How to Value Beanie Babies

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An easy guide on appraising your Beanie Baby collection
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The Beanie Baby fervor may have cooled off since the early aughts, but you might be surprised how many of these plushies still hold serious value. But between the multiple print runs of most Beanie Babies, the “wishful thinking” ads on eBay, and the number of fakes out there, there’s a lot going into the pricing of a single Beanie Baby. While most of them aren’t worth more than a few dollars, some can sell for thousands of dollars. Here, we’ll break down everything you need to know so that you can get top dollar for your collectibles.

What are Beanie Babies Worth?

  • Most Beanie Babies are only worth $2-5, but first-edition Beanie Babies, misprints, and limited print runs can fetch thousands of dollars.
  • Princess the Bear is the most consistently valuable Beanie Baby and sells for $10,000-25,000. Bubbles the Fish sold for the highest price for a single Beanie Baby at $129,000.
  • Copies of the original 9 (the first set of Beanie Babies ever made) are highly sought after and fetch $20-100 even if they aren’t in mint condition.
Section 1 of 5:

The Most Valuable Beanie Babies

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  1. The purple Princess Diana Bear was released to help fund money for a memorial fund in honor of Princess Diana. Today, mint-condition first-edition Princess bears can fetch as much as $25,000. [1]
  2. Wise the Owl was released in 1998 around graduation time before being quickly retired a few months later. Wise isn’t especially expensive most of the time, but the most valuable owls were printed with the incorrect dates.
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  3. Britannia the Bear has a Union Jack printed on its chest. That, combined with its short print run, has created quite the demand among British collectors. These bears can fetch up to $5,000 on a regular basis, although especially pristine copies can sell for up to $25,000.
  4. Fleecie the Lamb has something of a cult following in the world of Beanie Baby collectibles. This cute little lamb is beloved for its adorable head tilt when it sits upright. Many Fleecie Beanie Babies were printed with an adorable asymmetrical mouth that make it look like the lamb is smirking. These misprints can fetch up to $15,000!
  5. Bubbles the Fish has distinct stripe colors and has been released in a variety of different color schemes based on the edition. This made the fish especially prone to misprints. The price for a misprinted Bubbles can vary a lot depending on the color and type of misprint, but some especially unique copies can sell for over $1000,000. [2]
  6. The original 9 are the first 9 Beanie Babies ever created. They vary in value, and most of them have had multiple print runs before retirement so the first editions are really the only high-priced versions, but they can fetch $20-100 on the low end and $35,000 on the high end. [3] The original 9 include:
    • Cubbie the Bear
    • Pinchers the Lobster
    • Patti the Platypus
    • Chocolate the Moose
    • Flash the Dolphin
    • Splash the Orca
    • Legs the Frog
    • Spot the Dog
    • Squealer the Pig
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Section 2 of 5:

Identifying Your Beanie Baby

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  1. If you don’t have a protective cover on the tag, just look in the tag to find the Beanie Baby’s name. If the tag is protected, leave it be (it’s worth more if you don’t touch it) and search online. You might type something like “purple ostrich Beanie Baby” or “white bear with peace sign Beanie Baby” into the search engine of your choosing. Scan the photos until you find an image that matches your Beanie Baby to find its name. [4]
    • If you don’t have any tag protectors and you do end up having some valuable Beanie Babies, pick up some tag protectors.
    • With some exceptions, most Beanie Baby’s had multiple printings across several editions, so it’s not enough to just know the name in the tag. You also need to know the edition of the Beanie Baby, but you can’t do that without the name.
  2. Compare the hang tag to a tag edition chart to find what print run it’s from. There are 20 unique editions of Beanie Babies, and each of them has a different hang tag. Compare the hang tag to the chart to confirm what edition your Beanie Baby is.
    • A hang tag refers to the red heart-shaped tag hanging from the Beanie Baby.
    • Missing a tag? If the hang tag is missing, the only way to determine the edition of the Beanie Baby is to have it inspected and authenticated by a professional.
  3. This is the best way to rule out counterfeits. Take a look at a tush tag chart and confirm the font, style, and composition are correct for the edition on the hang tag. [5]
    • If the tags don’t match, you have a fake Beanie Baby.
    • You’d be surprised, but there are actually a lot of counterfeits floating around out there. During the height of the Beanie Baby frenzy, there was a lot of money to be made by buying cheaper versions of a Beanie Baby and then swapping the tags out for the pricier editions.
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Section 3 of 5:

