The Beanie Baby Craze Explained (How Dolls Took Over the 90s)

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🎬 Today’s Story: What Really Happened to Beanie Babies? | Undercover Spill  They were cute, collectible, and somehow worth thousands of dollars. The Beanie Baby craze of the 1990s became one of the most bizarre pop culture phenomenons in history.  In this video, we dive into the rise of Beanie Babies — how a simple toy from Ty Inc. turned into a global obsession, why people spent fortunes chasing rare ones, and how the bubble eventually burst. From million-dollar collections to stories of financial ruin, this is the true story of the Beanie Baby mania that defined the 90s.  #BeanieBabies #90sCraze #UndercoverSpill #PopCultureHistory #collectiblesauction

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00:00it was one of the biggest pop culture trends of all time a cute toy along with a brilliant

00:13business strategy would spark an unusual craze that took over the world in a dramatic fashion

00:19let's take a look back at the pop culture phenomenon that was the beanie babies

00:22and find out how it became such a widespread sensation

00:25most parents would agree nothing brings a child a high level of excitement quite like a brand new toy

00:43the toy industry brings in billions of dollars of revenue annually thanks to their commercials

00:47that pique interest among the youth while the sector is usually dominated by the few giants in

00:53the toy world every so often a small company comes along with a product that sets the market on fire

01:01and that would be the case for harold ty warner after working as a toy salesman for years just

01:07like his father harold decided to use his entire life savings to start his own toy company called

01:14ty incorporated his plan was to create fun and unique toys for children using the expertise he

01:21gained from his time as an employee in the field instead of targeting major department stores for

01:27his products warner chose to supply to specialized toy shops and small businesses just like the one he

01:33worked for prior one of his first designs would be a plush doll filled with tiny beans based on an

01:39assortment of recognizable animals they would be accompanied by a unique name and style which set

01:46them apart from one another the adorable dolls were very affordable with an average price tag of five

01:52to ten dollars however the thai company would struggle to find success with the dolls for the

01:58first few years after they hit the market but that soon would change

02:04to help better push the product going forward warner was advised to create a website that would focus on

02:10direct to consumer purchases it was the first of its kind as the internet was still in its infancy stage

02:16and most companies hadn't realized its potential yet the upcoming new line of dolls would feature a tag

02:23prompting consumers to visit their official online web page with very few homes having the internet and

02:30not many websites being available to surf the thai company would get a good amount of traffic and it

02:36helped boost sales as a result in a short amount of time more animals would be introduced and new

02:42features like poems were added to their tags the market soon began to develop more interest in the

02:49dolls especially when it came to adults but problems began to arise with production of one of their more

02:55popular designs the lovable lamb ty warner employed a very smart marketing tactic that created scarcity

03:04once the manufacturing seized on the variation going forward beanie babies would become discontinued

03:11after the remainder of the small inventory supply was depleted having high demand and low supply would

03:17be a recipe to drive consumers into chaos thousands of adults rushed to the stores seeking out the now

03:24rarity items some buying them for their children others stocking up the collectibles for themselves

03:30even the scalpers saw an opportunity to make some quick cash with the now hot commodities

03:37baby craze was in full swing with long lines there we found them waiting at a store for them to open

03:44up so they could buy the newest ones i think we're stupid to stand in line to get a bag of beans you'll

03:50admit that i admit it but what you won't do for your grandchildren once the store opened people were

03:57pretty civil and they got inside for the beanie babies of their choice

04:09new websites like ebay saw an uptick in traffic with the toys being resold to the highest bidder

04:15the company would introduce even more variations and store exclusives making them even more desirable to

04:21obtain and the dolls with manufacturing errors such as misspelling of words being the crown jewel of

04:28them all because because of the retirements and introductions of beanie babies the price of a

04:34current beanie baby as valley can go up the potential investment value could be very good

04:38can you give us examples of that for the october 1st 1997 retired seymour was one of them he's up to

04:46about 150 to 200 right now and he was a five dollar beanie the new face brown teddy is up to

04:52about 100 right now new face brown today's already up to 100 close to 100 the line had become a pop

04:59culture phenomenon and taken over the world of retail by the time the new millennium had arrived

05:05the company made nearly 3 billion in sales the owner ty warner would reach billionaire status quickly

05:12and in return paid his employees handsomely as the beanie babies were quite the money printing machine

05:19over time the craze began to simmer down newer toys and video games hit the store shelves that now

05:25piqued interest for consumers the beanie baby craze still remains one of the biggest phenomenons ever

05:32in pop culture history what are your thoughts on this story leave a comment below and let me know

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