Ty Beanie Babies

Beanie Babies are stuffed animals with a unique feel since they are stuffed with small PVC pellets (more commonly known as "beans" in the Beanie Baby world).

In late 1993, at the World Toy Fair in New York City, the "Original 9" Beanie Babies were unveiled by Ty Warner, Inc.

Who would have ever guessed that these Original 9 Beanie Babies would have kicked-off a frenzie that would eventually sweep across the United States?

The Beanie Baby craze really started to catch on in full swing late in 1995 and ultimately fizzled at the turn of the century when Ty announced they would no longer be making Beanie Babies. The final Beanie Baby closing out this very successful era was a bear named "The End".

However, in keeping with their secretive marketing strategies, Ty brought a new line of Beanie Babies back to life in 2000, ultimately retired over 240 Beanie Baby styles by the end of 2007, and then introduced the next generation, Beanie Babies 2.0, in the beginning of 2008.

The Marketing Genius Behind Beanie Babies

The marketing that went into promoting and selling Ty's Beanie Babies was nothing short of masterful:

• Make the Beanie Babies affordable to everyone.
• Hush was the word when it came to Beanie Baby shipments. Advertising was literally word of mouth as opposed to mass product publication.
• Keep everyone guessing. When would the Beanie Babies ship? How many Beanie Babies would be in the shipment? Which Beanie Babies would they be and how many of each style would be available?
• Limited production led to consumers shopping from store to store trying to get their hands on a specific Beanie Baby. Add to the equation that only small mom and pop type retail stores, craft stores, etc. were able to sell the Beanie Babies and this hunt for collecting and gathering Beanie Babies took on a life of its own. Walmart, Target, and the bigger retail stores were not given supply to sell.
• Each Beanie Baby was unique and personified by being given a specific name, a birth date, and adorned with a poem!
• Ultimately, Ty would also begin retiring individual Beanie Babies as this, too, would limit supplies and add to the intrigue! When and how quickly would the Beanie Babies be retired? That was for the consumer to speculate! This sense of speculation would send collectors scurrying to buy as many of the Beanie Baby's being retired as possible to cash in on the all but certain price increases that would come with future limited supplies!

Ty even partnered with McDonalds and promoted "Teenie Beanies" (minature Beenie Babies) that were given away with Happy Meals. Large lines were the norm outside of local McDondalds restaurants and Happy Meals were often purchased simply to snatch up the "Teenie Beanies" found inside!

My Experience With Beanie Babies

I can speak with firsthand knowledge of the Beanie Baby hysteria as I had been attending College and working a part-time job at Richard's Arts and Crafts in Alamo, CA - a job that I originally obtained during my high school days.

During this period of time, we were one of the lucky stores that had a partnership with Ty and an agreement to be able to sell their Beanie Babies. As the story goes, our store would be randomly notified as to when we would be receiving our next Beanie Baby shipment. We wouldn't know how many Beanie Babies were in the shipment and what Beanie Babies were going to be shipped. It truly was a secret!

Once we knew of the shipping date, we would work to update our customers by posting the limited shipping information that we had been given so they had some idea of what to expect when the Beanie Babies arrived!

As the craze grew, significant lines would form well before store hours on known shipment days (not Apple iPhone crazy, but substantial) in hopes of getting their hands on a Beanie Baby and a shot at the most coveted ones. The line would be buzzing with questions wondering how many Beanie Babies were shipped, which Beanie Babies were included in the shipment, and how many Beanie Babies they would be allowed to buy! Yes, we had to impose limits to ensure that each customer had a fair chance at getting at least one Beanie Baby.

Once in the store, customers would be frantically making decisions and strategizing on what Beanie Babies they would buy based on what was still available. Before checking out, they would scrutinize their Beanie Babies to ensure that the condition of the stuffed animal they had chosen, all the way down to Ty's famous heart shaped tag, was in mint condition. Once checked out, they'd sigh with relief and let out a friendly chuckle at those in line still waiting at their opportunity to cash in.

I must say, it made for exciting times. I wasn't a collector myself, but it was hard not to get caught up in the theatrics. It was good for business as it brought unprecedented crowds to the store and an excitement the likes we had never seen!

Beanie Babies Make Great Gifts

The mass hysteria around Ty's Beanie Babies has subsided, but their appeal for being cute stuffed animals that make great gifts, remains.

If you are looking for a simple Valentine's Day Beanie Baby, a Hello Kitty Beanie Baby, or perhaps something more exclusive, check out the wide variety of Beanie Babies below.

Great choices at unbelievably low prices. I liked them and so will you!