When The Beanie Baby Crazy Got Out Of Control...

[@jeremywyeth7163]

Fun fact: Every box of stuffed animals that came in to Toys R Us came with step by step fully illustrated instructions on how to hug, fluff, and set the stuffed animals on the shelf. I took my responsibility as animal hugger VERY seriously. And yes, i still have one of instruction sheets.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

That's ... bizarre! Thanks for the info!

[@Mr.Vape420]

Interesting now you know.

[@missyouwish88]

You were a good employee 👍

[@branscombe_]

I still remember that photo of the divorcing couple, splitting up the beanie baby pile on the courtroom floor

[@GorgieClarissa]

Omggggg yesssssss

[@TomFromYoutube]

That's sad on multiple levels.

[@davidj5910]

😂😂😂😂 I may still have that on video tape. It was all over the news back then. They were literally picking the beanies out that were theirs in the middle of the court room.

[@aridddle]

I wonder if they were ever able to cash in on them, or if they held them too long only to realize they fought over who got to keep worthless stuffed animals 😂😂

[@Mr.Vape420]

How did I never see this? Even McDonald did beanie babies. Do more collecting of the 60s-now that are worthless. Guilty I even had a book that listed the prices.

[@jackjmaheriii]

I went to school with a kid who’s mom patented a plastic case that covered the tag, that obvious idea made her a millionaire.

[@dimebagdave77]

Wow.. I remember that

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

Good for her! I hope she didn't waste it on the beanies 😅

[@williamphillips2671]

Things that never happened for 1,000 Alex

[@jackjmaheriii]

You have my name, with a little googling you can confirm it for yourself. HINT: We grew up in southern michigan.

[@mr.randomvideos2928]

@@williamphillips2671😂

[@stacytadlock7666]

I was not only a collector, but I also worked retail at the time of all this, and when he says we were crazy, he wasn't kidding!

[@missyouwish88]

I even remember the craziness when they came in Happy Meals!

[@christinacascadilla4473]

Hold on…you mean those 57 baby blue elephants I’ve had in a safe deposit box since 1998 are not worth anything?

[@lucerospersonal7840]

saw one at the flea market last month, going for $3

[@christinacascadilla4473]

@@lucerospersonal7840 great…that means my kid’s college fund is $171.

[@loricagardener4826]

Wait another 150 years.

[@chiquita683]

Be careful this vid is a scam to get your beanie babies for cheap. HODL

[@punctatus3285]

I'll trade you all my Tickle Me Elmos

[@kimberleymcmillan682]

Squishmallows are the beanie babies of the 2020s

[@nessc5825]

I’m 36. I found a squishmallow just before a train trip and I was like I’m gonna get me one of those ( it was overnight). My mother thought I was nuts but I found bigger ones at a walgreens and I could buy 2 for $4 more than I bought my first. She was like yes I absolutely want one. They are soooo comfortable to sleep on. So despite it being somewhat like the beanie babies they also have a functional use which makes them better

[@Kicks_Clothing]

and Funko Pops LOL

[@MsBookworm15]

I have been slowly thrifting beanie babies whenever I find them, including the beanie babyMcDonald’s release. I’ve been stocking up since I was pregnant, and my now two-year-old loves them. They are a great size for her. Her favorite are the ones that she has the full size and the teeny version because she likes playing mommy and baby.

[@peggywoods4327]

I have a few bears in 3 sizes, regular, jumbo, & McMini.

[@nhd6128]

Never understood how the toyshop in my town stayed open for 50+ years, and still around today... I'm pretty sure they made a killing during the beanie baby craze & have been living off that since 😂

[@ridureyu]

Some Beanie Babies still hold their value - such as the one used to trap Princess Diana’s soul and bar her from the afterlife.

[@Kicks_Clothing]

yes and the 2nd Gens can go for decent money, if they are in good shape.... it's like anything, the 1st Edition stuff will always have some value

[@michellelinder3721]

I always thought the beanie baby thing was more adults than kids.

