How did Beanie Babies go from boom to bust?
On this episode of History of the ’90s, host Kathy Kenzora looks back at the cute, colourful beanbag animals that started off as a toy but soon became an obsession for collectors, who were buying and selling the furry creatures on this new thing called eBay. Beanie Babies were traded like stocks and even became long-term investments for some optimistic buyers.
Of course, where there’s money to be made, there’s also crime and deception, and Beanie Babies were no different. We’ll look back at how greed and hysteria over the $5 plush toys also led to a wave of theft, fraud and fakery.
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We’ll trace the Beanie Baby Bubble from start to finish and try to figure out if the man who invented the toy was a genius or an accidental billionaire.
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Contact:
Twitter: @1990shistory
Facebook: @1990shistory
Instagram: @that90spodcast
Email: 90s@curiouscast.ca
Guests:
Zac Bissonnette, author, The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: The Amazing Story of How America Lost Its Mind Over a Plush Toy — and the Eccentric Genius Behind It
Twitter: @ZacBissonnette
Peggy Gallagher, Beanie Baby authenticator
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