My Passion-Collecting TY Beanie Babies! Hints for New Collectors
Written: Mar 12 '01 (Updated Mar 13 '01)
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Pros: Cute, affordable, variety of styles, conversation starters, make great gifts for everyone, fun, cuddly, well-made
Cons: time-consuming to collect, highly desirable Beanies are less available, impossible to have a complete collection
The Bottom Line: Limit your collection. Collect only what you enjoy. Don't collect only for a profit; you'll be disappointed. Store Beanies safely. Protect the tags. Enjoy them.
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| glomarrone's Full Review: Beanie Babies |
During a trip to Florida in the summer of 1994, I was looking for a Florida souvenir. Since I had seen dolphins playing in the ocean, I chose a cute small stuffed dolphin. The tag said his name was Flash. Normally, I would have cut off the tag, but this one was a cute red heart-shaped tag with TY on it. The writing on the back of the tag was in German. I decided that the dolphin looked cuter with the tag left attached.
Jump ahead three years. I received a phone call from my son now living in Florida (epinion ID- marrone.) He offered to buy Flash from me for $50. My mother's intuition (suspicion) kicked in and I decided to check out his offer at Barnes & Noble. (My son has never been known to spend $50 on a stuffed animal.) I found a buyer's guidebook on TY Beanie Babies and looked up Flash. I discovered mine was a second generation of one of TY's original nine Beanie Babies. He was then worth $150. I was hooked on collecting. My Flash is now listed in the same guidebook as being worth almost $300.
The next day, I went out and bought all the current TY Beanie Babies I could find. I later went on to buy retired (no longer being produced) Beanie Babies that were still available in limited quantities in some stores. Eventually, I even bought still earlier retired styles on the secondary market at naturally high prices. I now have over 250 styles of Beanies. I also have the different variations of any of the Beanies I collect. The word Beanie has been copyrighted by TY. He will pursue anyone who uses it commercially to describe a product other than TY products.
I have expanded my collection to include the TY Bear Beanie Buddies, which are larger sized editions of the smaller Beanie Babies. I also collect TY Beanie Babies Collector's Cards and some TY Kids. I have a complete collection of all the McDonald's Teenie Beanie Babies still in their original bags.
TY Beanie Babies are inexpensive to collect. They are exceptionally well made with rich fabric and detailing. Some of them come with embroidery, fancy ribbons, special shaped noses, scarves, hats and other trimmings. Most of all, they are cute, cuddly and irresistible. That's why I collect them. There are 342 Beanie Styles including the major variations. There are 62 current Beanie styles. Eighty-two of the Beanie Babies are bears. Six of the Beanie Babies are only available to employees, sales reps or retailers. Twenty-eight of the Beanie Babies have embroidery on them. There are three valentine-theme Beanie Babies and thirty-three birds. They make great gifts for everyone.
I love to introduce others to the collection by giving them as gifts. I purchased many Birthday Bears that are softly "ty"-dyed and have a one-candle button attached to them. I like to give one to each baby I know when the baby reaches its first birthday. Each animal also has a birthday. If any of my friends has the same birthday, my friend gets that animal as a gift. I give the cats, dogs, fish or birds to my friends who have these animals.
The Christmas styles make great stocking stuffers, as do the bunnies for Easter Baskets. The turkeys, bats, pumpkins and ghosts make nice hostess gifts around Thanksgiving and Halloween. Graduates receive the owls with mortarboards and sick "kids" of all ages receive the Halo Bear. My friends who are active in politics receive either the TY Democrat Donkey or the Republican Elephant. My Irish friends get the Irish bears on Saint Patrick's Day.
For the love of your life there are valentine Beanies. The current one is Smooch-a white bear with lipstick imprints on it and a heart shaped bright red nose and red ribbon on its neck. You may still be able to find the retired Valentino and Valentina Beanie Babies bears around.
Valentina,a rich rose-colored Beanie Buddy Bear with a matching ribbon and a large white heart is still currently available. She is larger than the beanies-just as cuddly-and makes a great gift for your sweetheart. Wrap her around a favorite bottle of wine or place a dozen roses in her arms and you're got yourself a thoughtful gift that says how much you care. Any little girl would love to receive this also.
For newborns consider a Beanie from the TY Baby collection. These are extra soft-as-suede pastel colored cuddly animals in larger sizes. Some come in both pink and blue colors. Inside each one is a rattle. On each one is the signature woven red TY heart. I gave a LambyBaby to my grandson and it has become his favorite toy. He takes it into his crib with him whenever he goes to sleep. I think these make excellent baby gifts to new moms.
Beanie Babies can be educational. Use them as a springboard for kids to learn more about each animal. Have children categorize the Beanies are explain their groupings. Early readers can write short stories about each Beanie and draw pictures of them. Have children read children's books and magazines about Beanie Babies. There are even guidebooks for young readers and computer software packages also. Each Beanie comes with a poem but children love to make up their own poems. Some of them, I think, turn out better than the ones on the Beanies
Let children talk about their collection and show them to visitors. I often get into conversation all the time with youngsters about Beanie Babies. Some of them know almost as much as I do about them. Lots of children are shy when meeting adults for the first time. Just mention the words Beanie Babies to them and they open up quickly. They can't wait to tell about or even show you their collection. I have become known to many of my friends' children as the Beanie Mom.
