Why Beanie Baby Hoppity the Bunny is Worth $2,000
You might be surprised to think that something like a Beanie Baby could sell for four figures but the truth is, collectors are often willing to pay large sums of money for something, especially when there is something that makes it stand out from the crowd.
As a general rule, Beanie Babies have been known to sell for high dollar amounts, even when you're talking about some of the less frequently sought-after options. When you get into something that is much rarer or there is some type of error involved, it's possible for you to collect a major payday by simply selling one of those items.
History
Such is the case with the pink rabbit known as Hoppity. There are actually a number of different reasons why this particular Beanie Baby example can often be found selling for somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000.
For one, it's rare because there weren't that many of them produced in the first place. This in and of itself makes this particular Beanie Baby worth more than many of the others that were mass-produced.
That's because there are bona fide collectors of Beanie Babies out there and it just so happens that Hoppity is one of the more difficult specimens to find.
It's simple economics, something that you probably took in high school. It all comes down to supply and demand. The more that something is wanted and the more difficult it is to find, the more it's likely to cost when you finally do run across an example.
It doesn't matter if you're talking about Beanie Babies, cars or food, the more scarce something becomes the more money you're going to have to fork over in order to get your hands on it. This is especially true when it comes to any type of collectible or antique. If it's rare and highly sought-after, it's likely to command a fairly decent price.
On the other hand, if it's something that is thought of as being of mediocre quality or there are tons of examples in existence, you're not going to get nearly as much when you decide to sell it.
Many Errors Made with Hoppity
Perhaps the biggest reason that Hoppity commands such a price is that there were a lot of errors made when this particular example was designed. For the most part, these errors are associated with the tags attached to the bunny.
For example, the word Beanie is misspelled with two i’s instead of one. There are also some letters missing on other parts of the tags. Believe it or not, this is something that drives the price up considerably.
The funny thing about it is that at the time, so many people thought that these errors would reduce the value of the doll, and some even chose not to purchase one or chose to get rid of the one they had once they noticed the errors. Still, others simply cut the tags off in their entirety. If you think $2,000 is a lot of money, consider this fact. There have been times when this particular Beanie Baby has sold for a little over $3,000.
Again, it all comes back to supply and demand. This is especially true if you're selling on a site like eBay, which is where this particular one sold for that amount of money. Since it's an auction site, you really stand a good chance of making a decent amount of change if you have something that's rare because the very nature of that site drives the price up considerably.
You may set a minimum, or reserve, of $2,000 and then end up making well over that amount by the time it's all said and done because everybody wants to get their hands on one of these dolls. It’s supply and demand in action.
Final Thoughts
Another reason that the price is frequently driven up on things like this is that originally, most people bought these for their children. You can imagine what happened to most of the Beanie Babies that were given to a young child.
They typically ended up with all kinds of dirt and who knows what else all over them and in short order, they usually ended up being thrown away. The ones that did survive weren’t usually in very good shape.
Obviously, that adversely impacts the amount of money that you can expect to get for one of these. Even though they're extremely rare, people aren't nearly as likely to pay a lot of money for something if it's in questionable condition. If you really want to make big money from this particular example, you first have to have your hands on one that has the tags intact and is in almost mint condition.
So, what do you do if you have one of these and you want to know how much it is worth before you put it up for sale? You can use this article as a guide. You can also visit other websites that are authorities on the matter, compiling all of that information to help you decide the price that you should set for your own example of Hoppity.
Remember, you really shouldn't accept anything less than $2,000 for an example that is in like new condition and has the tags attached. Clearly, if the tags are missing or the doll isn't in great condition, you might still be able to sell it but you probably won't get $2,000 for it. That being said, one that is this rare could still net you several hundred dollars so it's definitely worth giving it a try.
Who knows, it might be time for you to start rummaging through that Beanie Baby collection that you boxed up and put away decades ago. You might be sitting on a relative gold mine and not even know it.
You can also read:
Written by Liz Flynn
Read more posts by Liz Flynn
