<p>[A</a> Family Spent $100,000 on Beanie Babies to Put Their Kids Through College - Yahoo! Finance](<a href=“http://finance.yahoo.com/news/a-family-spent--100-000-on-beanie-babies-to-put-their-kids-through-college-155053345.html]A”>A Family Spent $100,000 on Beanie Babies to Put Their Kids Through College)</p>
<p>You can’t profit from them if you don’t sell them when they’re hot!</p>
<p>Beanie Babies! Now there’s a blast from the past! </p>
<p>QLM</p>
<p>On a smaller scale I was a regional player in Dept 56 items back in the 80’s. Made some decent money and got out before they crashed. So I can understand the mania a bit. But I never had over 100 pieces at a time.</p>
<p>I ran an eBay consignment shop for a while years ago. I still remember one mother who thought that the baseball cards she had been swindled into buying would put her son through college. They were worth very little. She resisted what I told her, thinking I was trying to low-ball her. Finally, when I reminded her that it was consignment and that nothing would make me happier than selling them for what she hoped, that she and I were on the same team, but that I could not in good conscience continue the fiction that they were worth what she had been told, she finally broke down. </p>
<p>It was heart-breaking and while I’m not religious, I hope that the scoundrel who took advantage of her trusting nature gets his.</p>
<p>Actually, I expect Beanie Babies to become valuable again in about 2035, when the people who had them as children grow nostalgic.</p>
<p>However, in the past I have been remarkably poor when it comes to predicting which collectibles would appreciate.</p>
<p>Sad story, Ixnay Bob. Sorry to hear about the situation.</p>
<p>When my kids were young, one family I knew borrowed from their retirement account to afford the fees for a travel soccer team so that their son would get a scholarship. Needless to say, that never happened. Especially since he never even made the high school team.</p>
<p>A second family I know took out a second mortgage on a house that was already beyond their means to send their son to a private high school for which the tuition was $12,000/yr also in hopes of college scholarships out of it. Fast forward: they lost the house and had no money to send him to college so he went to a local state school on student loans.</p>
<p>They did NOT buy those as an investment for college. They bought them because they got a rush out of it. The $100,000. would have been just fine for investing for college.</p>
<p>[27</a> Toys You Threw Out That Are Worth a Fortune Now](<a href=“http://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/27-toys-you-threw-out-that-are-worth-a-lot-on-ebay]27”>27 Toys You Threw Out That Are Worth a Fortune Now)</p>
<p>1990 toys</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mandatory.com/2012/09/04/toys-from-the-80s-worth-serious-cash/10[/url]”>http://www.mandatory.com/2012/09/04/toys-from-the-80s-worth-serious-cash/10</a> </p>
<p>1980 toys</p>
<p>…if you can get somebody to actually buy these</p>
<p>We gave away some of those toys, but they were so “loved” that they’re not even worth a penny to this day. :D</p>
<p>Who the heck is paying $500 for a plush Barney? Cause I got Barney and Baby Bop to sell!</p>
<p>We need Congress to pass a GI Bill with Kung Fu Grip!</p>
<p>My 19 year old still sleeps with her Barney. Priceless.</p>
<p>I popped into a local gift store sometime in 1998 or so needing to buy some stationery. The line to check out was incredibly long, and I realized that it was because it was a beanie baby release day (or something like that). I didn’t have anything else to do, so I waited in line. The lady in front of me said, “Aren’t you buying any Beanie Babies?” I said, “No, I am not.” She looked at me incredulously and said, “But they’re collector’s items. They are a great investment.” To which I replied, “We prefer to put our money in mutual funds.” She turned around in a huff and no longer chitchatted with me after that. :D</p>