How The Beanie Babies Frenzy Collapsed | Rise And Fall

[@slee9843]

gained popularity because of the scarcity, lost popularity because of the abundance

[@ericcartman6376]

inflated by the creator lolll lied said oh its rare to cause the bubble.. sounds like the housing bubble that destroyed housing prices making everything double

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

@Chad L no

[@Salmagundiii]

@Chad L Yep. Cryptocurrencies are just a much more sophisticated form of artificial scarcity. Numbers that require a huge amount of resources to compute.

[@ktonder1]

@@Salmagundiii not necessarily. Coins like Bitcoin and etherium have a capped limit. Once that is met, no more coins can be mined.

[@Salmagundiii]

@@ktonder1 It's not a true hard cap. Many articles have speculated it could raised above 21 million coins. Artifice implies a degree of arbitrary.

[@larryrouse6322]

My daughter used to cut them open and do “surgery” on them. She always sewed them back up. She’s in her last year of Vet School now.

[@MeganMcIntosh]

That’s adorable 🥰

[@Kurare2]

Well I guess it was either that or serial killer ;)

[@ghostmarie5507]

@@Kurare2 well that got dark lol

[@leonkennedy2909]

Larry your daughter is the female Jeffrey Dahmer

[@saraheart2804]

See, going to college didn't help her.

[@kmelaine]

I cleaned the home a woman who collected beanie babies “for her daughter” and displayed them in her daughter’s bedroom. The beanie babies had their own specially designed wall which she (the child) was not allowed to touch. As you can imagine it was over the top and the child could have cared less about the toys since she was not allowed to play with any of them. I always felt like it was rude to have toy wall in her room she couldn’t touch. I wonder how she feels about them today.

[@boskee]

Could have cared less? So she cared?

[@LuckyLu602]

I had a friend that did this same thing to her daughter. Had collector toys on shelves just for decoration, not even for the daughter because she couldn’t touch them, but for anyone that would come over to her house and she would be like “look at my wonderful collection, aren’t you so jealous?” Nope. Sorry. Her daughter didn’t know how to play because all her “toys” weren’t toys. So sad. My daughter would go over to play and come home sad because she couldn’t understand why she couldn’t play with the toys.

[@rabbitila7685]

I don't understand why parents do this to their kids. I don't understand why people "collect" toys. Toys are meant to be played with. I like watching and joining my kids in playing with their toys.

[@kmelaine]

@@boskee good point. Bad verbiage. The child didn’t care at all about the beanie babies because she wasn’t allowed to touch them once they were placed in their very specific spot. It was a sickness if you ask me.

[@theboujieproletariat]

Were you my mum's cleaner? Because that pretty much describes what she did to my room...

[@k.d.1050]

There was a claw machine at a restaurant in my small town that my family always went to on weekends. The owner had put a Princess Diana bear inside. I probably played that machine over a 1000 times trying to get that bear. You could play 1 game for $0.25. One lady put $50 in & played. She moved the bear around but didn't win. I put $1.00 in right after her & finally got it. My 10 year old ass was so proud. I had played that game for a month trying to win. That same lady actually offered me $150 when I won the bear. She then turned into a Karen & had a hissy fit about how I would ruin it. My Granny told her to kick rocks. I collected Beanie Babies. I had around 1500 of them. My lovely Granny would always have a baggie of quarters for me to play games with. I miss her so much. She was an amazing woman. I'll never get rid of that Beanie Babie.

[@kamilahynas2327]

Cool story :)

[@danreyes736]

@@se2936 something about a bear toy i think. Who knows.

[@politecat4236]

Lol at that Karen

[@iamcherreymaiya]

“Turned into a Karen” lol… That scared me more than ghosts these days.

[@blacktigerpaw1]

@@se2936 It's literally only a paragraph.

[@MauraVH]

“It could be our college money” is such a sad thing to hear

[@TheGhjgjgjgjgjg]

"It could be my gender studies fund!"

[@pokkemuur6539]

@@TheGhjgjgjgjgjg shh

[@alexlogan202]

Meh. It'll teach em character

[@itrasheditgood]

It was their college money that they spent

[@warthog473]

My dad said that when he got into buying stamps, the only problem was he had no idea what was valuable or not. He would buy those stamped envelopes, I'm not even sure what they're called, and 40 years later I can't even give them away. There were like 20 of them and all together they're worth about 5 bucks for the whole batch. The people he bought them from would go on and on about how he'd be paying for my college with them. Stamp collecting isn't even a thing anymore, it's a tiny group of really old people that do it. My dad never did have a lick of sense.

[@yolandaponkers1581]

My grandparents’ neighbors were two wealthy old ladies who got me a TON of Beanie Babies when I was little. They spent a fortune on them. I still have them all for sentimental reasons.

[@dayna29866]

Awwwww 🥺💕

[@johnmclean8414]

Gay old ladies are the best

[@pigpjs]

Whenever McDonald's had those tiny beanie babies in their happy meals my friends and I would stand outside of McDonald's and adults would hand us their happy meals. They had only bought the happy meals for the toys. We cleaned up and gained a lot of weight during that time. Good memories.

[@the_pinky_dolly3357]

Omg I am jalouse of your memory

[@mayonnaiseandmalaise]

My mom went crazy for these things. She would buy happy meals for kids in the neighborhood and keep the toys. They’ve been sitting in a plastic tote for like 20 years 🤣

[@MaryLab2930]

my mom and i would drive to every mcdonald’s in our area just to purchase every toy they had. smurfs, hello kitty, those animals shaped like a ball, build a bear, even beanie BOOS, they would sell each toy to us for $1 each and i would have the whole collection. i’m pretty sure i still have most of my collections. i miss those days :(

[@addictedtofamilyguy7627]

@@the_pinky_dolly3357 you're french ?

[@KeniQilin]

Sounds like me, I used to buy Happy Meals, even when a teenager, just for the toy, then i realised you can just BUY the toy, usually i ask if they have a specific one (Litten, Darwin etc.)

[@kellylyons1038]

How sad that adults ruined something for children. Just like they always do.

[@amydavis4945]

Adults didn't ruin it for kids.... kids found new things to get interested in. Which always happens... In my day it was Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, then later Snoopy stuffed animals. Later it was He-Man and Cabbage Patch Kids, and so on and so on.

[@michaelkline884]

I agree. I was a young father during this time. The parents acted in a ridiculous fashion!

[@kellylyons1038]

@@amydavis4945 its true kids moved on to other things like they always do, but as explained in this video, adults clearly soured beanie babies and ravaged the market of a cute toy for kids.

[@Snowonacone]

Now it’s with Pokémon cards 😔

[@amydavis4945]

@@kellylyons1038 Yeah, because that NEVER happened with $10,000 Barbie Dolls (as long as they were never taken out of their original packaging). It NEVER happened with Cabbage Patch Kids that became more of a collector item than a childs toy. C'mon... maybe you are just too young to know of (or remember) THOSE days. Frankly, I don't know of too many children that were RUINED over a beanie baby.

[@DerekDogsforSentience]

Bought them for my daughter because she loved them. She played with them and still has them. For us they are just as they should be, a child’s toy with very happy memories attached.

[@Ghost-vr9iv]

True but make sure she doesn’t break them!!

