Why Beanie Baby Patti the Platypus is Worth $6,000
Have you heard that you can make up to $6,000 by selling Patti the Platypus online? If you think this is some type of a joke or a scam, think again. It's quite true and it's not as hard as you might think, provided that you're willing to put some homework in on your part to begin with.
If you're new to the world of collectibles, you may not even know who or what Patti the Platypus is. In fact, she is a cute stuffed Beanie Baby and in some cases, she is the source of a very nice payday that you might be able to get your hands on, especially if you have one of the examples that are more difficult for people to find.
Chances are, this is enough to at least make you curious. After all, what if there's a chance that you have that collection of Beanie Babies hanging out in your house somewhere and maybe, just maybe, Patty the Platypus is somewhere in that box.
If that's the case, you could be sitting on a relative gold mine without even knowing it. Even if you don't have this particular example or even any Beanie Babies in your house whatsoever, you still stand to make a decent amount of money.
Start Collecting Early
The key is to start collecting these types of things at garage sales, swap meets and flea markets and then resell them online. If you're lucky, you'll be able to purchase an example from somebody who has no idea that they're getting rid of a collectible that could potentially be worth thousands of dollars.
It might sound a little dishonest and it might even make you feel a bit uncomfortable the first time or two, but the thing that you have to remember is that in almost every case, one person's trash is indeed another person's treasure.
You don't need to feel obligated to inform them that they are losing a lot of potential profit if they sell Patti the Platypus for three dollars. As harsh as it sounds, that's really the name of the game when it comes to buying and selling collectibles.
The History
Now that all that unpleasantness is out of the way, it's time to get down to the nuts and bolts of this particular Beanie Baby. It had a relatively long life, being introduced in 1993 and then discontinued in 1998.
During that time, there were no less than four different colors that were used. Those colors range from magenta to red to various shades of purple. The thing that will probably surprise you is that depending on both the condition of the individual example you're selling and the color, one Patti the Platypus example might be worth a lot more money than another.
That's precisely why it's imperative that you do your homework ahead of time so you know exactly how much you stand to gain by selling it.
It will make it a lot easier if you know this ahead of time because it won't force you to waste money on something that isn't going to be a good profit, nor does it require you to stand there and frantically search through your phone in hopes of finding some type of concrete information regarding how much you stand to make from selling a particular item.
One of the Originals
Another reason that this particular Beanie Baby is worth so much money is that it was one of only nine of the originals that were produced. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on one of these, you should never pass up the opportunity to purchase it, provided it can be purchased for a reasonable price.
Even if you're asked to cough up a few hundred dollars for a prime example, you can still make several times more than you spent by selling it online. After all, a few hundred dollars isn't much when you compare it to $6,000 so it's something that's worth considering, at the very least.
The truth is, you can do a simple search on eBay and find a lot of information about the amount of profit you potentially stand to gain. Keep in mind, a lot of people selling on eBay have no idea that this is a collectible item in the first place.
Others simply want to get rid of the supply they have for one reason or another and they would rather sell cheaply than wait for the right buyer to come along. As a result, that search on eBay will yield a number of different results in all price ranges.
In some cases, you can expect to spend as little as six dollars in order to get your hands on one of these examples, while others are selling for more than $10,000.
If you make a find....
What should you do if you do a quick search of your attic or basement and find that you have had one of these sitting in a box for years collecting dust? First and foremost, don't be willing to sell it until you know exactly what you have.
Because of the fact that there were four different color variations made, one color may be worth more or less than another. It's imperative that you find out how these color variations affect the worth of the particular example you have before you decide to sell it. Otherwise, you run the risk of letting something go for far less than you ever should have sold it for.
Final Thoughts
It's also important to look at the tags. People that collect Beanie Babies are huge about making sure that the original tags are still attached, as they often contain errors that make that particular example worth more money.
If the one you're selling has all of the tags, you stand to make a great deal more money than you would on one where the tags have been removed.
Because this is one of the nine original Beanie Babies, it's already likely to be worth more than many of the later examples. It's also worth taking the time and expense to have the value of the particular example you want to sell verified by a third-party.
If you don't trust this or you don't want to spend the money, then you have to be willing to do the legwork that is required in order to find this information out for yourself. It’s the only way to make sure you’re getting every penny you deserve.
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Written by Allen Lee
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