Where to Sell Beanie Babies to Actually Make Cash

If you were alive in the mid-1990s, it’s likely you remember that Beanie Babies were one of the most coveted toys at the time. Today, you’ll learn all about how and where to sell Beanie Babies.

At the height of its popularity, there were hundreds of variants of Beanie Babies and there was a steady marketplace for them.

Demand eventually dropped off, but recently, Beanie Babies have been back in circulation.

So if you have a stash of these toys in your closet for whatever reason, or if you think you want to know more about buying and selling, you’re in the right place. Here is everything you need to know about selling Beanie Babies for some side cash.

What Are Beanie Babies?

If you don’t know what a Beanie Baby is, maybe it was before your time, or you just haven’t heard of it.

In any case, Beanie Babies were manufactured by Ty, Inc. and first became popular in the mid-1990s.

They became collectibles and increased in popularity because of the strategy of deliberate scarcity; that is, they produce new designs in limited quantities and regularly retire them after a while.

The end of the Beanie Baby craze came about just as Pokémon and Furby toys were on the rise. Ty, Inc. announced near the end of 1999 that they were halting the production of Beanie Babies. Public outcry prevented the shutdown, but by then, the bubble had burst. People still bought them, but their resale value wasn’t so high anymore.

Nowadays, depending on what’s in your collection and their condition, you might still be able to sell your Beanie Babies for some side cash.

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Preparing to Sell Your Beanie Babies

Before you even consider where to sell your Beanie Babies, it’s best to be prepared. Here are the steps you’ll want to take in advance.

Learn Beanie Baby terminology.

You’ll want to understand sellers’ listings and be able to make your own, so it’s essential that you know the right terms, especially if these are related to your Beanie Babies’ condition, value, and authenticity.

For instance, the heart-shaped tag on a Beanie Baby’s ear can be called the ear tag, hang tag, or swing tag, while the fabric tag stitched to the toy’s bottom end is called the tush tag.

The “beans” inside are called pellets made of either polyethylene (PE) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is the rarer of the two.

Catalog your Beanie Baby collection.

Having a record of what you have is the best way to at least estimate whether or not you can earn a lot of money for your collection, whether it’s one Beanie Baby or a whole closet full of them.

The internet is your best resource for this.

There doesn’t seem to have an official list or database of all the Beanie Babies ever released available online, but the closest thing seems to be Beaniepedia.

Beaniepedia is crowdsourced, with thousands of members uploading photos and descriptions of their Beanie Babies.

Another incomplete yet extensive list can be found on Beanie Baby Character Wiki.

Once you know what you have, sort them by year. If you happen to have one of the nine original Beanie Babies, or the “Princess” bear, it may be lucrative for you.

Clean them.

Start by vacuuming to remove surface dust and dirt. If there are still a stain or a mark, try to rub it out with a clean, moist, soft cloth.

If you aren’t already storing your Beanie Babies in plastic, you’ll need to start now. It’s important to keep your toys in excellent condition, so there’s no dirt, stains, tears, or any other damage.

Where to Sell Beanie Babies

Now that you’re ready to sell, here are some of the tried and tested places where you can sell your Beanie Babies.

1. Sell2BBNovelties

Sell2BBNovelties is a website mainly for selling Beanie Babies, but they also purchase various other collectibles such as trading cards and action figures.

They’re offering a simple, three-step way to sell your items.

Their system is very much like buying online; you add items to your basket and then you check out. However, instead of you receiving the items, you’re the one who has to ship the items to them.

You can add items to your basket in two ways. First, you can look up each individual Beanie Baby on the site and then add them one by one to your basket.

Or, you can add an entire collection to your basket by going to this link.

Once all of your items are in the basket, complete your checkout to get a sell order number in an automated email. Wait for an email back from the store confirming they’d like to purchase your items to know more about the shipping instructions and any further steps you need to do.

When they’ve received your shipment, you’ll be receiving confirmation that they’re received your package, as well as confirmation of your payout.

Payout is via PayPal or store credit on BBToyStore.com, their buying website. If you select store credit, they’ll add 25% more to their published price.

Do note that they only accept new, mint condition Beanie Babies.

