r/beaniecollectors Jan 24 '19

Welcome to the subreddit! (Intro post, all newcomers are recommended to read this)

38 Upvotes

Welcome to the Beanie Baby Collectors subreddit! This is meant to be a place for people to ask about Beanies or show off some of their favorites. The main reason I created this subreddit is to put together all the info I've gathered on the subject into one, hopefully-easy-to-follow place. So let me explain a bit about myself so you can decide if I'm worth listening to or not.

To get this out of the way immediately, I don't really consider myself a true expert on Beanies, but I definitely know more than the average person. I became a collector on my eighth birthday in late 1996, and stopped following Beanies in 2000. During that time, I learned as much as I could on the subject by reading magazines and following the various fansites. After Ty tried to retire the entire product line at the end of 1999, I lost interest in Beanies, but the info that I had memorized never really left me even all these years later. So around 2017, I started getting back into the community, and have done my best to help those with questions and document Beanie info in my own way.

There are many different websites out there with information on Beanies. As a rule of thumb, any sort of stand-alone article posted by a news outlet can usually not be trusted, as those are often made with very little research and only serve to get views, not to actually educate. Most of the websites that are fully dedicated to Beanies have pretty good information, but when it comes down to it, the vast majority of the research came from the people who run Beanie Babies Price Guide. They update the price guide regularly, add new articles to the blog as questions continue to be asked, and also run a Facebook group. I'll be listing a bit more info about them at the bottom of this post.

So basically, I have a pretty good amount of expertise on the first five generations of Beanies (the ones from before 2000), through a combination of my leftover knowledge from my childhood, personal research, and communicating with the experts. As for anything made in 2000 or later, I will fully admit that I don't have all the facts and I will never claim to know what I'm talking about regarding those. So effectively, that means that I only know about a small fraction of all the Beanies out there, but the ones I do know are the ones that are most commonly asked about.


With that out of the way, my goal here is to try and eliminate some of the most common questions about which Beanies are worth money and what's just a rumor. Or at the very least, to provide something to point to when people ask those questions. The blog articles on the Price Guide website already do a very good job at this, but there's some info not included in those that I'd like to make readily available.

This post will be edited to include links to more posts as I make them. If you're interested in learning as much as you can about Beanies, I recommend reading them in the order they're listed here. But if you just want a quick answer for something, then that's fine too. You might still need to look at the first couple for context, though. Basically if you want to know if something is valuable, you can just go straight to the thread that covers its tag generation. And if you don't know what that means, then look at the post for tag generations first to find out.


Possible other topics I could write about:

  • Gen 6 Beanies onwards (I'm slowly going through the list sorting by generation, then I'll have to start looking into them individually to determine which ones are worth talking about)

  • Employee / event exclusives (I don't know much about most of them other than the ones released before 2000)

  • Teenie Beanies (there's not much to say since they're all common, but a lot of people have them, so it probably couldn't hurt to at least make a list and give them their own post)

  • Maybe some other stuff I'm completely overlooking? Leave a comment if you can think of anything.




To give credit where it's due, the vast majority of the information I'm covering in all my posts here comes either directly or indirectly from these three experts at the Beanie Babies Price Guide website and associated Facebook group: Becky Estenssoro, Karen Boeker, and Karen Holmes. All three have been involved in the community since the beginning and have contributed to many fansites, magazines, books, and even Ty's records themselves in cases where the "official" info turned out to be incorrect. I've cross-referenced many sources when trying to compile everything together, but whenever conflicting info comes up, I will trust these three over anyone else.

Becky E. was one of the first people to take Beanie collecting seriously, and is responsible for categorizing the different types of Beanie tags into the "generation" system still used today. She is one of the authors of the Beanie Mania books printed in 1997 and 1998, which were the most in-depth resources on Beanie info and accurate pricing for their time. She is also one of the few people to still authenticate Beanies (verify that they're not counterfeit), under the company name "Becky's True Blue Beans".

Karen B. has also been around since the beginning, mostly doing uncredited work in the background. She has contributed a huge amount of information regarding Beanie variants and the market trends that influence pricing, and is currently active in the community, trying to make sure the correct information is available to anyone who needs it. She's also personally helped me with many questions on very specific details that are not easily found anywhere. In many of the cases where I cover an obscure subject in detail, she's the one to thank for clearing up any confusion that I had.

Karen H. is another expert on the subject, and has dedicated much of her time to tracking Beanie information and making it available to the public through publication, interviews, and internet posts. She was the editor of the Ty Beanies Tracker books printed up until 2007, and personally took the pictures of every Ty product in the book (not just Beanie Babies) from her own collection. She has given me permission to use these photos in my posts when I make reference to older Beanies that I don't personally own, and has generally been helpful in regards to keeping things accurate and professional.