[@GorgieClarissa]

Yeah but beanie adulties doesn't sound good

[@aridddle]

The craze was the adults kids just thought they looked unique or were cute

[@pamelamays4186]

Adults were buying up the McDonald's Beanie Babies meals like crazy.

[@chiquita683]

They started making it so you could just buy the toy without the meal lol

[@beverleybee1309]

That was only because the amount of food waste was unreal.😱🤢 They'd just buy the happy meal, take the toy, and then ditch the food, everywhere.

[@HeliosKou]

It was obnoxious. I worked at a McDonald's in HS and the people coming in would literally yell at us because we didn't have the one they were looking for

[@beverleybee1309]

@@pamelamays4186 there were outright fist fights in the parking lot over the limited edition teenie beanie baby bears. It's a good thing they didn't know we got the left overs. 🤫🤭

[@hoosierflatty6435]

Back in the day, I once saw a car with like 50 of these things in the back window area. Old bored ladies were the only ones I ever knew who got into this.

[@katmarrs7054]

I still have my Beanie Babies and cannot bear the thought of parting with them. I played with them a lot as a child though. I have the Millenium bear (spelled incorrectly) but have come to the realization that I probably am never going to get money for them like my dad told me I probably would if I hung onto them.

[@songmarysmith]

Hey! The new guy is sounding fun and normal. Good Job, Dude!!!

[@NASCARFAN93100]

The 1990s will forever be the GOAT

[@FRAME5RS]

Eh, the ,60s and 70s were fun too. Even more Wild Wild West dangerous toys we somehow survived. But 90s WAS kind of the end of the fun!

[@mrhumble2937]

People always say that about their youth. 30 years from now someone will be on YT saying the 2020's was the time to be alive.

[@NASCARFAN93100]

@@mrhumble2937 Speaking of which, Weird History needs to give us Season 4 of The Timeline Series

[@FRAME5RS]

@@mrhumble2937 That's hard to believe.

[@mrhumble2937]

@FRAME5RS just how it is. People who were older in the 90's were saying this is terrible. 70's were the best.

[@roseprevost8081]

I worked in a store that sold these during the hype. I spent more time unpacking them and calling customers that "their" BB was in than I did anything else. I hated those damn things!

[@Kicks_Clothing]

LOOOLLL

[@HeliosKou]

I was a HS senior working at my local McDonald's during the beanie baby craze in the 90s I cannot tell you how many Karen's would come in and be mad that we didn't get a different bear than the store up the road. Like I'm just some kid trying to make comic and video game money after school. I have zero say in what gets sent to the store

[@KINGBADASS100]

Beanie baby empire is such a funny choice of words lmao

[@beverleybee1309]

Try, "Teenie beanie baby bears" 😆 (five times fast) 😆

[@markadams7046]

I have a postage stamp collection that I think is going to make a comeback.😆 Tulips are going to make a comeback too😂

[@nodrogstacey7813]

Have you seen the modern Danish tulip auctions? They're still a wildly profitable commodity

[@NewMessage]

My mom made me some 'Beastie Babys' (The beastie boys in beanie baby form) when I was about 20. Gave them to a girl, because of course I did, and I've regretted it ever since.

[@williamphillips2671]

Easier ways to get laid dude

[@icyflann7178]

I was literally just talking about this the other day. I saw a pic from the 90s of two people in divorce court proceedings and the pic was them with a huggeee pile of beanie baby's that they were splitting in half 😂😂

[@bsj9039]

That's hilarious!

[@cadillacdeville5828]

I know which episode you referring to as well... She had a whole lot of them and she was very serious about it

[@icyflann7178]

@@cadillacdeville5828 my first thought was about how pissed they must have been to find out one day they are worth nothing lol awww

[@nessc5825]

I mean acrimonious couples are always gonna fight about something, but at least they are going head to head over the beanie babies and not an actual baby.. I’m pretty sure the husband was doing it just to be a shit… even if he thought they would be worth money someday, I can imagine him arguing for more money out of the settlement in lieu of the bb’s and getting it if she was THAT serious about it.

