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The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute

Zac Bissonnette (Goodreads Author)

3.89 · Rating details · 1,811 ratings · 361 reviews

In the annals of consumer crazes, nothing compares to Beanie Babies. With no advertising or big-box distribution, creator Ty Warner - an eccentric college dropout - become a billionaire in just three years. And it was all thanks to collectors.

The end of the craze was just as swift and extremely devastating, with "rare" Beanie Babies deemed worthless as quickly as they'd on ...more

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Hardcover, 260 pages

Published March 3rd 2015 by Penguin (first published November 4th 2014)

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Dec 24, 2015 Justin Tate rated it it was amazing

Business buffs, pop culture fanatics, Beanie Baby collectors, historians, and anyone looking for a good read will find plenty to enjoy in this exposé!

As someone who specifically remembers the long McDonald’s lines and aggressive sleuthing of new shipments to Hallmark stores, the story behind Ty Warner’s billion-dollar empire and how Beanie Babies became a cultural phenomenon is one that glued me to the page. Even now Ty, Inc. remains a secretive operation. This book is the only trustworthy journ Business buffs, pop culture fanatics, Beanie Baby collectors, historians, and anyone looking for a good read will find plenty to enjoy in this exposé!

As someone who specifically remembers the long McDonald’s lines and aggressive sleuthing of new shipments to Hallmark stores, the story behind Ty Warner’s billion-dollar empire and how Beanie Babies became a cultural phenomenon is one that glued me to the page. Even now Ty, Inc. remains a secretive operation. This book is the only trustworthy journalism I’ve come across to find reliable sources willing to speak about internal Beanie shenanigans.

Many burning questions get answered, such as how it all started, how prices became inflated, and how it all suddenly burst. We also get a clear image of Ty, the brain behind the machine, how he manipulated the frenzy, and how the frenzy manipulated itself.

What I love most is that this book doesn’t ridicule Beanie obsession. Bissonnette and I are the same age, and it’s clear we share similar fond memories of Beanie mania. I suspect many collectors were secretly glad after the bubble popped and prices fell to nothing. It provided an excuse to hang on to their collection for a while longer, until, maybe, there is a resurgence.

The way I see it, collecting Beanie Babies was never just about making a profit. It wasn’t an impersonal business investment, such as playing the stock market. Those plushies were damn cute and snuck into your heart, whether you liked it or not.

Ty himself was unusually devoted to his craft. Among the book’s many highlights are lengthy chapters describing the artistic endeavors that went into each toy. We see Ty as a kind of mad scientist, mixing fabrics and level of PVC pellets insanely, until the perfect creation is discovered. Sometimes many drafts of a Beanie were produced, unintentionally resulting rare variations for collectors to obsess over.

And like a mad scientist, Ty burnt many bridges with those closest to him. Obsession, greed, artistic disagreements, and other drama all resulted in lost relationships as he delved deeper and deeper into his work.

All in all, the book is a great escape back into the '90s and a fascinating portrait of one of the most unique and successful business operations in history. Highly recommended! ...more

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May 27, 2020 Lex Kent rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction

3.50 Stars. For some reason I get random cravings for nonfiction books every once in a while. When this book popped up on my feed, I kept thinking about it. While I was aware of the Beanie craze, I was more of the sidelines when it happened and I never truly understood why? So I figured this might be an interesting read.

I had recently turned 14 and had just started at a new school. Suddenly I was around all these new kids and I quickly developed my first girl crush (at least my first girl crush 3.50 Stars. For some reason I get random cravings for nonfiction books every once in a while. When this book popped up on my feed, I kept thinking about it. While I was aware of the Beanie craze, I was more of the sidelines when it happened and I never truly understood why? So I figured this might be an interesting read.

I had recently turned 14 and had just started at a new school. Suddenly I was around all these new kids and I quickly developed my first girl crush (at least my first girl crush that wasn’t on Sarah Michelle Geller or another celebrity) on a girl named Jennifer. I remember being so excited the first time I got invited to Jennifer’s house. I walked into a formal dining room with a giant table that was covered with Beanie Babies, so many with no room to spare. I remember asking Jen just what is all this? Well, I soon found out, after Jen’s mother entered the room, that this collection of plush toys was much more Jen’s mother’s collection than her own. What are these animals that had mom’s going crazy? Well let’s just say I learned a lot about Beanies being Jennifer’s friend, and wanting to make a good impression on her mother of course. But even being Jennifer’s friend, and even getting a few Beanies as gifts, I still never truly understood the obsession.

This book was very informative. While Ty himself only spoke a few words to the author, he was able to talk to the people closest to Ty, many of his employees, and the biggest of collectors. Bissonnette was really able to lay out just how the craze happened, how people got carried away, how it became all about the money and not the kids, and finally how and when the bubble burst. I feel like now I finally understand, at least more than I ever did, and that’s what I wanted out of reading this book.

The biggest thing to take away from this book, is that Ty Warner is a flaming asshole. I felt so badly for exes, family members, ex-employees and even children he should have been a second father too. He treated people like crap and got away with it. This book is definitely frustrating in parts. While this book is well reported and well written, the 3.50 rating is more about my enjoyment and it’s hard at times to enjoy a book about an asshole. There were also a few times that I thought the book dragged and I did think it ran a little long in the end, but I would say it’s a slightly above average non-fiction read.

If you were like me and didn’t understand the Beanie craze, or even if you got a bit wrapped up into it, I think you would find this interesting. This book really portrays the craze well including the biggest players and behind the scenes of what really went on.
...more

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Mar 06, 2015 Alicia rated it it was amazing

The mom and pop shop that sold these things in my hometown was staffed by two ugly old bitches who hoarded them and only sold to their hag friends, breaking my brothers heart as he fumbled to build a collection. I take solace in the fact that they probably lost a fortune by jumping on that bandwagon when it reached Medicine Hat, Alberta - long after the Chicago soccer mums made it big. To those twats, I say "See you next Tuesday, you twisted trolls! I hope that ratchet Diana bear was worth the t ...more

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Mar 13, 2015 Gavin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: write-eloquently

Recipe for Fascinating Sadness:

1 mistreated child
2 misguided women
1,000,000 acres of plush
50,000,000 innocent suburban children
50,000,000 obsessive suburban parents
10,000,000,000 dollars
infinite financial optimism

Let child stew in his own thoughts until he reaches entrepreneurial adulthood. Add women one by one, taking care to make sure they do not mix. With great attention fold in the plush, slowly at first but more quickly as the p(l)ot comes to a boil. Add innocent children and instantly remo

Recipe for Fascinating Sadness:

1 mistreated child
2 misguided women
1,000,000 acres of plush
50,000,000 innocent suburban children
50,000,000 obsessive suburban parents
10,000,000,000 dollars
infinite financial optimism

Look away until mixture thickens and bubbles. Pop the bubble, remove from heat, and throw away.

Serves: 0

This story is crazed; this story is real. Born in 1988 I am unfortunately old enough to remember the Beanie Baby hysteria. I was also just old enough at the time to understand the concept of money, and the money involved in this speculative nightmare is almost too outrageous to be believed. The first TV news I ever remember watching was about maniacal pajama-clad women throwing away uneaten Happy Meals at McDonalds to get the Teenie Beanie prize. Absolute unadulterated chaos. This is the world we live in.

Bissonnette's prose is unadorned but descriptive, and every once in a while chuckle-inducingly wry. I'm impressed he wasn't even more tongue-in-cheek with such an inane topic. He deftly weaves the personal backstories of Ty Warner and his peripheral cast with the events of the Beanie Baby boom and eventual bust (words which I still feel stupid typing in reference to stuffed animals). He interviews family members, ephemeral employees, and a score of collectors. He frames the craze within the context of other famous bubbles including Dutch tulip mania in the 1630s, the Franklin Mint, and the Internet stock fallout. I believe more firmly than ever that there truly is nothing new under the sun, and I am strangely comforted. I was transfixed from the first page, and I thank the author for writing a book that needed to be written not necessarily for the history but for the philosophical questions it raises.

...more

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Jan 28, 2018 Lauren rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio-book

Well, this was a dark horse. I wasn't sure I would want to listen to an entire audiobook on this topic, but it turns out I would have listened to eight more hours if available.

This book takes us through the origin story, madness, and decline of the Beanie Baby fad. I never knew anything about the enigmatic founder Ty Warner but he might be the most interesting person in the world!? Eccentric, insane, ruthless, genius... NEED a biopic immediately.

