How and Where to Sell Beanie Babies: 14 Best Options

Yes, you can make money by selling old Beanie Babies. However, it’s important to be realistic about how much you can make.

Since a lot of people bought Beanie Babies and kept them in good condition, they’re still common today, meaning most of them don’t have much resale value. They’re not worthless, but very few of them are worth the thousands of dollars that people expected back in 1999.

How much do most Beanie Babies sell for?

Beanie Babies in mint or “like new” condition often sell for $5–$20. That’s a bit more than their original retail prices; when they were new, Beanie Babies often sold for around $5.

The main factors that affect how much you can sell your Beanie Babies for are:

• Whether they have their tags: Beanie Babies that still have their original tags are much more valuable than those that don’t. Without tags, you’ll be lucky to get more than $0.25 for each plush.
• What condition they’re in: If your Beanie Babies are worn, creased, or have stains or discolored fur, that greatly decreases their value.
• Whether they’re limited edition: Common Beanie Babies aren’t worth much, but special and limited edition ones fetch better prices.

The value of Beanie Babies varies considerably from toy to toy. Fortunately, there are ways to determine how much yours are worth.

Checking Beanie Baby resale prices on eBay

One of the easiest ways to value your Beanie Babies is to check what other people are paying for them, which is easily done by looking up each item on eBay. Follow these steps:

1. Check each Beanie Baby’s name

You can find this on the heart-shaped “hang tag” attached to the plush. (As noted, if your Beanie Baby doesn’t have the tag attached, it won’t have much value, so going through these steps won’t be worth it.)

2. Search for the Beanie Baby on eBay

Navigate to eBay’s homepage, type your plush’s name into the search bar at the top, and hit “Enter” or “Search.”

3. Filter for sold items

Sellers are free to set whatever prices on eBay that they choose. Unfortunately, this means that many Beanie Babies are priced unrealistically—often because their owners read in a guide that $200 is a fair price and they created a listing accordingly, even though no one is actually willing to pay that.

To find realistic prices, narrow your search to only show sold items. On the sidebar on the left, scroll down to “Show only,” click “Completed Items,” and then click “Sold Items.”

4. Figure out the average sale price

The prices you see at this point will probably cluster around a median value (e.g., you may see listings from $5–$11). You don’t need to calculate the exact mean or median. Just scroll for long enough that you have a general sense of what this Beanie Baby typically resells for.

5. Repeat the process for the rest of your collection

That’s essentially it. Once you’ve figured out how to price one Beanie Baby, you should understand how to price them all. Just perform the same research process with the rest of your collection and write down the prices.

Using Beanie Baby pricing guides

There are several pricing guides for Beanie Babies floating around, with the most well-known being the aptly named Beanie Babies Price Guide, which costs $10. This guide is legitimate and is updated yearly by the admins, who are collectors themselves.

It’s a well-regarded guide in the online Beanie Baby community (which, believe it or not, is a real thing). The admins also run a Beanie Baby collection Facebook group where you can connect with other collectors.

You don’t absolutely need a pricing guide to value your Beanie Babies. However, if you have a large collection to sell, getting their guide will give you a decent foundation of knowledge and get you off to a good start. You can use it to confirm your findings when you check prices on eBay using the method described above.

Below, we’ve listed quite a few selling apps and websites that you can use to offload your Beanie Babies. Keep the following in mind as you compare them:

• Fees and costs: Pay attention to platform fees, such as listing and selling fees, shipping costs, and payment processing fees. Also, watch out for discounts; some platforms offer them on shipping rates and labels, particularly if you sell an order of a certain size.
• Audience reach: Think about which selling platform will attract your target demographic (hardcore collectors vs. casual enthusiasts), and how many potential buyers use the platform.
• Shipping and handling: Check out what kind of shipping options your platform supports, such as international shipping and package protection. Some platforms require you to ship your sales within a certain timeframe, so consider if you’ll be able to pack and ship your items within the limit.
• Payment methods: It’s best to choose a platform that offers convenient payment methods for both you and buyers. Secure payment methods like PayPal reduce the likelihood of fraud and protect everyone involved.

Regardless of what platform you pick, a crucial tip for selling online successfully is to write detailed descriptions and fill your listings with high-resolution photos to highlight the condition your items are in (regardless of whether it’s good or bad). This will make customers more confident in buying from you and more likely to leave good reviews when they do.

If you want to sell your Beanie Babies quickly and with as little stress as possible, sign up for a specialized marketplace that deals in this type of item in bulk.

