First published in 2015. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- The greatest toy show on Earth : no kids allowed -- The lower level -- Selling the dream pets -- Plush dreams -- "You can make a lot of money with a good cat." : Ty Warner -- Business and pleasure -- Patti's last stand -- New beginnings -- Ty's big idea -- A lamb named Lovie -- The first collectors -- The return -- Force multipliers -- Peanut the Royal Blue Elephant -- The $12-per-hour sociology major who made Ty Warner a billionaire -- The efficient market -- The Beanie chase -- Shovel dealers in the Gold Rush -- The point of no return -- Peak -- The feedback loop spins out of control -- Money changes people -- The P.T. Barnum of plush -- Lights out -- Limping into the new millennium -- Faith's problem -- Ty's problem -- Departures -- Endurance -- Exit strategy.
Summary:
"There has never been a craze like Beanie Babies. The $5 beanbag animals with names like Seaweed the Otter and Gigi the Poodle drove a large swath of America into a greed-fueled frenzy as they chased the rarest Beanie Babies, whose values escalated weekly in the late 1990s. Just as strange as the mass hysteria was the man behind it. Sometimes called the "Steve Jobs of plush" by his employees, he obsessed over every detail of every animal his company ever released. He had no marketing budget and no connections, but he had something more valuable - an intuitive grasp of human psychology that would make him the richest man in the history of toys. The Great Beanie Baby Bubble is a classic American story of people winning and losing vast fortunes chasing what one dealer remembers as "the most spectacular dream ever sold.""--Back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.