[@BobRooney290]

they are still selling from $200 to $2000 on ebay. unfortunately, the government will steal half of your earnings when you get 1099'ed.

[@NoOne-qn2hv]

I never even realized the beanie baby craze was all because of their supposed monetary value. I just liked the way they looked. My dad got me a happy meal with that bluebird beanie baby one day and it was kind of like my imaginary pet for a few years.

[@chrisspellman5952]

Oh it was nuts. I worked on McDonalds at the time. People were trying to even buy just the happy meal bags that hadn't been opened yet so they could sell them. A line going out the lobby because it was packed, full of adults with no kids in sight. You'd see people almost on a daily bases because they were looking for a specific toy.

[@michaelkline884]

It was the adults that were nuts! Sure kids liked them but parents acted like crazy people!

[@areanaangel8964]

Same. AS a kid, it was just cute and fun lmao

[@ChanelGloe]

yeah we had tons of beanie babies at my house but we played with them! those things experienced some wear and tear over the years

[@kittycupcakes5816]

I still have mine. I have zeus the moose too but at the time i didn't know he was a beanie baby lol, he still has the tag on him :3

[@jaridkeen123]

I remember i had so many beenie babies when i was a kid. Then i got a ferbie and some pokemon cards lol. Just like in the video. 1990s Kid man

[@lifeuncovered6188]

Cringe

[@charlettegonzalez2737]

@@lifeuncovered6188 ur cringe

[@weatherboy2965]

Now it’s squishmallows

[@blackoutgstar9949]

don't forget pogs remember pogs? they're back... in alf form

[@therackstar]

Wish you had the cards now, huh?

[@blkhemi3925]

I know people that spent their entire savings on "rare" beanie babies issued by the Franklin Institute. Now, you can't sell them for a $1.00 at your yard sale.

[@TheMoises1213]

Really?

[@Letsmakeart321]

That's so sad

[@roseoverdose6451]

were they 12 years old? ...cuz if they were adults, that's REALLY dumb.

[@blkhemi3925]

@@roseoverdose6451 I'm sad to say, she was my step-mom and she was in her late 40's at the time.

[@roseoverdose6451]

@@blkhemi3925 damn, that's a tough one. hope it all worked out.

[@nicholasgrijalva5842]

when he said "175 thousand" I physically reacted. I cant imagine spending that much on anything besides a house.

[@physetermacrocephalus2209]

This was the height of American wealth. The 90s were absolutley insane

[@MercenaryBlackWaterz]

Not including shipping and handling. That takes it to $250,000 bangers. Now they are worth $75 dollars in a good day.

[@marvalice3455]

You can spend as much money as you desire on whatever you want. I used to work at a coin shop. After being in the business i find collecting pretty gross

[@leonschlossberg820]

I'd be just as reactive if the collection was an investment for future sale. But it's not. The collection is destined to fill a credibly sized museum so people can enjoy a bit of nostalgic history.

[@Skyscraper21]

@@physetermacrocephalus2209 from outside America looked like a country club back then

[@errhka]

That picture of that couple splitting their beanie baby collection one by one is the epitome of misery and sadness.

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

It's funny

[@azhaircountess9798]

Wasting the family court’s time over a $5k collection…so stupid

[@SieMiezekatze]

I love that so funny

[@indianagrandmary1298]

My daughter grew up to be a teacher. Gave her all of the beanies my kids had to be “reading buddies” for her students.

[@bigharrykochenbauls4567]

I hope she's not a teacher of literature

[@4WingedAngels]

Brilliant idea.

[@Rctdcttecededtef]

That’s so wholesome

[@frozenweevil4022]

@@bigharrykochenbauls4567 why not

[@proudatheist2042]

@@bigharrykochenbauls4567 why? Young children need developmentally appropriate strategies to foster their early literacy skills. Not all children get to go home to an adult or older child who cares enough to listen to them read their first books. Sometimes a stuffed animal has to fill that void.

[@RajaReign78]

I remember selling off so many of these things to what I thought was crazy people. One dude paid $400 for a black cat I had named Zip and I made several hundred dollars at a few trade shows at my mall before it closed. I initially bought these cute stuffed animals cuz they were cute and cost only 5 bucks, never did I think they’d be worth so much money. I still have all the cats in my collection cuz I liked those best.

[@nolanbrian8893]

I have some cats put away also. A pink one names carnation I think. The zebra striped cat. This white one with a blue ribbon for a collar. My favorite was a orangish cat that I lost.

[@noniakamai2458]

Lol my collection was/is the bats, frogs and black cat. I just keep them on a shelf and remember “way back then”.

[@SieMiezekatze]

I know they were so cheap and cute, my little sister still loves the ones I gift her

[@Jude74]

They might not be selling like they used to but they are still selling.

[@drabonlady]

@Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho No, they are still been sold but not by much. Is extremely rare to sell one for more than $30. You can still find the very rare one like the blue elephant and the pastel rainbow bear been sold for a couple of hundreds. The newer ones are worthless. The only ones with some value are licence products like Spongebob.

[@Babigh0ulll]

Beanie boos are still selling at least

[@Jude74]

The company is a client of my law firm and I can tell you their sales are still pretty big. And they make a huge variety of plushies, they are literally the gold standard when it comes to plush toys. On a side note i originally used Siri when I entered the sentences above. My phone did some interesting autocorrects to the word plushy 😂🤣.

[@RaeBehrs]

There are a few local shops (old fashioned candy shop and a toy store) where I live that occasionally get some stock and we always buy at least a few whenever we see them.

[@cicada300]

I hate the style of the new ones. They look creepy.

[@MetikalMan]

The McDonalds thing was flipping insane. I remember seeing heated arguments at different stores.

[@IanKirklandVlogs]

my grandma was one of those collectors in the 90s. we currently have all 4 of the limted editionmcdonald beanie babies. all of them in box

[@bj.reo87]

The whole thing just happened again with Pokemon. There were signs that said pokémon cards will not be sold outside of Happy meals and Max Happy meal toy's at 2. It was insane. IDK what it is with people.

[@kleeamd8274]

@@bj.reo87 my aunt was collecting them for her "son". She'd go to McDonald's & buy like 10 happy meals, then after taking the BB out, she'd give people about to enter McDonald's to get lunch a free hot meal with leftover happy meal burgers/fries

[@TheStepmonkey]

@@IanKirklandVlogs You should sell those

[@robertgreenhalge1708]

The McDonalds beanies aren't worth anything. They literally made MILLIONS of them. Even the "limited" editions. It was all marketing and benefitted TY and McD's. Everyone else got scammed.

[@ohh_manda]

My mom has a rainbow worm in her room for the past 25 years. I had the majority of the original 7 but they're gone now. Crazy how people thought they could retire on beanie babies.

[@mrfish.-]

I know right? I think I still have the original lobster somewhere in my closet.

[@acidthedragon685]

@@mrfish.- I have an entire box full of beanie baby's that were worth over 100$

[@NightyFall]

Because you can buy a house in 2021 For that much...

[@tammyjohnson7401]

My niece was one of the smart once sold her entire collection for 5000, I could not believe she was able to get that, all timing. She said she was tired of the chase.

[@cerisem7727]

You technically could these days, since most of the popular toys/electronics from back then are becoming extremely valuable now. Video Games and Pokémon have been selling for thousand or millions of dollars right now. I wouldn't be surprised if beanie babies suddenly get a resurgence.

[@laurabowles]

My great aunt ran a gift shop during this era. She gave me and my cousins the Princess Diana bears. I had no idea how lucky I was to simply have that handed to me!

[@mrsauce5037]

The blue one right I had one

[@gracehaven5459]

That was sweet of her, my greatly grandmother had a collection she developed of these in the 90s and early 2000s, she would always buy a few new ones for us to take home every time we visited and played with the whole collection. She was a sweet lady.

[@thedumpyfrog6329]

My mother had a huge collection with TWO princess Diana bears witch she had passed down to me. I just learned the value

[@laurabowles]

@@mrsauce5037 It was purple.

[@AwesomeVidzChannel]

@@thedumpyfrog6329 There is no value. You can get one on ebay for $10...

[@jimbear62]

I used call them "future garage sale items" one of the few times I was right. I've seen bags of them for $1.00 at thrift stores

[@dancalmpeaceful3903]

I call them "garage sale FODDER" and dreck (yes, you can look this up if you don't know what it means). Ever hear of "Pop" figures....they ARE the "Beanie Babies" of the 2010's....see my comment above.

[@user-kg6pr1iv4i]

@@dancalmpeaceful3903 And the Pop things aren't even as cool.

[@CamelliaCorn]

@@dancalmpeaceful3903 funko pops?

[@dancalmpeaceful3903]

@@CamelliaCorn Yes - most definitely Funko Pops. You tube is filled with vids of collectors dumping them. I expect to see tons of these for sale next year at the flea markets...

[@From96TilDeath]

@@dancalmpeaceful3903 They do sell them at swap meets now, but still for a pretty high price tag

[@Qwerty-zj3rk]

Wait, the "ty" on the tag was literally just the creators first name? I always thought it meant Thank You. As if the stuffed animal was saying "thank you for bringing me home". Either way this guy was a genius.

[@Dove325]

I thought the same!!!

[@mrpoohbearlvr]

Always thought it was some huge toy company name. Still he was a smart guy. Is he now???

[@rqven10]

Me I thought so

[@arcuda2001]

i was a retailer of them for many years, and there were other "marketing " tricks that helped keep this craze going .. i'm totally convinced that ty consulted with psychologists to fine tune his marketing , and get into the heads of the adult collectors .. they , the collectors, were pretty emotionally crazed , to get those beanies .. they were like little kids fighting to get what they'd been searching for ( thrill of the hunt, etc). this craze made retail history, as it had lasted longer than any craze ever has ,or had .. by keeping them in the mom and pop stores , by not letting the big stores sell them , he stretched the craze out much longer than anyone had ever witnessed .. i am grateful that i was a seller , and the timing was just right for all us smaller stores , back then .. ❤️❤️

[@mause_master]

How much money did you make?

[@arcuda2001]

@@mause_master we did well .. thanks for being curious lolol

[@ZaterahUniverse]

good input, rhanks for sharing. Its always good to hear from first hand accounts of an era

[@TheTraveler33]

Pretty much all corporations use psychologists working hand in hand with their marketing departments. Any that don't are behind the curve.

[@arcuda2001]

@@TheTraveler33 yeah.. good point .. but i think this went beyond the beyond , as far as messing with people's minds .. i truly do .. i'd be lying if i didn't admit that we, and tens of thousands of mom and pop stores benefitted from this craze .. ty warner stretched this craze out for a couple of years or more .. i doubt that retail ever saw this happen , and especially that the small stores were the ones to benefit from it( big stores couldn't get them .. ty refused their requests many times over, from what i know) many store owners shared that the beanie babies saved them from closing their doors for good .. i can attest to how much it helped us for a few years, indeed .. thanks for your solid point 👍👍

[@lillystryker8570]

When my husband was 10 he caught a Red Sox beanie baby at one of their games that turned out to be monumental. I forgot why it was, but it to do with winning an important game that they rarely win. He sold it to a guy in the bathroom for 5 freakin dollars! 😂 Then the price of the beanie babies skyrocketed because all of the collectors and Red Sox fans wanted them. He could have made thousands off of it. His dad was so mad at him for that.

[@Flyingclam]

Tell his Dad to shove it. Stuff like the Beanie Baby phenomenon should not be encouraged. Your husband did the right thing by selling it and not getting sucked into debt like most others did

[@kamekomiyamora]

I only have one Beanie Baby. A gift from my parents when I was a kid. The oldest plushie I own as far as I know. I'm born in June, but that wasn't available, so I got a July bear. I did lose him for years, and I wasn't sure if it was at my mom's or dad's house. I would try looking for him, and he'd pop up in my dreams, but no luck. I considered buying another, but they weren't available in stores by then, and either way, nothing would replace him. Luckily, I did find him, and it was the happiest moment. I got a lot of other plushies, but that one, and another small pink rabbit which, amazingly, still smells like strawberries 20 years later, are what I hold dearest.

[@myadorablefosters]

I have exactly one too! It's the Chinese zodiac rabbit one 😊

[@crypto66]

Where'd you find it?

[@waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

my first stuffed animal was a beanie baby too! it was a teal beaver (i cant remember it's name because the tag didnt last long, but i named him beavie once i got older) my mom's friend had sent it to the hospital with a balloon and flowers. he's a little beat up and pretty dirty but i still keep him in my room, also 20 years later.

[@jonathanzuckerberg8850]

I remember that I got one of those MLB giveaway beanie babies but it was either lost or given away at some point. It would be cool if it turns up somewhere, sometimes it's weird to think about what happened to those toys you had growing up

[@kamekomiyamora]

@@jonathanzuckerberg8850 I was gonna bring up this other toy, a Digimon Digivice. My brother loved Digimon while it aired, so he had a few collectables. I loved anime (didn't know they were animes yet), watched Dragonball Z, Pokemon, Sailormoon, Yugioh, Beyblade etc, but Digimon was just a little too scary for me as a 6yo. The monster designs, the missile attacks, seeing the kids get hurt and people being scared etc...it is a pretty dark show 😅 But I did like the movie and I'd face him on his own digivices. The mini games were fun too. Then my parents seperated and all etc, so the toys were divided. When I was 12, I gave the show another chance, and I fell in love. It taught me a lot of lessons, the Digimon were adorable, the original music was so touching, and it was what introduced me to Japan......so now I was on a hunt to find my brothers old Digivices. I found one pretty quickly. It didn't have the battery cover, so I used foil and tape to make it work, and I got really attached to it. There were times I was alone at my dad's place or waiting for hours in his car, but it kept me company. I was really hoping to find the other one, and I searched so long and hard for it, but never found it. As an adult, I was able to buy new and used ones...but I don't have time to play them. It's just not the same 😭

[@EricGranata]

I worked at McDonalds that year. People lost their minds.

[@VeriStrawberi]

Me too! Lol

[@Tzara86]

I was a kid back then... I remember wanting one so badly. I didn't care which one. I did get one eventually, I think it was a turtle. Nowadays they are just strange. Wish they'd repeat old ones

[@hansanders323]

can you tell us a crazy story?

