Beanie Madoffs
May 15, 2009 11:00 AM Subscribe
Heh, I still have the one I got as gift somewhere. I remember people going crazy for those things. Even as a kid I never really understood why. Maybe it had something to do with the popularity of pokemon at the time. Gotta catch/buy them all!
posted by Sargas at 11:08 AM on May 15, 2009
posted by Sargas at 11:08 AM on May 15, 2009
I have fond memories of once getting a rare urge to get something from McDonald's, which even back then occurred maybe a few times a year at best. So I wander down a couple blocks to the nearest, and then realize, there's a line. The line is from the inside of the McDonald's, and onto the sidewalk, and a good distance down the block. I couldn't make any sense out of what I was seeing; I couldn't conceive of any believable reason why there'd be a line that long leading into a McDonald's of all places.
So I altered course and got lunch somewhere else. Later, I befuddledly shared what I'd seen with friends and acquaintances, and found out what the reason was.
I'm still not sure I really find it believable, but there it was. I learned an important lesson about the world that day.
posted by Drastic at 11:10 AM on May 15, 2009
So I altered course and got lunch somewhere else. Later, I befuddledly shared what I'd seen with friends and acquaintances, and found out what the reason was.
I'm still not sure I really find it believable, but there it was. I learned an important lesson about the world that day.
posted by Drastic at 11:10 AM on May 15, 2009
Violence was rare during the craze...
I'm not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved.
posted by malocchio at 11:12 AM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved.
posted by malocchio at 11:12 AM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
They store their beanie babies in several houses they bought with ARMs is SOuthern California. So everything is OK.
Also: I predict a complete recovery in the beanie baby market by 2012.
posted by GuyZero at 11:12 AM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
Also: I predict a complete recovery in the beanie baby market by 2012.
posted by GuyZero at 11:12 AM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
When we were struggling students in 1995 or 1996 my wife sold an early, rare Beanie Baby (Spot with no spot) that she had gotten as a random gift from someone for $500. Good thing she got out in time.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:13 AM on May 15, 2009
posted by Rock Steady at 11:13 AM on May 15, 2009
I recently had a woman I know only a little tell me about all the Beanie Babies in her attic and how she's just waiting a bit to sell them to help pay for her daughter's college in a couple of years. I thought she was joking at first. It was an awkward conversation.
posted by not that girl at 11:22 AM on May 15, 2009 [6 favorites]
posted by not that girl at 11:22 AM on May 15, 2009 [6 favorites]
Rather than comment here, I'll just link to this comment I made in this AskMe thread.
posted by Floydd at 11:23 AM on May 15, 2009
posted by Floydd at 11:23 AM on May 15, 2009
At least somebody made money off of Beanie Babies.
posted by Johnny Assay at 11:28 AM on May 15, 2009
posted by Johnny Assay at 11:28 AM on May 15, 2009
The market for my complete Donruss 1989 baseball card set better rebound before Beanie Babies do.
posted by Falconetti at 11:29 AM on May 15, 2009
posted by Falconetti at 11:29 AM on May 15, 2009
I have a Beanie Baby skeleton on my desk. True story. His name is "Creepers".
posted by owtytrof at 11:30 AM on May 15, 2009
posted by owtytrof at 11:30 AM on May 15, 2009
Sorry, I gotta get a Gund to feed to my Cabbage Patch kid.
posted by not_on_display at 11:34 AM on May 15, 2009
posted by not_on_display at 11:34 AM on May 15, 2009
The TY website for Beanie Babies is like a Comic Sans time capsule. Just in time for...
