In the 90s purposely under-stuffed stuffed animals were all the rage for all walks of life. I myself was a little young to have a collecting habit but I do remember walking into almost any store and seeing a display of Beanie Babies, or being in someone’s home as a guest and seeing a few on display by family photos and other knick-knacks. Sometimes it would just be a regular beanie baby, and sometimes it would be an exclusive or rare one. Being younger than 10 years old for the initial era of beanie babies, I just assumed most adults were really into whatever animal was their favorite, and for whatever reason Princess Diana as a bear. My first Christmas that I can remember I saw my aunt open a gift that was a Princess Diana Bear and to this day I have not seen as much tearful joy on a human beings face on Christmas day. Fast forward to the turn of the century and Beanie Babies lost their appeal with over saturation of product when most of the consumers had started purchasing for collectability or value on the market. Beanie Babies came and went as the world’s first internet sensation and one of the many toys to be collected and bought for financial gain. Turns out that many people aren’t THAT into their favorite animals once the fad is over. I don’t think I’ve ever seen beanie babies on display in someone’s home as an adult, but what I have seen in people’s homes over and over again are Funko Pops.
Fun fact, Funko started as company in 1998, the year before the Beanie Baby craze started to fade away, but the giant headed vinyl figures we’re all familiar with didn’t start until 2010. Here we are in 2023 and I still hear people say that Funko Pops are the next Beanie Babies, yet even with a crazy amount of product and more Funkos than any single person could realistically collect they’re still here and in every store. While you can definitely say the craze and demand for Funkos has slowed down recently I bet even if somehow Funko went out of business and announced tomorrow that no more Funko Pops would be made or sold, you would still see them on display in people’s homes, or work desks and offices, why? Because even though there’s collectability and rarity to them, first and foremost they resemble a character from a franchise, that’s the hook. Beanie Babies lost their overall appeal due to oversaturation and because of the design and it just being something from the animal kingdom wasn’t enough on its own to keep around on display. They were displayed more times than not because it was like a trophy, or like when a hunter mounts a deer head to show off. The other major appeal is, you can turn any property or celebrity into a Funko Pop. You can be a fan of TMNT, Star Wars, The Office, and Shakira have them all on display and in the same scale together. No other collectible line has had as many series and characters included over time like Funko.
While I myself am not a huge Funko Pop collector I do have a good amount on display around my home along with my wife, but I’ve definitely purchased wayyyyyyy more than I own. I believe Funko Pops are the perfect last minute gift idea, or add on. If I’m invited to a holiday party last minute that has a white elephant the first thing I’m doing is seeing what I currently have in my shop that would be an easy gift. If you’ve pulled your nephews name in a Secret Santa and all he does is play Fortnite? Boom, buy him a Fortnite Funko Pop. Your basic cousin who gets overly excited for pumpkin spice each year? They have Friends Funko Pops of Joey, Chandler, Monica, Rachel, Ross, and Phoebe for this very reason. Make it easy for yourself, buy a giant headed plastic guy that resembles a character your uncle likes and I promise you he’ll put it on his desk at work and let you know it’s still there every year after. With a 25-year history you are bound to find a character that anyone in your life enjoys.
This article idea was brought to you buy a customer who asked me what the appeal of Funko Pops were and then bought a Spider-Man Beanie Baby.