[@TehSymbiote]

90's kid here. This was a wild time 😂

[@Imjustacatlady]

My 7 year old self was so jealous of my friend who had a laundry basket full of them. My cousin collected the bears and she had a case for every special edition one and guess where all that shit went? The trash.

[@Dawnchaser115]

Oh man, I collected hundreds of beanie babies as a kid in the 90s. I played with them, though. And I still have most of them and gave them to my nieces to play with now.

[@terriehumphries6028]

We have two Ty Beanie Babies. My son is 24 now but they are special to him because he got them in the hospital. One of them he carried around all the time and you can tell. The other looks prettier because it was not played with as much. We never got into the crazy but we had friends that did.

[@life_withl]

Oh boy the Beanie Babies! 😂

[@chadmcpherson5081]

Pokemon cards are a thing when Pokemon first came out and it's still kinda does today. It's not just the video games and the anime which made Pokemon popular but also the cards, too.

[@KarmikCykle]

My mom, sister and I would go to the neighborhood pharmacy/video rental place/sandwich shop (yes, these were all the same business) and buy new Beanie Babies every couple weeks. We'd even gather around my mom's computer to look at a site that would announce upcoming new Beanie Babies and which ones were being retired soon.

[@cristih2516]

Working as a teenager when the Teeny Beeny babies were released was crazy! I would see middle aged women fighting over the last one. 😂

[@TifaTakeuchi]

I only ever had 1 of these. I was visiting family in Scotland for the Millennium when I saw the one celebrating the event in a shop and bought it. My mum has it now.

[@PuppyCuddler]

I've never understood these beany things

[@justalaborer713]

So it was the predecessor to digital money.

[@skunkman9815]

I for one want to get the backyardigans beanie babies

[@davidj5910]

Make fun of it all you want but you really had to be there. Beanies was a serious business up til about 2002. I got into it late around 97 98 and by 1999 I was able to buy my first brand new car at 26 yrs old selling Beanies. None of the images in this video were of any of the valuable ones they were either current items of what we used to call "commons" or what they now call peg warmers. Plus they not sold in Target Walmart Toys r Us or any big stores. They were only sold in small mom and pop shops or card shops like Spain and Hallmark which is what made them harder to get. After the craze was over you would find them in KB toys and Toys r us. Now they are everywhere.

[@elizabethgeorge168]

My grandma is a retired nurse. She then went to volunteer at the local hospital's auxiliary in the gift shop. She would always snag the best Beanie Babies for me 😅 I wish I kept them all over the years. But I still have a few floating around somewhere ❤

[@girldaddividendinvestor]

Ty bought the penthouse of the never built Spire in Chicago. Probably his worst investment.

[@jodyhadley2895]

I have one of the original cat stuffies he started out making. I was born in 87 and can't remember not having that cat.

[@socialsophie]

I saw beanie babies in this video that I used to have as a kid, what a nostalgia throwback :’) I used to love those little guys, I still have some of them in safe keeping

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks for this! 🧸

[@jeremiahoblea4727]

To be honest, I like the narrator. He sounds like the son of the OG narrator guy

[@mhalbert]

Is the third narrator this channel has had? I didn't like the 2nd guy they used. This guy sounds like the OG one thankfully 😂

[@Brad-ic4bp]

Just missing the snarky piece of the best narrator. Gonna have to work on that,

[@mattyt1961]

he sounds like the love-child of the OG narrator and Justin from Mental Floss

[@lavenderflowersfall280]

My grandma and I would wait outside of stores for beanie babies eating Cheerios and bananas. Closest thing to real bonding we had

[@0boro]

For everyone born beyond the 90s, Beanie Babies were our Amiibos.

[@Tully_23_32]

I remember when the Tamagotchi phase & kid had one. Back at that time i was teaching dancing & you'd hear the Tamagotchi's going off & the girls would all run off the floor to feed it or do whatever to it so it wouldn't die. I ended up having to ban the girls from bringing their Tamagotchi's to class lol

[@LanceofLonginous]

I have a vivid memory from like the 2nd grade of this girl who had maybe 15 beanie babies on a belt around her torso. She set it down for a second a group of kids rushed her to take the belt. In seconds they were all gone and all her beanie babies went in different directions...moments later first fights broke out.

