# Beanie Babies were never sold in Toys R Us or large chain stores? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009 "2011-03-25T21:34:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/1 "2011-03-25T21:34:01Z")
[This article claims](http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/8-ridiculous-ideas-made-people-ridiculously-rich-20110322-154408-053.html) that Beanie Babies were never sold in Toys R Us. Is this true? > [@](#): > > Fill a sack with beans, give it furry ears, and name it something cute like Patti the Platypus or Splash the Whale. The result? A toy empire bigger than Hasbro and Mattel combined—Beanie Babies. While many initially scoffed at Ty’s under-stuffed animals and referred to them as ‘roadkill,’ the haters were quickly hushed when 30,000 were sold at the first toy show in Atlanta. > > The way Ty Warner built his empire is remarkable. He never advertised his products or sold them in major chain stores, like Toys-R-Us. This made the toys harder to obtain and thus more desirable. In addition, Ty would retire certain models after the initial stock-run had sold out, making the few that existed prized possessions. > > Call it a scam, but Ty’s line of collectibles created the most insane fad frenzy of all time, and he now sits on billions. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/2 "2011-03-25T21:39:40Z")
Yes ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/3 "2011-03-25T21:41:26Z")
True. You could only buy them in smaller specialty shops. It created a mystique and helped drive up the price on the “hard to find” animals. Of course, you can still buy beanie babies. They just aren’t as popular as they were in the 90’s. They are perfect for what they were originally intended: little stuffed friends for kids to play with and fall asleep with. We have nearly a dozen of the suckers around here, most purchased for $1 at the flea market. A couple of them I did buy brand new. They are cute after all. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/4 "2011-03-25T21:44:53Z")
We have one. It’s a little elephant that keeps the Ogreling company in the car. We thought it was perfect. He has no use for it, and throws it away when we hand it to him. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/5 "2011-03-25T22:24:51Z")
I’ve only ever seen 'em at McDonalds, the _pulga_, or in my great-aunt’s spare bedroom. She was pretty sure they’d be worth many thousands of dollars by now. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/6 "2011-03-26T00:32:37Z")
Hallmark stores sold them. That and places at the mall(stands and stuff). ---
**Author:** ![Oldeb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ea666f/32.png) [@Oldeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oldeb)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/7 "2011-03-26T01:30:15Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Hallmark stores sold them. I’m wondering why this doesn’t count as a major chain store for the article. Is it because they’re privately owned? According to their website they average a net income of around $4 billion and have over 40,000 stores. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/9 "2011-03-26T13:16:01Z")
Hallmark is definitely a large retailer. I guess you get to write what you want when you’re the author and the facts be damned. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/10 "2011-03-26T14:00:06Z")
It’s not really a place that you’d think of as a toy-seller, though. Chain department/big box stores are. Similarly, McDonald’s is a huge chain but Ty only had occasional Beanie Baby promos. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/11 "2011-03-26T14:19:20Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Hallmark is definitely a large retailer. I guess you get to write what you want when you’re the author and the facts be damned. Actually, my point was that Hallmark(the stores) is not a large toy chain. They sell gift stuff and I guess Beanie Babies were available at gift shops. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/12 "2011-03-26T14:49:26Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Actually, my point was that Hallmark(the stores) is not a large toy chain. They sell gift stuff and I guess Beanie Babies were available at gift shops. The word toy was important there. ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/13 "2011-03-27T09:09:05Z")
I remember seeing them sold in Nordstrom. It’s not a toy retailer, but being carried in a place like that would not make it hard to obtain, as the writer suggests. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/14 "2011-03-27T09:49:23Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > I’ve only ever seen 'em at McDonalds, the _pulga_, or in my great-aunt’s spare bedroom. She was pretty sure they’d be worth many thousands of dollars by now. At the height of BeanieMania, my nephew had a bunch of them and a collector guide. He would tell us how much they were “worth” while we explained they were only worth what someone would pay him for them. He never understood that point and continued to hoard the things. I think he’s somewhat disappointed he’s had to take out loans for his college tuition and instead of a fortune, he just has a collection of stuffed toys that might bring him a buck each at a flea market… ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beanie-babies-were-never-sold-in-toys-r-us-or-large-chain-stores/576009/15 "2011-03-27T13:10:02Z")
> [@lshaw](#): > > I remember seeing them sold in Nordstrom. It’s not a toy retailer, but being carried in a place like that would not make it hard to obtain, as the writer suggests. They were also at Walgreens. Ty just kept them out of Toys R Us/Target/Walmart (and I’m not even convinced they did that). At the height of the craze, you could get them anywhere BUT Big Toy Retailers.