Minneapolis packaging company’s case study reveals surprising connection to a ’90s fad that once accounted for 10% of eBay’s sales.

Dec 6, 2017

The latest case study from Vinyl Art reveals a connection to one of the biggest fads of the 1990s. It was so big it accounted for 10% of eBay’s sales.

Vinyl Art set out to create a case study about helping clients with highly specific manufacturing needs. In the process, they also share a piece of their history that unveils an unexpected association with one of the biggest fads of the ‘90s.

The case study—and this piece of the company’s history—revolves around Beanie Babies. These plush toys became so popular that in the mid-90s they accounted for approximately 10% of auction website eBay’s sales.

Beanie Babies are still auctioned on eBay today, but attention tends to focus on the rarest of them. For example, Princes the Bear is a Beanie Baby produced for the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. The last Princes the Bear found on eBay fetched nearly half a million dollars.

The Beanie Babies themselves aren’t the connection to Vinyl Art. Rather, it’s the clear vinyl covering that protects each heart-shaped identification tag on most of the original stuffed plush toys.

Known as the TAG Bag, this protective vinyl cover was created for a Vinyl Art client by Tim Hitchings, who is now the company’s vice president. TAG Bags went on to become as in-demand as the Beanie Babies themselves, and Vinyl Art worked on all facets of the vinyl product, from initial design to production and worldwide distribution.

“We’ve been in business for nearly 40 years,” says Hitchings, “so that’s a sliver of our 15 minutes of fame. Beanie Babies and TAG Bags are the fun part of the story to tell, but this really is a case study for us. Not everything your company needs to protect will be worth half a million bucks, but Vinyl Art treats it with the same level of attention. That’s what we want people to see when they read our case study.”

Hitchings notes that the company has over 5,000 dies in house as a result of four decades of creating flexible packaging and loose-leaf products. “Each one of them has a story and could be a case study,” he says, “but few of them have a pedigree on par with Beanie Babies.”

Download a copy of the case study from the Vinyl Art website.

About Vinyl Art: Vinyl Art specializes in custom vinyl package designs. Manufacturing is done in-house on state-of-the-art equipment, creating products proudly made in America. Their manufacturing capabilities include foil stamping, debossing, screen printing, and vinyl custom designs/colors/textures. Beanie Babies is a registered trademark of Ty Inc

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