FLASH FRIDAY!!!
posted by Hammond Rye at 11:35 AM on May 15, 2009
FLASH FRIDAY!!!
posted by Hammond Rye at 11:35 AM on May 15, 2009
Oh! How could I forget? Hopkin: beanie baby. See? Beanie babies led to internet memery!
posted by mwhybark at 11:38 AM on May 15, 2009
posted by mwhybark at 11:38 AM on May 15, 2009
I loved these things, for all the wrong reasons. I mean, how many big brothers get to torture their sisters by destroying their own toys? When I'd get one as a gift, the first thing I'd do was rip off the tags in front of my horrified sister. I'd laugh long and loud in spite of her pained tears. It was perfect psychological torment. She couldn't get my mom to care one whit about my actions. Take the head off one of her Barbies, on the other hand, and I'd have been in for it.
It works out okay, because I have discovered her infant son enjoys chewing on the ones still I have. This means he's on my side.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 11:42 AM on May 15, 2009 [2 favorites]
It works out okay, because I have discovered her infant son enjoys chewing on the ones still I have. This means he's on my side.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 11:42 AM on May 15, 2009 [2 favorites]
Amusing site, if not for the people posting comments:
"I went on a date with a girl once and was invited into her apartment. She proceeded immediately to talk to her cat...in baby talk...partially in Spanish. She also showed me her China cabinet full of Beanies, saying there were a few thousand dollars tied up in her collection. I bailed quickly, because I knew Thrusty the Penis wanted nothing to do with Cuckoo the Vag."
Stay classy, Kansas City.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:42 AM on May 15, 2009 [3 favorites]
"I went on a date with a girl once and was invited into her apartment. She proceeded immediately to talk to her cat...in baby talk...partially in Spanish. She also showed me her China cabinet full of Beanies, saying there were a few thousand dollars tied up in her collection. I bailed quickly, because I knew Thrusty the Penis wanted nothing to do with Cuckoo the Vag."
Stay classy, Kansas City.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:42 AM on May 15, 2009 [3 favorites]
From the TY website:
"When you're talking about Beanies it's not the quantity it's the quality!"
But apparently, when you're talking about animated GIFs, the exact opposite applies.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:43 AM on May 15, 2009
"When you're talking about Beanies it's not the quantity it's the quality!"
But apparently, when you're talking about animated GIFs, the exact opposite applies.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:43 AM on May 15, 2009
A fool and his money are easily parted, caveat emptor, oh, I could go on....
posted by futureisunwritten at 11:47 AM on May 15, 2009
posted by futureisunwritten at 11:47 AM on May 15, 2009
I have discovered her infant son enjoys chewing on the ones still I have. This means he's on my side.
Good thing. Strong in him, the force is too.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 11:48 AM on May 15, 2009
Good thing. Strong in him, the force is too.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 11:48 AM on May 15, 2009
Wow, this takes me back. Not to any personal memories of the Beanie Baby craze, for I have none, but to the the sports card bubble of the late '80s, which was egged along by ridiculously dishonest price guides (such as Beckett) not unlike The Beanie Baby Handbook.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:49 AM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:49 AM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
I used to work next door to a shop that sold them. On days when a new shipment came in, those ladies were mobbed outside the door long before opening time, making a point of avoiding eye contact (outside of the occasional furtive but knowing "I've got your number" glance, of course). No line was formed, because their wolf-like pacing outside the door clearly said fuck that, I'm going in first. When the doors opened it wasn't exactly Thunderdome, but it was a lot funnier.
posted by middleclasstool at 11:53 AM on May 15, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by middleclasstool at 11:53 AM on May 15, 2009 [3 favorites]
This is all quite interesting, but we should be spending our time working out what the new collectible bubble would be and thereby making a fortune.
I say miniature Quonsar fish, made from various materials ("can you collect the entire Lanthanoid series?")
posted by aramaic at 11:59 AM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
I say miniature Quonsar fish, made from various materials ("can you collect the entire Lanthanoid series?")
posted by aramaic at 11:59 AM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
I may be the only who will admit to actually having owned that book... to be fair, even at the age, I realized that no Beanie Baby was going to be worth $100,000 in ten years... but it was fun to dream.
posted by Zephyrial at 12:28 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by Zephyrial at 12:28 PM on May 15, 2009
My favorite part of this is the lady who made Bill Clinton and Al Gore pose with her beanie baby. Can you imagine what was going through their heads? Do you think the secret service had their sites on her head, just in case...
posted by fyrebelley at 12:50 PM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by fyrebelley at 12:50 PM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
I used to work next door to a shop that sold them.