2. Plush Collector

Plush Collector started out as a hobby and has since grown into a full-fledged community buying, selling, and collecting Beanie Babies.

Their selling process is similar to that of Sell2BBNovelties, in that you add Beanie Babies to a Request For Quote (RFQ) one by one, click Send Your Request, wait for approval, ship your items, and get paid via PayPal or check.

Plush Collector.com will pay $0.25 and up for most Beanie Baby models, and $5.00 to $50.00 for truly rare editions.

3. Ruby Lane

Ruby Lane is like an online vintage marketplace with many “shopkeepers” selling various antiques, jewelry, dolls, furniture, and collectibles, including Beanie Babies.

Bear in mind that they have a monthly fee of $25 to keep up your storefront on Ruby Lane. However, if you list at least 15 items during the month, they’ll refund the $25. So if you have plenty of Beanies lying around, this might be a good option for you.

4. eBay

eBay has connected millions of buyers and sellers through the decades, and
It remains one of the best places where you can sell your Beanie Babies or any other collectible, really.

You can either sell them through a flat-price listing or through an auction. Flat price listing means exactly that; you list your items with a single price each or bundle multiple items under one listing, one price.

Putting items up for auction means you set a base price and allow potential buyers to bid on them in specific increments.

But before you decide, do some research and see what price other Beanies are being bought for (not just their list price). If the prices for the same model differ a lot, auctioning your Beanies off may be a good idea, if you know how to time your sales when the prices are up.

Conversely, a flat price listing is better if the prices for the same model are fairly consistent so that the price doesn’t go down.

5. Facebook Groups

The advantage of being on Facebook Groups focused on Beanie Babies is that you’re already advertising your toys to your target audience.

There’s also a good chance that

Just make sure you’re following the rules of the group when making a deal or deals with another group member. Also, do your due diligence and protect yourself from scammers and shady deals.

6. Sell4Value

Think of Sell4Value as your last resort for selling Beanie Babies that aren’t in mint condition. They’ll buy your items whatever their condition. However, don’t expect to get a lot for them.

7. Local Collectors

While selling Beanie Beanies online is simple and convenient, you might want to try selling locally. The buyers you’re looking for may just be in your neighborhood.

Here are some websites to connect with buyers near you.

• Facebook Marketplace
• Craigslist
• OfferUp
• 5 miles
• VarageSale

Tips on Selling Beanie Babies

Now you know where to sell your toys, here are some good practices when selling your Beanie Babies

1. Know how to photograph your Beanie Babies

The more information you can provide visually, the better the chances of getting an interested buyer.

Choose a flat backdrop for your Beanie Babies; you don’t want any distractions. Take photos from multiple angles (front, back, sides), plus closeups of any damage (if any).

Also, take photos of the tags and all the information within. If you had your plushies authenticated, include an image of the certificate of authenticity as well.

2. Never ship out Beanie Babies that haven’t been paid for

We did mention the importance of having your babies appraised by a professional, but beware of “experts” who may ask you to ship your Beanie Babies to them under the pretext of inspecting them.

The common scam is to say they never received the Beanie Babies, or they do appraise your item but they’ll never ship it back and they’ll never pay for it.

It’s much safer to get your items evaluated via video conference.

3. Consider the timing

Regular Beanie Baby collectors may buy them all year round, but you may earn more if you sell your toys at just the right time.

For instance, on the small chance that you have a Princess bear, the price you can sell it for may increase near the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.

The same goes for holiday bears; Easter, Halloween, and Christmas bears are likely to be priced higher near those dates.

The Bottom Line

Beanie Babies were once the ultimate collectible.

In fact, there was a contentious divorce in the late 1990s with the couple involved having to divide up their Beanie Babies collection right in the courtroom, with a judge, bailiff, court reporter, and spectators in the gallery looking on.

Even though they’re less valuable than before, you can certainly still sell Beanie Babies for some side cash.

In fact, while you’re cleaning out your closet, why don’t you read up on how to sell other old stuff that’s been taking up valuable space in your house? Here are some of our best guides on selling old things:

• VHS Tapes
• Old Baseball Cards
• Old Phone
• Old Laptop
• Other Old Stuff