seller had thousands of positive feedback at 100% I believe, so you would think you shouldn't have to worry about stuff like this, but obviously the poor people he is selling to must have no idea and don't even think to question the pins and just are glad they shipped them fast, and hey they look ok to the eye.

Sent another message to him yesterday because I went into PayPal and saw the refund issued, but said temporary hold on them and didn't know what that meant and to let the person know I did not forget about them and still plan to send the pins back, I just now went to check PayPal and the hold on the refund had been lifted, but no response from the seller.

[Bethan]

Fab5fan, sounds as though they make enough profit to not worry about losing a few fake pins. Obviously they don't want to admit they're fakes, but if they give a refund no questions asked you're less likely to leave negative feedback then they can carry on scamming.

Must admit I've bought a few vinyl pins on ebay and haven't checked them thoroughly but I'd never know the difference. A few I know came with a box, but I must check them this evening.

[Fab5Fan]

Fab5fan, sounds as though they make enough profit to not worry about losing a few fake pins. Obviously they don't want to admit they're fakes, but if they give a refund no questions asked you're less likely to leave negative feedback then they can carry on scamming.

Must admit I've bought a few vinyl pins on ebay and haven't checked them thoroughly but I'd never know the difference. A few I know came with a box, but I must check them this evening.

Just because the gave me a refund doesn't mean I still can't leave a neutral feedback if nothing else to say the pins were fake but that I returned them and a refund was issued. I'm not going to let anyone get away with this if it can save some future purchasers perhaps.

[Bethan]

Just because the gave me a refund doesn't mean I still can't leave a neutral feedback if nothing else to say the pins were fake but that I returned them and a refund was issued. I'm not going to let anyone get away with this if it can save some future purchasers perhaps.

Oh I totally agree that you should, but I was just saying that some people may just let it go, therefore not really helping. It's in the sellers best interests to try to keep people happy and give refunds to try to save their reputation.

[lumpy]

Thanks for all the help/advice

I emailed the seller several times over 4 weeks and got no response so had no choice but to open a dispute through PayPal. I told them the quality was awful and that I believe they are counterfeit.
Funnily enough the seller responded straight away, as PayPal sent me an email saying the guy was disputing my counterfeit claim.

I went to my local Disney Store but they didn't even know what Vinylmation was and said the pins must be official because the pin trading logo is on the back - erm, hello? Fake pins are meant to look as close to the real thing as possible aren't they?
The best bit was I got some authentic Urban 2 pins I have out my bag and laid them on the table and they stuck to a magnetic security thingy they had on the counter like glue - the fake ones didn't. Surely that was proof right in front of his eyes and he was still telling me they must be genuine cos of some stupid logo stamp!

So, the case still goes on lol.

Avoid this seller: slimshady77

[Mouseman74]

Thanks for all the help/advice


I went to my local Disney Store but they didn't even know what Vinylmation was and said the pins must be official because the pin trading logo is on the back - erm, hello? Fake pins are meant to look as close to the real thing as possible aren't they?
The best bit was I got some authentic Urban 2 pins I have out my bag and laid them on the table and they stuck to a magnetic security thingy they had on the counter like glue - the fake ones didn't. Surely that was proof right in front of his eyes and he was still telling me they must be genuine cos of some stupid logo stamp!

Avoid this seller: slimshady77

The only thing with the Disney Store Cast is that they wouldn't really know the difference. The pins made for the Disney Stores are different from the ones at the parks. I have purchased from both and it really is apples to oranges when they should be made the same.

[SRT-Kim]

I do not have any Holiday pins, but I do have the Limited Release Urban ones, and the backstamp should be the same as the holiday ones ....

This backstamp is definitely suspect. For one thing, all the new Mickey icon backstamps I have seen have the icons going all the way to the edge. In your photo, there is a border around the pin. Also, the stamped text is perfectly centered on mine. Yours is crooked.

My backstamps have the (C) DISNEY / CHINA box at the top (below the pin); LIMITED RELEASE in a rectangle in the middle; and the PIN TRADING logo at the bottom. My PIN TRADING logo is perfect, and DOES have a ribbon on the right side.

I have hundreds (maybe thousands) of Disney pins ... none have Mickey's ears chewed up like that!

I have dozens of Vinylmation pins -- NONE have the flaws on the front like yours.

Did you ask the seller when/where they bought the pins? Did you ask them if they kept a receipt or the packaging? What is their return policy?

I hope you find some kind of satisfaction without having to rely on PayPal to help. I suppose your only recourse if you can't get your money back is to leave negative feedback. Please let us know the name of the seller too so we can think twice before buying from them.

Good luck ... I hope my notes helped a little.

The backs of your pins look nothing like the backs of the pins I purchased at The parks. I have no way to post pics so I can't do that but, the indented mickeys on the back of mine do not stop before the edge. It looks like they were stamped from one big block and no 2 I have have the same pattern. In other words, the indented mickey heads continue off the edge of the metal. The 2 nubs by the pin are very small and equally spaced on either side. The wording is also lower down and very nicely stamped. Oh, the pin itself does NOT have what looks like solder marks around it. Bill