The Rise and Fall of Beanie Babies

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 พ.ย. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 102

  • @nachoslayer2113
    @nachoslayer2113 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    This channel is fantastic, definitely deserves more recognition

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  ปีที่แล้ว +4

      What a compliment! Thank you.

    • @peternystrom921
      @peternystrom921 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      First video i see here and i’m a fan.
      You have a new sub 😍

    • @1984BodeaMauO
      @1984BodeaMauO 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Joined today!

  • @maurariverav
    @maurariverav ปีที่แล้ว +27

    wow i just saw a tiktok that og beanie babies are back

  • @cam20118
    @cam20118 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Loved this episode Brooke! Needed something lighthearted and obscurely mysterious… thank you for your variety or content and consistently excellent delivery.

  • @EricaMariah
    @EricaMariah ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Goodwill for $1 now. beanie baby bears are my 5 year olds favorite toy. She says she has an army of bears 😂

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  ปีที่แล้ว +3

      That is too cute!!

    • @EricaMariah
      @EricaMariah ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Also, $1.99 Happy Meal has me shook!

    • @labrinth.plays.6576
      @labrinth.plays.6576 หลายเดือนก่อน

      me and my sister have an army of retired beanie baby cats lol

  • @BarkTheGoblin
    @BarkTheGoblin 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

    Ironically, I’m sitting here listening to this video while making necklaces/bracelets for my beanies. I’m almost 18 years old and I’ve recently gotten so attached to my beanies. I have Princess, Millenium, Goochy, Swirly, Pinchers, Patti the 2nd, and Inch. As of writing this, I’m waiting for Scorch and Magic to arrive. They have grabbed me by the neurodivergence and have a chokehold on me

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  10 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Loved reading this! Put a huge smile on my face. 😊

    • @BarkTheGoblin
      @BarkTheGoblin 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@ArmchairInvestigator thank you!! Funny enough, a few minutes after I commented that, I found my Millennium beanie baby!! It was hiding behind other stuffed animals on my shelf. I’m pretty sure my Princess one is in the attic, but I can’t go up there.

    • @kristinazubic9669
      @kristinazubic9669 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Love those dragons

  • @MoriMementa
    @MoriMementa ปีที่แล้ว +7

    As someone who lived through the Beanie Baby craze, I see a lot of similarity with the Squishmallow collecting world. I'll gladly tell anyone who will listen that the secondhand Squishmallow market will eventually crash and then the resellers can say goodbye to the days of sticking hundred dollar price tags on their twelve dollar stock. Don't plan your retirement around reselling plush toys and think carefully before you shell out three hundred bucks for a hard to find Squish. Like Beanie Babies, Squishmallows are meant to be enjoyed, not profited from.

  • @johnfritz7222
    @johnfritz7222 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    You answered a question that I always wanted to know with saying Maple was the first draft pick from the beanie baby divorce. And the lady who contracted polio, and waa wheelchair bound and only had limited use of her right arm, only to end up creating the most iconic stuffed bear line, is a very inspirational story

  • @lizd.8655
    @lizd.8655 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Yes, I had about 50 of these cuties and I took them to college with me 😁. Fun fact: $115k for that domain name would be more than $230k in today's dollars 💸

  • @anniet.poetry601
    @anniet.poetry601 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I still sleep with my carebear I got when I was 5. It’s good to know I’m not the only one! My boyfriend would get so offended but my carebear is the only one that has given constant comfort throughout my life and I will never give him up ❤it’s funny because it’s true! Oh and we have since broken up lol for other reasons… and my bear is still with me ❤

  • @TheKELLOSO
    @TheKELLOSO 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I personally started collecting Beanie Babies around 2020 or 2021 I believe. The main reason was because of my early childhood, my uncle (who was 12-15 at the time) had a Scorch the Dragon Beanie Babie.
    And I had absolutely loved everything about it, but I was so young to the point I had no idea where it even came from, or what series it was part of.
    Many years later I had already learned about Beanie Babies and their existence, one day me and my mom go to a thrift store, as my grandma would take me sometimes as a little gift that was affordable and something I would love!
    I stumbled across a bag of many toys, but what caught my eye was the beanie babies inside of it. I don’t remember it too clearly, but I believe there was Pinky, Chocolate, The End, and more.
    Thus starting my collection, but however I didn’t add too much. I got the occasional bday or Christmas gift, as I remember the earliest adding on I did to this reasonably sized collection was Trumpet and Bongo.
    But when it truly picked up the pace was sometime in 2022, I had found multiple Beanie Babies at thrift stores, bought them online recently as of 2023.
    And now I’m at about 23, when it all started at 5-8.
    But anyways, I truly love these things. Even if I’ll only be able to make 50 cents off of them if I ever decide to, it’s just very nice to have them.
    And shout out to my uncle for starting one of my many loves in life.
    Edit: 25 with the addition of Crunch The Shark and Jolly The Walrus, Lumberjack The Beaver expected to come soon.

