Beanie Baby History

Third Generation Zip the Cat Beanie Baby

Ty has been manufacturing Beanie Babies since 1993. Beanie Babies are small plush toys that are filled with pellets and appeal to all ages of consumers. Beanie Babies have a suggested retail price range from $5 to $7.

There are now over two thousands of Beanie Babies to collect! This large quantity has forced many collectors to limit their Beanie Baby purchases to specific animal types or to focus on Exclusive Beanies.

While some retired styles, due to over production, are now worth less than suggested retail. Others that were produced prior to 1997, such as Peanut the royal blue elephant and Spot the dog (without a spot), are worth hundreds of dollars.

Back in the early 2000's, oddity collectors were paying big buck for Beanie Babies that had a manufacturing defect such as Beanie Baby bears that were missing their chest emblem.  However, there does not seem to be a high interest in such oddities at this time.

Beanie Babies 2.0

In January 2008, Ty introduced Beanie Babies 2.0, a line of plush toys with a Web-ready scratch-off code on every heart-shaped tag. Like Webkinz, the code gives users access to an online virtual world. But unlike Webkins, the games only unlock with the purchase of a second, third or fourth pet and you can't name your pet or decorate their house.