Hi Dana,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.

Beanie Babies (BBs) were enormously popular in the 1990s and widely collected, with the consequence that now there are many "on the market" without nearly enough demand for the supply so values on most individual beanie babies are low.

The BB market is often subject to overvaluation and there are myths surrounding BB values, both for ones with - and without - tag errors (for discussion on tag errors, see https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22870250/nft-beanie-baby-price-guide-bubble-princess-value ).

Websites like eBay and Etsy - which are unregulated - are rampant with fraudulent sellers posting BB at exorbitantly high prices and then the BBs either don't sell or sell privately at undisclosed prices. (For an article that goes into detail about this, see: https://www.vice.com/en/article/epnwmn/investigating-the-fake-ebay-market-for-dollar25000-beanie-babies).

Most Beanie Babies - around 99.999999999% of them - have a fair-market value of less than $15 when sold at auction, particularly if they are not in cases; even if they are in cases, they usually don't bring more than $30.

Ty released KuKu the Cockatoo on January 5, 1997 and discontinued production on December 23, 1999. While Ty has never disclosed how many of any Beanie Babies it produced, this is not considered a rare beanie baby.

Pristine examples of KuKu that come to auction rarely sell for more than $20-30 with ones with damage - either to the bird or to the tag - selling for less than that.

Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

A near vintage Ty "KuKu the Cockatoo" Beanie Baby Bird
issued in 1997-99
White bird with pink top feathers, gray beak and feet and glass eyes. with a tush tag and heart-shaped swing ear tag.
7 inches long
CONDITION: Fair condition, with damage to tag
PROVENANCE: Inherited
$10-15*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia