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 had largely discontinued production of its Beanie Babies by December 1999 so "Wisest the Owl" - made from June to December 2000 - was a short-lived Beanie Baby. Ty later promoted other graduation-themed owls and other animals that had year-specific hats or other embroidery but did not reissue a new version annually.

This is not considered a rare beanie baby and other "Wisest" models that have sold at auction - for both 2000 and other years- usually don't exceed $30 at auction if in good condition.

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

A near vintage Ty "Wisest the Owl" Beanie Baby Bird
issued in 2000
Brown and white bird wearing a black bow tie and mortarboard inscribed "Class of '00' and glass eyes, with a tush tag and heart-shaped swing ear tag.
7 inches long
CONDITION: In good condition
PROVENANCE: Inherited
$20-30*
*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