Beanies worth $$???

[sarahlovesmickey]

For those that donate them and use them as a tax deduction or whatever, do you get an official receipt from the agency you donate them to?? If not, if you were audited, how would that work??????? I am looking to donate a few things and I am just curious. Thanks!!

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

For those that donate them and use them as a tax deduction or whatever, do you get an official receipt from the agency you donate them to?? If not, if you were audited, how would that work??????? I am looking to donate a few things and I am just curious. Thanks!!

Anyone????????????

 

[moppety]

For those that donate them and use them as a tax deduction or whatever, do you get an official receipt from the agency you donate them to?? If not, if you were audited, how would that work??????? I am looking to donate a few things and I am just curious. Thanks!!

The rules are now a bit tougher. The IRS basically wants proof now that what you donate is in good, usable condition. What I'm doing and what we are now suggesting to our clients is to write out a list of every item you donate. You can group like things (ie: 6 onesies, 4 pairs Levis blue jeans, etc.). We are also suggesting that they take pictures or video of the items being donated (I'm doing groups in digital pics). When you donate to a charitable organization, they should give you a receipt for your taxes, which I then staple to my list for that day. If they don't offer receipts, I prolly wouldn't donate there. You will need to have an idea of what fair market value of your items is. That could be an estimate of what it could bring at a garage sale or resale shop, or what similar items are going for on eBay.

There are no real hard and fast rules yet as to what the IRS is looking for as "proof", which is why we are suggesting over-documenting. That way you know you're covered.

Also, if you have a CPA or tax person, they could give you some pointers as well.

HTH!

 

[pooh17]

In my case, the hospital issued me a receipt to use for tax purposes. It worked out to about $4 per beannie.

 

[fAnnF]

My dad just bought at lot of 50 on ebay for $5 and $30 for shipping. He likes the tye-die ones, but they don't seem to go for much.

 

[rparmfamily]

You could always ask at the fire department if they will write you a receipt, and just take pictures of what you are donating.

I didn't ask for a receipt because I did it during an emergency and I didn't care. Dh left with like a few hours notice. DH said the kids loved him handing them out and it put a big smile on their faces. (he was sent to a housing project in the Biloxi/Gulfport area to serve food w/the Salvation Army immediately after Katrina hit)

 

[Disneyaunt4]

I have a huge bin of them. I contacted our local hospital and they were very happy to take them off my hands. They'll be given to kids who come into the ER or for surgery to help comfort them. My preference is to give locally, and its a non-profit organization so I'll be able to write it off on my taxes.

I called a few hospitals and they wouldn't take them . I did give some to the sheriff's when I lived in Florida.

 

[ilovepcot]

I called a few hospitals and they wouldn't take them . I did give some to the sheriff's when I lived in Florida.

When I worked pediatrics at a local hospital, we weren't allowed to accept stuffed animals. Only toys that could be washed down with disinfectant (mostly plastic types) were allowed. They were afraid some child could get hold of a toy that could harbor some type bacteria that could cause major problems, depending on what their diagnosis was.

 

[hsmamato2]

Please tell me.....


are the Webkinz that cost more than BB going to be worth a $1.00 next year?

My DD wants to collect so many of them. My younger DD was allowed to sign up one as a pet. DD8 signed up 4 - that is just too many. She enjoys them and keeps them healthy, etc. But she wants more of the stuffed animals "to have" and not officially adpot.

of course they'll be worth next to nothing when the fad dies down.... they're just cute little worthless toys! My kids have a couple, but they also had some beanies,not for money, but b/c they loved the animals themselves- we knew they'd never be worth anything..... these collector fads do make me laugh......
at times,something ends up worth more,but mostly,like the really faddish stuff,there are WAY too many made,and sold,and they're essentially valueless (unless you can find some suckers on ebay to sell them to at inflated prices NOW- Webkins are at our local Walgreens for 19.99 )
ds likes his webkinz toy, but not the online site so much.......

 

[HeatherAnn23]

I'm also a teacher looking for the same set as the pp - if anyone could help me out please pm me!
Thanks!!

 

[cats mom]

I hope it's OK to put in a plug for one of the places we donate to.

It's called Project Night-Night

I doubt if they have locations everywhere, but if there's one near you it's a great program.

They put together tote bags that include a blanket, a book, and a stuffed animal for kids who are in homeless shelters.

I know the one here is always looking for donations.

We had a ton of stuffed animals that needed new homes and honestly I was having a hard time finding anywhere that wanted them. Like others have said: so many places accept only brand new items (as in no 10 year old beanies... tags or not)

The folks at Project Night Night just asked that everything be in very gently used condition.

DD8 came along with me to drop everything off and they let her put together a couple of bags so she could see just what they do with the donations. She was so excited that she came home and found even more books and stuffies to donate.

