Hi Leanne,

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 Valentina in February 1998 and discontinued production at the end of 1999. While Ty has never disclosed how many of any Beanie Babies it produced, this is not considered a rare bear. Additionally, Valentina - and her white with red heart counterpart Valentino - are among the most popular beanie baby bears, making supply outweigh its demand.

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

A near vintage Ty "Valentina" Beanie Baby Bear
issued in 1998
Hot pink colored bear with white heart on its left breast and metallic gold neck ribbon, with a tush tag and heart-shaped swing ear tag. In a plastic case
Typically 6 inches long
CONDITION: Very good
PROVENANCE: Acquired from a garage or yard sale
$15-25*
*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