For some, Beanie Baby hunt is still on

Published 9:00 pm Monday, October 13, 2003

Erin, Maple, Valentine, Peace and Glory.

If you recognize those names as famous Beanie Babies, you probably were on the hunt six years ago, during the height of the craze, for the beloved stuffed creatures. If you recognize Angeline, Baby Camper and Beasley, perhaps you are still collecting the critters.

As a person out of the original Beanie loop, I wondered what ever happened to all of those obsessed shoppers and their loot. I knew they still sold Beanie Babies, but you don’t have to line up to get them.

MaryLynne Barber, owner of Abby’s Cards and Gifts in Edmonds, no longer has to keep Beanie Babies under cover until they make it to the display shelf.

"They were so popular, we would get say 20 cases of them, check them in, try to keep it a secret until we were ready to put them out," Barber said. "We would have a sign that said ‘No Beanies’ then we would rush and take the sign down."

Within half an hour, she would have 20 Beanie Babies shoppers jammed in her store.

"They would fight over them," Barber said. "They were a tremendous headache."

However, Barber said she made a profit on the sales. Her store gets about half a dozen new models each month.

"They aren’t blowing out of here," Barber said. "People don’t worry about getting one."

Barber has about 10 Beanies herself, just ones that appealed to her. For Patty Sherman of Everett, 10 Beanie Babies was just a drop in the bucket.

Sherman has two garbage cans full of the animals, and others displayed around her living room.

"I was one of those who stood in line," Sherman said. "Now I’m trying to fill in the collection."

If you ever drove by a store those years ago and saw all ages lined up at 6 a.m., it was a Beanie crowd. They followed tips hither and yon, traveled in secret packs to potential locations, trying to secure new issues from Ty. There was an underground railroad of rumors.

Above ground, there were Beanie Babie shows and swap meets. Folks advertised to buy and sell in newspapers and on the Internet. Big players went after targets in Europe as some bears were sold exclusively overseas.

McDonald’s got into the fray, too, offering Teenie Beanie Babies with Happy Meals.

"I loved collecting those Teenies," said Denise Smith of Everett. "When they stopped, they said they were going to come out with them again."

She would journey to 18 different McDonalds to get the whole collection, Smith said. If she missed one, she would backtrack. She has a living room filled with Teddy bears.

Tons of Beanie Babies are for sale on eBay where I contacted some sellers. Elke Morrison from Phoenix, Ariz., said she used to collect Beanie Babies for her two daughters.

"As they got older, they did not have the interest, time and space to continue," Morrison said. "I still collect beanies for myself, but the intrigue is definitely not what it was a few years ago."

She said it is near to impossible to sell Beanies for what she paid for them. She said on eBay, Beanies that once sold for $20 now go for a dollar.

"Around Christmas time sales pick up," Davis said. "The only ones that are really selling for big bucks are the original 15 which you hardly ever see, even on eBay. I can honestly say that sales are nowhere near where they would have been four years ago."

Davis said she got hooked on the hobby when she bought her first Beanie for her daughter.

"It was love at first sight," Davis said. "Why do I do this? I don’t know when the moment happened, you know, the one between a hobby and total obsession."

Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com