I loved hearing about his vision for the Beanies ...more

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Dec 30, 2014 Deborah rated it it was amazing

Ostensibly, this is the story of the strange period of time between 1996 and 1999 when adults turned a child's toy into currency, but it is just as much an examination of the nature of a fad and the people who create them.

Beanie Babies were plush stuffed animals which had the then-unique characteristic of being understuffed and filled in key places with pellets which made them easy to pose. Available in a variety of colors and animal characters, the toys were slow to pick up interest. That lag t Ostensibly, this is the story of the strange period of time between 1996 and 1999 when adults turned a child's toy into currency, but it is just as much an examination of the nature of a fad and the people who create them.

Beanie Babies were plush stuffed animals which had the then-unique characteristic of being understuffed and filled in key places with pellets which made them easy to pose. Available in a variety of colors and animal characters, the toys were slow to pick up interest. That lag time gave the toy company's founder, Ty Warner, time to tweak his models, which resulted in certain toys changing color or other attributes (e.g., spots and mouths). The fact that Warner insisted on his products being sold in small venues like gift shops and specialty toy shops and eschewed big box retailers like Toys 'R Us and Wal-Mart meant that when his toys did become popular there was a built-in scarcity. That made it a logical fit as a secondary market collectible (as much as anyone can apply the word "logic" to collectibles).

Ty Warner was (is?) a highly-focused businessman who obsessed over the tiniest details of his creations. He, like many other successful entrepreneurs, also had a finely honed gut feel for what worked for his audience. It's not a surprise that someone with his skills could create a high-quality toy that would appeal to children and adults alike. But Warner's story is only part of what made Beanie Babies a cultural phenomenon; the "early adopters" in the Chicago-area were the ones who not only evangelized the toys but also created and then reinforced the idea of "rare editions" and first started treating the toys like a kind of currency. However, it might be fair to say that Beanie Babies didn't really take off as a fad until they authors, both traditional and self-published, started producing guides that listed the current and projected values of the toys.

While this wasn't the first bubble, the sudden popularity of the internet and the World Wide Web made it possible for this to reach peak popularity much more quickly. Not only did Ty, Inc. use its website in ways its much larger competitors hadn't thought of yet to reinforce the "personality" of the brand, it also benefited from the second market trading that was taking place on eBay.

Bissonnette does an impressive job of putting together the history of the toy, the ensuing craze and the not-always-stable people involved, but it's his discussion of overall market behavior that makes this a worthwhile read. (Hint: if you think this story is reminiscent of the housing or Dot Com bubbles, you might be onto something.) Even if you walk away without a clear understanding of the economics behind a craze, you'll get a glimpse into a surprisingly fascinating moment in American history. ...more

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Sep 20, 2019 Bon Tom rated it it was amazing

Well this was some education. I wasn't aware of existence of these things, even though I couldn't fake Karate move without hitting one of them around the house. I mean, I know, they're pretty eye catching plush toys and also seem to work like huge dopamine enhancer for my daughter, but I didn't know they were The Entity.

Never heard the background story, never even thought there was a big company with history, never knew there was unique Man running the spectacular show of thousands people going ...more

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Jun 21, 2015 Kelly added it

Shelves: read-in-2015, non-fiction

A totally fascinating look at the man behind Beanie Babies and the cultural phenomenon more greatly. I didn't realize how terrible Ty Warner was so seeing how he played all of the strings here to make Beanie Babies what they were was at once fascinating and kind of appalling. Totally worth a read for those who remember this era or who are interested in stories behind the stories of popular phenomenon. ...more

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Apr 03, 2015 Sharon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

"Beanie Babies were originally intended as fun playthings for children, but as the old saying goes, 'Whenever you have something intended as innocent fun for children, you can count on adults to turn it into an obsessive, grotesquely over-commercialised hobby with the same whimsy content as the Bataan Death March'."

This is the story of the Beanie Baby craze - small, understuffed plush animals that were produced largely throughout the 1990s. When author Zac Bissonnette approached creator Ty Warne ...more

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Mar 10, 2018 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, non-fiction, audio, z-popsugar-2018-reading-challenge, published-in-2015

This was a fascinating, and at times rather sad, look at the Beanie Baby obsession of the late 90s and the man behind their creation. I found it super interesting to learn about the rise and fall of the craze and the personalities involved!