[@EricckkMoneyy7777NGLBruhh]

THIS IS SO STRANGE!!!!I just ordered a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Beanie Baby and it arrived yesterday, I literally haven't heard anything on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Beanie Babies in years. This is the 1st time I've ever ordered one myself. So this makes me solidify that this is just a Simulation, Matrix style! 😅😅

[@aridddle]

I think those would have been the only Beanie babies I would have voluntarily wanted. TMNT has always been a favorite of mine

[@davidstrother496]

WE weren't all obsessed with Beanie Babies, or Furbies, or a rock in a fancy box. However, the old saying that a sucker is easily parted from his money was on full display back then.

[@MsGummy666]

I recently found a 1996 Righty the Elephant with tag missing at our local bookstore. I just had to spend the $5 on it for my inner child. I've collected a few over the years because it makes me smile and reminds me of my childhood. I don't regret getting rid of my 300+ though.

[@jleewatts4318]

Jake, the duck, is sitting on my desk right now.

[@jonathansumners6077]

I worked at a bookstore at the height of the Beanie Baby craze and i remember our UPS driver told me that the trucks had to escorted on their routes by armed police officers because they were being held up at gun point getting robbed for the Beanie Baby shipments they carried. That's when I realized humanity had little hope as people were getting robbed & killed for A TOY.

[@nancyadams9228]

I have a friend who started collecting them in retirement and actually opened a Beanie Baby resale store. She lost her retirement savings.

[@tremorsfan]

I wonder how many parents ripped these toys from their child's hands.

[@mikelewis5367]

Sooooo...anyone wanna buy some Beanie Babies?🤣

[@Madeyalookoops]

All of my beanie babies have now become dog toys lol

[@Emperor_Oshron]

my siblings and i were '90s kids and collected Beanie Babies in their time--i still have a fair few left over for sentimental reasons, and one of them--a Sly the Fox which has seen so much playtime (coupled with my cutting off his whiskers for some reason :P) that he looks more like a squirrel or beaver than a fox now--is one of my most prized possessions, of the "bestest friend in the whole world" variety ;) these days he lives in my desk drawer, whereas the others that i still have are in a shoebox somewhere i had a guide for Beanie Babies indicating how much they would be worth eventually, and found another copy of it more recently which i decided to keep for nostalgic reasons, but they were never an investment in my mind in no small part because i wouldn't've comprehended the idea of it at that age. they were _always_ toys to me and i just loved 'em :)

[@thejourney1369]

My Mom spent a small fortune on Beanie Babies for her three grandkids. My son is 31 and still has his and says he’s keeping them even though he knows there’s no monetary value to them. His Grandma got them for him and that’s the only reason he needs to keep them. I don’t know what my two nieces have done with theirs. My sister has a house fire on Christmas Day a couple of years ago, so they might have been lost in that.

[@TheDigitalslayer]

I was a child during most of the 1990s but I was still a bit out of the loop during the Beanie Bay fad. I would have been about 12-14 at time and the fad of Beanie Babies,Tamagochi ,tickle me Elmo, for some reason, they were more like back round items, plus I (my parents) didn't have dispensable income on such items. During the hype of the Beanie Baby era (about 1997-2000), I would was more into PlayStation 🎮 Hip Hop 🎶 and Bill Clinton 🤭 and asking out that one girl in class to the school dance💃, those were things that had more of my attention during the late 1990s. Unusual twist was that I got a hold of several Beanie Babies once I was in college doing home repair work and renovations where people paid me to clean out old crap from the garage or their adult children's old room that was left behind.

[@albymac]

If they ever make a beanie babies movie please cast Zack Galifianakis as Ty Warner

[@rockoorbe2002]

It would be between him and John Goodman.

[@albymac]

@@rockoorbe2002 that picture at the beginning really looked like Zack G

[@cadillacdeville5828]

I definitely remember those.... I was about 3 or 4 years old when they came out

[@highnoon9333]

"The Great Beanie Baby Bubble" is one of my favorite books ever.

[@akoww1000]

When McDonald's sold them, local McD's managers were caught selling the rare ones online. they found a way to tell which Beanie baby was in the bags and would buy them to sell. Mcdonald's has a rule when it comes to items they sell " at least at that time" No worker can save an item for themselves or a friend/family member. All of them were fired at the time and the police were called. I remember a lot of cases went missing in Florida from a few stores, it got out of hand so fast, people was fighting over them when a store got some in :/

[@itstricky316]

McDonalds got into the craze also. Happy Meals and it came with a Beanie Baby.

[@catholicactionbibleonlyist1813]

They are in my attic

[@Kicks_Clothing]

Which influencer is gonna make these viral, and popular again, you know it will happen LOL

[@ShyGuy83]

I never really got into this craze myself, but don’t even get me started on my younger sister’s obsession with these things.

[@kevinstinson4853]

I'd be happy with just some of the plastic display box money😅

[@brendaraven1273]

I still have my beanie babies!!

[@coltonius]

My Beanies sat in a plastic storage bin for ~20 years, until my children discovered it and started claiming them for their own. 😂 It was a little tough to let go of some of my 4th Gen and Canada/UK/German exclusives- but ultimately, they get SO much more love than being set on a pedestal, untouched.

[@amarislaurette]

Same for me! Mine sat in a box for 20 years after receiving them in my own childhood, waiting to be possibly sold only for my kids to find them and rip the tags off them all immediately but give them some much needed and priceless love!

[@blackpoptart4781]

Here before the toxic comments about the narrator's voice.

[@Zachary3D]

You're part of the problem.

[@_ksm0922]

@@Zachary3Dpeople crying like toddlers every time the narrator isn’t Tom are the bigger problem. It’s just bullying at this point. The narrators see these comments, and it’s safe to assume it’s disheartening and hurtful to see people just being outright mean about it.

[@Badmediatrack]

We are still fans, and our opinions matter just like yours does. Not toxic, just different.

[@hoosierflatty6435]

@@_ksm0922 Welcome to the internet and grow a pair

[@NewMessage]

@@Badmediatrack Clearly, you haven't read the majority of the comments on that subject, which are more often than not downright abusive to both the narrators, AND those who defend them. ( for example, you here, kicking someone in the teeth for simply commenting on the phenomena, ... and not targeting you specifically at all). If *your* comments on the subject are not toxic, then... they aren't talking about you at all, are they? Yet you make a point to identify as one of them. The OP is referring to the abusive, 'toxic' ones that absolutely do exists, and predominate... until they get swept away. The 'held for review' folder of auto hidden comments for this channel must need a whole server farm all to itself. Of course, it is much more likely that you are simply being disingenuous. Guess which one we think you are right now.

[@Craftymom1o19]

Finally I can explain this to my kids (i don’t even what the heck was up)

[@ferociousgumby]

You can still buy them! I have quite a large collection.

[@Tisuoi]

Now Funko Pops are the latest craze until they are inevitably sold off in garage sales while the seller is holding 50 cents and nostalgia.

[@lucrativesoundsent.1274]

Ha! I remembered this craze and I always knew it was gonna flop lol, but man some of those little stuffed animals were cool!

[@robertjones1502]

I have to say my grandparents and Gray.Grandparents were definitely into beanie babies.But I have to agree.My love is stole with pogs

[@typerightseesight]

i told someone ive seen them worth thousands on a subreddit and they were like theyve never been that much. i guess they thought like from the store not from a collector.

