This Beanie Baby is the bold and vibrant Snort the Bull, introduced in 1995. Snort features a bright red body, white hooves, and a white snout with small black eyes. This piece is in excellent condition, with no stains, tears, or signs of wear. The tush tag are intact and in great shape, with no creases or fading.
Hi Brittany,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
Beanie Babies 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. Additionally, the Beanie Baby market is often subject to overvaluation and 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).
Ty released the "Snort the Bull" Beanie Baby, the red bull with white hooves, on January 1, 1997. It was retired on December 31, 1998. Interestingly, Snort was the replacement for an earlier Beanie Baby named Tabasco, which was retired due to a potential trademark conflict with the Tabasco hot sauce brand. Snort has the same design as Tabasco but with a different name.
Because of its relatively short production run, "Snort the Bull" was not made in as great volume as some other beanie babies. While it would be an overstatement to call it "rare," it is more highly collectible than some other great-produced BBs and usually brings the slightly higher-than-normal price of $35-45 when sold at auction.
Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
A near vintage Ty "Snort the Bull" Beanie Baby
Handmade in China, circa 1997
The bright red bull with cream-colored horns, ear insides, nose and hoofs, bearing a heart-shaped ear tag and characteristic tush tag. Stuffed with PVC pellets
Should be approximately 8-9 inches long
CONDITION: This beanie baby bull appears to be in good condition.
PROVENANCE:
$35-45*
*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