Most of our stuffed animals were larger ones, but I think beanies would be a great size to use in the totes.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

I hope it's OK to put in a plug for one of the places we donate to.

It's called Project Night-Night

I doubt if they have locations everywhere, but if there's one near you it's a great program.

They put together tote bags that include a blanket, a book, and a stuffed animal for kids who are in homeless shelters.

I know the one here is always looking for donations.

We had a ton of stuffed animals that needed new homes and honestly I was having a hard time finding anywhere that wanted them. Like others have said: so many places accept only brand new items (as in no 10 year old beanies... tags or not)

The folks at Project Night Night just asked that everything be in very gently used condition.

DD8 came along with me to drop everything off and they let her put together a couple of bags so she could see just what they do with the donations. She was so excited that she came home and found even more books and stuffies to donate.

Most of our stuffed animals were larger ones, but I think beanies would be a great size to use in the totes.

awwww, what a wonderful organization. I have not heard that we have one of those around here. I am sure that the children are just so excited to get a bag like that. Kids in homeless shelters....it is such a sad sight to see.

 

[SalandJeff]

I'm a teacher looking for a set that includes a monkey, frog, lion, fish, snake, kangaroo, and eagle. I haven't seen any sets marketed this way on e-bay, but I know if I'm looking there must be others looking too.

Why are teachers looking for these particular animals?

 

[AMaloy314]

Why are teachers looking for these particular animals?

I was wondering the same thing. Is it for a special teaching unit?

 

[mommyceratops]

My son got one at the children's hospital when he was in the ER one night and it made him cheered him up! I was very thankful someone had donated them.

 

[disykat]

I don't know how to do a link but if you search for "beanie baby reading strategies" on the web you'll find it. I know there are other teachers looking for these specific beanies. I had the posters in my room (with no beanies) and every teacher who came in my room oohed and aahed over the idea.

BTW, It's not my idea I just found it on the web and used it in my classroom. I'd love to buy them if anyone has a grouping of those beanies.

popping this up to show what teachers want those for

 

[ZPT1022]

I also wanted to add that if anyone has the beanie buddy named Rainbow, please PM me and we can work out a fair trade. He's my daughter's lovey and she would love to have more (she's six now and found the spare , but she's decided they're a family and she adores them both, and asked if there were more )

This is him,just for reference:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BEANIE-BUDDY-RA...7271602QQihZ004QQcategoryZ19207QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Cindy B]

Why are teachers looking for these particular animals?

It could be a unit on specific animals to a region. Or a habitat study. Some teachers may use a beanie like a "Flat Stanley" type thing for the kids to bring home and write about.

Other reasons could be a warm blooded/cold blooded/mammal/not mammal study.


Away from science, there could be literature books with these type animals as a main character. Of course the beanie may not exactly look like the literarature piece but it could work.

These ideas were just what I was thinking about quickly, I'm sure there are more ideas.

 

[Jen72386]

I hope it's OK to put in a plug for one of the places we donate to.

It's called Project Night-Night

I doubt if they have locations everywhere, but if there's one near you it's a great program.

They put together tote bags that include a blanket, a book, and a stuffed animal for kids who are in homeless shelters.

I know the one here is always looking for donations.

We had a ton of stuffed animals that needed new homes and honestly I was having a hard time finding anywhere that wanted them. Like others have said: so many places accept only brand new items (as in no 10 year old beanies... tags or not)

The folks at Project Night Night just asked that everything be in very gently used condition.

DD8 came along with me to drop everything off and they let her put together a couple of bags so she could see just what they do with the donations. She was so excited that she came home and found even more books and stuffies to donate.

Most of our stuffed animals were larger ones, but I think beanies would be a great size to use in the totes.

Just a note about this program, i just looked them up and they are only in a handful of areas. also listd as one of their guidelines for donations was this
"GUIDELINES:

We cannot accept large stuffed animals
(those over 12 inches) as they need to be
able to fit in our tote bags. No Beanie
Babies please.We serve children ages 0-10 years old.

Blankets should be new and "crib size" or
smaller.
"Like New" (books and stuffed animals)
means anything that would appear new to a
homeless child, but it need not have the
tags attached. It should be free from soil,
obvious blemishes, and other defects.

New items do not need to have tags.

If you would like a tax receipt, please include
your name, address, and the value of your
donation."

 

[cats mom]

Hmmm that's interesting.

I'm guessing it depends on who is running the local chapter. The gal who does it here is happy to accept pretty much any size. I had some that were too big for the bags and I had a few beanies as well. She was thrilled to have all of them. She said she can make most anything work.

Makes sense to call and verify before loading them up and/or shipping them off though.