Beanie Babies - wikipedia Beanie Babies Beanie Babies Sizzle the Bear, one of many teddy bear varieties of Beanie Babies Type Stuffed toy Inventor Ty Warner Company Ty Inc. Availability 1993 -- 1999, 2000 -- present Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed animals ( a.k.a. plush toys ) created by Ty Warner, the man who founded Ty Inc. ( named in November 1991 ). The toys are unique because each toy is stuffed with plastic pellets ( `` beans '' ) rather than conventional soft stuffing ( PVC and PE ), giving Beanie Babies a more flexible feel. In a rare interview, the publicity - averse Warner said, `` The whole idea was it looked real because it moved. '' During the later half of the 1990s, the toy emerged as a major fad, and were collected not only as toys but also as a financial investment due to the high resale value of some Beanie Babies. Contents 1 History 2 Collectibility 3 Design 4 Notable Beanie Babies 4.1 Garcia the bear 4.2 Princess the bear 4.3 Decade the bear 4.4 Tabasco the bull 4.5 Peanut the Royal Blue Elephant 5 Counterfeit Beanie Babies 5.1 Cases 6 Media 7 Licensed Beanies 8 See also 9 References 10 External links History Nine original Beanie Babies were launched in 1993 : Legs the Frog, Squealer the Pig, Spot the Dog, Flash the Orca, Splash the Whale, Chocolate the Moose, Patti the Platypus, Brownie the Bear ( later renamed `` Cubbie '' ), and Pinchers the Lobster ( with some tag errors with `` Punchers '' ). They were not in factory production until 1994. Sales were slow at first to the point that by 1995 many retailers refused to buy the products in the bundles Ty offered them while others outright refused to buy them in any form. The popularity soon grew however, first starting locally in Chicago before growing into a national craze in the USA. In 1996, Ty Inc. released a new product called Teenie Beanies, a miniature offshoot of the original Beanie Babies line. They were sold alongside McDonald 's Happy Meals to celebrate that product 's 17th anniversary. Ty, Inc. stopped producing the product in December 1999, but consumer demand led them to reconsider. Production restarted in 2000 with a Beanie Baby named `` The Beginning. '' In early 2008, Ty released a new version of Beanie Babies called Beanie Babies 2.0. The purchase of a Beanie Baby 2.0 provided its owner with a code to access an online Beanie Babies interactive website. The website has since been shut down. Collectibility Beanie Babies began to emerge as popular collectibles in late 1995, and became a hot toy. The company 's strategy of deliberate scarcity, producing each new design in limited quantity, restricting individual store shipments to limited numbers of each design and regularly retiring designs, created a huge secondary market for the toys and increased their popularity and value as a collectible. Ty systematically retired various designs, and many people assumed that all `` retired '' designs would rise in value the way that early retirees had. The craze lasted through 1999 and slowly declined after the Ty company announced that they would no longer be making Beanie Babies and made a bear called `` The End ''. Some time after the original announcement that the company would stop production, Ty asked the public to vote on whether the product should continue ; fans and collectors voted `` overwhelmingly '' to keep the toys on the market. At its height of popularity people would flip Beanies at as much as ten-fold on eBay. Indeed, at the height, Beanies made up 10 % of eBay 's sales. Some collectors insured their purchases for a price in the thousands. Warner was keenly aware that the Beanie Babies bubble could burst and eventually started requiring retailers who sold Beanies to also stock other product lines by his company if they wished to continue selling Beanies. None of these lines did as well as Beanie Babies, although they kept the company alive after the fad ended and eventually some became successful in their own right. Design Beanie Babies are deliberately under stuffed. This led to a criticism that the toys looked `` cheap '' however this set them apart from most stuffed animals on the market which could not be posed easily. Ty Warner has said that this understuffing method made the toys look `` real ''. Another important design element is that of the tag. Since the beginning, Beanie Babies have included two tags for identification : a heart - shaped `` swing tag '' at the top, and a fabric `` tush tag '' at the bottom. Both tags have been redesigned completely over time. Between 1994 and 1996, the swing tags had `` To '' and `` From '' blanks in them for use as gifts. Starting in early 1996, the tags include four - line poems related to the Beanie Baby, and a date of birth for the toy. It was not uncommon for Beanie Babies to be accidentally shipped out with incorrect or misspelled