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Oh my gosh, this was so sweet and lovely to read! Thank you for sharing! Is Scorch the Dragon still your favorite?

    • @TheKELLOSO
      @TheKELLOSO 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@ArmchairInvestigator Yes I actually got him around March - October of this year.

    • @brendatomlinson
      @brendatomlinson 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I wish there was a way to reach you!! I would sell you my tub of Beanies for pennies on the dollar! I need them gone.
      I’m a pet sitter in OKC. I have a web*site for my business called citimutts (you know how to fill in the rest) where I can be reached. I hope writing this comment is allowed. If it gets deleted, so be it.

  • @joannlovespapillons
    @joannlovespapillons ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Oh yes, I remember the craze. My sister’s good friend owned a tiny shop who got a very limited amt of babies We were on cloud 9 when she gave us the scoop on the purple Princess Di one. I was hoping to hear the history of that 1.

  • @Therese_M
    @Therese_M ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Ty really worked hard to keep the integrity of beanie babies. He tried to keep the focus on kids and affordability.
    We’ll always love him for that ❤️

    • @ryanf8780
      @ryanf8780 ปีที่แล้ว

      The only reason this scam worked was the illusion of scarcity. People want what they can't have. Ty artificially surpressed the supply at first to make them seen scarce, and then flooded the market when demand peaked.

  • @LISA.R.2112
    @LISA.R.2112 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    There you are !!! Have missed you dear. Diving right in now. Hope you have a wonderful day ❤️👍

  • @BrabbitHabit
    @BrabbitHabit ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Ahh this brings me back to my childhood. I’m still a collector and beanie babies had a lot to do with instilling in me the thrill of the hunt, especially as a kid. This is the most informative video on beanie babies I’ve seen on TH-cam, thank you for being so thorough!
    Edit: I’ve collected several different things over the years, but now, I mainly collect vinyl records and Citizen Brick custom minifigures (sometimes I grab minifigures from other companies but CB is definitely the best), just to clarify lol. Although, I could see it being fun trying to track down some of the beanies that were well beyond my price range as a kid

  • @kirstywhyte3496
    @kirstywhyte3496 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I have 4 cats and the moose and my mum had some others. I got rid of a lot but kept my cats and my daughter is not allowed to touch them on pain of death! Mine.....all mine....
    Oh I also have two x Fraidy as well.
    This is a great episode - my 9 year old is beyond excited to see Fraidy on screen!

  • @NancyAnneMartin
    @NancyAnneMartin 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I never understood how anyone could draw the conclusion they would become valuable since there were so many manufactured. 🤷‍♀️

  • @bodean137
    @bodean137 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    My dad tried getting into the craze back then and he came home with a garbage bag full of them and a price guide book he spent like 200$ on from ebay (this was in Canada btw & ironically i seen that same book years later at a thrift store for 50 cents. you cant give something like that away now. lol) I remember watching an epsiode of 3rd Rock from the Sun with my mom that was dedicated to the insanity surrounding the craze and they refered to them as "Fuzzy Buddies." My dad at the time had an obsessive Mr. Toad personality and would jump on fads like he did with the comic book boom and action figure crazes of the 90s and ebay did not help matters. my mom got the invoice for the price guide before he did and as soon as she seen the garbage bag she was like: "Nope, Not Happening!!"and she took the bag and gave the beanies to a local kids toy charity; i was proud of her then but now in retrospect I highly doubt those beanies made it to a single child due to the sad and terrible greed surrounding them.

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I got a chuckle reading this! Thank you for sharing your(brief) encounter with the craze! 😆

  • @Kicks_Clothing
    @Kicks_Clothing หลายเดือนก่อน

    These will make a come back, just wait for a few mega influencers to wear one around their next at a big event LOL

  • @Lee-wg7en
    @Lee-wg7en ปีที่แล้ว

    Outstandingly clear narration. Very easy to follow. Excellent story compilation. Interesting and varied presentation. Very good overall. I will share this.