Yeah, me too. We had one customer who called every Thursday or whatever day we usually got a new shipment to see if we'd gotten [particular beanie] in. Keep in mind that the store was a bookstore - we had some side items, of course, but beanies were not a major part of what we carried or sold.
She kept me on the phone for 20 minutes one day, asking about this beanie or that. They all looked kind of the same to me, so I'm sure it was frustrating for her ("No! Not the lavender lizard! The light blue one, with spots! It's new - you'll never have seen it before! Are you sure you don't have it? Could you please look again?")
It gave me a little insight into the tulip craze. Except tulips are actually pretty.
posted by rtha at 1:10 PM on May 15, 2009
Yeah, me too. We had one customer who called every Thursday or whatever day we usually got a new shipment to see if we'd gotten [particular beanie] in. Keep in mind that the store was a bookstore - we had some side items, of course, but beanies were not a major part of what we carried or sold.
She kept me on the phone for 20 minutes one day, asking about this beanie or that. They all looked kind of the same to me, so I'm sure it was frustrating for her ("No! Not the lavender lizard! The light blue one, with spots! It's new - you'll never have seen it before! Are you sure you don't have it? Could you please look again?")
It gave me a little insight into the tulip craze. Except tulips are actually pretty.
posted by rtha at 1:10 PM on May 15, 2009
This is all quite interesting, but we should be spending our time working out what the new collectible bubble would be and thereby making a fortune.
Well, looking at Angelina Jolie and Madonna, I'm thinking it'll be actual babies. Of course, they really lose value over time. But not if you leave them in the original plastic.
posted by PlusDistance at 2:10 PM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
Well, looking at Angelina Jolie and Madonna, I'm thinking it'll be actual babies. Of course, they really lose value over time. But not if you leave them in the original plastic.
posted by PlusDistance at 2:10 PM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
I remember when the antique and collectible shows started letting the Beanie Baby sellers in. Most of the antique dealers looked upon them as scum of the earth. They were referred to as those "stupid bear people".
Usually almost always women. They were the same ones whose daughters where in child beauty pageants. Homemade sparkle sweaters, I heart TY buttons and enough perfume to water your eyes. It was like they were setting up a tupperware party at their home. Streamers, balloons, the whole nine yards.
You really didn't want to be the poor bastard set up next to them. The other antique dealers would stop by your booth and offer condolences. They knew what you were facing for the entire day. Hell.
The show would open and there would be a rush of shoppers looking for that early bargain. As an antique dealer, there was a certain pride to finding the good stuff and pricing it to sell. Having a busy booth meant you were a successful hunter. You found the treasure.
The first shoppers enter the building. You see them heading down the aisle. They come closer.... closer. And they all head right to the Beanie Baby ladies booth and start fighting over the bears.
You hang your head. Another dealer comes over. He puts his hand on your shoulder and says "This shit can't last forever. People aren't that stupid. I'll come to an end someday". You look up at him and try to smile. The squeals of delight from the booth next door drown out any kind of happiness you can muster.
It's going to be a long day.
posted by Bighappyfunhouse at 2:52 PM on May 15, 2009 [7 favorites]
Usually almost always women. They were the same ones whose daughters where in child beauty pageants. Homemade sparkle sweaters, I heart TY buttons and enough perfume to water your eyes. It was like they were setting up a tupperware party at their home. Streamers, balloons, the whole nine yards.
You really didn't want to be the poor bastard set up next to them. The other antique dealers would stop by your booth and offer condolences. They knew what you were facing for the entire day. Hell.
