Squishmallows: A Meteoric Rise to Fame
Scoot over Beanie Babies, the Squishmallows are here.
Did you know the first stuffed animal was a pin cushion elephant? Created by toy designer Margarete Steiff, stuffed animals got their humble roots in Germany a little over a decade ago. And, with Steiff’s nephew creating the “Teddy” bear in 1902, plush toys would continue to grow in popularity across the globe.
Today, stuffed animals can be found in nearly every home. Whether it’s a gift from yourself or someone else — it’s almost certain that you own at least one.
The Original Collectable Stuffed Toy
Before Squishmallows, Beanie Babies served as the premiere collectible toy of the 90s. These stuffed toys, created by businessman H. Ty Warner, were filled with plastic pellets or “beans” as opposed to traditionally soft stuffing. Because of the high resale value of particular toys, Beanie Babies became a popular collector’s item and one of the very first internet fads.
Although Beanie Babies were not the investment that many had hoped, the toys can still be found today — Although they are much less popular, in gift shops and toy stores. However, the toys leave behind a sort of infamous history due to the quick rise and fall of their popularity and, subsequently, their value.
Social media is widely to blame for the meteoric rise to fame of Squishmallows. Influencer and avid TikToker, Charli D’Amelio shared her impressive Squishmallow collection to her Instagram platform in a recently deleted post. D’Amelio, surrounded on all sides by squishmallows, proudly showed off her impressive stuffed animal collection.
Squishmallow fans fight for the fluff.
However, the influencer was met with backlash as Squishmallow fans were quick to point out that, by showing off her collection through Instagram, squishmallows would be harder to find due to high demand — and they would be right.
Concerned about accessibility, one user says, “Well the squish community is gonna explode in a space of seconds.”
“Please god no don’t make it harder for us,” one Instagram user writes.
According to their website, Squishmallows were created in 2017 by parent company, Kelly Toys, and have since grown into an international sensation offering “comfort, support, and warmth as friends, couch companions, bedtime buddies, and travel teammates.” Seems like a harmless enough hobby, right?
Yet Squishmallow hunting and collecting has become like a competitive sport. And, with competitions, there are bound to be a few players willing to bend the rules. According to the Squishmallow community, shelf clearing, or the act of swiping the entire stock of one or more toys is prevalent throughout the country, making it harder than ever for the average person to nab rarer toys.
Stores are leaving out the playing field.
Many stores, like Hot Topic, have turned to posting upcoming restock photos to encourage hopeful collectors to grab rarer squishmallows.
In addition, Squishmallow groups on Facebook and Reddit, are also helping offset the demand for the toys by creating a community of collectors — often willing to help one another find harder-to-locate toys.
Swap meet events have also become popular among Squishmallow collectors. Frequently, these events are held in public places, like an open parking lot, and collectors are invited to bring toys that they are looking to sell or trade.
Recently, Kelly Toys, the parent company of Squishmallows has come under fire for releasing a collector’s guide with a rarity scale — meaning that some of the toys will only be released in a limited quantity. Rare squishmallows will be identified by a silver tag, ultra rare by a gold tag, special edition by a holographic tag, and select series by a black tag.
Shelf clearing is still a major issue.
Squish fan took to the Instagram comments to voice their displeasure.
One user says, “Ah yes another reason for shelf clearers to resell for obscene amounts of money.”
“Once again not listening to your consumer feedback at all,” says another.
However, despite the recent negative comments regarding the new rarity scale, Squishmallows remain ever popular among children and young adults.
For the foreseeable future, these stuffed animals will continue to be harder to find due to the growing increase in demand. But, like Beanie Babies, are these plush toys just a passing Internet fad? If so, how much longer will these stuffed toys remain at the top? And, will the addition of the rarity scale affect future sales?
I squish we knew.
Do you think influencers should hide their collections to prevent their influence from driving up demand? Or is it all just part of being a collector? Let me know what you think in the comments!