  • @kwaddamage8286
    @kwaddamage8286 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    we mostly joke about beanie babies and the 90s craze. my mom bought us a few but never got super into it. definitely nostalgia tho.
    what i really learned and love about this video is the genius behind Ty and that girl he brought on though

  • @Guigley
    @Guigley 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    A truly fantastic documentary! This brought back so many memories.

  • @pikachuphotobomb2482
    @pikachuphotobomb2482 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I was not born yet but I collect them now

  • @kristinazubic9669
    @kristinazubic9669 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I sleep with two real animals and one stuffed one. One of my real animals eats stuffed animals (and blankets and sheets and towels and…) but the one we sleep with is the one he’s never tried to eat.

  • @robertsides3626
    @robertsides3626 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I was in elementary school when these things where everywhere. Never really understood the draw or why everyone thought people would buy them at ridiculous prices. The pieces didn't fit together, but I just figured I was just too dumb to understand it. Kept away from them. I still don't get collecting for profit. Got into Pokemon cards for a time though, but still never understood why people thought there would be this magic pool of rich people that would spend crazy sums on the things if everyone was trying to sell. Collectors that gave a damn would already be in the process of buying them when they were new, so what's the point? The repeated phenomena just made me resent people for being so easily swept up in something without even considering how it made little sense. The backstabbing.. the scalping... literally stealing from children. Worst of all nothing has changed. The lessons learned aren't inherited from generation to generation.

  • @claudiabothma
    @claudiabothma ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I didn't collect fad toys as I am self employed and to me food etc was more important. However, in the 1970's, I had some Star Wars figurines, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Chewbecca. Unfortunately through the years, moving houses and so on, they dissapeared.
    Apparently they are valuable now...

  • @Bobbi-the-Croz
    @Bobbi-the-Croz ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I did not get into the Beanie Baby craze and was always stunned by the amount people would collect. I have a family member who just couldn’t handle her husband’s obsession with them and she ended up leaving him and his beanies. Evidently, he kept them in giant garbage bags and wouldn’t let her touch them…. sounds like a character from a movie… “precious…” 😳 I still cringe a bit when I see one of those little things with the Ty tag. I figured the “discontinuations” were purely for market strategy. I remember the Cabbage Patch dolls were a similar fad. It’s always something. 😅

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  ปีที่แล้ว +2

      You’re cracking me up! “She ended up leaving him and his beanies…” 💀
      You’re right tho, it’s always something.

  • @portablepulpit
    @portablepulpit ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great job as always Brooke! ❤ But I do miss that signature background music 😢

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Hey you! Thanks for watching! 💛

    • @portablepulpit
      @portablepulpit ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ArmchairInvestigator Enjoyed the last one too of Padre Pio. Good to see you changed it up. Miss that Armchair soundtrack tho lmbo

  • @jennyrx13
    @jennyrx13 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I still have Stinger the Scorpion 😊

  • @Septer_Sever
    @Septer_Sever 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Speculators and market manipulators seem to ruin every hobby 😒

  • @wiiildfox
    @wiiildfox 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I prefer beanie boos but I like beanie babies too

  • @katie3657
    @katie3657 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Omg I had so many as a kid. I have no idea what happened to them

  • @PokeGrillz
    @PokeGrillz 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    what a time, i swear me and my nan and a couple friends of mine and their grandmas would go every weekend beanie baby hunting, hitting up Hallmark stores, flea markets, and the beanie baby stores, i can still remember it like it was yesterday, i was around 11 12 years old. We moved to fl in 1998 and my nan just had a feeling these were gonna go belly up soon, we sold all of ours for about 5k, this was in August of 1998. Believe the market fell about 2 months later, all my friends and their grandparents still have those damn beanie babies to this day, just gathering dust lol.

    • @PokeGrillz
      @PokeGrillz 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      and those mcdonalds beanie babies, omg what a hit those were, we would go buy 30 happy meals, take the beanie, then go to the football and baseball fields and give the food to the kids playing, we knew most of them. it was so wild its hard to get people to understand just how big it was, Pokemon only thing could compare.

  • @Therese_M
    @Therese_M ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I’d like to see a video on the Trolls craze!

  • @alicianason-yf8sc
    @alicianason-yf8sc ปีที่แล้ว

    I was 7 when Bennie babies came out I loved them! So did adults ! Adults liked them just as much at children and teens

  • @kariann430
    @kariann430 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    i had some beanie babies, but stopped when the store i got them from did a promation that you had to buy 12 beanies at once to get the princess diana bear and it made me so mad that no place else here had that bear

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  ปีที่แล้ว

      That “promotion” is insane! I would have been mad too.

