Beanie Babies were a hot commodity in the 199os. Even adults were obsessed with finding specific ones.
It turns out that the Ty company was driving more interest by “retiring” certain babies.
This move created massive demand as a discontinued baby was now worth big money.
But how would you track one down? You could only scour so many flea markets and garage sales.
Fortunately, a new online marketplace had opened up that allowed for the buying and selling of specific niche items: eBay.
The Rise of the Beanie Baby Craze
If you have any of these things lying around in a closet or attic, go see what’s there. Some may be worth a small fortune.
From 1996 to 1999, these little sacks of beans were the hottest thing in the toy market. As mentioned, the Ty company ramped up interest by creating “artificial scarcity.”
Besides retiring certain babies, they would also release a limited amount of unique creations. Nothing drives up interest and demand like scarcity.
It’s also the reason that some toy companies specifically create toys with defects. This makes them much more collectible and desirable.
An example of this is Valentino the Bear. The original came with a black nose, but some of the “error” versions had a brown nose.
Some of these versions have sold for over $40,000.
So now, collectors had to turn to the secondary market. This was the only way to build and complete their collection.
It was also the way to make a quick boatload of cash on any rare babies you might have.
Demand and value always change, but here’s a list of several Beanie Baby values from over the years.
- Princess the Bear: $10,000
- McDonald’s International Bears: $10,000
- Claude the Crab: $9,000
- Peace the Bear: $5,000
- Snort the Red Bull: $6,300
The demand for rare Beanie Babies coincided perfectly with a new upstart e-commerce website.
The Success of eBay Thanks to Beanie Babies
The website had been making some progress. Users found that this was the perfect place to connect with like-minded collectors.
Going into 1997, antiques and collectibles became the website's bread and butter.
Nearly 80% of all offerings on eBay were in these categories. Then, as the Beanie Baby crazy grew, collectors flocked to the site.
By April 1997, Beanie Baby listings dominated eBay. They were getting 2,500 separate auctions and eBay had to list Beanie Babies in their own category.
Then the rare and retired babies hit the market.
When these babies started going for thousands of dollars, it captured the interest of the press.
Since the growth of the trading was happening on eBay, many people were getting their first exposure to the online auction site.
EBay had come out at the perfect time and was perfectly situated for the Beanie Baby craze. Curious visitors would realize they could find anything they wanted on the site.
Whether you were looking for old toys, baseball cards, or any rare item, this was the place to find it. You could even get it for a pretty good deal if there wasn’t much demand.
The Rapid Growth of eBay
Thanks to the Beanie Babies, interest and sales on the site grew. Beanie Babies were responsible for nearly 10% of all sales on eBay.
Sales were so big that the SEC required that eBay list the babies as a “risk factor” when they went public in 1998.
The company had been doing well before Beanie Babies, so it’s not like the toys were directly responsible for the site’s success.
But the Beanie Babies made the world aware of eBay and helped take it to the next level.
Now, small stores and antique shops could display their collectibles to the world. Individuals could now set up an online business.
People didn’t have to worry about having a physical brick-and-mortar location and could finally sell items they had been sitting on for years.
This helped to skyrocket the growth of the site. Many discovered how they could create their own small business by using eBay.
Final Thoughts
It’s hard to tell how eBay would have grown without the Beanie Babies. It definitely would have still been successful, but probably not at the level we now know.
This is mainly because the Beanie Baby craze gave the world exposure to eBay. This was the best marketing any company could ever ask for. And it was free.
The company would soon become the world’s largest virtual marketplace. People also realized that eBay was far superior to any physical store.
If you were looking for a certain comic book, you were limited to tracking it down in your immediate area.
With eBay, not only could you find it on the other side of the country, you could find the exact version and condition you were looking for.
The site had humble beginnings but grew into something much bigger than anyone could have expected.
And they can probably thank Valentino the Bear for it.