I have been appraising Beanie Babies among many, many other art, antiques, and collectibles for decades and I’m always asked for my top Beanie Babies selling tips. People ask me regularly to appraise their Beanie Babies stuffed toys and more importantly how to sell them. Let me share the best ways to sell one Beanie Babies toy by Ty Inc. or how to sell a collection of the popular 1990s-2000s era stuffed toys here.
I have decades of experience showing people how to sell their sought after and valuable Beanie Babies. What you need to know when selling your Beanie Babies is what buyers are looking for. I have appraised tens of thousands of Beanie Babies and am the expert in the collectibles Beanie Babies marked since the 1990s. Here are the Beanie Babies that buyers want and why they want one over another.
Like selling any vintage object, you need to know (and share) as much information about the collectible you are selling as possible. Condition is always a key factor whenever you are selling a vintage and aged collectible. Beanie Babies are no exception. Be sure to indicate all of the pertinent information that you know when marketing or listing your Beanie Babies. Also, photos of the toy and its tags must be sharp, in focus, and close enough for the potential buyer to see the object well and read the information on the tags. This is one of the top Beanie Babies selling tips.
Capitalize on the Tags
I want to stop all the confusion about Beanie Babies tags and show you how having the correct tag on the correct toy can make all the difference between a $5 Beanie Baby and a $5,000 one. Whether you are trying to sell Speedy the turtle or a Holiday snowman Beanie, you must tantalize your potential buyers with the toy itself. And, white the toy is the cake, the tag is the icing. It is the tags that will close the sale for you when selling Beanie Babies. You may attract a buyer to your cute toy, but the tag will seal the deal. Beanie Babies tags have become so important that you can’t overlook the power of the information on both tags. This includes error and most tags have some type of error like two letter i’s in original or a missing r in surface wash among others. Pointing these tag traits out will be important to the final sale. Creases, tears, ink, and other damage to a tag can end the entire sale for you, so be sure to be careful with a Beanie Babies’ tag. In short, you must capitalize on the tag when selling your Beanie Babies.
There are multiple tags on most Beanie Babies that are of real value. These tags must be reviewed and marketed showing both sides of each tag in any photo you offer when selling online. When selling a Beanie Baby, each tag on a toy must be photographed clearly so a potential buyer can review the condition of each tag and read the information on the tag, too. Show both sides of each tag and make sure information is not hiding in a crease or in shadow. Photography matters. Read my article about 3 Photo Tricks to use Selling Online. Try to keep your hands out of your photographs–this goes for any object photo that you are trying to sell online at eBay, Etsy or other online sites–even if you are trying to highlight a portion of a tag. If you must, put an unsharpened pencil inside the tush tag to show the text on the folded area of the tag. This trick works as long as the pencil doesn’t interfere with the photograph of the printed tag. Look at the photograph of the tags before you post the photo with your Beanie Babies listing. Make sure you can read the tag in the photo clearly so you are sure that your potential buyers can read the tag info from your photo, too.
Remember, when it comes to tags there should be…
No stains
No ink
No tears
No rips
No creases
No odor
If there is a stain, ink, seam rip, tear, odor, or crease on either the heart-shaped hang tag or the tush tag attached to the stuffed toy’s body, photograph the damage and make it available to potential buyers. Full disclosure is key. Of course, this damage may impact your ability to attract buyers and to sell your Beanie Baby toy but you should reveal as much information about the condition of your Beanie Baby toy as you can so you don’t run into big trouble with your buyer after a toy sells online on eBay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, RubyLane or other auction sites.
Know what Buyers Want
What do Beanie Babies collectors look for? How do you attract serious Beanie Babies collectors to the toy that you are trying to sell? What traits are collectors of Beanie Babies seeking? You might be surprised at what Beanie Babies collectors want. They want good condition, rarity, and authentic examples. Some buyers want only one specific Beanie Baby and others want the motherload of Beanie Babies. One of the most overlooked top Beanie Babies selling tips is knowing the type of buyer you want to attract. This will help you sell your one or many Beanie Babies.
Some collectors want a specific Beanie Babies toy like Valentino the bear, Princess the bear, the End bear, the Millennial bear, and others. While Ty Inc. Beanie Babies toys range from small stuffed alligators to zebras and everything in between, collectors may just be looking for one rare toy. Other collectors may want to amass the largest collection possible. It all depends. Some collectors only want Beanie Babies cats or dogs, woodland or jungle animals, reptiles or insects, etc. While you can spend a lot of time trying to match one of your Beanie Babies for sale with its potential buyer, it is good to know some of the common reasons why people collect Beanie Babies in the first place. If you are trying to sell online, know the background of your Beanie Babies inventory.
Most Beanie Babies collectors are commonly looking for a Beanie Babies toy that is meaningful to them. How will you, a seller, know what is meaningful to a perfect stranger that you’ve never met? How will you know what a potential buyer reviewing your listing wants to get them to buy your Beanie Baby toy? Since you have no idea who you may be attracting to your listing, you have to give out as much information about your Beanie Baby as you can. Most people collect Beanie Babies toys that somehow connect with a special occasion for them like a birthday or graduation. Some potential buyers want a Beanie Baby toy that reminds them of a childhood pet. Some potential buyers like to amass collections of the same type of Beanie Babies like the Original Nine Beanie Babies, months of the calendar year bears, or the ever popular Beanie Babies cats, dogs, and birds. See a list of the original nine Beanie Babies in my Most Valuable Beanie Babies article.