These sites generally pay less than you’ll be able to get if you sell your items individually. However, they’re great options if you need money fast and just don’t want to go through the trouble of selling your plushies one-by-one on a platform like eBay.

They’ll generally pay as soon as they evaluate your items.

1. PlushCollector

PlushCollector traffics almost exclusively in Beanie Babies and related plushies, although they do accept other toys that meet their condition standards. 1

As the platform is focused on Beanie Babies, you can easily determine the value of your items through their selling page. You can list your items on this platform in bulk. You need a minimum of 250 mint-condition Beanie Babies to do this.

Since PlushCollector accepts whole collections, it’s a good choice for sellers who don’t want to list each item individually. Just make sure that the items you want to sell comply with their condition policies.

If you want to sell auctioning collectibles that aren’t listed on PlushCollector’s website, you can email them at sales@plushcolldev.wpengine.com for details. You must include the following information in your email:

• Manufacturer’s make and model
• Total count of each model
• UPC barcode (if available)
• Asking price

Tips for selling on PlushCollector

• Use the site’s appraisal resources: Assess the value of your collection before you list it. PlushCollector has a section on their site to help you value your Beanie Babies.
• Follow their guidelines: Be sure to follow PlushCollector’s instructions for sellers to avoid snags in the selling process.

2. Sell2BBNovelties

Sell2BBNovelties is a specialized purchaser of toys and games that buys entire Beanie Baby collections.

As another bulk-selling option, Sell2BBNovelties allows you to offload your Beanie Babies quickly, without needing to wait for a buyer. However, the platform requires Beanie Babies to be in “mint (or like new) condition.” 2

Tips for selling on Sell2BBNovelties

• Check the buy list: Compare your collection against Sell2BBNovelties’ buy lists to make sure they’ll accept your items. They maintain two lists, one for only Beanie Babies and another that includes other Ty products. Their lists change weekly.
• Package carefully: Take care when packaging your Beanie Babies to prevent damage during shipping, which could disqualify them.

3. Sell4Value

Like the other bulk-selling platforms on this list, Sell4Value isn’t the option you want to go with if you want to get the most money possible for your toys (particularly if you have rare Beanie Babies that might be worth more), but it’s a speedy and convenient option.

Keep in mind that Sell4Value only purchases ornaments from Hallmark and Disney Store Plush and Walt Disney Classic Collection figurines from Disney. In addition, they don’t accept the following items from Ty: Pillow Pals, Teenie Beanies, Ty Gear, Attic Treasures, and Ty Kids & Boppers.

Here are Sell4Value’s three pricing structures and the correlating shipping costs:

• Individual pricing: These are items listed with buy prices, and you must only place one order per box when shipping them. They’ll provide one prepaid label if your item exceeds $35; to qualify for multiple labels, you must follow the shipping guidelines detailed on their FAQ page.
• Variable pricing: Sell4Value hasn’t established buy prices for certain items and brands yet. In such cases, they’ll conduct market research for your items to offer you a quote and determine whether your orders qualify for free shipping.
• Bulk pricing: Bulk orders are paid a set price per piece. Whether or not you qualify for free shipping is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Tips for selling on Sell4Value

• Save your high-value Beanie Babies: If you sell in bulk on Sell4Value, they’ll only pay $0.50 per item. This makes them a decent choice for offloading very common Beanie Babies, but not rarer, more valuable ones.
• Check your items’ condition: Follow Sell4Value’s condition requirements to ensure they’ll accept your toys.

Online marketplaces offer much larger customer bases for Beanie Baby sellers than niche sites, and you won’t need to meet the same stringent quality standards to sell.

However, it will probably be more work for you to offload your Beanie Babies on these platforms—the websites won’t buy your collection in bulk, so you’ll have to advertise a little and find interested buyers.

4. eBay

A classic choice for selling secondhand items, eBay is probably the most famous online marketplace in the world. It lets you sell with fixed prices or create auction-style listings, according to your preference. 3

Since eBay is a well-recognized platform with millions of active users across the globe, you’ll significantly increase your chances of finding buyers by listing your items on it. It’s also a great place to see how other sellers price their Beanie Babies, which will give you a better idea of how to price yours.

An important thing to know if you want to sell on eBay is that you can list 250 items each month without paying the $0.35 insertion fee mentioned in the selling fee above. If you sell more than that, you’ll have to pay.

Tips for selling on eBay

• Strategize on shipping: As an eBay seller, you can set your own shipping costs. Do some research into what people usually charge for domestic and international orders and set your rates accordingly.
• Be transparent: You’re more likely to make sales on eBay if customers think you’re genuine, which you can do by creating detailed item descriptions (highlighting any issues or wear and tear). Consider uploading a photo of yourself to your profile, which will make you seem more trustworthy and personable.