The show would open and there would be a rush of shoppers looking for that early bargain. As an antique dealer, there was a certain pride to finding the good stuff and pricing it to sell. Having a busy booth meant you were a successful hunter. You found the treasure.
The first shoppers enter the building. You see them heading down the aisle. They come closer.... closer. And they all head right to the Beanie Baby ladies booth and start fighting over the bears.
You hang your head. Another dealer comes over. He puts his hand on your shoulder and says "This shit can't last forever. People aren't that stupid. I'll come to an end someday". You look up at him and try to smile. The squeals of delight from the booth next door drown out any kind of happiness you can muster.
It's going to be a long day.
posted by Bighappyfunhouse at 2:52 PM on May 15, 2009 [7 favorites]
Usually, an article about the infinite, soul-deadening game of late-capitalism gets my dander up...
...but they're so cuuuuuuute! Why couldn't Ken Lay have come in Royal Blue, Midnight Indigo, or Sassy Violet?
posted by ford and the prefects at 2:55 PM on May 15, 2009
...but they're so cuuuuuuute! Why couldn't Ken Lay have come in Royal Blue, Midnight Indigo, or Sassy Violet?
posted by ford and the prefects at 2:55 PM on May 15, 2009
Why can't we bail out the beanie baby speculators? Worked for the banks, and in the case of beanie babies, you actually have a more tangible product than the complete BS from the banks.
I'm looking forward to an article from a high-powered WSJ journalist exposing his tragic journey into beanie dependency and his catharctic recovery.
On a more serious note: when disaster strikes banks or the housing market or the credit card market, there's a lot of hubbub and increased calls for regulation. How is this different? And yet, I assume there will be no calls to regulate whatever the next consumer product speculative bubble will be, because really, how could you?
Meanwhile, regardless of any regulation, speculative manias happen, and will continue to happen, and nobody learns any lessons.
As the mortgage bubble was growing, I has a powerful deja vu - the S&L fiasco from just a few years ago. Or it seemed just a few years ago - boy, I'm getting old. So did anyone learn any lessons from that? Looks like the answer is "no". Then again, I remind myself that memories are short in every sphere of life. To me, the trumped up, pointless, and utterly corrupt war in Iraq was almost a carbon copy of the idiocy that lead us into Vietnam - also trumped up war, pointless and self-defeating, with the world hating us etc.
If these things happen repeatedly within living memory, what hope is there that people will draw lessons from, say, what happened 200 years ago? There is none. You say the beanie folks should have remembered the Tulip Mania? Ha!
posted by VikingSword at 3:34 PM on May 15, 2009
I'm looking forward to an article from a high-powered WSJ journalist exposing his tragic journey into beanie dependency and his catharctic recovery.
On a more serious note: when disaster strikes banks or the housing market or the credit card market, there's a lot of hubbub and increased calls for regulation. How is this different? And yet, I assume there will be no calls to regulate whatever the next consumer product speculative bubble will be, because really, how could you?
Meanwhile, regardless of any regulation, speculative manias happen, and will continue to happen, and nobody learns any lessons.
As the mortgage bubble was growing, I has a powerful deja vu - the S&L fiasco from just a few years ago. Or it seemed just a few years ago - boy, I'm getting old. So did anyone learn any lessons from that? Looks like the answer is "no". Then again, I remind myself that memories are short in every sphere of life. To me, the trumped up, pointless, and utterly corrupt war in Iraq was almost a carbon copy of the idiocy that lead us into Vietnam - also trumped up war, pointless and self-defeating, with the world hating us etc.
