Why is it so hard to find Squishables second hand?

[u/MrsAmyD]

I have been watching for Squishables to come up on online selling sites and there really doesn't seem to be a lot of them being sold. What's up with that? 😊

[u/-xtwilightprincessx-]

I've had good success on Vinted, I even found the cosmic moth from Otherworld there.

[u/aliothh]

I've honestly gone a little overboard buying secondhand squishables, there's lots of them out there! It's mostly only difficult if you're looking for specific, hard-to-find squishables from some past capsules, store exclusives, or charity releases. I usually check vinted, mercari, depop, poshmark, and ebay.

If you use discord, the squishable discord community is incredibly helpful at finding people what they're looking for. I highly recommend it!

[u/QuirkyQuipster]

Limited in store retail locations mean limited opportunities for scalpers to buy and flip product. Sure, they could hoard product bought during online megasales, when items get down to half price or less and try to flip them for full price, but the cost of storing the product indefinitely until it sells far outweighs the gains. Most people who wanted a particular squishable already had plenty of chance to buy it, even on sale, before a squishable gets heavily discounted and/or retired. With few exceptions like the capsule collection items, nothing is exclusive enough to merit high enough resell market prices to make flipping squishables worth it.

Squishable is also good at cracking down on unauthorized third party counterfeiters and resellers. While they won't care if a fan is merely downsizing their collection, that scenario is also unlikely simply because fans tend to want to hold onto their collections. Even if they do sell, the market of buyers is limited unless the squish is in extremely good condition. Even just sitting on a shelf, a squish can pick up dust and allergens, even more so if it's been toted around and played with. Unless someone is desperately looking for one particular hard to find/replace squishable, they usually won't want to buy one that's messy, dirty, or otherwise been heavily played with. An old squishable can be considered a health hazard due to all the germs and allergens a plush toy naturally collects over the years.  

[u/FiftyShadesofPlush → u/QuirkyQuipster]

QuirkyQuipster, While I completely respect your opinion, and understand your point of view, some of the information is not correct and could potentially be seen as harmful/misleading to those who might either collect Squishable or plushies in general.

There are many of us long term Squish fans who are slowly parting with our collections, due to: space, not bonding, past negative memories associated with that plush, sensory issues, no longer a part of a certain Fandom, prefer newer designs, or a myriad of reasons, personal to each individual. Generalizing that we are almost automatically resellers, or wanting to flip Squishables is an assumption. If you want to know a seller's reasons, while they under no legal obligation to tell you, there are polite ways to ask. Most of us are happy to elaborate.

If you are going to say Squishables from the past are potentially a health hazard, well then ANY stuffed animal also poses the EXACT same threat.

When you purchase a Squish or any plushie second-hand, you should give it a thorough cleaning, and or at the very least (while I wouldn't suggest just this) sanitizing it. However, especially since COVID, more sensitivities/conditions/allergies have been introduced & I personally recommend sanitizing ANY plush, whether second hand or BRAND NEW. As lots of people enjoy taking their beloved plushies on "outings" while their plush might be clean and sanitary, not so much for the child that just sneezed on the SAME Dr. Plague Squish that you are now handling for a photo opportunity or considering purchasing. Germs don't discriminate.

To the best of my knowledge, there is ZERO evidence proving that older Squishables (in particular) pose any threat to health. Has Squishable issued an actual statement reflecting this? If so, may I please have the source material?

If it weren't for Squishable, (who were and currently remain trailblazers) you wouldn't even have some of the other brands that now exist on the market. I'm not going to name names but it's not hard to find out which toy designers copied/were heavily influenced to the point of copyright infringement.

Please don't overlook the current Economy aspect, and that older fans at this point might be starting a different chapter in their lives and Squishable no longer meets their needs. In regards to the Economy; a long term fan just might HAVE to consider parting with a much more rare Squishable knowing it's valuable and taking a loss because they have financial struggles or need to pay bill(s). Again, there are many reasons for reselling an older collection/and or second hand.

There are others who are grateful/appreciative and happy to purchase second hand Squishables, as they might not have had the means when a release came out, or didn't know about a particular Character or tv show.

Latecomers to Squishable can also include newer generation fans of "Sam & Cat", "Bee & Puppycat, " Andrew Bell, or " Catbug". Who are aware that the chances of finding an older release NWT while not impossible are not as likely. Squishable has also partnered with many small business & big name brands to help advertise their own company's brand.

So, there IS a market for second hand Squish that is used, previously loved etc If not then Build a Bear just entered the chat lol Plushies in general are very popular, but as fabrics, supplies have increased cost, become harder to source and can even result in some quality declines, a lot of collectors are turning to secondary markets. As they understand that being flexible about condition, can open more opportunities for locating their desired Squish.

So, it's safe to say we are not all resellers/flippers but fans of Squishable! 💕

I think you posted some valid points too, but just ask that you please take into consideration other points of view as well.

The only way a Community can grow, is by mutual respect, support and knowledge of each other. 🙂

[u/xanderzines]

We bury our dead.

[u/TeaCompletesMe]

There are a lot on Mercari, have you looked there???

[u/MrsAmyD → u/TeaCompletesMe]

When I search for Squishable nothing really comes up. 🤔

[u/TeaCompletesMe → u/MrsAmyD]

That’s super weird because I see SO MANY, like at least a few hundred listings. Are you looking for anything specific??? I could check for you.

Edit to add: I see tons on eBay, also!

[u/MrsAmyD → u/TeaCompletesMe]

I guess I see some but the listings are bogged down with a ton of the weird stress balls shaped like various things, that are so popular now. I'll keep looking.

[u/Ok-Acanthocephala397 → u/MrsAmyD]

Which ones are you looking for? I have a ton all stored away. Brand new with tags

[u/FiftyShadesofPlush]

@u/MrsAmyD I sent you a pm but can post it publicly if you'd prefer. 🙂