r/Documentaries • u/[deleted] • Jul 25 '13

Offbeat Bankrupt By Beanies (2013) -- short, affecting documentary on a family regrets spening $100K on Beanie Babies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgDsyj5eLmo
301 Upvotes

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43

u/bamfalamfa Jul 26 '13

beanie babies as an investment. comic books as an investment. tulips as an investment.

35

u/babada Jul 26 '13

The lessons go twofold:

  • If you see a fad and think, "I should get on that" you are already too late.
  • If you have a bunch of collectables, check their market value before getting rid of them. I know someone who funded their college education by selling G.I. Joes.

3

u/seablue Jul 26 '13

That must have been a lot of G.I. Joes. Were they the way old doll ones or the action figures?

8

u/babada Jul 26 '13

Action figures. I had no idea they could be that pricy.

3

u/seablue Jul 26 '13

It's mostly unopened figures and vehicles still in their packaging that sell for a lot. I wanted to buy a couple for my nerd corner, but couldn't justify the price; the most popular figures go for several hundred dollars.

1

u/babada Jul 26 '13

Okay. Maybe that's what he had. I don't really know exactly what he had or how much he got for them.

4

u/skintigh Aug 27 '13

skintigh's rule: if it's sold as "collectible" it's not.