Pricing Methodology - Rediscover 90s Toys

Welcome to Rediscover 90s Toys! We’re excited to launch our price charts, designed to bring clarity and confidence to the world of 90s toy collecting, starting with the iconic Beanie Babies. We know that understanding how these prices are determined is important for our visitors. This page outlines our pricing methodology, so you know exactly where our data comes from and how we calculate the values you see.

Our goal is to provide you with reliable, up-to-date pricing information to help you make informed decisions, whether you’re buying, selling, or simply curious about the value of your collection.

Our Pricing Philosophy: Grounded in Real-World Data

We believe in transparency and accuracy. Our pricing methodology is built on the principle of using real-world, recently observed sales data. We aim to reflect what these beloved toys are actually selling for in the current market.

How We Determine Our Prices

Our price charts showcase the monthly average selling price for a wide range of 90s toys. Here’s how we arrive at those figures:

Primary Data Source: The majority of our pricing data is sourced from actual sold listings on eBay. eBay is one of the largest and most active secondary marketplaces for collectibles, providing a rich stream of real-time transaction data. We focus specifically on completed sales, not asking prices, as this gives a true indication of what buyers are willing to pay.
Supplemental Data Sources: While eBay is our cornerstone, we supplement our data with information from other reputable online marketplaces, collector communities, and auction house records where available and relevant. This helps us create a more comprehensive and nuanced view of the market.
Regular Monthly Updates: The collectibles market can change rapidly! To ensure our price charts are as current as possible, we update our data on a monthly basis. This means you’re seeing a recent snapshot of the market.
Filtering Options for Granular Insights: Our price charts come equipped with filtering options. This allows you to narrow down your search and see pricing trends for specific variations or characteristics of a toy, where data is available.

Weighted Chronological Valuation

Our price chart uses a proprietary pricing algorithm called “WCV” (Weighted Chronological Valuation) to ensure that the value represented is accurate and up-to-date. Here’s how it works:

Sales data is collected from reputable sources
That data is then “cleaned” to remove statistical outliers (highest and lowest sales that could potentially skew results).
That clean data is used to find the Median Price (MP), which is then “trimmed” to remove the top and bottom 5% of sales and produced an even more focused “Trimmed Median Price” (TrMP).
The age of each sale in the clean data set is pulled, and its “weight” (value to the final calculation) is determined. Recent sales are prioritized over older sales to ensure the final value aligns with current market trends.
The weight data from the previous step is used to calculate the “Time-Weighted Average Price” (TWAP).
The final WCV value is calculated by combining the MP, TrMP, and TWAP.

Why Shipping Prices Are NOT Included in Our Calculations

You’ll notice that our displayed prices do not include shipping costs. This is a deliberate decision designed to provide you with the most consistent and comparable “item value.” Here’s why:

Extreme Variability: Shipping costs are highly inconsistent and depend on a multitude of factors:
- Seller & Buyer Location: Domestic vs. international shipping, and the distance between seller and buyer, dramatically impacts cost.
- Shipping Service & Speed: Choices range from budget ground services to premium express options.
- Packaging: The size and weight of the package, as well as the seller’s packaging choices and material costs, influence shipping fees.
- Seller Policies: Some sellers offer free shipping by incorporating it into the item price, or offer cheaper prices but raise the cost of shipping to cover the discount. This unfortunately (and unavoidably) does skew the price data.
- Combined Shipments: Buyers purchasing multiple items from the same seller often receive discounted shipping, which wouldn’t reflect the individual item’s shipping cost if purchased alone.
Focus on Intrinsic Item Value: By excluding shipping, we focus on the inherent market value of the toy itself. This allows for a more beanie-to-beanie comparison of prices across different sellers and platforms, regardless of their location or shipping policies.
Standard Industry Practice: Many collectible price guides and valuation services focus on the item’s price exclusive of shipping to maintain consistency and accurately reflect the item’s standalone worth.

Factors Influencing Price

It’s important to remember that the price of an individual collectible can be influenced by many factors. We have done our best to showcase these influences in our charts and filters, but take into consideration:

Condition: Mint condition items with original packaging and tags (especially critical for Beanie Babies – think hang tags and tush tags!) typically command higher prices. But how mint is mint, especially when some of these items are starting to reach 35+ years old. There will always be a spectrum around the “mintyness” of an item, a spectrum even wider for items listed as ‘used’.
Rarity & Variations: Limited editions, errors, or specific variations of a toy can make it more or less valuable. However, the types of errors are numerous and in many cases, completely unique. Although we have added “Product Errors” as a filter option, not all errors will influence value equally. Errors in the collecting world come with many opinions. Some believe it makes the item unique and boosts value, others see them as having a neutral impact, and there are collectors who would rather just deal in perfect specimens. Where do you stand?
Market Demand & Trends: Popularity and current demand play a major role in price fluctuations. Remember the recent documentary ‘Beanie Mania’ released in 2021? This caused a resurgence in interest for Beanie Babies – attics and basements were searched for old collections and social chatter went through the roof. This caused short term price fluctuations that ultimately didn’t represent long term value. Remember, the trend is your friend until it bends.

Our price charts aim to give you a strong baseline understanding of a toy’s value in the current market based on real recent sales. However, please take these valuations as indicative and not absolute.

How We Determine Hang Tag Condition

A Beanie’s hang tag can make a big difference in its value, so we take extra care when looking at it. We check for things like creases, bends, fading, and whether the tag is still attached. Our goal is to give each tag a fair, consistent grade so you know exactly what to expect when comparing prices.

Hang Tag Condition	Condition Description
Mint	Tag is flawless – crisp, flat, glossy, with no creases, bends, or marks. Appears untouched.
Excellent	Tag is fully intact with only minor signs of handling – slight edge wear or soft bend. No deep creases.
Worn	Visible wear such as noticeable creases, folds, light fading, or sticker residue. Still attached.
Damage/Missing	Tag is torn, heavily creased, detached, or completely missing. Greatly reduces value.

Our Commitment to You

We are committed to providing you with transparent, data-driven pricing information to help you navigate the exciting world of 90s toy collecting. As we expand our range of toys and enhance our filtering capabilities, we will continue to refine our methodology and ensure our data remains a trusted resource for the community.

Happy collecting! We invite you to explore our new Beanie Babies price charts and stay tuned for more exciting 90s toy categories coming soon!