*Used for PopSugar 2018 Reading Challenge prompt "A microhistory." ...more

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Jan 07, 2018 Rachel Kulik rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018

I originally posted this review on Rachel Reading. For 100+ more reviews like this, check it out!

I vividly remember the Beanie Baby craze. I was in first or second grade, and I remember someone telling my beanie babies would only be worth money with their tags on. I also remember my brother pulling off the tag on my little grey kitty and attacking him for doing so. (oops). So, when I found out there was a book about Beanie Babies, and examining the craze I knew I had to get it. This book was gif ...more

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Dec 16, 2018 Noah Eigenfeld rated it liked it

Shelves: finished-in-2018

I have to round down on this one, because it’s a really interesting book about a really narrow topic. It grabbed me right away, and held my attention the whole way through. As someone who knew absolutely nothing about the beanie baby craze, I soaked up every detail about the toys’ rise and fall. The book is one half analysis of Ty Warner and his life; the other half is focused on the speculative bubble and the seeks to answer the question, “Why beanie babies?” Overall, I think the book succeeds ...more

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Jan 26, 2016 Laura rated it really liked it

I am so disappointed in all of you on my friends list and everywhere who have marked this as to-read and haven't read it. How could you not be intrigued?? Just skim the parts that don't interest you! ...more

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Jan 03, 2015 J.S. rated it really liked it

Shelves: vine, history-culture, economics-politics

A time when people abandoned their senses
Market bubbles are nothing new. A few people make a ton of money and everyone else loses. At the time of the Internet Bubble in the 1990s there was another bubble: the Beanie Baby Bubble. People lost all reason speculating on small stuffed animals, thinking they would become rich. Ty Inc., the toy company of Ty Warner, became familiar to all of America as normally rational adults - even though we're talking about toys this story has little to do with chil A time when people abandoned their senses
Market bubbles are nothing new. A few people make a ton of money and everyone else loses. At the time of the Internet Bubble in the 1990s there was another bubble: the Beanie Baby Bubble. People lost all reason speculating on small stuffed animals, thinking they would become rich. Ty Inc., the toy company of Ty Warner, became familiar to all of America as normally rational adults - even though we're talking about toys this story has little to do with children - lost all sense trying to collect their line of under-stuffed toys with PVC beads in them.

The story of Beanie Babies has to be the finest example of fact being stranger than fiction, and this is the most bizarre story I can remember reading. Warner had a knack for creating toys - he was obsessive about things like quality and materials and display. He frequently sought opinions from those around him on fabric color, eyes, or names. He preferred to sell his creations through small 'mom and pop' gift stores instead of big-box retailers, and many of his employees liked him. In fact, he did many things right and ended up a billionaire - but there was just as much luck involved. Especially since he was an obsessive micro-manager who felt threatened by not being able to control the markets his toys created. He once screamed at his sales staff, "I didn't start my own business to make other people rich!", and boasted he could put his trademark Ty heart on manure and sell it. He alienated pretty much everyone in his life and is known more for his selfishness and stinginess than anything.

This is a darkly absorbing read. I laughed out loud, I scoffed in disbelief, and I shook my head too many times to count - but I really had a hard time putting this short book down. I sort-of remember hearing about the craze - which began in Chicago - but even at the time it just sounded too ridiculous. The only Beanie Babies we ever owned (that I know of) were the "teeny" ones my kids got with McDonald's Happy Meals near the time the bubble burst - and those didn't stay in their plastic bags long, unlike the ones most collectors stored in lucite bins with custom tag protectors. The book covers as much history of Ty Warner and Beanie Babies as the author could dig up, as well as a number of brief but interesting tidbits about other toy fads - I only wish it had more information the seventeenth-century "Tulip Mania" that is mentioned on the back. But this is an interesting and easy read about the most ebarrassing market bubble. (I rec'd an advance copy from Amazon Vine.) ...more

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May 21, 2015 Cynthia rated it really liked it

The events described in this book are stranger than fiction. A soap opera star spending his kids' college money on thousands of Beanie Babies? Families using disguises to circumnavigate per-customer limits during the Teenie Beanie promotion? An eccentric New Jersey couple becoming millionaires by self-publishing a devastatingly inaccurate Beanie Baby Handbook?

