If you were a child in the 90s, you remember Beanie Babies. Even as a young girl, I was a bit OCD and didn’t like to play with my toys but rather display and admire them. Well, at 12 years old, that habit paid off, big time. I had a vast collection of Beanie Babies which my parents scoffed at but I was allowed to use my allowance money however I pleased. While I was being tutored for my Bat Mitzvah, my cantor happened to mention that he had a side business as a Beanie Baby dealer. I casually mentioned that I had many with the tags intact, my cantor’s eyes lit up and we ended our tutoring early to check out my collection. I ended that day $5,000 richer and only down a few Beanie Babies. Suddenly my parents were giving me their stock portfolios asking for advice.
Months later the Beanie Baby bubble burst and everyone that hadn’t sold when I did was SOL. I continued to collect them after I sold the first batch because I enjoyed them as decor. Friends will often tell me they have hundreds to sell but I have to break the news that they are worth nothing. I still have about 50, preserved in cases with the tags in tact. I am hoping one day they may make a comeback. Every so often social media is to blame for the revival of the concept that a Beanie Baby is worth hundreds of thousands.
This morning I saw this article in my newsfeed and before I thought it through, I got excited. It’s on the Internet, it has to be real…riiiight?! I read it and looked up the bear on eBay, I happen to have this exact first edition Princess Di Bear. The exact one I had in my possession was selling for nearly $200,000 – check it out here. I did further research and realized that the eBay frauders were taking advantage of the social media hype believers and that my bear was probably only worth $52 on a good day. Per this official Ty collector site.
The moral of the story being social media can overhype and not everything you read online is true. As for my Princess Di Beanie Baby, she will go back into storage and hopefully appreciate like a fine wine over time. Maybe she will be my 401K.
Hello,
I have a large collection of Beanie Babies that I am trying to sell. I was needing help on pricing them and was not sure how to tell if they are “rare”. I have 5 Princess Dianas, 2 tyedye with peace signs, 2 plain tyedye, and a bear named Woody. Can you please get back to me and let me know how to figure this out and where you suggest I put them online. Thank you!