If these things happen repeatedly within living memory, what hope is there that people will draw lessons from, say, what happened 200 years ago? There is none. You say the beanie folks should have remembered the Tulip Mania? Ha!
posted by VikingSword at 3:34 PM on May 15, 2009
Collectible item bubbles: a first world problem.
posted by sonic meat machine at 4:06 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by sonic meat machine at 4:06 PM on May 15, 2009
The only thing I ever had stolen out of my car? Some McDonald's Beanie Babies that I had stuck in my visor. Broke my window. That was 1994.
posted by kimdog at 4:58 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by kimdog at 4:58 PM on May 15, 2009
Zephyrial: I owned this book too! I probably still have it somewhere. And I didn't believe in the 2008 estimates either, but they were cute and I enjoyed learning a little bit about supply and demand.
posted by dreamyshade at 5:38 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by dreamyshade at 5:38 PM on May 15, 2009
The host of the linked video is totally Neal from Freaks and Geeks. Also, I sputtered at the Beige Collector Lady's choice of words: "Uncut," indeed.
posted by juniper at 5:46 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by juniper at 5:46 PM on May 15, 2009
The market for my complete Donruss 1989 baseball card set better rebound before Beanie Babies do.
I feel the same way about my complete 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee NHL set, including Wayne Gretzky rookie card.
Shoulda sold that damn card back in '92 when it could've paid for half a year's undergrad tuition . . .
posted by gompa at 6:12 PM on May 15, 2009
I feel the same way about my complete 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee NHL set, including Wayne Gretzky rookie card.
Shoulda sold that damn card back in '92 when it could've paid for half a year's undergrad tuition . . .
posted by gompa at 6:12 PM on May 15, 2009
79-80, I mean. With the 78-79 stats on the back, some of which will be forever lodged in my memory. (Guy Lafleur: 52G, 129PTS.)
posted by gompa at 6:14 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by gompa at 6:14 PM on May 15, 2009
During the dot-com boom, I turned on the TV one day. Some shopping channel was offering an unbelievable special, rock bottom prices, we're giving 'em away folks, act now! Thirty (30) beanie babies for $1000 (one thousand US dollars).
posted by telstar at 6:37 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by telstar at 6:37 PM on May 15, 2009
I knew a girl in college who was cra-haaaaazy about beanie babies. They were her world. She drove our drawing professor crazy because that's all she would ever draw. He told her to try being more creative, and she said she'd try. One day, he gave us an assignment to draw something made out of parts of other things. I can't remember what type of drawing this was called. Anyway, I drew a dog with a camera for a head. She drew a beanie baby with a different beanie baby's head. Our professor just stopped at her drawing, shook his head and walked off.
posted by katillathehun at 6:40 PM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by katillathehun at 6:40 PM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
S&P and Moody's rated my collection of Beanie Babies AAA/Aaa. As individual units they were plush and filling, but as a collection they were investment grade.
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:18 PM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:18 PM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
I worked in the classified department of a newspaper when the Beanie Baby craze was going on. We actually had to create a new heading for Beanie Baby ads since we were getting so many of them.
posted by SisterHavana at 7:51 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by SisterHavana at 7:51 PM on May 15, 2009
dreamyshade: "Zephyrial: I owned this book too! I probably still have it somewhere. And I didn't believe in the 2008 estimates either, but they were cute and I enjoyed learning a little bit about supply and demand."
I owned at least three yearly editions of this book and spent many an hour adding up the supposed value of my beanie collection. I also had at least a dozen issues of Mary Beth's Beanie World (don't judge, I was ten). My entire collection of hundreds of beanies now sits on several shelves in my old room in my parents' house and brings me great regret every time I look on it. I should've sold those fuckers in '98.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 10:03 PM on May 15, 2009
I owned at least three yearly editions of this book and spent many an hour adding up the supposed value of my beanie collection. I also had at least a dozen issues of Mary Beth's Beanie World (don't judge, I was ten). My entire collection of hundreds of beanies now sits on several shelves in my old room in my parents' house and brings me great regret every time I look on it. I should've sold those fuckers in '98.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 10:03 PM on May 15, 2009
My pogs, however, I look upon with pride. My slammers were the envy of Buffalo Elementary, I can tell you that.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 10:05 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 10:05 PM on May 15, 2009
I saw my copy somewhere this summer. It was kinda an interesting read. . .
posted by rubah at 10:07 PM on May 15, 2009
posted by rubah at 10:07 PM on May 15, 2009
Meanwhile, regardless of any regulation, speculative manias happen, and will continue to happen, and nobody learns any lessons.