tags, which sometimes increased the toy 's value. On occasion, the poems, birth dates and even the names have been changed on certain Beanie Babies. Notable Beanie Babies Garcia the bear Garcia the bear was released in January 1996 and retired in May 1997. He is a tie - dyed bear that seems to be a tribute to musician Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead who died in 1995, designed by Nicholas Scarbrough. A group of differently colored dancing bears, originally artwork from the back of an album cover, was one of the band 's many iconic images. The bear was supposedly `` born '' the date that Jerry died ( August 9, 1995 ). The fast retirement for this Beanie Baby was due to an alleged lawsuit that the Garcia family filed against the Ty company, claiming that the name `` Garcia '' was used without permission from the family. In cooperation with the lawsuit, Garcia was retired and a similar bear named Peace was released. Peace has a peace sign, while Garcia does not. The bright colors on Garcia the bear made him one of the most popular Beanie Baby styles. Princess the bear Diana, Princess of Wales died on August 31, 1997. Warner announced the Beanie Baby Princess on October 29, 1997 in honor of Princess Diana. Warner said that all proceeds would be donated to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. The Princess Diana Beanie Baby was sent to vendors to distribute in the second week of December 1997. Some vendors had to wait until February 1998. Only 12 Beanie Baby Princesses were released to each vendor initially, but this changed due to strong demand. Decade the bear Decade the bear Decade the bear was made in honor of Beanie Babies ' tenth anniversary. Decade bears were made in white, royal blue, red, purple, orange, hot pink, green, gold, brown, and light blue. Most Decade bears have silver sparkles on their bodies. It was made in 2003. Tabasco the bull Originally named after the Tabasco sauce, the name was changed to `` Snort '' to avoid trademark infringement. Tabasco has all red `` feet '' while Snort has all white. The poem stayed the same. Peanut the royal blue Elephant Peanut the Royal Blue Elephant is one of the most notable of the Beanies. It first started production in 1995 as a royal blue color. Then, Ty noticed that the fabric coloring was wrong, and that it needed to be the light blue color, so they started the light blue version and stopped the royal blue. They made the light blue until his retirement in 1999. They only made about 500 of these beanies and can go for $1500 with an original tag. Counterfeit Beanie Babies Ty copyright infringement. Photograph submitted to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on first page of the appendix depicting Ty 's Beanie Baby : `` Squealer '' ( Top ) and GMA 's stuffed animal : `` Preston the Pig '' ( Bottom ) Counterfeit Beanie Babies began to surface in 1997. Early on, cheap knock - offs and fakes of commons were widely available at discount prices. Cases Authorities cracked down on counterfeit Beanie Babies in the late 1990s. People were prosecuted for their involvement in the commerce of counterfeit Babies. In 1998, English authorities seized more than 6,000 Princesses and Britannias. In 1999, a Minnesota man was imprisoned, fined, and put on probation for involvement in smuggling counterfeit beanies. Media During the wake of Beanie Babies ' success, Beanie Baby - centric publications were issued. One of the largest was Mary Beth 's Bean Bag World, a monthly magazine dedicated to Beanie Babies and competing plush toys. This magazine ran from 1997 to 2001. Licensed Beanies In the late 2000s, Beanie Babies modeled after characters from popular children 's franchises by Nickelodeon, DreamWorks and Paramount began appearing. These included characters from cartoons on the Nickelodeon television channel such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer, as well as characters from DreamWorks Animation movies such as Shrek the Third and 20th Century Fox 's Ice Age : Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Beanie Babies have also been produced for characters from Legend of the Guardians : The Owls of Ga'Hoole and Guardians of Ga'Hoole book series. Recently Beanie Babies modeled after Disney characters have been created, including characters from the Disney Junior TV series Doc McStuffins. See also Economic bubble Tulip mania Uglydoll Sock monkey 1990s portal 2000s portal 2010s portal Toys portal References Jump up ^ Halbfinger, David M. ( 1999 - 03 - 12 ). `` On the Trail of a Beanie Burglar ''. The New York Times. ^ Jump up to : Smith, Bryan ( May 2014 ). `` Behind the Beanie Babies : The Secret Life of Ty Warner ''. Chicago Magazine. Retrieved April 26, 2014. Jump up ^ Chupka, Kevin. `` Beanie Babies : Whatever happened to Millennials ' favorite toy ? ''. Yahoo ! Finance. Yahoo. Retrieved 3 February 2016. Jump up ^ Carr, Amy ( August 14, 1997 ). `` Those Beanies are still hot, and there 's no sign of the frenze slowing down ''. Daily Herald. Punchers the red lobster. Originally introduced in 1993 at a toy fair, Punchers was redesigned in 1994 and renamed Pinchers. Jump up ^ The Perfect Store : Inside eBay via Google Books ^ Jump up to : Bissonnette, Zach. `` How A Blue Elephant Named Peanut Sparked The Beanie Baby Craze ''. Buzzfeed. Retrieved 2 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Ty Beanie Baby Beanies News ''. Aboutbeanies.com. Archived from the original on 2012 - 05 - 24. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Ty Beanie Baby Beanies News ''. Aboutbeanies.com. Archived from the original on 2012 - 03 - 11. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 03. ^ Jump up to : Berr, Johnathin. `` How the Great Beanie Baby Bubble Went Bust ''. The Fiscal Times. Retrieved 4 February 2016. Jump up ^ VanderMey, Anne. `` Lessons from the great Beanie Babies crash ''. Fortune. Retrieved 4 February 2016. ^ Jump up to : Symington, Steve. `` 3 Business Lessons From Ty Warner, the Beanie Babies Billionaire ''. Motleyfool. Retrieved 2 February 2016. Jump up ^ Dunne, Claudia ; Sara Nelson ( September 1998 ). `` Tag Training 101 ''. Mary Beth 's Bean Bag World. H&S Media Incorporated. 1 ( 7 ) : 20 -- 28. ISSN 1097 - 0444. Jump up ^ `` peacebears.com ''. magazine.peacebears.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` SUNDAY, JULY 5, 1998 : CRIME ; A World Gone Beanie Mad ! ''. The New York Times. 1998 - 07 - 05. Jump up ^ `` How A Blue Elephant Named Peanut Sparked The Beanie Baby Craze ''. Retrieved 31 August 2017. Jump up ^ Date, SUSAN DODGE ( 1998 - 01 - 09 ). `` Chicago Sun - Times : : Search ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Jump up ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-19416915.html Jump up ^ `` Couple sentenced for selling counterfeit Beanie Babies. ( NEWS ) ''. 6 August 1999. Retrieved 31 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Want The ' Scoop ' On The Beanie Industry For The Millennium ? ''. PR Newswire. 1999 - 12 - 10. Retrieved 2009 - 05 - 18. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beanie Babies. Ty official website Database of beanie babies Ty Inc. Key people Ty Warner Beanie Babies Beanie Babies 2.0 Clubby Princess Teenie Beanies Other products Beanie Buddies Ty Girlz Teddy bears Manufacturers Build - A-Bear Workshop Chad Valley J.K. Farnell Gund Ideal Toy Company Margarete Steiff GmbH Merrythought Teddy Atelier Stursberg Teddy - Hermann Ty Inc. Vermont Teddy Bear Company Types AG Bear Beanie Babies Boyds Bears Care Bears Coffee Bean Bears Forever Friends Freddy Teddy Gund Snuffles Holiday Beanie Babies Me to You Bears WereBears Museums Dorset Teddy Bear Museum Teddy bear museum Teddy Bear Museum of Naples Famous teddies Aloysius Archibald Ormsby - Gore Benjamin Bear Bamse Berlino Duffy the Disney Bear Corduroy Fozzie Bear Freddy Fazbear Grizzly Teddy Lotso Microsoft Bear Misha Nassur Nev Paddington Bear Pooky Pudsey Bear Rilakkuma Roosevelt Rupert Bear Rupert ( Family Guy ) Smokey Sooty SuperTed Teddy ( Mr. Bean ) Teddy Ruxpin Uszatek Mr Whoppit Winnie - the - Pooh Yogi Bear Film and television The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin Bear Behaving Badly Becky and Barnaby Bear Boonie Bears C Bear and Jamal Colargol Disney 's Adventures of the Gummi Bears Issi Noho Old Bear Stories Paddington The Secret World of Benjamin Bear SuperTed Ted Ted 2 Teddybears The Teddy Bear Master Teddy Edward The Upstairs Downstairs Bears The Yogi Bear Show Books Corduroy Little Bear Old Bear and Friends Teddy Dressing The Berenstain Bears Polar the Titanic Bear Uppo - Nalle Winkie Winnie - the - Pooh Music `` ( Let Me Be Your ) Teddy Bear '' `` Psycho Teddy '' `` Teddy Bears ' Picnic '' `` The Teddy Bear Song '' Video games Build - A-Bear Workshop Hubert the Teddy Bear : Winter Games Opération Teddy Bear Teddy Together Related topics The Bear Club Peter Bull Gummy bears Round and Round the Garden SGUL Teddy Bear Hospital Richard Steiff Stuffed toys Sudanese blasphemy case Teddybear Airdrop Minsk 2012 Teddy bear parachuting Teddy Bear Review Teddy bear toss Teddy Grahams Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beanie_Babies&oldid=835128148 '' Categories : Beanie Babies 1990s fads and trends 1990s toys 2000s toys 2010s toys Children 's websites Products introduced in 1993 Stuffed toys Toy animals Toy collecting Virtual pets Virtual reality communities Economic bubbles Hidden categories : Pages using deprecated image syntax Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Esperanto 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 6 April 2018, at 18 : 45. 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Question: when did the first beanie baby come out
Answer: 1993