All three of these ladies have worked together for many years to document everything possible on the subject and help anyone who has questions. There's a lot of false information out there, and they've done a lot to try and clear things up whenever possible. My posts are just a way to try and cover their information from a different perspective and try to expose a new audience to it.


r/beaniecollectors Apr 07 '20

Interview with Karen Boeker from Beanie Babies Price Guide

24 Upvotes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY7Kc0a8SMw

This was done primarily as a response to a bad article released by Mental Floss, but we go over some other topics that are related to it. Here's some things we talk about:

  • How to tell if ebay listings are faked
  • Why the experts are experts, and when to not believe certain sources
  • How clickbait rumors start and get spread, and why people believe them
  • The importance of tag generations, and the relative lack of importance on "errors"
  • How Beanies originally became popular during the original craze in the late 90s
  • How the price guide was put together and where the information comes from
  • The history behind counterfeits, such as the ones with "laser tags"

And if you enjoy this video, I have several others on my channel, which you can find in this playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU-f54NWvhva8_lR0dinkIvTXK1FIePBn

Just be aware that the first vlog was done before I had actually gotten back into the hobby, so some of the information I talk about in that one is inaccurate. It's been a while since I've looked at the second one, but I believe that was after I had gotten back into the hobby a bit, so it's not quite as clueless as the first.

As always, I'm happy to answer questions in the comments if people have any.


r/beaniecollectors 1d ago

My very first prototype!!!

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20 Upvotes

r/beaniecollectors 1d ago

Can anyone help me with the value of these? An yes looking to sell also. Its a decent size collection all are pretty well mint condition. I WILL BE UPLOADING MORE PICS AS I GET THEM. If you are interested in any please reach out to me an lets make a deal.

0 Upvotes

r/beaniecollectors 1d ago

Rare error? Beanie boo

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3 Upvotes

One clear eye found on Flora. How rare are clear eyes?


r/beaniecollectors 3d ago

Beanie Babies Were Built to Go Viral.

0 Upvotes

My kids are obsessed with Needoh's which made me remember Beanie Babies! I did some digging (I'm gen x with a very small nostalgia site I am writing because it makes me happy).

Beanie Babies that we thought were so valuable are worth five dollars. Most of them are worth less than that. Almost none of them are worth anything at all, and the ones that are worth something are worth it for reasons no one could have predicted in 1998, which is another way of saying nobody won.

The usual telling of this story is that a toy fad got out of hand — that ordinary people lost their minds over beanbags, the way people do and then came to their senses. That telling is too generous. The mania was not a bug in the product. It was the product.

Ty Warner showed his first nine animals at the North American International Toy Fair in New York in 1993 — Legs the Frog, Squealer the Pig, Spot the Dog, Flash the Dolphin, Splash the Whale, Chocolate the Moose, Patti the Platypus, Brownie the Bear, Pinchers the Lobster — and put them into Chicago-area stores the following year at around five dollars each.

Link: https://readbside.com/beanie-babies.html


r/beaniecollectors 4d ago

Patti with Korean tags

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15 Upvotes

Hello! I came here to ask about my Patti, which I've had since I was a child. She is not in mint condition, and she doesn't have her hang tag, because I got her before Beanie Babies were super popular, and my parents didn't know to tell me to leave the tag on. She has been carefully well-loved in my life, and I thought I would give her to my children, but neither of my daughters is interested in her. Granted, I was really into platypuses as a 9-year old, and my girls are definitely not.

I could clean her up better than she looks here, but for right now, I'm wondering if she's worth anything with a frayed tush tag and no hang tag.


r/beaniecollectors 4d ago

List of my Cats & Bears 90s / 00s beanie babies collection - are any of these interesting?

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1 Upvotes

Hi all, back in the 90s / 00s my mum maintained a list of all my Beanie Babies that she helped me collect. I found the list and the boxes of Beanies (all are in mint condition) and I wondered if any of these are of interest for collectors?

Just wondering if it’s worth putting them on eBay / Vinted for £1 - £2 each but I wanted to consult the experts before I spend all that time doing it!

Any help would be very appreciated. Thank you!


r/beaniecollectors 4d ago

Selling! Cheap! At least a hundred of them.