Part of the reason I found this book so fascinating is I remember this craze so well. (I even had the infamous handbook.) I was five or si ...more

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Oct 03, 2015 Regina rated it it was ok

I was instantly drawn to this book when I saw it on the library shelf given my professional background in toy production, annual attendance at Toy Fair, and my Happy Meal work with McDonalds during the Teenie Beanie promotions. Unfortunately it just isn't well written. The structure is odd, and there is way too much time spent discussing Ty Warner's personal life. I was also frustrated by the anemic photo section. If you're reading about a popular toy from the past, you want to see it! ...more

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Jan 07, 2015 Biblio Files (takingadayoff) rated it it was amazing

The late 1990s brought a perfect storm of the introduction of internet auction site eBay, stock market and housing booms, and a slew of people who wanted to participate but couldn't afford to leverage either real estate or a stock portfolio. You could argue that it was just dumb luck that made Beanie Babies the target of the inevitable bubble that ensued. Or maybe there was really something unique and special about those little bean bag animals.

Zac Bissonnette had a pretty compelling story to t ...more

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Apr 05, 2015 Ian rated it really liked it

Oh this one was good. Real good. Fascinating subject. Blast from the past. Nostalgia. And cute kitties. What more do you need?

Behind the obvious rise and fall lies a most interesting story of a strangely broken man, Ty himself, who launched his mercurial line of plush and briefly captivated America.

There's two main takeaways from this book at least for me. One, it's a fascinating portrait of a grotesquely broken man. Gripping stuff. Two, there's plenty of nuggets of wisdom for investors. How ide ...more

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Jun 21, 2019 Corinne Edwards rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library19, non-fiction, 2019, library-book, non-fiction19, psychology, biography, business, popsugar-challenge-2019, read-harder-challenge-2019

As the sibling of a former Beanie Baby collector (back in the day), I was intrigued by this book when a friend reviewed it online. Both history and biography, this book tells the story of Beanie Baby creator Ty Warner as well as what happened in our country that such a thing as $5,000 stuffed animals came to be. And it’s fascinating.

It reads like a novel, sometimes almost like an expose or soap opera, Ty is such a bizarre character. I really found myself wondering about how human nature and crow ...more

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Apr 16, 2015 Book Riot Community added it

Shelves: non-fiction

I am a woman of a certain age who was, in my middle school years, obsessed with Beanie Babies. I particularly loved this little brown monkey, Bongo, and forced my mom to go to great lengths to find me one during what, I think, was the height of Beanie Baby madness. In The Great Beanie Baby Bubble, journalist Zan Bissonnette goes behind the Beanie Baby madness to look at both the enigmatic (and, to be honest, truly strange) creator of Beanie Babies, Ty Warner, and some of the economic forces that ...more

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Feb 21, 2017 Nina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017-books

This was a rollercoaster and I loved every weird second of it.

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Oct 14, 2019 Kitty rated it really liked it

I wish this was written by someone else but the details are simply too juicy for it to matter that much. Awesome ride, mediocre writing. What a world.

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Dec 07, 2017 Carolyn rated it liked it

And let the nostalgia begin!

I have no idea why I read this, but I'm glad I did. I was about 9 when the "Beanie Baby Bubble" blew up, so I have no idea of the impact it had on modern consumerism (ie. explosion of eBay, and counteractively, the demise of teddy bears).

I knocked it down a few stars because I don't think the author had a clear vision of this book. Is it a Ty Warner autobiography? Or a history of the beanie baby? The author needed a better thesis or overall idea of what story the boo ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 ButIDigress rated it really liked it

Admittedly, I picked this book up for stories of bad beanie baby related behavior and fortunes lost in the bubble. I was a young adult during the height of the craze and could never understand how otherwise reasonable people thought their pile of beanies was an investment. Turns out the story of Ty Warner, a deeply troubled man that made it big despite himself, was just as riveting. This is one of those books that’s better than you expect just looking at the cover. I laughed out loud many times.

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Oct 14, 2020 Sue A. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020-reading-challenge

It's been a long time since I found a book so interesting that I read it in one sitting. I loved the author's style. I was fascinated by the content. Even though I was in my early 40's when the Beanie Baby rage was going on, I didn't collect them but my Mother-In-Law at the time did. Now all these years later, they sit in a basement, in lucite boxes, with tag protectors waiting for what? Even if you have no idea what a B.B. is or was, this book will keep your attention and maybe you'll be equipp ...more

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Apr 11, 2019 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

A clear, concise, and well-researched book regarding the rise of Beanie Babies and it's inevitable fall. I enjoyed the blend of personal history of Ty Warner - founder of the Ty company and its products (and a terrible human being) - and business concepts, which were explained in a way that made the book very accessible and easy to follow. A fascinating and entertaining read. ...more

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Dec 28, 2014 Dachokie rated it really liked it

Shelves: sociology

Only in America …

This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free advance copy of the book.

