I was part of(and still am)two different online beanie groups. Well, one started as a collector group for beanies, and the other was a spin-off from a list led by a nasty women we all hated and that list was populated by collectors of another line of Ty critters called Attic Treasures. That second snip-off group expanded to include collectors of all things Ty. Both lists(the original 2)held conventions of sorts back in the day....one of the public, national kind and the other list held annual private get-togethers. No one on these lists collects these things anymore and we don't post much nowadays but we have remained friends to some degree or another. 8-)
Long story short, I came into possession of some counterfeit beanies back about 12 yrs. ago. This was back when beanies were hot and going for insane amounts of money. The only way most beanie collectors(the SANE ones)could have those old rare beanies for their own collections was to obtain counterfeits. I hang my head in shame now that I ever participated in this. I was not in my right mind and not in possession of my faculties.
Ok, maybe that's bull but I just didn't care back then.
I don't think the Ty company was hurting for money/sales because of it...if anything it fueled the craze...so I don't lose sleep over buying some fake beanies back then.
Some of these critters are obviously fakes.....
Anyway, I mention about the beanies because as I was going through the clutter and crap here to get rid of, I found my fakes......and I want to get them out of my life now.
I can't rightly go on eBay and attempt to sell them.....if nothing else, my auctions would be shut down post haste by the 'beanie police'.
So I thought I'd ship them off to Salvation Army with the other boxes of detritus from my life so someone else can enjoy them.
But then I thought, what if someone bought them from Sallie's and after they wet themselves thinking they had a real Royal Blue Peanut and a Billionaire Bear, tried to sell them as authentic rare beanies?
Hubs says to put a tag around their necks saying that they are NOT authentic.
I don't think I have to worry about anyone paying a fortune for one of these things anymore since the beanie aftermarket has been in the toilet for years now, but someone might still want one of these super rare ones and whoever ends up with them might find one of these people who would part with alot of money to have one.
It would bother me if giving them to Sallie's caused this down the line.
And I have a problem as well with just throwing these perfectly good playtoys in the garbage. There is still play-value for some kid in them and to send something to the landfill prematurely doesn't sit right with me.
I guess I could hang onto them and have my will amended to note that they should be tossed into the casket with my cold, lifeless body.....
So dear readers, if you were me, what would you do with them?
Sluggy
Can you believe my big, strong ironworker husband used to collect them, too. This was before we met, and although it probably wouldn't have changed my mind about marrying him, I never did see the value in them personally. To me, their real value was in making kids happy when they played with them.
ReplyDeleteIf I were you, I'd give them to one of the women's shelters where the kids also stay.
Give them to a day care center in your neighborhood. They will get so much love and use there.
ReplyDeleteLots of hospitals take donations of new, clean toys to give to kids who come to the ER as sort of a distraction from the exam.
ReplyDeleteSome policemen carry them for when there is a domestic dispute and kids have to be taken in to foster care.
You might also try a women's shelter. Those kids sometimes are fleeing for their lives and have to leave all their beloved toys behind.
Seems like a good job for a faux beanie baby to have, comforting a wee one in a bad state.
Noah (our 2 year old) had tubes put in and adenoids taken out this past Thursday. His nurse had a plastic tote filled with beanies that he got to pick from and take one home with him. Even though it's yet another stuffed animal here for us Noah had such a fun time playing/cuddling with it before and after his surgery.
ReplyDeleteI would give them to a daycare.
ReplyDeleteIf there is a church group in your area that does missionary work in other parts of the world where they have never heard of beanie babies, that would be the place for them to go.
ReplyDeleteI would rip the tags completely off of the fake ones and then it is just a stuffed animal and some child can enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm you kind of stress about odd things.
My first thought was the same as SonyaAnn. Take off the tags, then they are just stuffed bears. Then find a good place to donate them.
ReplyDeleteI like the suggestions above. I missed most of the whole Ty thing, which is probably just as well, but I did end up with a Princess Di and a couple other ones. Mostly, though, I was into Puffkins. I ended up being a seller of them in my online store and that allowed me to collect them and then also sell them, so I had very few left at the end. Recently I gave away a bag full of the sports NFL equivalents - NFL-sanctioned bears of Jerry Rice and Dan Marino and so on. I looked them all up on ebay first and no one's getting anything for them, so I donated the whole lot.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard, though, admitting to getting sucked into a craze. I keep thinking I'll learn. But no, apparently not :)
I would agree with the idea of taking the tags off those fake bears and then donating them to a shelter or hospital. You'll feel good about that instead of having to be concerned about someone trying to sell them as something they're not.