5. Etsy

The craftier cousin of eBay, Etsy is not only one of the most popular platforms to sell handmade items but also a great place to sell vintage and collectible items. It offers exposure to a different audience of Beanie Baby enthusiasts—people who are interested in them for nostalgic reasons and are fans of collectibles from yesteryear.

Etsy has fewer users than eBay, but it’s still a very popular website, and many of its customers are particularly avid. This is a great option if you have rare Beanie Babies that you think you can sell for better-than-average prices.

You can start selling on Etsy and brand yourself as a Beanie Baby seller by using its storefront customization tools to create banners, carousels, and collages.

Tips for selling on Etsy

• Highlight special features: Focus on rarer toys, especially any that have special features that will attract the attention of collectors.
• Consider customizing your items: In addition to vintage goods, Etsy is also a marketplace for DIY products. If you’re a crafty sort, consider adding your own embellishments to Beanie Babies that you otherwise wouldn’t expect to sell for much and mark up their prices accordingly.

6. Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is Facebook’s selling platform. It connects users who want to sell stuff locally, whether that’s handmade items, secondhand goods, or something else.

As a seller, you get complete control over your listings, and can communicate directly with customers.

Most of the time, you’ll sell to people who live nearby. This will save you from the costs, logistics, and labor of shipping. By dealing with clients directly, you can also finalize sales more quickly.

Promoting your listings and reaching out to buyers is relatively easy on Facebook Marketplace, since it’s integrated into a social media platform with a huge base of users.

Tips for selling on Facebook Marketplace

• Join selling groups: Raise your visibility by joining local buy, sell, and trade groups where people may be on the lookout for Beanie Babies.
• Be safe when selling locally: Use secure payment methods for your transactions, and if you sell to people in your neighborhood, meet them in public locations.

7. Amazon

Amazon needs no introduction. As one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, its massive range can’t be overstated, and it’s a viable option for selling nearly anything, including Beanie Babies.

Again, Amazon’s huge audience is one of the biggest advantages of selling your Beanie Babies there. Listing on Amazon gives buyers greater confidence that your items are legitimate and that their order will be shipped quickly.

You can also use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to pass packing, shipping, and customer service onto the platform itself. 4

Tips for selling on Amazon

• Follow Amazon’s policies: Familiarize yourself with Amazon’s listing and selling policies to avoid having your account penalized. Amazon isn’t particularly tricky to use, but there are a few pitfalls for the unaware (e.g., you’re generally only allowed to have one Amazon selling account).

8. Craigslist

Craigslist is another great option if you’re looking to sell locally, as it connects you with buyers in your area, and you can sell almost anything on the platform, from furniture to electronics to, yes, beanie babies. If you prefer operating on your mobile phone, you can download either the original Craigslist app or CPlus Classifieds, an upgraded version with extra features.

As you can see above, the downside of Craigslist is that it also won’t do anything to facilitate the transaction for you. You’ll need to arrange your payment with the buyer on your own. However, since you won’t pay any listing fees or commissions on your Beanie Baby sales, you get to take home the full profits.

Craigslist’s simplicity also enables you to create listings quickly and easily, but, again, it doesn’t offer many bells and whistles for advertising. This is a no-frills local selling platform, with all of the advantages and disadvantages you’d expect from that.

Tips for selling on Craigslist

• Respond promptly: Buyers on Craigslist generally expect fast responses to their offers, so keep an eye on your inbox.
• Watch out for scams: Unfortunately, there are a lot of scammers on Craigslist, so keep an eye out for suspicious emails claiming to come from them, always meet in public places (with a friend or relative, if possible), and prioritize cash payments over checks or transfers.

9. OfferUp

OfferUp is a mobile-oriented platform that’s meant for local transactions.

Buyers on OfferUp are free to make offers rather than sticking to prices set by sellers. The app uses location data from your phone to match you with nearby customers.

As one of Craigslist’s competitors, OfferUp offers many of the same advantages for local transactions, and it lets you sell a wide variety of items as well, including jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. However, it has more bells and whistles, such as user ratings for both buyers and sellers, and in-app payment methods.

Tips for selling on OfferUp

• Solicit reviews from buyers: Encourage your buyers to leave positive reviews to give your profile a leg up on your competition.
• Consider promoting your listings: As on many other platforms, paying to boost your listings on OfferUp will expose you to more potential buyers.
• Don’t be afraid to negotiate: Haggling is part of the culture on OfferUp. Go in with a reasonable initial price and a floor price you won’t dip below. Try to get the best deal possible. 5

10. Mercari

Another sell-anything platform, Mercari gives buyers the option to either make their own offer or buy an item immediately for the seller’s listed price. You can download the Mercari app for iOS or Android to create listings and sell on the go.

