For the Love of Beanie Babies
By Teresa Ambord
It’s doubtful that when H. Ty Warner created Beanie Babies, he had any idea what he was starting.
Kids have been playing with bean bags for over a century. But in 1993, the Ty Corporation changed the industry by introducing Beanie Babies…bean bags in the shape of critters… filled with pellets made of polyfill and PVC/PE pellets. Polfyfill is cotton-like fabric, that gives Beanie Babies their toy shapes. The pellets are small, round beads. Dollmakers call these pellets “dolly beads.”
The first Beanie Babies were known as the “original nine.” They included Legs the Frog, Squealer the Pig, Splash the Whale, Flash the Dolphin, Pinchers the Lobster, Patti the Platypus, and Cubbie the Bear.
The new line of plush toys hit the Ty Corporation catalog at the retail price of $4.99. They came with red heart-shaped tags that had included a poem and the birthday of the Beanie. The idea was that this was a toy kids could afford to buy for themselves. All that was soon to change.
Beanie Babies were not an instant success. Originally they were marketed mostly in gift shops and toy retail outlets. It wasn’t until 1996 that they became a hot item. As collectors recognized that these toys were going to have value on the secondary market, they started clearing out store supplies. Shopkeepers could not keep them on the shelves. Some determined collectors even admitted to following UPS trucks to the stores to get first pick. The goal was to own every style.
Even though these toys were mass-produced, they quickly became very hard to find. Retailers were only allowed to order the new releases…which sold out as soon as they were placed on the shelves.
If collecting Beanie Babies is something you’d like to begin, you may be interested in checking out Beanieology. Beanieology is like another language of terms that collectors should know.
Here are a couple of samples:
- Jingle Beanies: Christmas ornaments that look like Beanie Babies. This product line was introduced in September of 2001.
- Basket Beanies: In early 2002, Ty introduced Basket Beanies, which were like Jingle Beanies but they had an Easter theme. Mini Beanies meant to be hung around on things! Just like the Jingle Beanies!
To see the whole glossary of Beanieology terms, click here:
Interested in shopping for Beanie Babies? Here’s a link to one online store, but you'll find many more on the Internet:
