Berserk for Beanie Babies

▪ 1998

      "Do you have Peace the bear?" To the uninitiated that inquiry might sound peculiar, but to the ever-increasing number of collectors of Beanie Babies—small animal-shaped beanbags filled with polyvinyl chloride pellets—it was one of the most frequently asked questions in shops about one of the most elusive toys in Ty Inc.'s menagerie.

      Beanie Babies—each one readily identified by a folded heart-shaped hang tag that inside poetically stated its name and date of birth—were different from past must-have toys, however. They were not advertised on television; they were sold only in small stores such as gift shops, florists, and bakeries; and their retail price was around $5. Furthermore, retailers could not predict when they would receive shipments or just which animals would be included when they did arrive.

      Nevertheless, Beanie aficionados were relentless in their search for some of the 135 creatures (not counting a few variations). A secondary market developed for trading, buying, and selling—at inflated prices—those animals that were more difficult to find. New designs came onto the market every few months, at which time a few old-timers would be "retired." Especially sought-after were rare variations of standard characters—a royal blue Peanut the elephant—or those considered to have mistakes—Quackers the duck with no wings, or Spot the dog with no spot. Also desirable were those whose tag, which had to be attached, sported a different character's name. Prices for these could top $2,000.

      The first nine Beanies debuted in 1993 at a toy fair and were sold in the Chicago market the following January. Some three dozen designs followed in midyear, and by mid-1995—simply as a result of word-of-mouth advertising—the toys were in demand all over the U.S. Sales in 1996 were estimated at 100 million Beanies, and it was predicted that 1997 sales would be 10 times that figure. Beanies were also spotted in Canada (there was a special Maple the bear), in small shops in England, and at an outdoor market in Beijing.

      The proof of the toys' popularity came in April 1997. What began as a simple sales-promotion collaboration between Ty Inc. and the McDonald's Corp., Ty's neighbour in Oak Brook, Ill., became a total frenzy. McDonald's plan was to distribute 100 million Teenie Beanie Babies, miniatures of 10 current designs, in its Happy Meals over a five-week period. The Teenie Beanies were so popular, however, that they virtually disappeared from the market by the end of the second week.

      As "children of the '90s," Beanie Babies, along with their parent company, had a Web site that had attracted over a billion visits as of late 1997. At the end of October, that site announced that in December a new Beanie Baby would be introduced—Princess, a purple bear with a rose embroidered on its chest, in memory of Diana, princess of Wales. Profits from its sale would be donated to her memorial fund.

BARBARA WHITNEY

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