Beanie Babies
Welcome! If you have browsed the Beanie Baby auctions on eBAY™, you know that Beanies are HOT HOT HOT! Take a look at the "going, going, gone" section and you'll be amazed at the enormous amount of money that buyers will spend on these little stuffed toys! If you are located in an area where Beanie Baby retailers are plentiful, you have an opportunity to capitalize on this craze because these toys are just not readily available in all areas. The Beanie Baby Dealer disk that I've included on this CD in its own folder is easily transferred to floppy for you to sell. This product has been a real winner for me and I believe you'll have success with it also. If, in fact you are also interested in selling Beanie Babies themselves online, I've included some additional information for you.
Where To Buy
If you are interested in buying Beanie Babies to re-sell, I don't recommend buying through online auctions. Collectors can sometimes find a good price on a hard to find Beanie to add to their collections. But since online auctions are going to be one of the places where you want to sell, you are not likely to have a significant profit margin if you buy there. The best place in many areas to find Beanies at low, consistent prices is a hospital gift shop. Their prices, by and large, have not increased, because these gift shops are based on volunteers. If you keep your eyes open and do some driving to surrounding areas, there are usually several smaller, relatively unknown gift shops. These are often full of hidden treasures.
What To Buy
RETIRED BEANIES
Retired Beanies obviously command a much higher price than those currently in production. The easiest way to buy lower and sell higher is the "Newly Retired" Beanie. Make it your business to know when Beanies are retired (usually May, October, and January). When the announcement is made, I have found it most profitable to put together "sets" of retireds. If you have not already amassed stock (try to keep multiple copies of "better" Beanies rather than one-each of the whole collection. I'll try to give you hints on what the "better"Beanies are in a couple of paragraphs.) go to your favorite retailer and try to stock on about 5 each of at least 10 Beanies. Selling 10 sets allows you the luxury of making a profit without having to complete transactions with 50 individuals. (Stop for a moment and think about keeping up with 50 different auctions, e-mailing 50 winning bidders, waiting for 50 payments, and sending 50 parcels. You get my point!) You can list a portion of your sets in the days immediately following the retirement and you will be amazed at the frantic bidding behaviour of some buyers. In many areas, Beanies are just not readily available and serious collectors who have just missed the opportunity to get some newly retireds will think nothing of paying five times the retail value of these Beanies for the simple reason that an item they've already had trouble finding has just been made even more rare. Hold on to a few of your sets for approximately 4-12 months. By this time, even in areas where Beanie Babies are relatively plentiful, the remaining stock will have been sold and your Beanies will be in even greater demand.
HARD TO FIND BEANIES
Selling currently produced Beanies through online auctions is not usually a huge money-maker. The outrageous exception to this rule are the hard to find Beanies. Take "Erin" the emerald green bear with a shamrock embroidered on her chest. In most places, she's as hard to find as the legendary Irish pot-o'-gold. Beanies such as Erin; Princess, the royal purple bear with white rose commemorating Princess Diana; Peace, the tie-dyed bear; and foreign-issue-only Beanies like Maple, the Canadian bear; and Britannia, the British bear can literally bring you an absurd amount of money if you can get your hands on these toys at regular or reasonable retail prices. If you have access to quantities of any of these toys, BUY THEM! Then, resell them as quickly as possible on eBay™ and watch the money roll in. I emphasize selling them quickly, because with the value will drop dramatically if production is increased due to consumer demand and the market becomes flooded.
White colored Beanies are always a good product. First, they seem a bit more hard to find as a new product. But, a retired white Beanie in mint condition is a rare find indeed. These are always great profit items.
NEW RELEASES
If you are able to get several complete sets of newly released Beanies as soon as they hit the shelves, you can make a quick profit. As soon as you have your sets, put them up for a 3-Day auction and many bidders will pay a great deal of money to get these new Beanies which may not be readily available in their area. Remember, sell them quickly because the newly released Beanie's value will decrease as they become more easily available.
TEENIE BEANIES
As of this writing (May 1998), Ty® has just released its second edition of Teenie Beanie Baby Happy Meal toys at McDonalds. Some sellers had the complete collection a few weeks before its release and made a killing. If you can obtain a complete collection of these $1-2 toys, get 'em! Hold them at least until McDonald's supplies are exhausted, then put a portion of your sets up for auction. Hold the rest for at least 8-12 months and you'll have a valuable product.
Final Notes
It is essential to be fully versed on every aspect of the Beanie Baby market if you are inclined to buy and sell Beanies for profit. Remember to stay focused on how much money you can make from a Beanie and not on which toy you think is cute. Remember: