Someone asked a question about Beanie Babies after I had already prepared the questions that I asked Jenni in our interview so I emailed her the question and she was kind enough to respond.?
Here’s the question and Jenni’s answer:
Question:? ? My friend has a closet full of Beanie Babies.? All with tags and bagged.? He realizes that the price on beanie babies has dropped through the basement.? Any chance they will ever come back?? Also, what happened?? Why did prices drop so dramatically??
Answer:? ? Just like in any other market – trends come and go. Certain toys will be incredibly popular for a season or two and then they will get oversaturated in the market (or on ebay) and the value will start to go down. When the supply exceeds the demand for an item, it drops significantly in value. I think this is the case with Beanie Babies – they were very hot on ebay a few years back… but, have been oversaturated. As more people discovered they were hot, more people started selling them. Soon you could find them everywhere and people lost interest. The hottest things in the 70’s and 80’s are making a come back now… (Care Bears, My Little Pony, Cabbage Patch Kids to name a few). If this type of cycle continues, my guess would be that Beanie Babies that were hot in the 90’s will make a come back in another 10 years or so. (Please note, I make no guarantees on this – just my opinion bases on current trends)
Although there are plenty of Beanie Baby auctions that are not doing well at all (one listing that completed in the last 30 days had 82 Beanie Babies – some mint condition – end at just over $40), apparently you can still make some money on Beanie Babies. The condition of the item, whether there are defects in the manufacturing, and whether the item is discontinued (or retired) will affect the value of a Beanie Baby. Some defects can actually raise the value of a Beanie Baby (such as tush-tag errors). And, of course there is more value if the item is in mint condition and retired. You can look at collector guides online (check out the Toy Reference Guide included as a bonus to the summer Toy Guide package) to determine how rare the Beanie Babies you have are.?
If you missed my interview with Jenni go here to listen:
http://www.kickbuttideas.com/huntedtreasure/
James
How do you figure out in advance what will be a future Hot selling toy (trend watching)? 9) What are some hot sellers right now?