Mercari’s prepaid shipping labels come with automatic shipping protection. You can get up to $200 in coverage for local deliveries, Media Mail (shipping for books, movies, and records), and packages shipped with standard or economy shipping. You can also get up to $20 in coverage for damaged or lost First Class Envelopes. 6

Note that the selling fee structure we listed above is the updated version. Any listing created before March 27, 2024, is subject to the old version, which is 10% of the item price, plus 2.9% of the sales price and $0.50 per sale.

Tips for selling on Mercari

• Price your items competitively: Besides researching your competitors’ prices, take advantage of Mercari’s “Smart Pricing” feature, which automatically adjusts your prices according to demand. 7
• Ship promptly: Mercari requires packages to be shipped within three business days of a sale, but shipping as soon as possible can net you positive reviews.

If none of the platforms above suit you—or if you just aren’t a fan of e-commerce in general—check out local markets in your area. Going off-app requires more legwork, but it’s a viable option for people who prefer to do things the old-fashioned way.

You can sell Beanie Babies at:

11. Flea markets

Setting up shop at a flea market could be a more successful strategy for selling your Beanie Babies than you might think. Seeing your items in person rather than online may sway otherwise uninterested buyers.

Your potential customers at flea markets will range from hardcore collectors to nostalgic ‘90s kids to parents who are just looking for affordable toys. You can sell directly to them without having to worry about shipping.

Tips for selling at flea markets

• Prepare your station: Bring a box to keep your earnings in, as well as bags for your buyers’ items. Make sure you have change on hand. It’s also a good idea to have a calculator.
• Make an attractive display: Clear, colorful signage and a well-organized display will set you apart from other sellers. Don’t be afraid to get creative with this.
• Have a pricing strategy: Customers at flea markets sometimes enjoy haggling. Set competitive prices, but leave room for negotiation.

12. Garage sales

Hosting a garage sale is one of the lowest-effort ways to offload your Beanie Babies, since aside from advertising (which you can do cheaply and easily), you don’t need to do much to set up one.

Yard sales will attract people in your local area. Most of them probably won’t be Beanie Baby aficionados, but some might be collectors who tend to trawl multiple sales each weekend.

It’s also a good chance to declutter your house and sell used books, old equipment, and any other unused items that are just lying around your house collecting dust at your garage sale.

Tips for selling at garage sales

• Advertise online: Don’t just rely on physical flyers. Promoting your garage sale on social media, local community boards, or in the Garage Sale section on Craigslist will help you reach more buyers.
• Set clear prices: As with flea markets, it’s important to make sure each item has a clearly visible price tag, although you should still stay open to negotiation, especially when people buy in bulk.

13. Pawn shops

Beanie babies are probably one of the many things you didn’t know you could pawn. It’s a great way to get rid of them quickly and get an immediate valuation. However, the catch is that you’re unlikely to get much money from them; pawn shops tend to pay below-market rates.

Some will also reject your toys outright, since most pawn shops traffic in higher-value items.

However, if you do find an interested proprietor and you’re willing to accept their price, this selling avenue is simple and easy. All you need to do is show up with your Beanie Babies—there are no online profiles to create or buyer messages to manage.

Tips for selling at pawn shops

• Know your items’ value: It won’t hurt to get an idea of what your collection is worth before you visit the pawn shop so that you can evaluate the fairness of their offer.
• Don’t be afraid to negotiate: Compared to online platforms and individual collectors, pawn shops typically make lower offers. Come in prepared to negotiate for a better price. If the shop’s policy is that all offers are final, be prepared to walk away if they don’t offer enough.

14. Retail stores

Some Beanie Baby selling guides recommend reaching out to local retail stores. It’s possible you’ll find one that you can consign your collection to, although there are no guarantees here.

Tips for selling at retail stores

Check out the following places if you’re looking for retail avenues for consigning your Beanie Babies:

• Collectible or antique shops: Most of these shops are unlikely to accept Beanie Babies, which aren’t old enough yet to count as genuine antiques. However, if you have limited edition items, you could try looking for a store on Ruby Lane, an online antiques marketplace that allows these shops to sell their inventory to buyers all over the US.
• Toy stores: Toy stores sometimes partner with independent sellers of collectible and vintage toys. You could check whether any toy stores near you accept Beanie Babies and other Ty plushes.