Beanie Babies® and Books

Over the last twenty-ish years, Hubby and I asked ourselves frequently… do we spend hours going through our 300+ collection of Beanie Babies®, sorting and determining the current market value for each one, and trying to sell at that price, or do we donate them to a good cause?

We didn’t want to just ‘give them away’. Or deliver them to a next-to-new shop to sit in a bin, where eventually, a yearning child would take it home, remove the pristine plastic-covered tag, and toss the Beanie® around like the toy it was always meant to be. Oh, the horror!

Beanie Babies® came to life in 1993, created by Ty Warner, founder of Ty Inc. Sold as inexpensive plush stuffed animals for children, they soon became popular with adults, creating a collection frenzy in North America. We joined the trend and, between 2000 and 2002, bought Beanie Babies®, hoping the collection would pay for our daughters’ university education.

With too many Beanie Babies® hitting the market, and too little demand for the millions circulating, the collecting craze crashed. Like us, many adult collectors had Beanie Babies® collections that fell significantly in value. Today, it's true some Beanies® are of value, but, like finding a needle in the haystack, collectors are looking for specific finds that are rare indeed, i.e., the first-of-the-batch that may have had tag spelling errors.

Being a collector of artist-made mohair teddy bears, I fell in love with the little teddy bear Beanie Babies®, as well as some of the bigger ones. I couldn’t part with any of them. Into storage tubs our collection went, where it breathed stale air until recently.

I did a write-up for my newsletter last November (2024) about the Little Red Reading House. In July, we went to Shedpoint in Calgary, a drop-off location, with books to go to the Little Red Reading House. We chatted with Dawn Cruickshank, the Book Bank Coordinator, and through the conversation intrigued her with information about our Beanie Babies®. We easily decided that this was a place where our beloved collection could find a home. All our Beanie Babies® were in mint condition, with the tags still on and protected with the heart plastic case, and were never played with.

The Book Bank distributes books to children’s groups, The Rotary Club of Calgary (Downtown), women’s shelters, CUPS, Habitat for Humanity, and many other organizations. Adding a Beanie Baby® with a book sounded fantastic. My husband and I were finally relieved that our Beanie Babies® would find good homes. We dropped off 162 miscellaneous small animals, 39 small bears and a few bunnies, 33 mini-Beanie Baby® animals and bears (some still boxed from the likes of McDonald’s meal giveaways), and 17 larger bears and bunnies.

I couldn’t give away some favourites, and I still have one box at home of Beanie Babies® I wasn’t quite ready to part with.

We don’t regret any of our past collecting: spending hours on eBay with our daughter searching for that elusive find; going to the mailbox to pick it up; and cherishing our treasure until it was time to put it away. Now is the time to let our collection go, knowing that many children and adults are finding the same joy we received when we had the perfect little Beanie Baby® in our hands.

What collections are you treasuring now?

Hugz to all, Patricia

For information: Little Red Reading House’s Book Bank accepts children’s and middle-grade book donations (new/good condition) at its drop-off location at Shedpoint, 1212 34 Ave. Calgary, Alberta -Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9 am—4 pm. They also accept donations during their monthly Donation Day at Shedpoint. Questions? Please mail hello@littleredreading.house.