But local retailers, who feature them on their store shelves, said the toy caught the eye of collectors about a year ago. Since then, the Beanie Baby Collectibles craze has skyrocketed. Some collectors want all of them. Some want just dogs or cats or the sea animals. Dill said while adult women make up the greatest percentage of collectors, their male counterparts aren't far behind.
Children rank last when it comes to collecting the toys.
Williams said she was bitten by the collecting bug after her daughter received a Beanie Baby as a Christmas gift from her grandmother. Williams spread the collecting bug to her sister, her coworkers and friends. At first we were all just trying to get one of every one of them. Now we're trying to get those that we still don't have, those that have been retired and, of course, the new ones that will be coming out. Williams said she and her collector friends even have a shopping network that reaches from Ardmore to Durant to Ada to Oklahoma City.