[@EricGranata]

@@hansanders323 we were instructed to not sell the toy only. It could only be sold with Happy Meals which were limited to 5 happy meals per customer. I didn’t see any fist fights or anything but we got cussed daily by someone trying to bend the rules. Same thing happened with the Tamogotchi promotion, though not as extreme.

[@lucid2624]

@@Tzara86 I feel that like when I had got my first one it was drake the duck :) miss the little guy might seem weird but it helped me with allot

[@SL-lz9jr]

The scarcity tactic is no different than limited edition sneakers or streetwear brands like Supreme. People fall for it.

[@itsallperspective7415]

Shhhh those sheep pay my bills! If they find out the purses I'm selling for $300 work the same as a leather bag for $100 I can't pay my bills! Idiots make us rich.

[@michaelkline884]

@World of my Hellcat Ants Exactly

[@Shrek_Has_Covid19]

$100 brick

[@kennyadvocat]

Yup, TY cleaned up selling to idiots. And ebay made bank in fees from the secondary market trading them back and forth.

[@sushionaram]

"they were out of stock in 1 week to point where kids were unnable to get them" I have dejavu of Pokemon Happy Meal from 2021.

[@bigboifatty6131]

I just quit McDonald’s about two months ago right after they discontinued that promotion. The first day we had cards they sold out cause full grown people wud by stacks of them. The day after we introduced that u had to buy a happy meal to get a pack of cards. One guy ordered 17 happy meals for some goddam kids cards 🤦‍♂️

[@sushionaram]

@@bigboifatty6131 Yeah, some super hobby- obsessed adults take it way too serious, to point of doing fools of themselves. Almost like desperate drug addicts

[@izzatihassan1475]

@@bigboifatty6131 I remember the minions happy meal craze where these adults would buy a dozen meals or more...and then discard the meal and just go home with their toys. what a waste.

[@yuushanaruto9676]

Nothing screams "millennial" more then crap like the pokemon promotion. lol You had some stores where people were fighting each other over booster pack boxes.

[@whereaboutsunknown3822]

@@bigboifatty6131 Well, these are adults that grew up with Pokemon, and many of whom just still love pokemon. Nothing wrong with adults indulging in something they love. Yes, it's for kids, but Pokemon isn't any ordinary kid thing. It's got heart, and is awesome. I don't know how else to describe it. I don't watch the shows anymore, but I still love the characters and the Pokemon, and I'm pretty sure I will always love it. It's beyond a phase. It's like being a fan of spiderman.

[@ineffablemars]

Beanie babies were my childhood. I didn’t care about the collectibility of them I just thought they were cute and all my friends had them!

[@viscousgoo2021]

Then you did it right. It was supposed to be fun!

[@jadenyuki3138]

Saméē

[@thelittlemermaid6645]

Same here. My friend had a bundle of them😍😍

[@firecedella3315]

My mom, sister, grandma, and I love collecting beanie babies. I still love them to this day. I wish they weren’t so hard to find and still so expensive because I don’t care abt how rare they are, I just like them because they are so cute and are a huge part of my childhood

[@Whitneypyant]

I think my family still has our beanie babies.

[@Sabbathtage]

I worked at a Hallmark during the craze and the only thing worse than dealing with angry, angry customers was seeing the sheer heartbreak of little kids coming in after school to find they were all gone. These were kids that actually wanted to play with them and came in every day but even on the day the new ones came in the were all bought before noon.

[@irelandguy]

That so sad

[@meganjane7579]

i still like the look of the old-school beanie babies more. The modern day beanie babies are not cute and are creepy looking. As a toy i really like them, as a collector's item... meh.

[@carpeXnoctem12]

I always wondered why they changed the style to something significantly worse out of nowhere. Maybe I'll have my answer by the end of the video.

[@mua3588]

My kids love them and that's what makes them perfect. It shouldn't be about adult wanting to make cash, it should be about those special friends for the smallest humans

[@Rumade]

I really dislike the new Ty toy eyes... the glitter in them looks weird

[@mehchocolate1257]

@@mua3588 I have some beanie babies and beanie boos

[@KodokunaSenshi]

​@carpeXnoctem12 I'm pretty sure it's to appeal to kids.

[@hangedone]

Watching this during the squishmallows era is wild

[@anapriego8122]

This is definitely gonna happen w/ squishmallows

[@2Years2Farm]

Or the stupid FiDgEt SpiNnErS?!?

[@hazeld3703]

I can’t wait for the squishmallow craze to end, because they do make really nice pillows

[@Dymino]

thats a thing now?

[@thequeen4140]

@@Dymino it’s like a cozy pillow with the shape of an egg and designs of animals, it’s really really cozy and it’s really childish but it’s really popular between white teenagers for some reason😐

[@amandalemos310]

I loved my beanie babies as a little girl and spent many hours playing with them ❤️ I had a decent amount, but I played with them so much. So many good memories

[@zodinero2622]

🙏🏽

[@OriginalGameteer]

Same for me back as a kid Don't remember when I got the 4 of em but I loved, still have em now. Actually, got 2 more this past Christmas, Sheets and Bat-e

[@Cecilia13241]

As a kid in the early 2000s I loved spending my summers biking around to different garage sales, buying beanie babies for like 25 cents each lol. I loved collecting beanie babies like how I collected stamps or seashells.

[@LuisRios-bf9vn]

I collect hot wheels and I'm 33 lol

[@gracehaven5459]

Me too, we had a small collection developed in the early 2000s but mainly from 2nd hand, garage saling and flea markets. My older cousins were actually apart of the craze when it happened and they had a ton of allowance money wasted in the end... their parents were rich though and they also backpacked and vacationed all over the world I have no sympathy hahaha

[@crazycrookerr]

sounds like fun! One of the nicest memories as a kid is collecting toys. Has to be one of the most enjoyable things as a child

[@charlottesmom]

@@LuisRios-bf9vn , I collect Matchbox and Hot wheels but only Mustangs! I just started a few years ago and have over 30. I'm 55 and a female...☺️ (not the typical small car collector)

[@Cecilia13241]

@@LuisRios-bf9vn Awesome lol I'm in my 20s and collect movie ticket stubs and still sort of have a seashell collection going.

[@joshawott_27]

I remember as a kid, Mum took me to a Beanie Baby collectors market in my city. Over 20 years later, she still complains about spending £50 on a Speedy the Turtle. I still have him to this day though! Don't care that its value crashed - it's now a part of my childhood. Alongside many, many more lol

[@bonniehowell9206]

The same thing happened with collector Barbies in the 90's. My parents originally thought my $90.00 Scarlett O'Hara was an investment, but now people are basically giving those dolls away. I still love it though.

[@Adonna2424]

I also have Speedy as well because I love turtles.

[@Nyanpuddi]

if you adore a plushie for 20 years its not a big price.

