‘Rare’ Princess Diana Beanie Baby Worth $100K? Here's the Truth
Beanie Babies are a notoriously bad investment, but a couple in England is making headlines for hoping to flip a $15 Princess Diana bear for as much as $100,000.
“We couldn’t believe it. We picked it up for £10 ($15) and it could be worth tens of thousands,” Leah Rogers told the Daily Star.
Rodgers and Ryan Flanaghan say they picked up the 1st Edition Princess Diana purple bear at a flea market in Bude, Cornwall.
They created an eBay listing for their find, with the opening bid starting at 25,000 pounds ($37,000). Their apparent beanies-to-riches dream made headlines in the Daily Mail and the Independent newspaper, among others.
In reality the bear has zero bids so far, and the price tag is wildly optimistic according to a Beanie Baby site called TyCollector.com.
“Contrary to all of the hype, misinformation and secondary market speculation, even a “first edition” version of Princess [Diana Beanie Baby] made in China is currently worth approximately $27,” the site says.
“A ‘first edition’ version of Princess made in Indonesia is worth approximately $47.”
The manufacturer, Ty, made the toy to commemorate Diana after her death in 1997. TyCollector.com says fans were confused early on about whether it was a true “limited edition,” and that unscrupulous sellers have perpetuated the myth that the dolls are worth their weight in gold.
Savvy collectors do sometimes find genuine treasures, like the rare watch spotted by Phoenix resident Zach Norris earlier this year. But it will take something more than a Diana Beanie to hit those heights.
The first-edition model does come with a poem on the tag: ”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.“
eBay is filled with listings for Princess Diana Beanie Babies, with many having sold for about $300.
One ambitions seller is even offering a collection of 5 Princess Diana bears at a starting price of 1,000,000 pounds. That listing, however, admits it may be a stretch.
“Hell no, they ain’t worth that. But it got your attention,” the seller writes.
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