In 1996 my high school sweetheart bought me my first Beanie Baby when he left to go to college. And that is how my Beanie Baby collection began.
I was lonely and I thought my little Beanie Baby puppy, Spunky the cocker spaniel, needed a friend too. And that's when I bought my first Beanie Baby. I bought a Spunky for my Mom. (She still has hers as well but she hasn't taken as good care...hers is dusty from sitting on top of her TV since 1996.) I was a very serious collector from 1996 to 2002. My Beanie Babies were like little, cute, adorable stock options. They were such a hot item in their heyday I thought for sure they would be worth something in the future.
I took extremely good care of my Beanie Babies. They are each in individual Ziploc bags and they all have tag protectors. (the condition of the tag is a big part of determining their value). But I stopped collecting in 2002 because it was a choice between being able to put gas in my car (I was a broke college student) or buy a Beanie Baby. Gas won. But also I thought I had collected enough. I have over 100 Beanie Babies. So 2002 I moved my Beanie Babies in to my mom's attic and I started my journalism career in South Africa.
Fast forward to 2009. It's been 13 years since I started collecting. And I have what I thought would be very valuable Beanie Babies because I have a lot of retired bears. Like the Princess Diana bear or the Peace bear or the Millennium bear. So my Mom is getting the attic redone and she told me to come and collect my Beanie Babies or they would end up in the dumpster. So I thought this was just as good a time as ever to cash in on my Beanie Baby investment. I went through and picked out the Beanies I was willing to part with and then I did some research online.
Words cannot describe how disappointed I was in how the value of my Beanies has plummeted. In 2004 my Princess Diana bear was worth $75 and Tank the Armadillo was worth $95. Today you can find both on EBay for $.99 (plus shipping). NINETY NINE CENTS!!! I was in shock. It looks like I missed the Beanie Baby bubble. Beanie Baby stock has officially crashed. If this was the stock market it would be a penny stock.
So now I don't know what to do. Do I still try to sell them? Do I hold on to them for a few more years in the hope that they go back up in value? Do I donate them to good will for a tax break? Do I save them for my future daughter(s) to some day have? I still can't believe that even what should be the most expensive retired Beanie Babies that I have are selling for pennies.
I was lonely and I thought my little Beanie Baby puppy, Spunky the cocker spaniel, needed a friend too. And that's when I bought my first Beanie Baby. I bought a Spunky for my Mom. (She still has hers as well but she hasn't taken as good care...hers is dusty from sitting on top of her TV since 1996.) I was a very serious collector from 1996 to 2002. My Beanie Babies were like little, cute, adorable stock options. They were such a hot item in their heyday I thought for sure they would be worth something in the future.
I took extremely good care of my Beanie Babies. They are each in individual Ziploc bags and they all have tag protectors. (the condition of the tag is a big part of determining their value). But I stopped collecting in 2002 because it was a choice between being able to put gas in my car (I was a broke college student) or buy a Beanie Baby. Gas won. But also I thought I had collected enough. I have over 100 Beanie Babies. So 2002 I moved my Beanie Babies in to my mom's attic and I started my journalism career in South Africa.
Fast forward to 2009. It's been 13 years since I started collecting. And I have what I thought would be very valuable Beanie Babies because I have a lot of retired bears. Like the Princess Diana bear or the Peace bear or the Millennium bear. So my Mom is getting the attic redone and she told me to come and collect my Beanie Babies or they would end up in the dumpster. So I thought this was just as good a time as ever to cash in on my Beanie Baby investment. I went through and picked out the Beanies I was willing to part with and then I did some research online.
Words cannot describe how disappointed I was in how the value of my Beanies has plummeted. In 2004 my Princess Diana bear was worth $75 and Tank the Armadillo was worth $95. Today you can find both on EBay for $.99 (plus shipping). NINETY NINE CENTS!!! I was in shock. It looks like I missed the Beanie Baby bubble. Beanie Baby stock has officially crashed. If this was the stock market it would be a penny stock.
So now I don't know what to do. Do I still try to sell them? Do I hold on to them for a few more years in the hope that they go back up in value? Do I donate them to good will for a tax break? Do I save them for my future daughter(s) to some day have? I still can't believe that even what should be the most expensive retired Beanie Babies that I have are selling for pennies.
1 comment:
I hear ya I have about a dozen boxes full of them.I think u should wait and sell them later. bye.
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