Each of the Collector's Cards has information about the animal pictured on the front or other tidbits of information on the environment, history, ecology, geography, recycling, health, medicine, agriculture etc…that will raise kids' curiosity. Some information is just for fun. On the back of one of Pinky the Flamingo's cards, it reads "Save while you brush! Did you know that you can save up to 9 gallons of water every time you brush your teeth, just by shutting off the water while you brush? It's worth the effort." This is something kids can do and urge their parents to do also.
I have the following 10 tips for new collectors of TY Beanie Babies.
1. You can never have a complete collection anyway, so collect only what appeals to you. Many of the original nine Beanies (and some of the other early editions) now cost thousands of dollars. Some styles are only given to employees, sales reps or authorized retailers. Some are only available in foreign countries. One current Beanie, Issy, a white bear can only be purchased if you stay in the Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan, NY. A one night's stay here will cost you $550. Can you guess who owns the hotel? Ty Warner, the maker of Beanie Babies owns all the Four Seasons Hotels. Rumor has it that Issy will be available for sale at additional Four Seasons Hotels. I think this is one bear I will never get to own.
2. Narrow down what you want to collect otherwise you will run out of room. For example, many collectors collect only the bears, bunnies, cats, dogs, birds or holiday editions. TY also has a terrific collection of Zodiac Beanies. Such a collection would be easy for kids to complete. These are especially well made with colorful rich fabric. Although some of them are retired, I have found that they are all still available in some stores.
3. Decide how you will display them and where you will keep them. This will give you a clearer idea of how big a collection you can store. Sometimes the storage containers will cost more than the Beanies they hold. Remember that if you expect your Beanies to keep their value, you will have to keep Beanies clean, dust free and out of sunlight. Also, be sure your storage container will not cause any deterioration of the fabrics of the Beanies. I keep my collection in wooden cases with glass doors and put tiny bags of Silica to absorb moisture. It is also recommended that you line wooden shelves with special preservative paper wrapping to prevent damage from chemicals in the wood. This is the type of paper that wedding gowns are wrapped with to preserve them. You should change the paper on a regular basis.
4. Protect your collection. Put protective covers on the tags. If you remove a tag on a Beanie in your collection the value will fall by half. I keep several protector covers in my car. As soon as I buy a new Beanie, on goes the tag. Creased or torn tags lower the value of the Beanie. Make sure price tags are not on the tag either. It is hard to remove the underlining adhesive and this will lower the value. Most retailers know this and no longer put price tags on them. Occasionally, though, I still find them. If you want to play with or display a particular style, buy more than one of the Beanie. I always keep extras around for young children to play with so they won't be tempted to disturb my collection. Protector covers can be found in stores that sell Beanies. I buy mine in quantity at much lower prices from ads in magazines. Since my sister also collects Beanies, we combine our order for even greater savings. You can do the same with someone you know.
5. Decide on a top figure that you wish to pay for any single Beanie and stick to it. If you can't locate one at that price try to swap with another collector. I always buy extras of US exclusive releases to trade with others. Beanies cost between $4.99-$5.99. Internet auction sites flea markets and Beanie Babies show are good sources for retired or hard-to-find styles.
6. Don't get caught up in the frenzy of having to get the newest ones at inflated prices. You will find the Beanies somewhere for less eventually. Try to ignore the hype. Trade with other collectors.
7. Become knowledgeable about the collection so you know which variations are the most valuable. For example Roxie, a reindeer, comes with a black nose and a red nose. The red nosed Roxies are the early editions and are available in lower quantities. They are, therefore, more valuable than Roxie with the black nose. Being knowledgeable will also help protect you from counterfeits. Subscribe to a good magazine like Mary Beth's Bean Bag World Magazine to stay on top of trends in the collection. Go on the TY Web Site (www.ty.com) regularly for alerts on new releases. Subscribe to a free Internet service that will let you know-sometimes even before the TY site does-about new releases or new variations of current styles. Keep in touch with other collectors. They can help you find ones you want to acquire. I also swap styles with other collectors. Attend Beanie Babies shows whenever possible. Stop and talk to vendors who are a good source of information.
8. Get to know the retailers who sell Beanies. Try to get on their call list when new styles come into the store. Beanie Babies are sold in all Hallmark stores, independent toy stores, some pharmacies and gift shops. I even picked up a hard-to-find Beanie for one retailer who couldn't find it herself and she now calls me first when a new shipment comes into the store.
9. Join the TY Official Beanie Baby Club. Find a club card inside special kits that may still be available in some stores. You will receive a free newsletter containing special offers available only to members.
10. When your collection begins to appreciate in value, make sure you cover it with insurance in case of fire or theft.
Have fun collecting. Don't expect the value of the collection to appreciate. If it does, it's a bonus.
Yes, the hobby can be frustrating. TY is fickle with announcements of releases and retirements. Some retailers still sell new releases out the back door. Some still charge higher prices for holiday styles. The long lines in front of stores are now gone, however. The hype has gone. It is now easier to get all the new Beanies. Prices for the most part have gone down. Collections may be worth less, but individual styles are easier to acquire. I think this is the best time to become a serious collector. Collect for the fun of it and you won't be disappointed. Good luck and Happy Collecting. I hope these hints help you.
Recommended:
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Epinions.com ID:
glomarrone
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Location: Cocoa Beach, FL
Reviews written: 167
Trusted by: 287 members
About Me:
It's been fun for 2-1/2yrs. Now it's time to say goodbye. I'll miss you all!
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