[@pcatma]

Haha I had the same experience except it was with Tracker the hound. The guy at the beanie baby convention thing was keeping him in a glass case because he was recently retired or about to retire or something along those lines. I really wanted him so my dad bought him for me even though he was probably pricey. The guy handed him to me and i immediately tore off his tag (because I was a child and just wanted to play with my plushie) and the seller went absolutely mental, saying I'd ruined the toy and it was now worthless! Joke's on him, though... Even tagged ones are worthless now, lol

[@bonniehowell9206]

@@pcatma That's hilarious. I could only imagine the horror on that man's face when you ripped the TY tag off. I remember when they actually sold heart shaped plastic covers to preserve the tags. Lol

[@hectormontes7056]

My favorite past time as a little kid was going to goodwill and picking a beanie baby from their plush section, there was usually a lot of them and we would always find one we didn’t have. Good to know at least that some kids got to have fun with them in the end

[@bldbar118]

I remember taking the tag off one, because it’s not very plush, and being scolded that I’d ruined the value. I think with hindsight I’m happy I enjoyed it for what it was, a stuffed animal, rather than a collectible. Of course, had things turned out differently… nah, I still preferred them tag-less. :)

[@BonaparteBardithion]

I stumbled on a site for a woman that collected Kelly/Shelly dolls once. She stated that she always bought two of each doll: one for the collection and one for the kids to play with. I absolutely took the tags off my beanies. Parents can't expect kids to keep them mint. That's not why kids want them.

[@tiedyedowl8367]

I bought little plastic things to keep the tags on, but they usually fell off anyway. I played with them too much for them ever to be worth money, and never wanted to sell them, I just liked the poems and celebrating their birthdays.

[@pinkrose9749]

Me too! My grandpa collected a few beanie babies and he said I could play with them as long as I didn’t take off the tags. As I kid I never understood why he said that, the tags made them look less like real animals lol!

[@commodoresixfour7478]

I learned from my dad. Play with the toy, but keep the packaging!

[@canyouwhenyourdrunk]

I feel the same with my action figures as a kid. I played with them with my friends and used them for what they were created for.

[@beckneal5538]

When I was a little kid I had a frog beanie baby that I brought with me everywhere I went. It was so well loved that there were several times in which it’s sides split and all the beans spilled out! My mom would then gather it up, tell me she was bringing it to a special toy surgeon to fix it up for me, and would then spend hours combing every toy store on the island of Kauai to find another one for me. Good times

[@Brend_n]

@Eoghan plays :c

[@krystal1722]

Awww, I still have all mine: Scorch the dragon, Pouch the kangaroo, and December the birthday bear.

[@nekowitch417]

@@krystal1722 I loved scorch so much that I was one of the happiest kids ever finding these at yard sales. I think I have like 7 of them in my closet still.

[@krystal1722]

@@nekowitch417 That's so cute!!!

[@princessazulaofthefirenati5870]

Hi from Oahu

[@calnative4904]

Anything that is a made to be a “collectible” isn’t worth collecting.

[@NoName-rp4lw]

Tell that to Supreme

[@SimoneOconnell]

it is worth collecting if you like the thing you are collecting and not just doing it in the hope your going to be rich one day

[@flipperbigg8943]

You just have to know when something is on the rise and on the fall it’s a game

[@billybobjoe8578]

Tell that to most fandoms (Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc.) who lives off of collecting

[@Plus2]

Tell that to pokemon card collectors

[@nm9857]

It is ridiculous how easily people's minds are manipulated. I remember this time and looking back I cannot believe it.

[@y0utuberculosis]

Yeah I have an excuse, I was a kid. But my mom was more into it than we were. We had probably like a hundred of these including some rare ones like princess

[@nm9857]

@World of my Hellcat Ants I think people are easily manipulated or scammed financially, due to lack of financial education which is caused by many factors. Our monetary system is full of scams and its difficult for many people to learn how to invest, so the lack of understanding and promise of money can lead to something like this.

[@christinebeames2311]

Look how easily the peoples minds have been to believe there is a pandemic when the death rates show no such thing ,

[@lronSausage]

So the video's answer to the title was just basically: people lost interest

[@rody2k6]

@Erin Elle exactly TY is his own enemy

[@Joeyblondewolf2]

8:45 I busted out laughing I almost woke up my husband 🤣 I couldn't imagine the court room for that! I wouldn't take it seriously as a lawyer cause I be laughing! Ps damn that lady better got paid a lot for those poems!

[@Lindsay-nx5sv]

I remember that story. It was filmed. People watching were betting who got what beanie.

[@amrayabaptiste2933]

Ikr. I didn't understand it at first but after watching this I realise it's the worth they were after . Still a funny image

[@sailorsister211]

During that time you can actually get a mug for Beanie baby, soo...

[@brynndally9869]

I saw on the hbo documentary that she left because she was still getting paid like $7.25

[@luigi7834]

at the time they had value though. it was quite serious

[@siriehtstudio]

I went to a BB trade show with my parents in the 90s. I was around 9 years old and loved it so much! Seeing all the cute beenie babies was so much fun and so colorful.

[@blaackberry]

Memory unlocked: My great aunt had me throw away like 5 trash bags full of Beanie Babies in the 2000s She couldn't even donate them NOBODY wanted them because they already had too many!

[@ciaragarrity6425]

you could have sold by now, probably worth something.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Back when I played with toys, I would've loved to have had them. I hate dolls (which I think was my very early sign of why I now don't want kids, lol!), but stuffed animals were my life.

[@kagomefan112]

That’s actually really sad that she made you throw them away not because they would’ve been worth anything eventually some form of donation charity would’ve taken them. It really saddens me when children have to grow up and throw away their old toys because their parents made them.

[@bowdencable7094]

@@kagomefan112 charities around here simply don’t accept stuffed animals, because most of them are just so gross. And after the bust, they were completely flooded.

[@charlottesmom]

@@ciaragarrity6425 nope, check ebay, even mint/tag protected Princess is only going for $5.00 buy it now on legit auctions. These were mass produced and everyone and their mom has tubs of them in their attic (I have two rubbermaid tubs full but love them so will never sell them).

[@vxlley_flower5672]

Just means more for me! I collect unwanted ones from thrift stores. Doesn't matter if they're damaged or not, they're charming and make my brain go brrr

[@joannlaney9545]

My husband is the exact same way. We're stationed in Italy right now and receive so many care packages with a beanie baby inside. Most people don't want them so he takes them all, we probably have about 20 now

[@TheStepmonkey]

They’re really cute plushies

[@princessbeaniewiggle]

I collect them too. They're adorable

[@motionsick]

You sound like me collecting old wrenchs.

[@Mehwhatevr]

I had a pig when i was in third grade. I wish i still had it. If i came across it at a thrift shop, I’d probably buy it

[@rexstetson1717]

I went to the MLB All Star game at Coors Field in the late 90s. Everybody who entered the stadium was given a special, All Star edition Beanie Baby. The guy sitting next to us said that someone outside had given him $100 for his. I thought, damn, how lucky was he to have a random person give him $100 for that junk. When we left the game, there were half a dozen men standing outside every exit with handfuls of cash, and big black trash bags full of Beanie Babies. I didn’t realize I had the opportunity to negotiate, so I just asked for $100, like the guy next to me got, and the dude peeled off a $100 bill and gave it to me. When my dad saw how easily I got the money, he asked for $150, and again with no haggling, the guy handed my dad $150, which makes me wonder how much we could have gotten if we had known to ask for even more. Crazy!

