Beware Latest Fads

by Jim
(USA)

OK, as much as I hate to admit it ;-) here’s my "worst money mistakes" story…

In the late 1990’s, when Ty Beanie Babies were hot, I had gotten a few, not even sure why or how. Then I realized that some were very popular and hard to find. So they were selling for quite a bit above the $5 they cost at retail stores. As I found some of the more wanted ones, I picked them up, and started selling them on eBay.

Great, a little profit for little work. I put that money I made into getting more, and selling more, through eBay and even a couple live Beanie Baby shows. Well, it kept growing, and I kept putting the money back into it, and even spending more of my own. I even bought some collections that people were selling on eBay. Then…

Towards the end of 1999 I think, the Ty company really restructured what they were doing. And suddenly no one wanted these cute little stuffed animals called Beanie Babies. I had (I won’t say how many) 100’s of these Beanies in boxes. And couldn’t even get close to what they cost, mostly $5 or less each.

The most embarrassing part of it…

They’re still sitting in boxes in a storage unit. Anybody want a Beanie Baby? Cheap!

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Beware Latest Fads

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BEANIE BABIES
by: Anonymous

I STARTED GOING TO A LOCAL AUCTION 2 YEARS AGO,IHAVE DIFFERENT THINGS I COLLECT, BUT NEVER GOT INTO THE BEANIE BABY THING.

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Thank you
by: Anonymous

Thank you your stupidity is helping me write a research paper in my math class.

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Same Story
by: Anonymous

I'm in the UK and have nearly the same story. Here it was with the little winnie the pooh plush toys. Everybody wanted them, as soon as they were in stock they sold out. So my great idea was instead of buying just one I would buy three of each toy (they cost £7 each) wait a couple of months until nobody could get that particular pooh bear anywhere and then sell on ebay.

Didn't work. I still have about 100 of them sitting in bags in my attic. Can't give them away.

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Storage Unit?
by: Laurie

I've made similar mistakes, but you might also want to re-evaluate that storage unit if you are paying rent.

Donate the Beanies to charity for Christmas, and sort through the rest of the stuff in storage. Eliminating that payment each month will help also.

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Pertinent Post
by: Anonymous

A very pertinent post. My neighbor gave our child a box of books and toys. Among them the praying Ty Beanie Baby. I took it out of the box and to keep it in good shape, because "it may be worth something". So after reading your post, I think I can safely let little one play with it. Thanks for posting.

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