Pricing Your Beanie Baby

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  1. eBay is, hands down, the most popular forum for buying and selling Beanie Babies these days. Punch your Beanie Bay’s name and edition into the search engine to pull up the results. [6]
    • So, say you’ve got a 4th edition Magic the White Dragon. Search “4th edition Magic the White Dragon” and then “4th gen Magic the White Dragon” to pull results.
  2. Anyone can put an eBay listing out for a $5 Beanie Baby and price it at $100 hoping someone buys it, but that doesn’t give you a realistic sense of the actual market value. Look at the left side of the page and scroll down until you see the “show only” menu option. Click “sold items” and unclick every other option. Scroll those results. [7]
    • If your item has no recently sold listings, look at the unsold listings to see what isn’t selling. You likely want to shoot a little lower than what’s currently out there.
  3. If you see there are 3 recently sold copies of your Beanie Baby that went for $8, $9, and $11.50, that’s an average price of $9.50. Use the average price you find to establish the baseline value of your Beanie Baby. [8]
    • If you’re a little disappointed by the pricing, consider holding on to the Beanie Baby for the future! Prices have been dropping for years, but they’ll eventually turn the other way if supply eventually slims down and interest in the product comes back.
  4. Once you know what a reasonable average price for your Beanie Baby is, adjust your list price based on the quality of your Beanie Baby. Ask yourself the following questions:
    • Is there any damage? If your Beanie Baby has any tears, rips, or stains, it’s not going to fetch a top price. The reverse is also true—if it’s damage-free, it’s worth a premium.
    • Is the Beanie Baby in pristine condition? Are there any bent tags? Does the Beanie Baby have any frayed threads? If there’s nothing wrong with your Beanie Baby it’s worth top-shelf prices.
    • Does the Beanie Baby have any key value adds? We break these down in detail in the next section, but if your Beanie Baby is uniquely rare, has misprints, or is certified, it’s worth listing at a higher price.
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Section 4 of 5:

Factors that Increase Value

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  1. The tags are actually essential when it comes to assessing the value of your Beanie Baby. Without both the hang tag (the heart) and the tush tag (the white tag on the back), your Beanie Baby’s value likely drops by 80-90%. [9]
    • Is your tag misprinted? Misprints and errors are actually worth more a lot of the time. The uniqueness of the item increases its rarity.
  2. There are two highly-regarded Beanie Baby authenticators: True Blue Beans and Peggy Gallagher Enterprises . You send them your Beanie Baby and they’ll return them in a sealed case with a certificate proving the provenance of the Beanie Baby. [10]
    • Get quotes before you send your Beanie Baby in. If the cost of authentication is higher than the value of your Beanie Baby, skip it.
  3. The first generation of Beanie Babies, which were released in 1993, represent the origin of the entire collectible class. As a result, the first edition versions of popular Beanie Babies fetch a premium over their later versions.
  4. Beanie Babies were often “retired” after short printings, so the short print run Beanie Babies tend to fetch a premium. If your Beanie Baby was only printed for one edition or it was released for a special occasion, it’s probably going to sell for a pretty penny. [11]
    • Most of the “special event” and “celebrity” Beanie Babies (like the Girl Power Bear, which came out for Ginger Spice from the Spice Girls to celebrate women, or the Princess Diana Beanie Baby) had extremely limited print runs.
  5. Some Beanie Babies were given fresh or unique colors for certain print runs (for example, Patti the Platypus was purple for its standard editions, but there were some magenta versions that go for a premium). The tie-dyed bears often run a pretty penny compared to their non-tie-dyed peers as well, since the tie-dye pattern on each bear is 100% unique. [12]
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Section 5 of 5:

Selling Your Beanie Baby

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  1. If you’re going to try selling a Beanie Baby for more than $20, set it in a protective case to keep it from getting dusty or dirty. If you’re selling a cheaper Beanie Baby (say $3-15), the case isn’t worth it.
    • Warning: Do not attempt to clean the Beanie Baby before selling it. Any cleaning chemicals or brushes can damage the Beanie Baby, and it’s probably worth more money dirty than clean and damaged.
  2. eBay is easily the best venue for Beanie Baby sales. Take several photos of the Beanie Baby you plan to sell and create an eBay profile. Then, upload the photos and post your Beanie Baby for sale . Wait for someone to reach out and purchase your Beanie Baby! [13]
    • Include the name of the Beanie Baby and the edition in the title of your post.
    • If you aren’t getting any traction on eBay, try listing the Beanie Baby on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and other online venues.
  3. If you don’t want to sit around waiting for an online buyer, take the Beanie Baby to a pawn shop. Many pawn shops sell inventory on eBay, and they’ll happily negotiate a sale with you. [14]
    • You can try offering the Beanie Baby to a consignment shop, where they sell goods for you and take a percentage of the profit. You’ll need to wait for the item to sell, though.
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      Warnings

      • Be careful buying any value guides. You’re much more likely to get an accurate price for your Beanie Baby by researching prices yourself than by relying on some potentially out-of-date guide.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/573674/most-valuable-beanie-babies
      2. ↑ https://parade.com/1172319/stephanieosmanski/most-valuable-beanie-babies/
      3. ↑ https://people.com/most-valuable-beanie-babies-according-to-expert-7567692
      4. ↑ https://www.rd.com/article/princess-diana-beanie-baby/
      5. ↑ https://www.tystoragewars.com/world-of-ty-terminology.html
      6. ↑ https://www.rd.com/article/princess-diana-beanie-baby/
      7. ↑ https://www.rd.com/article/princess-diana-beanie-baby/
      8. ↑ https://www.rd.com/article/princess-diana-beanie-baby/
      9. ↑ https://www.drloriv.com/antique-tips/list-of-valuable-beanie-babies/
      1. ↑ https://www.drloriv.com/antique-tips/list-of-valuable-beanie-babies/
      2. ↑ https://www.drloriv.com/antique-tips/list-of-valuable-beanie-babies/
      3. ↑ https://people.com/most-valuable-beanie-babies-according-to-expert-7567692
      4. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2018/12/18/my-tried-and-true-secrets-to-selling-your-collectibles-in-auctions/
      5. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2018/12/18/my-tried-and-true-secrets-to-selling-your-collectibles-in-auctions/

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