The Beanie Baby Collectible Bubble

In 1993 Beanie Babies burst on the scene creating one of the most memorable collectible "bubbles" in modern history. They were the creation of a toy salesman turned entrepreneur named H. Ty Warner. His toy company, Ty, will certainly go down in marketing history. Beanies were cute little soft animal toys stuffed with beans. There were nine original animal characters including Patti the Platypus and Cubbi the Bear, and they came with red heart-shaped tags. Within a few years Beanies had attracted a collector frenzy, and a number of other "look-alike" toys were produced by other companies.  In 1997, some Beanie prices were soaring to over a thousand dollars apiece, and Ty's sales exceeded $1 billion.

Rare, early Beanies can still be worth a thousand dollars or more, but the market is selective today. Some Beanies can be dated by their tags and there are specialist dealers who offer authentication services. Prices in the low-to-mid hundreds are more common for some of the earlier models especially with tags and packaging. But realize that Beanies are still being manufactured, and many Beanies out there have little resale value. Just check some of the over seventy thousand eBay listings and you'll get the picture. Ty's website has a message board where you can post or browse ads to buy and sell Beanies. Several sites offer identification and authentication services.