If you were a kid in the late nineties, or maybe a parent trying to fund a college tuition through plush toys, you remember the madness. The plastic tag protectors. The checklists. The frenzied runs to Hallmark stores. But among the sea of neon-colored animals, one date stands out for collectors who actually know their history: Beanie Baby August 20.
It’s the birthday of Schweetheart, the orangutan.
But wait. If you ask a hardcore collector about that date, they might give you a blank stare or, more likely, start arguing about a completely different bear. This isn't just about a birthday on a heart-shaped tag. It’s about the day the Beanie Baby bubble didn't just leak—it popped. August 20, 1999, was the day Ty Warner, the reclusive billionaire behind Ty Inc., announced he was killing off the entire line.
Seriously. All of them.
The Day the Beanie World Stood Still
Most people think the Beanie Baby craze ended with a whimper, but it actually ended with a press release. On August 20, 1999, Ty Inc. posted a cryptic message on their website. It said that all Beanie Babies would be retired on December 31, 1999.
The world went nuts.
You have to understand the psychology here. By 1999, people were already nervous. The market was oversaturated. Then, suddenly, the creator says the party is over. It was a masterclass in artificial scarcity, or at least it was supposed to be. Ty thought that by announcing a total retirement, he would trigger one last massive buying spree.
It worked. Sorta.
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People flooded stores to grab the "last" bears ever made. But then, something weird happened. On January 1, 2000, the "The End" bear was released. Then a bear named "Beginning." People felt manipulated. The trust was gone. The Beanie Baby August 20 announcement is now studied by economists as the exact moment a speculative bubble turns into a freefall. When you tell your customers you're quitting just to make them buy more, they eventually stop believing you.
Who is Schweetheart anyway?
Let's look at the literal side of this date. If you look at the "tush tag" or the swing tag of certain Beanies, you'll find birthdays. August 20 belongs to Schweetheart. She's a bright reddish-orange orangutan with a fuzzy face.
Is she worth thousands? No. Honestly, you can find her for five bucks at a flea market.
There's a common misconception that because she’s an orangutan and released during the tail end of the "Golden Era," she must be rare. She isn't. But she represents that weird period where Ty was trying to get more detailed with the designs. Schweetheart has individual fingers. She has a different texture of fur. She was "over-engineered" compared to the simple beanbags like Legs the Frog or Chocolate the Moose.
The Myth of the August 20 Error
If you spend enough time on eBay, you’ll see listings for "Rare Beanie Baby August 20 Error Tag."
Don't buy it.
Scammers love to find any date that looks significant and claim it's a "misprint." Sometimes, a tag might have a typo in the birthday—maybe it says 1998 instead of 1999—but in the world of professional grading (think companies like PSA or Becky’s Beanie Babies), a typo rarely adds value. In fact, most Beanie Babies had millions of copies printed with the same typos. If everyone has the "error," the error is the standard.
The real value in the Beanie world isn't in a date. It's in the Generation.
- 1st Gen Tags: These are the ones without the star. If you find a 1st Generation Beanie with an August 20 birthday (though none exist from that early era), you'd be looking at a house down payment.
- 4th and 5th Gen Tags: These are what you likely have in your attic. They are the common ones.
Schweetheart was a 5th Generation swing tag release. She was mass-produced. She was everywhere. You probably have her shoved in a bin next to an Erin bear and a Princess Di bear that you think is worth $50,000 (spoiler: it’s usually not).
Why Collectors Still Obsess Over These Dates
The obsession with specific dates like Beanie Baby August 20 comes from the "Retirement" culture. Back in the day, the Beanie Baby official website was the only source of truth. Every time a retirement was announced, the secondary market price for that specific animal would double overnight.
It was a digital gold rush.
I remember people waiting for the dial-up modem to connect just to see if their favorite animal was now "extinct." If an animal was born on August 20 and retired on August 21, it would be the Holy Grail. But that rarely happened. Most stayed in production for months or years.
The "The End" Bear Debacle
We have to go back to that August 20, 1999 announcement. After Ty announced the end of the line, he released a black bear aptly named "The End." It had a gold ribbon and a firework embroidered on its chest.
People bought cases of them.
The logic was simple: This is the last Beanie Baby ever. It’s the final one. Except it wasn't. After the "August 20" bombshell, Ty held a "vote" to see if the fans wanted the Beanies to stay. Of course, the "fans" (mostly people who had invested their life savings in plush toys) voted yes.
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The line continued. The "The End" bear became a joke. It's currently worth about $3 on a good day.