[@sadiedc3457]

How did people think anyone would buy a little stuffed animal for $7.5k 💀

[@Riz2336]

Sad to say I was part of the craze but I was a kid so it’s more understandable

[@mattkurek9259]

My mom was super into beanie babies until the market collapsed, then donated most of them but her favorite/most rare to a children’s hospital

[@lavenderflowersfall280]

Mother would have been doing more of a favor donating the rare ones

[@ampjr99]

Damn i had the royal blue peanut and the baby blue one hell i had alot of the orginal ones as a kid in the 90s. Seeing them here brings back good memories

[@HoneyBoom]

idk why they thought it was necessary to replace them with beanie boos. i've worked at two places that sell beanie boos and they are one of the lowest selling items and most of them are creepy imo.

[@vixengypsy]

I refused to keep the tags on any Beanie Baby, just because of the craziness of the collectors. Snipping them off gave me great pleasure, LOL! I'm liking this new narrator!

[@btetschner]

0:59 I used to get Garfield stuffed animals for my birthday every year in the early to middle 80s.

[@decevious]

I loved Garfield 😍

[@btetschner]

@@decevious I am the fifth generation of my family to live in Garfield County (in Nebraska). Both Garfield County (directly) and Garfield (indirectly) took their name from the president James Garfield.

[@SnoriSnorison]

This is the first video with the new kid that DIDN'T make me wanna pull my own hair out! Still not as good as the Original Dude, but better than a kick in the pants! Thumbs' up.

[@arrowhead-dj]

i would love to know what life was like in a medieval dungeon for prisoners and guards

[@chrisbellon3739]

A new narrator again, he sounds good

[@selenawolf2466]

I only got the ones i WANTED and none were kept 'pristine'. I remember it was the first time i ever saw a plush of my fav animal - bat.

[@bc1907]

Used to collect a bunch of these like a scavenger hunt with my mom since the late 90s and early 2000s…decades later i was disappointed to find out that my collection isn’t gonna worth much in the near future 😢😢Sadly I was forced to donate all of my Beanie Babies to some thrift store and only kept a few beanie babies, most of them the cats 🐈 Still holding on hope but I rather keep the ones Ive spared as a heirloom. Damn this inflation 😡

[@antasiac.3790]

Do a video of the extension of this craze when they made the McDonald’s beanie babies.

[@f3ralsh0j0]

He’s trying his best to sound like the other guy 😭 you are killing it

[@gmoney4980]

Damn... I've been holding to 90's comic books, my sister's Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, Furbies, Pogs, Dogecoins, Pez Dispensers, & Royal Family merchandise for nothing now?! I guess I still have my Gen 1 Transformers, comic books from the 60's-80's ( still good to great condition), my 3 whole bitcoins, & my 10 copies of MINT Spawn #1's... (waaaaiitttaaaminute!)

[@Baron_Alexander_Renfield]

I'm only interested if it's an Alf POG

[@sadus5415]

i like this narrator, lets buy him a beer 🍺

[@WarMasterGeneral]

Pogs, Beanie Babies, Fidget Spinners, Funko Pops; If you didn't fall for one, you didn't and wouldn't fall for the others Now, who's up for the 2020's "buy it because you have to" craze? I'm actually excited to see what people blow their life savings on next.

[@mattyt1961]

life savings :D... hahahahaha we don't have them anymore

[@AlwaysADekaranger]

Fun fact I actually know some some of these beanie babies

[@MagdaleneDivine]

For reals tho those are so cute I still want one

[@aprilhunt6158]

I still have Becker he was the Ugly but Cuties Beanie Babie ☺

[@Ofstorms]

"Strategery" .... 😅

[@cardboardempire]

Video games, sports cards, Tulips, stocks, real estate. Bubbles burst

[@maryaltshuller885]

What about other collectibles? Things like Barbie (I played with mine and didn't consider them a collectible item), Precious Moments figurines and Tonka cars and trucks. My brothers had quite a few Tonkas.

[@guroluke]

Pog was a big crock. I remember not wanting them then my friend had them so I had to get them, too, what do you do with them? and then playing sega or anything else but touching pog.

[@btetschner]

3:36 The Silence of the Lambs won Best Picture at the Academy Awards the year I graduated from elementary school (1992).