[@TheDarknessOfGames]

About $250 today. Back in 1998 100$ is worth 161$ today so your dad pretty much broke even in today’s world

[@windsonma8209]

Wow back then at that time at the Stadium to those Guys to them you mind as well be given them away for Free

[@Finance-Food-and-Freetime]

@@TheDarknessOfGames his dad put it into apple just before they launched the iPod

[@gracehaven5459]

That's fun, my sisters and I once went to a Red Socks game as kids and each got a teddy bear but it wasn't beanie baby and it was post beanie baby craze lol but we had gone just for the bears alone

[@EmilyCheetham]

I owned several beanie babies & a few beanie buddies(high they didn’t mention & were still collected & traded) . I still have some of them. I never bought mine from anywhere other than the high street toy chains at retail price. As well as furby & pokemon cards another big thing was tamagotchi.

[@markrichards6863]

The two is was given were used as dog toys. The dog wás really fond of them.

[@joshb3867]

I love this father, daughter bonding over Bennie Baby’s. You can tell they both just love it.

[@intuitivediane]

Very soft humans. ❤️ they would be so empathic to others. Seem very kind

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

Exactly! I think they’re some of the only people that truly “get it”. They simply love the toys and the crazy fun history of those toys. ❤️

[@orirune3079]

It's honestly kind of cringe in my opinion...people dedicating their lives to collecting toys? Just buying stuff and having it sit on a shelf? It's like peak consumerism IMO

[@TheStepmonkey]

@@orirune3079 Not everyone likes to collect toys but there’s nothing wrong with doing it 🤷‍♀️

[@TheStepmonkey]

IKR, that’s so wholesome

[@anniewallace3601]

I collected beanie babies when I was a kid but not because of money. I thought they were cute!

[@cantfiteveryheart]

My first beanie baby was an anteater/aardvark! He inspired so many art projects. I love how cute they are. I might start collecting them. I got a Loosy the Goose at Goodwill the other day because it was so cute. Edit: I FORGOT ABOUT THE MCDONALDS TEENIE BEANIES. My parents worked at McDonalds and would sneak a couple for us to play with.

[@NukaNeeks]

I have that anteater along with a bunch if youd be interested lol

[@AliceAmane]

@TheKimberlydw imagine being that mad about other peopls interests. Grow up.

[@spiritchi24]

@TheKimberlydw wow you're so grown and mature.... Lmao shut up girl. As another 00's baby, don't let idiots tell you what you should like

[@michellelyston8566]

@TheKimberlydw That would make you at least a teenager or an early adult. You're old enough to realize you can't tell people what and what not to be interested in. Age doesn't tell you that, either. As another 2000's kid, please grow up.

[@melindadouglas1673]

My daughter was about 8 when the Beanie Baby craze took off. She loved them but didn’t have too many. I still have them and give to my grandkids!

[@shaymayca1]

I remember the beanie baby craze. I liked them as a kid. Never was a crazy collector type, I just liked them as a toy.

[@missawsum4918]

@Busy Bodies! i loved cuddly toys as a kid, i didn't care about ones that moves or made noises all i needed was a cuddly toy so i could play with them in my imagenary world but everyones different lol

[@LittleParade_]

I wanna thank the fall of beanie babies for fueling my stuffed animal addiction when I was younger and constantly being dragged to antique stores and fairs as a kid

[@steveosk8s]

I was always in hallmark stores with my grandma for them, got into calligraphy lol

[@platoquemado]

I actually thought they were cute when they came out, they had their little poems on their tag 💖

[@melsyoutube]

they're all so cute, i've never had one but I’d love to buy some. not because of their value retention, just because they're cute toys lmao.

[@kittycat8222]

I they are cute and well made. I have tubs and tubs of them with stupid tag protectors even, just waiting for my daughter to play with since they are not worth a thing 😝 can’t believe I was scammed as a child.

[@Violet-rv1fv]

@@kittycat8222 oh wait but yea you should save them for your daughter if you want to lol but at least know they're kinda worth something!

[@kittycat8222]

@@Violet-rv1fv the best I could find was a site that would buy them for .50cents a piece. I guess I could give them a look.

[@windsonma8209]

They Still Sell them at Grocery Stores and I could be Wrong but I think I might have seen them at Other Places

[@ivansgirl144]

I collected the original nine for just this reason. They are so cute! Still have them, don't care if they're worthless. I had a blast hunting down ones I was missing and didn't break the bank :)

[@audiooddities9982]

When my daughter was born in 2009, my mom bought a whole 60 gallon tote full of beanie babies from a pawn shop for her for $25.

[@lgiver5148]

Lmaoo my sister was born in 2007 my dad got a similar deal in a neighborhood yard sale

[@Zeldagirl86]

Same got 20 and some with tags in a trash bag $10 from a local Pa thrif store in 2011. Will give out to my kids (future has only one now) and others when they are older. Also I have the ones from my childhood and never paid over $6.50 for one (my local California Hallmark was the bomb and there was a local cat that would lay in the piles of toys and visit other stores) loved talking to the store owners and petting the cat while picking out our fav beanies with my 2 sisters .

[@chasemorr4110]

“1 in every 3 Americans have a teeny beanie baby inside their house.” *Horrifying*

[@4WingedAngels]

Guarantee it’s much more than one per household.

[@skylight311]

0 in my house

[@MyCatNeedsAnExorcism]

i have 3 and i’m 24

[@jessica_fungirl541]

I have well alot.... *there my brothers but I stole them from him*

[@mrss7688]

I randomly watched this, looked down and saw one of my son's new version beanie babies. The ones with the huge eyes. I had no idea lol

[@GamingMediocrity]

For perspective - There was a dedicated Beany Baby store (rares in alarmed cases like for jewellery) in my tiny British town. This was absolutely global.

[@hannahr6210]

@Elisabetta haha we're also known for Vicky Pollard, Simon Cowell and sooo many other trashy things.

[@Rumade]

@Elisabetta if you think the UK is classy and cultured, you don't have a clue. We love camp stuff here!

[@Splozy]

@Elisabetta the UK is 90% working class lol

[@madp6755]

@@Splozy you must be a northerner

[@Splozy]

@@madp6755 most people who think they are middle class, aren't 🤷

[@eddieposting]

my first ever beanie baby was chip the cat... though he’s got a burned tail & slightly smashed eyes, he’s the reason i have around 80+ beanies hanging around to this day. they may be worthless now, but they’ll always have a place in my heart and home.

[@charlottesmom]

I still have around 150 of them in bins in the attic, still take the Christmas bears (Halo is my favorite!) out to put on the tree each year.

[@mindseye1806]

Omg my first was chip to!

[@RachelJamesS_]

I’m not old enough to remember the beanie baby craze, but I agree with the last statement: THEY ARE CUTE!!! I have such a big collection now, I couldn’t careless which ones have the “monetary value” I just get the ones I think are super cute; I even have beanie boos! I’m 23 right now, I plan on buying beanie babies until I’m 83. I love that I can have a beanie baby at my work desk for any occasion/holiday, and really brightens up my area. I also just love how they look. They’re cute.

[@arcturionblade1077]

Netflix's "The Toys That Made Us" needs to make an episode about Beanie Babies.

[@RrR-xv4ij]

No they shouldnt youtubers can do better

[@kaneshap.6146]

@@RedRoseSeptember22 what happened with Netflix??

[@RandomShapeless]

@@kaneshap.6146 Look for articles about a documentary on Netflix called Cuties.

[@melsyoutube]

they should've stopped production in 1999 like he said he would. and then come back 10 years later!