I remember watching two co-workers participate in the Beanie Baby craze of the late 90s and was entertained as well as frustrated by the amount of money they continued to sink into their Beanie “investments” (one had the means to support her “habit” … the other did not). Zac Bissonnette’s THE GREAT BEANIE BABY BUBBLE provides a very detailed understanding of the Beanie Baby man Only in America …

This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine program which included a free advance copy of the book.

I remember watching two co-workers participate in the Beanie Baby craze of the late 90s and was entertained as well as frustrated by the amount of money they continued to sink into their Beanie “investments” (one had the means to support her “habit” … the other did not). Zac Bissonnette’s THE GREAT BEANIE BABY BUBBLE provides a very detailed understanding of the Beanie Baby mania and more importantly the shrewd, somewhat ruthless, dark and creepy man behind it all … Ty Warner.

Rather than simply chronicling the rise and fall of Beanie Babies, Bissonnette digs much deeper and presents all facets of the fad and most interestingly, a somewhat disturbing biography of Warner, the reclusive Beanie creator. I found THE GREAT BEANIE BABY BUBBLE to be far more interesting (and educating) than I anticipated it would be; I attribute this to Bissonnette’s ability to successfully merge Warner’s biography, economics, marketing and social aspects of the great Beanie Baby run in a colorful, informative, yet fun manner that keeps readers interested from beginning to end.

The “meat and potatoes” of the book is dedicated to Warner and it paints a somewhat unflattering portrait of the man. Considering the father of all things Beanie has avoided interviews for almost two decades, Bissonnette successfully worked around that roadblock and found more than enough people willing to divulge their experiences with Warner over the years … including two women romantically linked to him through the rise and fall of the Beanie craze. I found Warner’s path to immense wealth (he’s a billionaire) to be quite interesting … a masterful, shrewd salesman and marketing genius with added dashes of vanity, obsession (to minutiae) and control (of everything) … someone who liberally used people he found beneficial only to unceremoniously dump them when his use for them expired. On one hand, Warner’s obsessive nature is arguably attributed to his financial success as his dissatisfaction with something as small as a single stich in a Beanie Baby would result in it being removed from the market and replaced by the “improved” version (resulting in the “retired” Beanie Baby gaining value and stoking the Beanie mania fire). On the other hand, Bissonnette reveals Warner as an insecure, untrustworthy, self-absorbed loaner addicted to plastic surgery. Regardless of Warner’s fortune and success, it’s hard not to view him as somewhat icky.

The book reveals the business side of Beanies as a cautionary tale that is creepy in its own right. Bissonnette provides an ongoing history of the “plush” (stuffed animal) industry that led to Beanie Babies and it is a case of innocence gone awry. The simple concept of the Beanie Baby was to create a small, high-quality, bean-filled stuffed animal marketed for kids that was affordable … high quality at a bargain price. What started as cute, quickly became cult as the retired Beanies became collectables … and the adults began showing up to ruin everything. The book reveals the seediness of the Beanie craze as values of retired (rare) Beanies soared, sending collectors over the edge with a desire to find/buy the retired Beanies at all costs (whether it meant liquidating the kids’ college funds or even killing someone). The whole story is as shocking as it is pathetic … how something as insignificant as a cheap stuffed animal for kids could generate such hysteria … only in America. Bissonnette shares the stories of numerous people wrapped-up in the craze, from soccer-mom types hoarding Beanies to fund their futures to people jumping on the Beanie gravy-train by publishing self-made collectors guides sold to millions of like-minded Beanie nuts. The whole Beanie saga (from the beginning of the craze to its sudden crash) is strange, sad and unsurprising to a degree (as these “cute” fads seem to flare-up like a case of the shingles every few years). But, the money that was made during its multi-year run is staggering (Ty Inc. earned more from stuffed animals than mega-toymakers Hasbro and Mattel).

