Real Princess Diana Beanie Baby Value 2023

How much is a Princess Diana Beanie Baby worth?

According to the trusted Beanie Baby collecting site Ty Collector, Princess Diana Beanie Babies are worth between $5 to $100, depending on various factors. This is a far cry from the crazy prices at which Princess Beanie Babies have been listed on eBay. While there are some instances of this bear selling for up to $500, the listings that go into several thousand (some have even gone into the hundreds of thousands) are totally bogus.

Ty Collector even suspects some of these transactions are examples of money laundering or another mischievous scheme. Needless to say, you shouldn’t trust those crazy high prices!

Note: The most recent sale we could find on eBay for a mint-condition Princess the Bear was just $14.50 (as of 2023). This Princess Bear had a protective case over the hang tag, but wasn’t sealed in its own case (it might have sold for more if it had been).

How do I know if my Princess Diana Beanie is valuable?

If you have a Princess Diana Beanie Baby and were expecting to finance your next holiday with it, we’re sorry to burst your bubble. However, since they were only sold for around $5 to $7 when they were released, you could still earn a nice little profit by putting your Princess Bear up for auction.

Like other ‘valuable’ Beanie Babies, the value of a Princess Diana Beanie Baby depends on factors like the swing tag, tush tag, and stuffing. Our other article has a brief guide on how to value Beanie Babies, describing these factors in more detail.

When it comes valuing your Princess the Bear, here are the specific factors to look out for:

“Space” vs. “No-Space” swing tags:

This refers to whether there is a space in the middle of the last four lines of text on the right interior of the swing tag. The “no-space” version of the swing tag appeared during the first production run from China and for some of the first run in Indonesia. Because of this, for a Princess Diana Beanie Baby to be considered first edition, it must have the “no-space” swing tag.

PVC vs. PE pellets:

During its production, there were two versions of Princess Bear – one stuffed with PVC pellets and one stuffed with PE pellets. Bears stuffed with PVC pellets are from the earliest production runs and are considered more valuable. You can see whether you have a PE or PVC Princess Bear by checking the tush tag.

China vs. Indonesia production:

Similar to other rare Beanie Babies like Peace the Bear, collectors place a higher value on those produced in Indonesia over those produced in China. This is because those made in Indonesia are reported to have softer fabric and richer color than those made in China. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the timeline of production for the Princess Bear between China and Indonesia, but as of writing, the first run of Indonesian bears is considered more valuable.

Canadian customs tag:

Beanie Babies destined to be sold in Canada have a special extra addition to the tush tag to comply with local regulations. This tag was included in the first run of Indonesian Princess Bears and in the second run of those made in China. PVC, first-run Indonesian Princess Bears with the Canadian customs tag will typically sell for the most ($75 to $125).

Condition:

Of course, all the most expensive Beanie Babies that have sold have been in mint or near-mint condition. Even if your Princess the Bear sports the many tag variations listed above, it won’t sell unless you’ve given it royal treatment!

With all the right factors in play, a Princess the Bear can sell for $100 or more. In fact, one sold on eBay for just under $250 in April 2022! However, this bear was in mint condition (sealed in a clear plastic protector with plastic tag protectors) and came with a certificate of authenticiTy.

If you want to make sure your Princess Bear is parade-ready, check out our guide on how to wash Beanie Babies.

Why is the Princess Beanie Baby valued higher than it’s really worth?

Great question. A lot of it comes down to a mixture of historical context, misinformation, and the original hysteria surrounding Beanie Babies.

The Princess Diana Beanie Baby was produced in the wake of Princess Diana’s death in 1997, with profits going to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. Dubbed ‘Princess the Bear’, this Beanie Baby had a deep purple color with a purple ribbon and a small white rose on the left side of her chest.

Due to logistics concerns, Ty announced that retailers could only order 12 of the Diana Beanie Baby to stock on shelves in time for Christmas. Ty never planned for Princess the Bear to be a rare Beanie Baby, but rumors about this 12-bear limit began to spread like wildfire. This led to a buying frenzy amongst people who believed their Beanie Babies collection would be worth a fortune one day.

This mix of factors has meant that decades later, people still hold the false belief that Princess the Bear is a limited edition and extremely valuable Beanie Baby. Some of the high-priced listings on eBay are undoubtedly from people who overpaid and want to try and recover their losses.

Ultimately, Princess the Bear serves as a cautionary tale of how artificial scarcity (fuelled by misinformation), hype and good o’l fashioned FOMO can lead to everyday people getting burnt on speculative investments.

But at least if you lose money on Princess the Bear, you still have a cute stuffed animal  – the same can’t be said for a lot of the bizarre NFT projects that have gone under over the last few years. For example (while we’re talking about bears), Winter Bears was an NFT collection minted in 2021 where the value was hyped up early on, but quickly ran out of steam, leaving the only winners those who could sell on the secondary market before the value plummeted.

Peeps Ask!

What is the rarest Princess Diana Beanie Baby?

The rarest Princess Diana Beanie Baby will be a first edition one (meaning it has a “no-space” swing tag), will be filled with PVC pellets, and has been produced in Indonesia with a Canadian customs tag.

How do I know which Princess Diana Beanie Baby I have?

All the information you need to determine which Princess the Bear you have can be found on the swing tag and tush tag.

How can you tell if you have a first edition Princess Diana Beanie Baby?

Look at the swing tag. If there is no space between “All profits of Ty from this collectible will be donated to the” and “DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES MEMORIAL FUND,” then you have a first edition bear.