How to Spot Counterfeit Beanie Babies
The Beanie Baby craze, which reached its peak in the 1990s, has long passed, but the plush toys manufactured by Ty are still collected. Because Beanie Babies can be worth a lot of money, some scammers try to trick consumers into buying fake Beanie Babies. Identify these counterfeit toys to help protect yourself when you're shopping for a new toy.
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Instructions
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Check for two tags, one known as the swing tag--typically shaped like a heart and hanging in visible location, such as the toy's ear--and a tush tag, found on the bottom of the toy. Fake Beanie Babies may be missing one of these tags or have more than two tags.
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Compare the tags with the tags of genuine Beanie Babies. Complete descriptions of the varying shapes, sizes and wording of official Beanie Baby tags can be found on the AboutBeanies collectors website (see Resources). Incomplete or inaccurate wording may be a sign of a counterfeit Beanie Baby.
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Inspect the workmanship of the Beanie Baby--specifically its sewed seams. Fake Beanie Babies often show poor craftsmanship, such as mismatched thread or gaps in the fabric.
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Review the shape, size and color of the Beanie Baby compared to genuine Beanie Babies, as listed in collector catalogs such as "Warman's Bean Plush Field Guide: Values and Identification" and the "Ty Beanies Tracker." Fake plush toys often come in unrecognized forms or colors that were never released as an official toy model.
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Tips & Warnings
Take the Beanie Baby to a collectors or hobby store that sells Beanie Babies; an expert may be able to appraise your toy and certify both its origination and monetary value as a collector's item.
Be cautious when buying Beanie Babies from third-party sources online, especially if the sale seems to be unreasonably cheap. Online auctions are a common place for unscrupulous sellers to get rid of fake Beanie Babies.
References
- "Warman's Bean Plush Field Guide: Values and Identification"; Dan Brownell; 2008
- "Ty Beanies Tracker, 3rd Ed."; Karen Holmes; 2007