THE GREAT BEANIE BABY BUBBLE certainly proved to be an enlightening, unique read. Reading the book reminded me that we have several Beanie Babies laying around our home; don’t know if they have (had) value and don’t care … they were purchased for our kids (and I’ll bet the TY tags are bent, if not partially chewed from one of our Labs … gasp!). The book prompted me to check out the TY website (a gaudy ADHD-inducing visual carnival that Liberace may have designed from the grave) and after seeing the products (including a garish line of NASCAR Beanies), I still don’t understand the big deal.
...more

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Mar 14, 2015 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own, biographical, firstreads, psych-social, non-fiction, childrens, 2015

I received a copy of this book as part of a firstreads give away. In The Great Beanie Baby Bubble Zac Bissonnette follows the craze of Beanie Baby collection and speculation of the late nineties, from its foundation. This book is as close to a biography of Ty founder Ty Warner as it is a chronicle of the strange mania that overtook Beanie collectors.

Ty Warner was as meticulous and micro-managing in the beanies as he is about his own appearance. He would work and re-work the designs until they wo I received a copy of this book as part of a firstreads give away. In The Great Beanie Baby Bubble Zac Bissonnette follows the craze of Beanie Baby collection and speculation of the late nineties, from its foundation. This book is as close to a biography of Ty founder Ty Warner as it is a chronicle of the strange mania that overtook Beanie collectors.

Ty Warner was as meticulous and micro-managing in the beanies as he is about his own appearance. He would work and re-work the designs until they work perfect--even after products were on the shelves--which created rarer models like Peanut the Royal Blue Elephant (not be confused with the later baby blue version). At the same time, it took a while for the plush toys to catch on, so their were limited numbers available. When beanies finally caught on in a big way (including a run as McDonald's "Teenie Beanie Babies" in happy meals) that found adults stalking UPS deliveries to gift shops, and shelling out big money on ebay to get "valuable" beanies. The bubble burst when Ty was able to meet demand with supply, and suddenly the reality that these were merely plush and plastic beans sent the market crashing. Even so, beanie babies are still a part of our culture, a ridiculous fad that still populates much of ebay, and still inspires articles like this one that was published the same day I finished this book.

The Great Beanie Baby Bubble is probably my favorite non-fiction book so far this year. Bissonnette was unable to get an actual interview with Ty Warner (unsurprisingly, as Warner has only ever done one real interview with Time), but finds resources in former employees, collectors, and distributors that provide a wide range of perspectives on the beanie phenomenon. Bissonnette supplements this with information about other bubbles (Tulips, anyone?), and other collectibles in the market that have far exceeded their intrinsic value.

As someone who has worked in the secondary market (and had people asked me if I would be interested in Beanie Babies), I feel like a lot of people could benefit from this book, and the way it lays out the secondary market for collectibles (which are, after all, just about anything you can "collect", and has nothing to do with the intrinsic value of such pieces). I will definitely be sharing this book around the office. ...more

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Mar 28, 2015 Alex Aro rated it really liked it

I was ten years old when the Beanie Baby craze first started to explode and like everyone else, I too was sucked in. Unlike others who thought they were going to strike it rich on the secondary market, I was instead interested in collecting as many as I could. I remember going over friend's houses and pulling out our collections, each of us showing off our newest additions and favorite pieces.

When I first heard of this book it immediately brought me back to those times of plastic bins filled wi ...more

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Dec 01, 2015 David rated it it was amazing

Shelves: from-library

A fascinating case study of a speculative bubble, with a twist.

I was a couple of years too old to really get caught up in the Beanie Chase, but I grew up in the Chicago suburbs not far from the epicenter, so I know a bit about what happened, and was interested to see the stories behind not only Ty Inc. and Ty Warner, but many of the third party promoters and dealers, like Les and Sue Fox, the authors of the self-published bestseller The Beanie Baby Handbook.

The story of Beanie Babies is insepara

...more

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About Zac Bissonnette

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“It is often said of the gold rush that the people who got rich were the shovel dealers who profited from the greed of the forty-niners. With Beanie Babies, most of the lasting personal fortunes came from selling books and tag protectors, not from speculating in plush.” — 1 likes

“Charles Kindleberger explained the self-perpetuating feeding frenzy that develops when speculators start making money: 'There is nothing so disturbing to one’s well-being and judgment as to see a friend get rich'.” — 1 likes

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