A Market for Beanie Oddities

Published: May 15, 2000

When a Ty Beanie Baby suffers from a manufacturing mistake, it enters a new classification called, "Beanie Oddities" and therefore attracts a whole new group of collectors that may be willing to pay a premium for an unusual item. "To make your oddity auction widely viewed by oddity hunters you need to include key words such as "oddity," or "error" in your auction title," explains Ginny Edwards, Smart Collecting's former Oddity Expert. "You are better off setting a reserve price with a low opening bid rather than a high opening bid with or without a reserve. High opening bids often discourage bidders. Bids on your item make it more appealing, regardless of how small the bid may be."

Michael Trost (aka mdt36) from New Jersey put up 18 different Beanie oddities from his collection on eBay on Monday, May 8, 2000. All auctions closed on Saturday, May 13, 2000 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Find out below which Beanie Baby oddity received the highest bid.

(Thanks to Michael for sharing his photos with Smart Collecting!)


Birthday Bear with Upside Down Pin $50	Clubby 01 with Upside Down Pin $150	Clubby without Pin $250	Erin without Shamrock $223.51

Glory with Upside Down Flag $150	Glory without Flag $100 RNM	Kicks without ball $177.50	Maple without Flag $266.02

Maple with Upside Down Flag $152.50	Millennium without Emblem $256.81	Peace 102 without Sign $305	Osito with Upside Down Flag $100

Osito without Flag $51.53 RNM	Princess without Rose $79.85 RNM	The End without Emblem $376.01	Valentina without Heart $237.50

	Valentino without Heart $361	'99 Signature without Heart $331
Previous Auction Prices: For the sake of comparison, here are some prices paid for Beanie Oddities on eBay during the past few months. Beanie Babies: Germania Beanie Baby without flag sold for $1,138.13 on 4/20/2000! The End Bear without emblem sold for $511 on 3/8/2000 Peace Beanie Baby without Peace sign sold for $306.99 on 03/27/2000 Valentino Beanie Baby without a heart sold for $405 on 02/27/2000 Erin without a shamrock sold for $207.50 on 02/25/2000 Maple without a flag sold for $177.50 on 02/24/2000 Valentina without a heart sold for $155.00 on 03/04/2000 Princess without her rose sold for $153.27 on 03/01/2000 Glory without flag sold for $142.50 0n 3/5/2000 Osito without Flag sold for $94 on 3/6/2000 Beanie Buddies: Millennium Buddy without emblem sold for $316.91 on 5/6/2000 Valentino Buddy with no heart sold for $315 on 3/27/2000 Large Peace buddy without Peace sign sold for $274 on 03/24/2000
Answer: The End Bear without its emblem sold for $376.01! RNM = Reserve Not Met