Are people still paying obscene amounts of money for “rare and collector edition” Beanie babies?
I use them as the example because they are the last fad I can remember that went way over the top. Weren’t some of these things going for hundreds of dollars each? Are they still as valuable today?
I don’t count the seasonal fads like Tickle Me Elmo and whatever that interactive stuffed animal/alien was called becasue that was more of supply shortage just in time for Holiday shopping season.
Are there any other fads that you remember getting carried away and now have either no value/interest or have maintained or increased value/interest? FYI, I don’t count sports cards/memorabliia in this either.
Well, a lot of the Beanie frenzy has died down, especially the media frenzy, but they’re still out there, although generally speaking the prices have come down from their “obscene” levels.
My white-haired old mother, whose TV watching habits are not what you’d call cutting edge, took a fancy to watching Weakest Link every night. WL, you will recall, was white-hot popular not too long ago. Its host, Ann Robinson, became an overnight star.
Well, much to my mom’s disappointment, about two weeks ago WL was no longer in its usual time slot and she could not find it anymore. Don’t fret, I told her, I’ll do a web search to see where it’s gone.
Well, WL has been banished to the 2:00 a.m. slot! How the mighty have fallen.
Sure - in books. Within collecting first editions, there is a “category” called “hypermoderns” - basically, it means collecting best sellers while they are still on the best seller list (my definition - others may describe it differently).
Some books may hold their value - the general consensus is that Harry Potter Book #1 in the first UK edition will always command a large price. Is it worth the $25,000 it seems to be going for now? Time will tell - but it probably won’t come crashing down, just settle into a lower (but still high) price point.
Other Hypermoderns, though, crash like Icarus. The Bridges of Madison County (ugh) was going for $300 - 400 at the height of its popularity. Now, if it sells for $25, that’s pretty good.
Every year, there is a book or two that get hot - especially if it is the author’s first book or the author was not popular before, either way increasing the chance that the printing was small. This year, it’s The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. Cold Mountain, Snow Falling on Cedars and Angela’s Ashes are similar. AA seems to have held some value ($300 or so) but Snow is not nearly as pricey and Cold - people are waiting for the movie…
That would be the Furby, whose official site continues to feature an announcement that the lovable critter is a contender in the 2000 USA presidential election:
Proof that speculation in wildly overpriced commodities predates Beanie Babies and baseball cards is provided in this account of the Netherlands tulip boom of the 17th century:
Back in the Height of the Magic: The Gathering frenzy, before they saturated the market with endless expansions and re-releasing old cards there were a number of cards that commanded ridiculous prices and this was something you could buy for about $3-$5 in a booster pack. At one time.
Anyway, the card was called the “Black Lotus” and at its height probably went for about $500 US and the assorted Mox Jewel cards went for about $200 each.
Prices have crashed considerably, but I think they still command a fair dollar value.
I’d like to chime in that this really isn’t the best example. For one thing, according to the guide at http://www.magictraders.com/pricelists/current-magic , Black Lotuses in the Alpha expansion still command a price at over $500. Prices really haven’t crashed, as the game has retained a strong degree of popularity, and in fact I believe it has become more popular.
My wife and I had a casual interest in Beanie Babies when they started taking off but before they were obscenely popular. We liked them not as an investment, but they were original- where else can you find a stuffed echidna? We started rolling our eyes around the time the ‘Princess Di’ purple one came out- people were shelling out hundreds for them, as only one per store wre released. Afterward, week by week, we watched the people at the auction stands try to hawk the 'Dis- Starting at $150, next week $100, etc. The market had hit bottom, and people were left feeling silly for paying so much for a fad as Diana beanies are as common as curd.