Mint Condition Rare 1997 Princess The Bear TY Baby - Missing Birth Date - Made in Indonesia instead of China - Made with P.V.C Pellets instead of PE Pellets
Hi Nathan,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
There are myths surrounding Beanie Baby values, both for ones with and without tag errors. Websites like eBay and Etsy - which are unregulated - are rampant with fraudulent sellers posting Beanie Babies 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)
The purple Princess Diana bear was produced two months after Diana's death on August 31, 1997 and continued production until 1999. There are a LOT of them on the market and despite reports that they are "rare" or "valuable," the first edition bears are the only ones that are valuable - of which I believe yours is one - and even those don't usually sell from more than $75-150.
Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
A vintage Ty "Princess The Bear" Princess Diana Purple Bear beanie baby
made in Indonesia, late 1997/early 1998
The purple plush bear bearing a white rose over its heart, the rose stem is a pale green. The tush tag has a red number mark inside while the swing tag has a space between "All profits of Ty...: and "Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund". Stuffed with PVC pellets
Should be approximately 9 inches long
CONDITION: appears to be in good condition
PROVENANCE: Inherited
$75-125*
*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