Are Beanie Babies Still Collectible?

One of my co-workers, Sarah, was kind enough to bring me a basket of goodies for Robinson today. Included in the basket was a big stuffed monkey, which she was quick to point out cost eleven dollars and is actually a dog toy, but her stepson had one as a baby and loved it. Actually, she told me the price of every item in the basket, or she left the price tag on the item, or she simply stated that it was "expensive". I'm glad she shared this information with me. As I'm holding the monkey, she's also helpful enough to tell me that it's a monkey, and that she loves monkeys. I wholeheartedly believe that an infant can never have enough stuffed animals (right?) but as soon as she said "dog toy" I knew this monkey would be a big hit with one Miss Laney Jane Fricke. Yeah, Steve won't "give" her his last name. He thinks she's a diva and a priss and for that, she deserves a lifetime of my maiden name. He actually calls her her "Laney Fricke" every time he speaks to her. Whatevs.

Also in the basket? A Beanie Baby 2.0 named "Quackly", which she repeatedly tells me is collectible, and she points at the tag on his wing that signifies he is in fact a Ty Beanie Baby.

She's telling me this $2.50 duck is "collectible" (I know the price because the sticker was still attached, denoting it was on sale.) Is she telling me this because she wants me to keep the tags on it and display or store it in a cool, dry place? Because I fully intend to clip the tags and let my kid slobber all over it. Is that considered poor form? Are we still collecting Beanie Babies?

My Nannie has tubs full of Beanie Babies in her condo. At least she did in the mid-90s. She was convinced they would be worth a lot of money some day. One of my friends on the cheerleading squad had every square inch of her bedroom covered in these little stuffed savings bonds. I remember staring at them, amazed by the sheer multitude, and whispering to one of my friends, "You know, the meanest thing you could ever do to her would be to sneak in here and clip all the tags off these Beanie Babies. She'd be absolutely devastated." I would never do such a thing. That's hateful, and I adored her. I'm just saying, it's kind of bizarre that the way you could most hurt a person would be to remove the tags from their stuffed animals. Our high school World History teacher/Varsity wrestling coach also collected them. He was this old-ish Italian man with a thick New York accent, and having him review his test material with the class via Beanie Baby puppet show was as stunning as being invited to a tea party with Joe Pesci. He would do voices and everything. I remember when he got the Limited Edition Princess Diana Bear. That was a special day for Coach.

I assumed that by the year 2010, we would have abandoned all efforts to make these Beanie Babies anything more than just cute little stuffed animals. Actually, I thought they would have gone the way of the Cabbage Patch Doll. Am I wrong? Are we still hoarding them and holding out hope that they will one day provide us with the down payment on a boat, or pay our children's college tuition?