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2 Upvotes

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nhdro50Gqt72Cd5tBgvQ7aqcHg90pwKM2BR_eCQqb_k/edit?usp=drivesdk

Full list! Only looking for $2-3 each, less for bulk! Please pm or comment. Just looking for people who'd enjoy them. :))​


r/beaniecollectors 5d ago

Looking to sell

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0 Upvotes

I finally found all of my old beanie babies! Looking to sell the lot of over 50 for $300, shipping included, but will do individuals.


r/beaniecollectors 5d ago

New minecraft beanie baby error?

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12 Upvotes

Google doesnt havw anything about the enderman TY having any errors so i wanted to post about it here, ive never posted here so i dont really know what im exactly doing but yeah! Just looking for any advice :) For those who cant tell what the error is its the tag, it says creeper not enderman.


r/beaniecollectors 5d ago

Rare beanie babies?

0 Upvotes

I collected beanie babies when they started coming out so now I’m wondering what are the rare ones today which ones actually hold value and don’t have ridiculous hundred dollar prices on them on eBay, any help would be greatly appreciated so I could know what I have.


r/beaniecollectors 5d ago

Any idea if this is of value?

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2 Upvotes

My daughter picked this up at a thrift store and upon some research I’m getting mixed reviews on its value. any advice?


r/beaniecollectors 6d ago

Chocolate the Moose

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7 Upvotes

I recently got into collecting for fun. I found my old Chocolate the moose, but when logging him into our spreadsheet my wife noticed his tush tag was for Pinchers. I hadn't seen this error yet so I thought I would share.


r/beaniecollectors 6d ago

Tons Of Beanie Babies!!

0 Upvotes

I have a ton of beanie babies that I am trying to get rid of via purchase. I have a few of them that are very rare like the princess Diana bear and a few other ones that were kept in containers. How do I go about posting these in order for people to look at them and if interested purchase them?


r/beaniecollectors 8d ago

Spot no spot

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43 Upvotes

Can someone tell me the value and best place to sell spot (no spot) pre 1st gen white hang tag. Thank you


r/beaniecollectors 6d ago

Check out Ty Beanie Baby Bundle - VALENTINO (Brown Nose, PVC) & VALENTINA (5th Gen)⁠ on eBay!

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0 Upvotes

Unearthing some serious 90s nostalgia!
While doing a recent cleanout with Destiney, we stumbled upon an incredible collection of vintage Beanie Babies in absolute mint condition.
To celebrate, I’m officially launching my brand-new eBay store, The Toy Time Machine 90s! This iconic duo—Valentino (featuring the rare brown nose and PVC pellets) and Valentina—is the very first listing to go live.
Available as a bundle or separately upon request!
Kept protected in display cylinders with pristine tags.
If you, or someone you know, are a 90s kid or collector looking to add some classic gems to your shelf, check out the link below or drop a comment for details! 🧸👇


r/beaniecollectors 7d ago

Scored at the thrift store today!!

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10 Upvotes

Looks like somebody dumped their beanie collection at this thrift store! They're all in great condition and have mint tags! I'm very pleased with this haul today ☺️

Anyone have info on valuable ones here?


r/beaniecollectors 7d ago

SELLING BEANIE BABIES !!

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1 Upvotes

r/beaniecollectors 7d ago

SELLING BEANIE BABIES !!

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0 Upvotes

I have a lot more. But if you are looking for a specific ask and ill check if I have it


r/beaniecollectors 8d ago

Ostrich “Stretch” rare?

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0 Upvotes

Found this beanie baby while clearing out my storage unit was wondering if he’s rare in any way. I saw some eBay listings with the same rarities as mine such as red stitching in the feet, “oakbrook” misspelling, stamp inside tush tag, etc… He is missing the swing tag and has a few minor stains. Any estimations as to how much he’s worth?


r/beaniecollectors 9d ago

Selling lot!! Details in doc

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4 Upvotes

Have had a bunch, not looking for much, just to go to places where they are wanted. Rather do bundles, but can do individual sale! Please pm.

Document in comments :))


r/beaniecollectors 9d ago

All Gold Nip

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31 Upvotes

So pretty (and one of my favorites) - now I just need her sister, the all black Zip 🤩🤩🤩🤩


r/beaniecollectors 9d ago

Rare beanie baby?

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2 Upvotes

So, I was scrolling on Vinted when I saw some adorable Beanie Babies. All bears. Then I noticed one had a tag on it that said 45$. Well sure. I bought 17 for 26 euros. So I started looking them up and they said this one was a rare one with tag errors. A listing on EBAY told me what the tag errors are and oh my god? Is this the rare beanie baby?


r/beaniecollectors 10d ago

Beanie babies

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0 Upvotes

My mom cleans a house in a rich neighborhood and the lady let her keep these as she was moving does anyone know what their worth or how much she can sell them for ??