Checking the Value of Your August 20 Beanie
If you’re sitting there holding an orangutan or a bear with an August 20 birthday, here is how you actually check if it's worth anything. Forget the eBay "Sold" listings for a second—look at the "Completed" listings that actually had bids.
- Check the Tush Tag: Look for a red heart on the white tag near the tail. If it says "1999" and has a stamp inside the tag (a little number or letter), it was mass-produced in a specific factory.
- Pellet Type: Is it PE or PVC? PVC pellets are older and generally more desirable, though by 1999, most were PE.
- The "Canadian" Factor: If your Beanie has a Canadian tush tag (it’ll have extra info about the material), it might be worth a tiny bit more to a niche collector.
- Condition is Everything: If the heart tag is creased, the value drops by 50% immediately. If the tag is gone? It’s just a toy.
Most collectors today aren't looking for the common "birthday" bears. They are looking for "The Old Face" Teddy bears or "Chef Robuchon." The August 20 connection is more of a historical marker for when the industry peaked and then drove off a cliff.
The Psychology of the 1999 Crash
Why did we all believe a $5 beanbag would buy us a car?
Economics calls it "Greater Fool Theory." You buy something for $10 not because you like it, but because you're certain a "greater fool" will buy it from you for $20. The Beanie Baby August 20 announcement was the moment the "greater fools" realized there was nobody left to sell to.
When Ty Warner announced the retirement of the whole line, he was trying to reset the market. He wanted to clear out old stock. But he underestimated the fatigue. People were tired of the hunt. They were tired of the "Limited Edition" lies.
The market shifted to Pokémon. It shifted to the digital world. The plush era was over, and that August date was the headstone.
Is there any August 20 Beanie worth money?
Technically, if you had an unreleased prototype associated with that date, sure. Prototypes are the only place the real money is at now. We're talking $1,000 to $5,000. But you don't find those in your garage. You find those at specialized auctions or from former Ty employees.
For the average person, an August 20 Beanie is a piece of nostalgia. It’s a reminder of a time when we all thought we were savvy investors because we owned a stuffed monkey named Schweetheart.
Moving Forward: What to do with your collection
Don't throw them away. But don't count on them for retirement either.
The market for Beanie Babies has actually stabilized in the last two years. It's not a "boom," but Gen Z is starting to buy them for the aesthetic. They like the "Y2K" vibe. They don't care about the tag errors or the August 20 announcements; they just think the orangutan looks "vibey" on a bookshelf.
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If you want to sell, your best bet is selling in "lots." A group of 20 Beanies might sell for $40 to $60, which is better than $2 for a single one after you factor in shipping costs.
Actionable Steps for Collectors:
- Audit your tags: Use a magnifying glass to check for the "red star" on the heart tag. If there is NO star, you have an early generation (1-3) which is actually worth researching.
- Stop the "Error" Hunt: Almost every Beanie from 1998-1999 has a "Gasport" instead of "Gosport" typo or an extra space in the poem. These do not make you rich.
- Store them properly: If you’re holding onto them for sentimental reasons, get them out of plastic bins. The plastic can off-gas and turn the white fur yellow over decades. Use acid-free containers.
- Check the "Tush Tag" date vs. the "Swing Tag" date: If the year on the butt of the toy is different from the year in the heart tag, you might have a transition piece. These are mildly interesting to hardcore hobbyists.
The legend of Beanie Baby August 20 is really the legend of a marketing stunt that went too far. It's a reminder that value is subjective and scarcity is often manufactured. Whether you're looking at Schweetheart the Orangutan or the ghost of a 1999 press release, the real value is in the story of the craze itself.
Keep your bears. Enjoy the memories. Just don't try to pay your mortgage with them.
Check your collection for any "1st Generation" tush tags—specifically ones that only say "Ty" in a plain font without the red heart—as these are the only ones currently seeing a price floor above $100 in the secondary collector market. If your August 20 animal has a "5th Generation" tag (the most common version with the yellow star), its primary value is as a nostalgic gift rather than a financial asset. Look for "clean" tags with no yellowing or price sticker residue, as "Mint" condition is now the baseline requirement for any sale on platforms like Heritage Auctions or specialized Facebook collector groups.
For those looking to liquidate a large collection, avoid individual listings. Instead, categorize your Beanies by "Era" (Pre-1997 vs Post-1997) and sell them as curated sets to maximize the interest from "New Wave" collectors who are buying for home decor rather than investment. If you find a "Schweetheart" with a uniquely misaligned face or missing limbs, these "factory defects" are actually more sought after today than the standard "tag errors" that dominated 1990s price guides.