I read somewhere someone theorizing that contemporary investors are so accustomed to bubbles that ordinary production-based market growth looks to them like the doldrums.
posted by Ritchie at 12:43 AM on May 16, 2009
I read somewhere someone theorizing that contemporary investors are so accustomed to bubbles that ordinary production-based market growth looks to them like the doldrums.
posted by Ritchie at 12:43 AM on May 16, 2009
When I was 16 I worked at a candy store that sold these. We had a one per style per customer policy. Also one bear each. Women would get really mad that they couldn't buy X bear and Y bear at the same time, "I'm PAYING for them! WHY NOT!?" Once someone put a baby on the counter and insisted that they baby was buying one. It would have been cute if she wasn't so genuinely distressed about it.
posted by debbie_ann at 5:29 AM on May 16, 2009
posted by debbie_ann at 5:29 AM on May 16, 2009
I seem to recall that gift shops really benefitted from Beanie Babies as they were not sold to regular toy stores. A smart gift shop owner would have reinvested their earnings for a rainy day.
I collect model horses and have seen the bottom fall out of that market due to the internet. Suddenly eBay was flooded with models which suddenly weren't so scarce.
Remember those collector plates? The ads always said they would increase in value...but I saw a recent ad on Kijiji where some Elvis ones were being sold for $6 Cdn each.
posted by Calzephyr at 8:59 AM on May 16, 2009
I collect model horses and have seen the bottom fall out of that market due to the internet. Suddenly eBay was flooded with models which suddenly weren't so scarce.
Remember those collector plates? The ads always said they would increase in value...but I saw a recent ad on Kijiji where some Elvis ones were being sold for $6 Cdn each.
posted by Calzephyr at 8:59 AM on May 16, 2009
Remember those collector plates? The ads always said they would increase in value...but I saw a recent ad on Kijiji where some Elvis ones were being sold for $6 Cdn each.
I'm calling bottom.
posted by mazola at 12:04 PM on May 16, 2009
I'm calling bottom.
posted by mazola at 12:04 PM on May 16, 2009
Oh god! I remember that book! My sister did a school project, sort of a science fair for math, comparing future in three different categories: beanie babies, coins, and something else, stocks maybe? This was back in the height of the craze. Anyways according to the handbook beanie babies were by far the best investment, far outpacing all the others. Though even back in grade school we knew that it was obviously bunk.
posted by fermezporte at 1:15 PM on May 16, 2009
posted by fermezporte at 1:15 PM on May 16, 2009
Once, in the late 90s, I bought something off a quilting mailing list from a woman who lived outside my Southern college town. I drove over there to pick it up and was invited in for a glass of tea. We walked through the living room, where her husband grunted at me, and then I saw it: a stack of rectangular hard clear plastic boxes that covered the entire long wall of the room, each containing a Beanie Baby lying on its back. "That's college for my grandkids," she said.
I still get the shivers whenever I think about that cheerful, mint-with-tags mausoleum.
posted by catlet at 9:25 PM on May 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
I still get the shivers whenever I think about that cheerful, mint-with-tags mausoleum.
posted by catlet at 9:25 PM on May 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
I would just like to say 'Fuck YEAH!' about the commenter above who mentioned his pog collection. I used to covet my pog/slammer collection. I wish I knew where they went, but that was about 13 years ago now. All I have left to bank on now is my comic books.
posted by Bageena at 11:01 PM on May 16, 2009
posted by Bageena at 11:01 PM on May 16, 2009
Her pog collection, thankyouverymuch.
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 1:13 AM on May 18, 2009
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 1:13 AM on May 18, 2009
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posted by mwhybark at 11:05 AM on May 15, 2009