Insider Tip: When it comes to Beanie Babies, birthdays attract buyers. This information comes from decades of talking to Beanie Babies collectors and appraising major Beanie Babies collections worldwide. Serious collectors tell me that they look for birthdates. They like how a toy’s birthdate relates to their own birthday or the birthdates of friends and family. Collectors of Beanie Babies like to collect the Beanie Babies toys that share their birthday. No matter which type of stuffed animal a Ty Inc. Beanie Baby toy is, if that toy shares the buyer’s birthday, then that Beanie Baby is going to fly off the shelves.
Sell Solo or Sell as a Set?
For some Beanie Babies, they should be sold individually. For others, they should be sold in sets. Here’s how to know which ones to sell and how. Read on.
While it takes more time and effort to sell a Beanie Baby individually, this is the best way to sell the most valuable Beanie Babies. For the best return on investment of valuable Beanie Babies toys, be sure to sell your Beanie Babies individually with good photos, accurate tag information, traits about the toy, and birthdate information. If they are in a package, do not open the package when reselling. If your Beanie Babies are in a package that has been opened, do not try to retape the package closed. Leave it alone.
Always sell these specific Beanie Babies individually (this is not a complete list):
Ally the Alligator
Bones the Dog
Brownie (later called Cubbie) the Bear
Chocolate the Moose
Claude the Crab
Curly the Bear
Digger the Crab
Erin the Bear
Flash the Dolphin
Garcia Bear
Gobbles the Turkey
Legs the Frog
Lucky the Ladybug
Patti the Platypus
Peace Bear
Picadilly the Bear
Pinchers the Lobster
Princess Bear (Princess Diana Memorial Fund)
Signature Bear
Splash the Killer whale
Spot the Dog
Squealer the Pig
The End Bear
The Millennium Bear
Ty2K Bear
Wallace the Bear
Also, Collectors Club limited edition Beanie Babies bears should be sold individually. Of course, like any reselling situation, there are exceptions to the selling solo rule when it comes to some Beanie Babies. For example, Ty Inc. Beanie Babies Collectors Club items like the Platinum club set with Collectors Club bear and carrying case should be sold intact. If you have a full set, like the Original Nine Beanie Babies, sell them as a set.
Collectors look for Beanie Babies couples. If you have a pair of Beanie Babies, the pair should be sold together. Here are some of the Beanie Babies that should be sold together as a set:
Valentino and Valentina—The Valentine’s Day Beanie Babies bear couple in red and white are quite valuable and should be sold as a set. The couples are popular and have been sold to collectors the world over for decades. While Valentino was introduced in the early 1990s, well before Valentina, this pair should be sold together around February 14 because of their association with St. Valentine’s Day. Both Valentino and Valentina share the birthdate of February 14.
Mr. and Mrs. – Mr. and Mrs. are the well-known wedding or bride and groom Beanie Babies. Mr. and Mrs. should be sold together and they are best sold in May or June, the months when most weddings take place.
Lefty and Righty-The political party Beanie Babies reference the two main US political parties, the Democrats (donkey) and the Republicans (elephant). Introduced in 1996 and again in 2000, Lefty and Righty are red, white, and blue in design and should be sold as a set. Also, to get the most money for this pair of Beanie Babies, this pair will command the most money if they are sold as a set during a Presidential election year. List them online for sale approximately 6 months prior to election day in order to attract interested buyers and collectors of political memorabilia.
When it comes to sets or groups of Beanie Babies, it is best to sell certain groups or sets of Beanie Babies together such as:
Hippity, Hoppity, Floppity set—The pastel colored long-eared bunny rabbit group of Ty Inc. Beanie Babies toys with names from the famous Peter Cottontail sing a long nursery rhyme are a desirable and valuable set associated with the Easter holiday and the coming of spring.
Spangle set in three colors—The red (pink), white, and blue-headed Spangle Beanie Babies toys should be sold together as a set. The heads are different colors and the ears, limbs, and torso of these Spangle toys are white stars on a blue background and red and white stripes. This patriotic set references the American flag (Flag day is June 14) and Independence Day holiday (July 4). Market and resell this Spangle trio in June or July close to these two holidays. These three Beanie Babies should be sold as a set.
McDonald’s Maple, Britannia, Glory and Erin set–This is a very popular and valuable set of Beanie Babies toys which should be sold in their original printed cardboard and plastic packaging. The package has a small square back slit which should be fully intact to command the most money on the resale market. The package slit should not be creased nor opened. This set in mint condition commands high values when sold together.
Want more top Beanie Babies selling tips? There are many other sets that should be sold together too. So, make sure you research which Beanie Babies are considered a set and if you have them, sell them only as a set. When you sell Beanie Babies as a set, it is customary for the seller to add approximately 10% to the final asking or list price for collection or set value. You see, you are giving the buyer an added bonus by selling a set intact. This way the buyer does not need to spend precious time trying to amass a set or locate one toy in a set. Since you have done the extra legwork for the buyer of compiling a set, there is more value in the set. This makes the value of the set worth an additional 10% of the total value. Add up the total and add 10% for yourself.
When you are selling your Beanie Babies, be sure you know what they are worth before you try to sell them. The misinformation and confusion online will do nothing other than waste your time. There is so much Beanie Babies misinformation online that you don’t want to rely on the advice of an unreliable source. Follow my top Beanie Babies selling tips, present your Beanie Babies in the best way possible and bring home top dollar when you sell. I share more tips on how to sell your beanie babies in another blog post including how to stage and photograph your Beanie Babies in order to resell them on eBay and other online auctions, too. I reveal how to best show off your Beanie Babies so you can sell them for the highest price.
I can also help you identify the factors that affect value and appraise your beanie babies during a video call or you can send me photos.
Watch videos on my YouTube channel as I show you more top Beanie Babies selling tips.
