#100DAYPROJECT Day 97
It started with a birthday gift. I was, oh I don't know, 12 or 13 years old. It was my birthday party, and I relived a couple beanie babies as gifts from friends. One was called Cherries Garcia and was a little tie-dyed bear. There were others. They were immensely popular amongst the pre-teen crowd, and as it turns out, adults too. It was an early lesson in supply and demand.
Our local Hallmark store carried the beanie babies. They couldn't keep them in stock though. No one could keep them in stock. But we lived only short distance away and it was right by the Albertsons grocery store, so I would check to see if they had received any in their weekly shipment.
There began to be rumors that these things would be worth something someday.
Over time I collected and received more Beanie Babies as gifts and I would take my hard-earned babysitting money down to Hallmark in exchange for an addition to my growing collection. As my collection grew, I began to look for ways to cash in on my small $5 investments. It was the dawn of Internet forums and I found a small online market for the beanie babies. This was the early days, so of course I had no idea what I was doing, not credit card as I was solidly a minor. What I did have, was a collection of small investments.
The small bear I had received, amongst the first in my collection, was by far the most rare and valuable on the forum. I posted it for sale and waited. Shortly thereafter I found a buyer. A woman in the mid-west bought my beanie baby. Not I just had to ship it to her. I went down to UPS and sent it on its way.
My mother was upset with me that I had sold the beanie baby. She was reasonably sure I had been taken advantage of, and as a kid I had no idea I should "collect on delivery." This was pre eBay and eruption of online commerce. But I trusted the system and waited it out. There was really nothing else to do. And then it came. In the mail. I opened the envelope. There it was, a $200 check for my $5 stuffie. I hadn't taken statistics yet, but I knew that was a great return on investment,
The entrepreneurial jeans emerged early. I went from pre-teen to business girl. It was one small transaction. And it was only the beginning.
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