Yard Sale Pricing - Stuffed Animals

[DVCLiz]

I have quite a collection of nice stuffed animals - things like Paddington Bear, the Beatrix Potter characters, etc. Also, I have a nice collection of plush puppets - a dragon, a duck, etc. and of course we have loads of Beanie Babies as well as the usual random bears, etc.

Are these popular at yard sales? What kind of pricing should I use? Thanks for the help!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I have quite a collection of nice stuffed animals - things like Paddington Bear, the Beatrix Potter characters, etc. Also, I have a nice collection of plush puppets - a dragon, a duck, etc. and of course we have loads of Beanie Babies as well as the usual random bears, etc.

Are these popular at yard sales? What kind of pricing should I use? Thanks for the help!

I usually GIVE stuffed animals away at yard sales. You know, if a mom/dad is trying to look in peace, I give junior a stuffed animal to give mom/dad a quiet moment to think. Works!!!

 

[kristilew]

I've never been able to sell stuffed animals at yard sales or on craig's list, no matter how nice. As pp said, I would end up giving them away to keep kids happy.

However, we have a center for abused kids here that gives them a stuffed animal to hold during an exam and lets them keep it, so they are always looking for "like new" stuffed animals. DD and I carted three huge bags to them, which was a really good lesson to her to realize how fortunate she is, and they were thrilled to get them. It was tax deductible, and I was glad to feel like they were doing some good.

If you don't have a place like that in your area, perhaps the Linus Project or Project Teddy Bear would want them. The first donates blankets, etc to kids pulled out of their homes by social services and the second puts stuffed animals in police cars in case they have to transport a scared child.

 

[daisyduck123]

I had a yard sale 2 weeks ago. I sold a basket full of Beanie Babies (had about 20 in there) for $5.00 to a guy who wanted all of them. He said he is a teacher & was going to ship them overseas to the soldiers.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

However, we have a center for abused kids here that gives them a stuffed animal to hold during an exam and lets them keep it, so they are always looking for "like new" stuffed animals. DD and I carted three huge bags to them, which was a really good lesson to her to realize how fortunate she is, and they were thrilled to get them. It was tax deductible, and I was glad to feel like they were doing some good.

If you don't have a place like that in your area, perhaps the Linus Project or Project Teddy Bear would want them. The first donates blankets, etc to kids pulled out of their homes by social services and the second puts stuffed animals in police cars in case they have to transport a scared child.

This is a great idea. I'm a child protective worker so I actually drive around with a large bag of stuffed animals (that I (no flames, please) take from DD's room because she literally has dozens of them and doesn't notice them missing) and give them to children who unfortunately end up in my car/office.

 

[IDoDis]

I've sold a few at yard sales, but for very cheap like .25 or .50 cents. I even had a very large Mickey from the Disney Store that was $40 new that I tried to sell. I had it priced at $4.00 and was offered $2 by someone. I decided to keep it and will end up giving it away to someone. For that amount I'd rather give it away to someone I know. It's a shame because even the nicer stuffed animals (like Gund) don't sell unless you get the right person to come by who collects them. I did sell a stuffed dog from Build-a-Bear for $4.00 last year though.

If you have kids, you might want to give the puppets to their teacher or to a kindergarten teacher at the school. Those are expensive and I'm sure the teachers would appreciate them.

 

[DVCLiz]

Thanks, everyone! I have several options for donations - just didn't know if they were good sellers at a yard sale. I'd much rather donate them to my church library, or to any one of a number of local organizations like the ones you've mentioned.

 

[ceecee]

I do well with ours. I had them in .25 .50 and $1.00 boxes according to size. I sold beanies for $2.00 (sold most, had just a few left) the animals went very well, people buy them for their pets. My dogs would have them destroyed within seconds, but I sold a lot of them for that reason.

 

[McKelly]

I was wondering this too. My DD is giving up her Care Bears and I just didn't know if anyone would buy them, or how much to put on them. She must have 30 of them!! Thank goodness she is getting rid of them!! Of course, they are all being replaced with Webkinz!!

 

[jennyL]

I had a yard sale last year and sold my stuffed animals for $3.00 each. I had two huge bozes of them and they all sold except for a Marvin the Martian and his dog. We laughed since they were the only ones that DH had and contributed to the boxes.

 

[feedindy]

I have had a lot of luck with "grab bags" at yard sales. I put stuffed animals or other small toys that wouldn't otherwise sell into a brown paper bag marked $.25, $.50 or $1.00, depending on how big the bag or how much I throw in it. The neighborhood kids go crazy for them and nearly every parent who stops buys 1 or 2 for their kids. I think I made $25 from those last year. They were literally bags full of junk, but the kids kept coming back for more. They liked the thrill of surprise more than anything.

I put stuffed animals, trinket toys, 2-3 fast food toys, etc. in each bag and marked it boy/girl.

 

[LadyyRedd]

They don't sell well here either, no matter how nice. You might be able to get rid of them for .25 each. I was able to sell beanie babies in the past, but not much anymore.

Kimy

 

[Melrosgirl]

a quarter.

Even the build a bear ones don't get more than a $1.00 at yard sales (or ebay sometimes).

Donate them. Easier.

 

[kfeuer]

Agree with donating. I just had a garage sale on Saturday that was very successful over all, but we didn't sell a single stuffed animal, and they were all in good condition. I only asked .25 or .50.

I think most of us are just over-run with stuffed animals.

 

[lisaross]

Funny, because i had a lady come and buy my stuffed animals for her dog as well! I sold them for .25 i think - only sold a "big" ELMO to a kid for 1.00 - also gave away lots! Just don't want them back in my house!!!

I do well with ours. I had them in .25 .50 and $1.00 boxes according to size. I sold beanies for $2.00 (sold most, had just a few left) the animals went very well, people buy them for their pets. My dogs would have them destroyed within seconds, but I sold a lot of them for that reason.

 

[mom2girlsn1boy]

we do Bingo at an old folks home and that's where our stuffed animals go, they just don't seem to sell well at garage sales, good luck

 

[ceecee]

I was wondering this too. My DD is giving up her Care Bears and I just didn't know if anyone would buy them, or how much to put on them. She must have 30 of them!! Thank goodness she is getting rid of them!! Of course, they are all being replaced with Webkinz!!

I did sell Care Bears and other special types on Ebay and did really well. DD had so many toys, they were all like new.

 

[daisax]

Market them as dog toys as others have said. Dog toys cost $6-7 bucks and as much as $20-30 for large ones. When you have dogs that destroy them in 2 minutes, you get shy of buying them, but a "reminder" at a yard sale might jog your memory.

Just as for small kids, people need to be wary of eyes that detach or small pieces that could be taken off and swallowed, and of course they should supervise. If your own child is sensitive to the thought of dogs tearing their toys to bits you might wish to reconsider.

But as a dog owner, I can tell you that stuffed animals are a BIG hit because they get them so seldom and for a buck I don't care if they rip 'em apart in 30 seconds -- they're just so thrilled to have them in the first place!

And if somebody has a dog that is "nuturing" it's really funny to watch them cuddle with a precious new stuffed toy.

 

[mjkacmom]

I had a yard sale, and couldn't give them away, so I would sell an item and make the buyer take one!

 

[Jengonz1982]

As for the Beanie babies,I'd research them. I used to buy,sell and trade Beanies and you'd be suprised what some of them would still sell for. They have some very rare Beanie babies that could sell in the thousand range. Try a website called meta exchange dot com. You can check out the prices for the beanies,note that if you'll have to eventually find out what generation it is. You can tell that by the hangtag.Just do a search on how to tell the different hangtags with pictures. I hope this works for you.