Every new era in the stuffed animal world brings in a new brand of plush that makes people obsessed. This time around, Jellycats take on that role. The soft and fluffy plush that has been booming on the market lately has taken the attention of both children and adults around the United States. The question is, will they repeat the same mistakes previous collectors made with brands such as Beanie Baby, or will they make a difference? 

In 1993, Beanie Baby emerged as the new plush to be found in stores, and people gladly accepted their presence. While many other toy brands gained fandom around their name, Beanie Babies were much different. Instead of focusing on certain age demographics, it seemed as though there were many people of all ages collecting this new stuffed animal. There were plenty of different designs to collect from, whether one would like a simple recolor of the iconic bear or they would instead like a different animal with bright colors.  

Ty Warner, the co-founder of Ty Inc. who is the brand behind Beanie Babies, was very aware of the ongoing fans of his new product. Unfortunately, like many other brand owners, he only had money in his eyes. Instead of having a natural supply and demand for fans to collect their favorite stuffed animal, Warner decided to manipulate the market. This made it very difficult to find certain Beanie Babies, which created a false belief that they were limited in quantity and would eventually be difficult to obtain in the future. Along with this, there was an ongoing belief that after a few years, these bears would resell at a much higher value than retail cost and could bring in tons of money to these families. Some believed they would even be able to retire with just these bears. As we can see almost three decades later, this was nowhere near the case. 

While Jellycats have not reached the popularity of Beanie Babies in the 1990’s, they have made a name for themselves. Compared to Beanie Babies, Jellycats are more expensive, and are not seen much in stores. With the cost and limited availability, it could be easily compared to its predecessor. Although discontinued Jellycats are resold at a much higher rate than their retail price, it is nowhere near how Beanie Babies were treated. Of course, there are going to be people in any fandom who just want to make a profit, but it seems that this is not usually the case for Jellycats.  

So, we have gone to the final question, are Jellycats going to become the new Beanie Baby? In terms of their likeness, there is a good chance they could. But in their believed resale value, it is highly unlikely. Both brands are mass produced and can be easily found. If one were to go to any garage yale or antique store, they would likely find a Beanie Baby for far less than its retail price. Who is to say Jellycats will turn out the same. That being said, Jellycats are appreciated more than many people treated Beanie Babies in the 1990’s. Instead of just being seen as a piece of future money, Jellycats are being appreciated for what they are in the present, and that is how they should be.