• Learn About the History of Beanie Babies

• Explore the Beanie Baby Universe

• Collect and Value Beanie Babies

• Find Beanie Babies on eBay Singapore

• Buy Beanie Babies With Confidence

• Need More Help?

• Legal Disclaimer

Learn About the History of Beanie Babies

Learn About the History of Beanie Babies

Beanie Babies have been a hot collectable item, ever since their introduction to the world in 1993 when toymaker, Ty Warner showcased the original nine Beanie Babies to collectors at the World Toy Fair:

• Legs the Frog Beanie Baby  

• Squealer the Pig Beanie Baby 

• Patti the Platypus Beanie Baby  

• Chocolate the Moose Beanie Baby  

• Spot the Dog Beanie Baby  

• Pinchers the Lobster Beanie Baby

• Flash the Dolphin Beanie Baby

• Splash the Whale Beanie Baby

• Brownie the Bear Beanie Baby (later renamed Cubbie the Bear)

Why were Beanie Babies different?

Beanie Babies were different as they combined simplicity with minimal detail, basic colour schemes, and little facial expression. In addition, the use of beans or small PVC pellets, to replace traditional stuffing, introduced an innovative style of easy-to-pose plush animals to the toy market.

Beanie Baby tags

Hang tags are used to authenticate Beanie Babies. First generation Beanie Baby tags were fairly straightforward: double-sided with a Ty logo on the front and the animal’s name and style on the back. Later generations of Beanie Babies had locket-style tags with poems. Beanie Babies also had white “tush tags” with black lettering. However, finding any original Beanies with tush tags can be hard as they were often removed for child safety.

A collectable craze begins

Although children were originally the primary consumers for Beanie Babies, the collector craze began in 1997, when Ty began “retiring” the original nine, otherwise known as "retired beanies". In 2000, Ty made the announcement that it would stop making Beanie Babies altogether, but ultimately left the decision to consumers. Fans who had come to love these cute and cuddly plush toys, voted convincingly for the continued stuffing of Beanie Babies.

Explore the Beanie Baby Universe

Explore the Beanie Baby Universe

The Beanie Baby universe has grown significantly since 1993 to include other bean bag toys such as Beanie Kids, Beanie Buddies, Teenie Beanies and Beenie Boppers.

• Beanie Babies : The oldest of the Beanie Creations, Beanie Babies, come in a range of styles including 822 types of animals (144 have multiple versions). Choose carefully when shopping for retired Beanie Babies, as those produced in mass quantities are valued below their suggested retail price. Typically, those produced in limited quantities such as Spot the Dog and Peanut the Elephant will have a higher value. Beanie Babies with first-, second-, and third-generation heart tags or black and white tush tags are normally most valuable. Any Beanie Babies missing their chest emblems are also considered collector items.     

• Beanie Kids : Originally, five Beanie kids were introduced to the market, but now there are over 400 Beanie Kids to date that have been released. Beanie Kids are about 25cm tall and have soft bodies that have been delicately shaped and stitched. Each Beanie Kid is unique with its own name, birthday and zodiac sign identified on its swing tag. eBay Singapore has a huge range of current and retired bears to choose from including Cuddly Kids, Great Big Kids and more.  

• Beanie Buddies : Beanie Buddies are larger than Beanie Babies and 361 styles were created including many variations on early Beanie Buddies. They are made of a soft terry cloth called Tylon.

• Teenie Beanies : From 2001, McDonald’s gave away various Teenie Beanies, as part of their Happy Meal promotion, which are essentially smaller versions of Beanies.

• Beanie Boppers : Beanie Boppers have the same soft bodies as Beanie Kids and measure in at 30cm tall. There are 58 Beanie Bopper to collect, two of which were made in more than one version. Beanie Boppers express their individuality with their names, birthdays, hometowns, and favourites.    

Collect and Value Beanie Babies

Collect and Value Beanie Babies

To make sure you are happy with any new additions to your collection, make sure you consider the condition of any Beanie Babies, before making a purchase.

• Mint: Mint condition Beanie Babies should have no defects, show no signs of wear, and have perfect hang tags and tush tags. You may also come across the abbrevation MWT, for "mint with tags," in item listings.    

• Near mint: Beanie Babies that are in near mint condition have slightly bent tags and generally sell for 80 to 90 percent of the price of similar mint-condition items.

• Excellent: Beanie Babies categorised as being in excellent condition have creased or worn tags and generally sell for around 65 to 75 percent of top value.

• Very good: Beanie Babies in very good condition have missing tags and typically sell for around 45 to 60 percent of maximum value.    

• Damaged: Well-loved Beanie Babies with damage like worn fabric, stains, tears, or missing parts generally sell for 5 to 35 percent of identical items in mint condition.

Collectors will find that any of the original nine Beanie Babies, in mint condition, are more valuable. The most valuable, is the No. 1 bear, given only to Ty employees.

Keep the following in mind, when considering the authenticity of your Beanie Baby:

• Look for the tush tag: The tush tag on the bottom of a Beanie Baby should have the Beanie's name in red (and not orange) lettering with no space between the name and trademark symbol.    

• Check the heart-shaped hang tags: Check that the heart-shaped hang tags on authentic Beanie Babies are smooth and have even gold foil that doesn't appear bumpy or can be rubbed off easily. Also see if the listed year of production matches the year the toy was actually produced, and that the tag contains no misspellings. Lastly, make sure the font and font colour matches the font on other Beanie Babies from the same generation.     

• Examine the ribbon: Check if the Beanie Babies you want were issued with ribbons. Any Beanie Babies with ribbons should have the ribbon ends hanging loosely, rather than sticking out to the sides. Also, look for sheen on both sides of the ribbon.

Find Beanie Babies on eBay Singapore

Find Beanie Babies on eBay Singapore

Once you are ready to start your collection of Beanie Babies, visit eBay Singapore's Toys & Hobbies portal, click on Stuffed Animals, Beanbag and search the item listings.

• Keyword search: Search eBay Singapore listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find a Beanie Baby signature bear, type "signature bear" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay Singapore's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, or saving a search on My eBay and eBay Singapore will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy Beanie Babies With Confidence

Buy Beanie Babies With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay Singapore and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it is sent.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay Singapore (with a bid or Buy It Now). Transactions conducted outside of eBay Singapore are not covered by eBay Singapore protection programmes.

• Never pay for your eBay Singapore item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay Singapore sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay Singapore and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorised payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to US$1,000.

• eBay Singapore Security Centre: Visit the Security Centre to learn how to protect your account and use eBay Singapore's quick and efficient resolution tools.

Need More Help?

Need More Help?

Visit our help pages or start a thread on one of our Community Discussion Boards - If you have a quick question that needs answering, try posting it on our community Answer Centre - there's bound to be a seasoned eBay Singapore veteran with just the information you're looking for!

Legal Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer

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