  • @Catanya9
    @Catanya9 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I have enjoyed all of your investigations so much. I am fascinated by the Sherman murders (billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman, in Canada). I'd love to hear your take, if you're looking for topics to cover.

    • @brendatomlinson
      @brendatomlinson 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I just watched her video on the Sherman’s. It affected me so strongly I dreamed about them last night. Such a sad, but fascinating tale.

  • @vickiedennison5197
    @vickiedennison5197 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I was there when they first came out my youngest daughter still has her original collection that she started with plus a whole lot more

  • @sammy9360
    @sammy9360 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Omg I still have mine! How about the Cabbage Patch doll craze remember that one? I love your channel ❤

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes!! I had cabbage patch kids too. You have to look up their nursery experience - it’s very interesting!

    • @sammy9360
      @sammy9360 ปีที่แล้ว

      You have to do a story on them, I remember being in line at the store a women had her Cabbage Patch Doll ripped right out of the box that was crazy!

  • @TechnetiumTheDragon
    @TechnetiumTheDragon 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Now I can find them for dirt cheap if i look in the right places. I love my dragon beanies Scorch and Magic and there is no way I would part with them. I just collect the ones I personally like such as the snail and the worm.

  • @Victoriaghh
    @Victoriaghh 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Oh wow. I used to put beanie babies in my car. They'd get so sun bleached and damaged. I wonder how much money I had thrown away LOL

  • @Venialbartender
    @Venialbartender 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    To think my childhood was ruined cuz everything was satanic . But this obsession was ok lol

  • @chevyforever4420
    @chevyforever4420 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Now you find them in goodwill piles and thrown away

  • @angelsbum
    @angelsbum 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I love how you tell these stories. But i do love watching you. You are so beautiful. Thanjs.

  • @jazzandtapioca1
    @jazzandtapioca1 18 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Im 27 and i still sleep every night with my favourite childhood teddy Ewey the lamb although i never knew she was a beanie baby. When i was little as she was a gift from my brother and had all her tags cut off. To me her name is Lamby

  • @maryamdear2122
    @maryamdear2122 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I'm a married, 30 something year old woman and I still sleep with a stuffed animal, it's so comfy!

  • @diegolaradiaz8948
    @diegolaradiaz8948 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Will Funko Pops eventually fall the same way with how things are going for them?

    • @fluorite1965
      @fluorite1965 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I am so tired of seeing Funko Pops.

  • @SirMogwaiTheGreat
    @SirMogwaiTheGreat 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    R.i.p princess diana,TY made a beatiful beanie baby for her

  • @chevyforever4420
    @chevyforever4420 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I had a pog collection. What a waste of money. The new phase was fidgets. I know I bought my kids hundreds of them. In about a year they will be worthless too

    • @ArmchairInvestigator
      @ArmchairInvestigator  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I loved pogs! The tubes that held them all were neat too.

  • @mirrorcatz
    @mirrorcatz ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love your voice, it's a beautiful voice in my opinion

  • @susanfit47
    @susanfit47 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have 3 comprehensive books on Beanie Babies. I have Inky the Pink Octopus, and other ones I haven't got yet.

  • @monikabauer7219
    @monikabauer7219 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I had bought a lots of those Beanie Babys also some German ones,still have a lots of them

  • @joekirkwood
    @joekirkwood หลายเดือนก่อน

    Those baseball cards that were featured.......1988-1989.......I have them. Baltimore Orioles!

  • @alicianason-yf8sc
    @alicianason-yf8sc ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I still sleep with my teddy bear 🧸

  • @shawnntea
    @shawnntea ปีที่แล้ว

    can you do one about webkinz and one about polly pocket please??

  • @LarryLegend3923
    @LarryLegend3923 ปีที่แล้ว

    I do

  • @theeternalslayer
    @theeternalslayer 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    1.99 meals at McDonald's.... man inflation sucks

  • @karrieschmidt3817
    @karrieschmidt3817 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I have oitso and clubby iv

  • @RanchuRanch
    @RanchuRanch ปีที่แล้ว

    Ist Dir kein eigener Name eingefallen ? Du siehst besser aus, als das Original und Dein Kanal ist auch besser. Schade drum. Ich glaube, es würde besser kommen, einen anderen Namen zu nehmen, ohne den bitteren Beigeschmack, Du kannst viel mehr . Das war ein durchaus positiv gemeinter Kommentar.

  • @Toxicjay24
    @Toxicjay24 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    You are so stunning.