[@insectbite1714]

Comment reported for innapropriate profile picture. Bot

[@lotus_flower2000]

@@insectbite1714 that's not how it works. No one cares and you are changing nothing.

[@insectbite1714]

@@lotus_flower2000 *I_ H A T E_ N O N O M O U S N E S S!!!!!!!!* 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

[@insectbite1714]

@@lotus_flower2000 everyone cared and also how do I fix the problem then?

[@eberhanicio7062]

@@insectbite1714 cuz youtube doesn't care

[@misslauren881]

I remember being frustrated by the inflated cost. There was this angel fish beanie I wanted because my room was ocean themed. At 8 years old it was hard to understand why it was so much more expensive than some of the other ones. From what I can remember, kids lost interest quickly because they didn't understand that the toy had value beyond being a cute plushie. Kids couldn't get them because adults were "collecting" them. So we moved on to more attainable toys.

[@kaying1951]

The only one I bought was a tiny pink lamb from Walgreen. I used it throughout my college years as an arm rest when I study, I even brought it to school as wrist rest when I used their shared computers. Now it has become my son's toy.

[@ArtisticCeleste]

Aww that's really sweet!

[@The_Inferior_Retroman]

Aw that's adorable

[@berrybearcub8237]

Man these people would be so mad if they found out the only reason we have beanie babies in our house, if for our dog. It’s the only toy that he’ll play with and he has about 7. But his favorite is the flamingo

[@wolfbane155]

I loved my beanie babies. I remember whenever my mum and I went to a store I'd seek out the spiral rack of beanie babies to see what new ones there were. I hated baby dolls and preferred toy horses and my beanie babies to play with. I got really sad the first time I saw the new, weird bug eyed abominations TY toys have become.

[@jskamshll8202]

Yeah same!! I thought they looked weird and theyre not floppy!!!!

[@DannyDevitoOffical-TrustMeBro]

Same here. I never did enjoy playing with baby dolls, animals were my favorites. Odd considering I’m going to be a pediatric nurse, and that it’s been my dream job for over half my life lol.

[@wolfbane155]

@@DannyDevitoOffical-TrustMeBro I definitely did not turn out the same, I really don't like being around babies or kids still 😂

[@KeiPalace]

yeah those are pretty ugly

[@KodokunaSenshi]

As an artist, I agree. I love both realistic-leaning and cartoony designs, well these are appealing-to-children-and-overly-cute designs.

[@zippyducky1704]

Funny how when Beanie Babies was going out of popularity she mentioned Pokémon, because now Pokémon cards are the new bubble market item craze.

[@WolfxNetwork]

Yeah but Pokémon is going strong for almost 30 years now. First around in 1996. The thing is they kept adding new generations every 5-10 years. Instead of circulating the stock or discontinuing a stock. I mean I have a few cards from when I was a child and they are worth 20x the value. While if I try to find a Beenie baby from 96 I’m sure it’s cheaper.

[@Ludinjapan]

Manny makes a good point. An added point is the type of consumer that still enjoys collecting Pokémon cards grew up to be higher income individuals. Nintendo is a business that knows how to evolve

[@BeepBoop-z2v]

Plus pokemon has other things like games and comics that can bring more people in to collect cards

[@tannersuitcaseroski]

Lol "bubble"

[@varapornkrut]

I think pokemon cards could still live on

[@toykeyper8914]

You can find piles of Beanie Babies at thrift stores and garage sales, people are practically giving them away. I have a couple somewhere, I think they are cute. Can't stand the newer Beanie Boos, hate those big fake looking eyes.

[@hannahhelton3789]

The new ones are so ugly! The originals are so sweet.

[@Cattissosilly]

@Hannah Helton I agree.

[@beccaswirly224]

Me having six of the new big eyed ones: 👁👄👁

[@DaemonHeorui]

I kinda like the old ones But some of the new ones are also kinda good looking Not all tho

[@Talkin-fr0g]

@@DaemonHeorui the owls are my favorite- the big eyes just fit them right

[@tacklengrapple6891]

Man, glad I sold my one very early beanie baby as a kid in ‘97ish for $300 before the market crashed. It was a pinkish/purple duck I won at an amusement park in the early 90’s. I found out later they sold him for almost a grand, but what did I know. I never even heard about eBay until maybe ‘01, so you were at the mercy of collectible store owners back then unless someone clued you in.

[@RealEstateIsLife]

Just Imagine if you held Beanie Babies in your investment portfolio through the 90’s.

[@Kadagirl777]

This brought back so many memories! The whole video I was like- "I remember that one! And that one! Oh, I almost forgot about that one!" We had a pretty big beanie baby collection, but it was mostly after the bubble popped and you could find them for cheap at garage sales and stuff. We played with them so much. But above all I remember Rufus, because he was especially mine, not just shared.

[@malayangtanglaw8681]

10:45 I had one of this Beanie Baby, I never thought it was a special thing. We live in the Philippines and my Mother bought it in a thrift store.

[@ZOCCOK]

"A good salesman creates supply, A great salesman creates demand" - Master Oogway

[@sqlb3rn]

Lol this quote is in the comments like 3 times all attributed to different people.

[@paulfoss5385]

I remember as a child arguing with my fellow classmates whenever they would claim that some pokémon card was valuable because it was "rare". I just couldn't wrap my head around why anyone would place any meaning into the scarcity of a mass produced object, it was clear to me that it was just people at the company deciding how many of each card to print to manipulate people into shelling out cash for cardstock and ink. I wasn't very popular.

[@uchihazero8635]

Those cards are worth something now

[@ontoyoualways9183]

@@uchihazero8635 No they are not. They are simply cardboard/paper. Junk.

[@heronumbertwo3171]

@@ontoyoualways9183 Know your facts. It's not all about manufacturing costs, learn about supply and demand for once. Edit: sentimental value exists too. Even though it doesn't translate to money, it's still value

[@raymondgriner6389]

@@ontoyoualways9183 I sold mine for thousands

[@13_faces]

@@ontoyoualways9183 so is money.

[@hannahfellmeth1553]

I loved the “Teeny Beany Babies” ☺️ they were way more fun to me as a kid then the big ones.

[@rubbegameing5370]

Same

[@ConConSmith]

My second grade teacher gave every student a beanie baby to read with. I still love and treasure my Peanut the elephant beanie baby. It my not be the $5000 original one, but it is so close to my house.

[@alicial4449]

Unpopular… until they’re popular again (just like every other “retro” thing on earth). All it takes is for one to show up in the background of a show or movie and for that one person to lose their mind over it, create a funny meme… and there you go. lol

[@MyShows18]

But these days even if something becomes popular again it never last anymore. In less than a month ppl move on to something new. It’s absolutely bonkers.

[@miscellaneouscell]

@Nobody comments are not funny you troglodyte lol they will

[@unknownwords3121]

My mom still has all our beanie babies in totes. Now my daughter is getting them when she gets older….except for the green bunny. That one is mine. I love my our beanie babies. It reminds me of my childhood looking for them in stores.

[@TheSongwritingCat]

Artificial scarcity is a hell of a drug

[@Shadowx157]

"Rare"

[@bostonblackie9503]

Same as Cabbage Patch Kids. However, I don't remember parents physically fighting each other over Beanie Babies

[@gregleuze6657]

Collect what you have an interest in, so whether the value goes up or down you will still enjoy what you have.

[@NYCfrankie]

My mom has a original valentino 🐻 the white one with the red ❤ with the tag still on she got it as a present from my dad on valentine's day as a throw in 🎁 with her more expensive gifts my mom loves it back when I was like 11 or 12 in 97 or 98 I remember her saying some1 had offered her like 8k for it she says she glad she didn't sell cause my dad died in 2015 and it's one of her keepsakes of him now

[@herreguda6199]

The father and daughter collecting seem so lovely! And I love the woman that worked for the company and came up with all those innovative ideas like using the internet and writing poems

[@thejones1242]

Honestly they could probably bring them back again and they’d do well.

[@ZOCCOK]

"A good business creates supply, a great business creates demand" - Ash Ketchum

[@G8tr1522]

wasn't that from the episode where Abe Lincoln helped him save that town from the great flood by building the big Poké-ark?

[@Pulapaws]

A very smart payer do not pay, but move to a more cheaper competitor or one that have stuff in stork. A wise one only pay low and sell high.

[@KaleidoSTAR_PH]

there is one episode of Storage Wars where one buyer bought a storage container full of Beanie Babies. The buyer thought those are worthless toys, but after appraising it, some of those worth a thousand dollars. So the money used to buy that storage, came back 10x 🤯

[@BikdipOnABus]

That appraiser was giving bad info, actually. I'm still not sure what his deal was, since he had a lot of legit Beanie memorabilia, but was feeding them terrible information. They didn't have anything in that collection that stood out as being worth more than about $5.

[@James-no6mu]

I remember being a child on AOL, seeing the Beanie Baby website, and feeling so excited for some reason that I didn't understand. I firmly believe that this was my first internet-fueled dopamine rush, something that just about everyone's brain has fully adapted to now. I think that this is what really caused the Beanie Baby frenzy and no one at the time had the slightest understanding of what was happening or why. I mean look at some of these adults completely addicted to animal-shaped bean bags. It's completely bizarre

[@TrivediLina]

It’s so cool hearing people’s experiences with the early Web site!

[@fuckyou96]

People were literally being k*lled over beanie babies lmfaoooooooo

[@matthewhecht9257]

My mom bought hordes at a thrift store, and we loved playing with them. MawMaw knew they would not have monetary value, but she loved collecting and displaying them.

[@bannisher]

Ask my wife. We're still "beanie baby rich. " she only *half* jokes.

[@troysundt8406]

Not worthless! They bring so much joy to my amazing residents every day. Joy that is utterly priceless 🥰🥰

[@norulshazean5550]

The daughter’s voice is so soothing I want her to read me bedtime stories

[@raea3588]

It's amazing how some people go crazy over a fad or the collecting/trading and cashing in while others simply enjoy and don't have a clue as to what they have! I remember going into a store as a child and buying one Beanie Baby for $5. My Sibling had one of the first and rarest. We didn't know they were worth something we just thought they were cute :) We had the McDonald's Teenie Babies but they got lost. So did my first one. Now, I treasure two Beanie Baby bears that belonged to my Aunt simply because she had them in her room when she past away

[@cherryontop1137]

I remember my sister had a few beanie babies when we were younger. She also bought a book that listed all the different versions and how rare they were. I remember that the page with the blue elephant had been dogeared and the book spine had been cracked on that exact page. She also collected gel pens and alien posters. Lol.

[@madebymegan]

Every decade has a new generation of beanie babies. Right after beanie babies fell , Pillow Pets became popular. As soon as pillow pets fell, squishmallows became popular. Squishmallows also have personality tags for each plush and they have followed the market of scarcity. A $5 Ronnie the Cow can sell for $20-$25. Larger squishmallows can sell for hundreds even though they were originally $20-$30.

[@user-pt1cz4ot1e]

That is so much stupid. Why are humans so boring and incapable of learning from others? 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@hhansanfranz]

You forgot Webkinz

[@randomthoughts0829]

Squishmallows are really cute (and as a side sleeper a really good pillow) but people go insane about them. The glow in the dark axolotl that everyone wants now goes for 70-100 USD on Mercari. I got it for 15$ at target

[@charlottesmom]

After Beanie Babies I don't think I ever collected anything popular again. Lesson learned I guess...😆

[@virginiamoss7045]

@@user-pt1cz4ot1e The question is why are humans so gullible? Because they operate on an emotional basis instead of using logic. Hundreds of thousands of dollars that could fund a college education or retirement were squandered. And those same humans complain about paying taxes and about not having enough money to afford insurance. Most humans are selfish and shortsighted.

[@JackF99]

I remember back when this was going on. A portion of my friends & family got caught up in it but to most of us it was obviously a manipulative scam. Nike learned a lot about marketing from this approach. These days there are people who think they're going to retire on their shoe collection.

[@sirvilhelmofyonderland]

I have 10,000 + beanie babies. I’m currently homeless. But I have those precious precious beanie babies. Sure I lost custody of my kids, and my wife divorced me. But I have my precious precious beanie babies. They are in a storage unit. I’m sure glad I know what life is really about. My beanie babies and I will rule in heaven.

[@james1787]

I sold one for my girlfriend at the time (now wife) on eBay back during the craze and it was enough to pay her tuition for a semester.. I still can remember the feedback “high priced beanie in great shape”. I was amazed someone would pay that kind of money for a stuffed toy.

[@cantfiteveryheart]

Ooh! Which one was it?

[@james1787]

​@@cantfiteveryheart It was one of the Magenta bears (which version / age I can't recall... but one that someone was willing to pay for!!)

[@cantfiteveryheart]

@@james1787 😲 woah

[@james1787]

@@cantfiteveryheart I did a little more digging.. (I asked my wife), it was an "old face magenta bear". I see they still go for 500-600 (ebay sold listings). We definitely sold it during the peak but interesting to see it still is worth a little.

[@Talkin-fr0g]

@@james1787 that’s how much one of my furbies are worth, but hell no- waddles will be with me forever

[@marvinestevez8842]

History repeats itself, McDonald’s Pokémon 25th anniversary is a replica of the teeny beenie baby frenzy

[@ryancols]

That's just scalpers wanting short term gains in a short amount of time

[@ohhello937]

Except Pokemon cards have had a stable buy/sell/trade market for competitive card players and collectors for 25 years. All these people did was make the specific Mcdonalds promo super cheap and easy to get 😂

[@sws212]

Not the same thing, Pokemon has had steady demand since inception. It only surged in recent years because of influencers and Tiktok along with the fanbase growing up and trying to reclaim their youth like with comic books. Eventually it'll even out to a steady price level but it'll never completely crash like beanies, more like the consistent demand for older Superman comics.

[@ellissawood6272]

Beanie babies walked so squishmallow could run

[@Waltham1892]

Before Cryptocurrency, there was, BENNIE BABIES!

[@jaridkeen123]

But crypto is not a collectable and it is ised to buy other things

[@Waltham1892]

@@jaridkeen123 Tell yourself that, if it helps you sleep at night.

[@anon8373]

Except crypto is a real technology and not a collectable... some people are too stupid to understand...

[@Waltham1892]

@@anon8373 crypto is a pump and dump scam, except people are to dumb to understand.