The story behind the Princess Diana Beanie Baby you've never heard before
Are the bears really worth six figures?
Updated: 1:11 PM EST Nov 7, 2018
Every now and then, a story about the tremendous worth of the Princess Diana Beanie Baby surfaces and causes people everywhere to fervently search their basements and attics for the prized bear. But while the public's attention around the special toy might now solely revolve around how much cash they're worth, the bear's background story is equally fascinating. The creation of the Diana bear came just two months after the death of the Princess of Wales on Aug. 31, 1997. On Oct. 29, 1997, Ty Inc. began selling the toys for $5-7, according to Vanity Fair. The proceeds were promised to go straight to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. According to the Ty Collector website, each royal purple bear 바카라 게임 웹사이트 appropriately named Princess 바카라 게임 웹사이트 includes a small white rose on the left side of its chest and a touching poem printed on the heart-shaped tag attached to one ear that reads: Like an angel she came from heaven above; she shared her compassion, her pain, her love; she only stayed with us long enough to teach the world to share, to give, to reach.When retailers were told they could only purchase 12 bears at a time, many collectors began to believe the Princess Beanie Babies would be "limited edition." This, of course, added to the already-growing Beanie Baby hype at the time. The bear soon became a must-have for collectors and the People's Princess fans alike. As demand for the bear increased, though, PopSugar reports that Ty began making more, which ended up driving down the worth of each toy. When Ty officially stopped production of the bear in April 1999, the company ended up donating an estimated $21,880,000 to Diana's foundation. Today, the asking price of a Princess Diana Beanie Baby varies dramatically. More realistic sellers ask for $2-30 a bear depending on its condition and what kind of pellets are inside (which collectors claim can indicate when and where the bear was made). Some, however, have taken to eBay in high hopes of selling these "rare" bears for upwards of tens, or even hundreds, of thousands. One couple in the U.K., for example, made headlines for allegedly finding a first-edition purple bear at a local flea market and trying to sell it for approximately $37,000, according to Yahoo. Another on the site is trying to get a buyer to fork over a whopping $507,000. Ambitious sellers like the above are why people see stories pop up occasionally about the Princess Diana Beanie Baby being worth six figures. But the truth is ... they're not, and experts say there really is no "magic number" you can put on their worth. Further, many of the eBay sellers online simply copy other listings without providing evidence that they're actually first edition. "When you see $507,000, that바카라 게임 웹사이트s not credible because you have to find a sales record for someone (who) actually paid the bill for that," antiques appraiser Lori Verderame told USAToday.com. "They aren't gonna tell you what it바카라 게임 웹사이트s really worth because they want you to buy it for the highest price possible." No matter what the true value of the bear is, it's clear that Princess is one of Ty's most talked-about toys ever, even well after the '90s Beanie Baby craze. Like Diana, the toy seems to have a powerful nostalgic force that will live on forever.
Every now and then, a story about the tremendous worth of the Beanie Baby surfaces and causes people everywhere to fervently search their basements and attics for the prized bear. But while the public's attention around the special toy might now solely revolve around how much cash they're worth, the bear's background story is equally fascinating.
The creation of the Diana bear came just two months after the death of the Princess of Wales on Aug. 31, 1997. On Oct. 29, 1997, Ty Inc. began selling the toys for $5-7, according to . The proceeds were promised to go straight to the .
Getty
Paul Burrell, Princess Diana’s former butler, poses with Princess Beanie Babies in 1998.
According to the website, each royal purple bear 바카라 게임 웹사이트 appropriately named Princess 바카라 게임 웹사이트 includes a small white rose on the left side of its chest and a touching poem printed on the heart-shaped tag attached to one ear that reads:
Like an angel she came from heaven above; she shared her compassion, her pain, her love; she only stayed with us long enough to teach the world to share, to give, to reach.
they could only purchase 12 bears at a time, many collectors began to believe the Princess Beanie Babies would be "limited edition." This, of course, added to the already-growing Beanie Baby hype at the time. The bear soon became a must-have for collectors and the People's Princess fans alike. As demand for the bear increased, though, reports that Ty began making more, which ended up driving down the worth of each toy. When Ty officially stopped production of the bear in April 1999, the company ended up donating to Diana's foundation.
Today, the asking price of a varies dramatically. More realistic sellers ask for $2-30 a bear depending on its condition and (which can indicate when and where the bear was made).
Some, however, have taken to in high hopes of selling these "rare" bears for upwards of tens, or even hundreds, of thousands. One couple in the U.K., for example, made headlines for allegedly finding a first-edition purple bear at a local flea market and trying to sell it for approximately $37,000, according to . on the site is trying to get a buyer to fork over a whopping $507,000.
Ambitious sellers like the above are why people see occasionally about the Princess Diana Beanie Baby being worth six figures. But the truth is ... they're not, and experts say there really is no "magic number" you can put on their worth. Further, many of the eBay sellers online simply copy other listings without providing evidence that they're actually first edition.
"When you see $507,000, that바카라 게임 웹사이트s not credible because you have to find a sales record for someone (who) actually paid the bill for that," antiques appraiser Lori Verderame told . "They [the sellers] aren't gonna tell you what it바카라 게임 웹사이트s really worth because they want you to buy it for the highest price possible."
No matter what the true value of the bear is, it's clear that Princess is one of Ty's most talked-about toys ever, even well after the '90s Beanie Baby craze. Like Diana, the toy seems to have a powerful nostalgic force that will live on forever.