A Family Spent $100,000 On Beanie Babies To Put Their Kids Through College

In 1993, the world went crazy for Beanie Babies, small, plush animals by toy company Ty.

Heralded as valuable collectibles, people would rush out to buy the $5.95 toys for their children or themselves, eagerly waiting for them to appreciate in value.

But then the Beanie Baby bubble burst.

As far as bubbles go, it wasn't bad - at worst, most collectors were stuck with a few worthless stuffed animals they'd overpaid for.

But one family found themselves sunk by the toys.

The Robinsons of Los Angeles currently have tens of thousands of Beanie Babies, all stacked neatly away and labeled in boxes. The family estimates they spent roughly $100,000 on the collection, thinking it would eventually appreciate in value and pay for their kids to attend college.

But the spending was only the tip of the iceberg. For a time, the family let the dolls rule their lives, hopping from one "Beanie joint" to another, trying to sidestep the "one-per-family rule" by recruiting neighbors to make purchases for them and going to extreme lengths to catalogue and preserve their Beanie Baby hoard.

In 2009, their oldest son, Chris Robinson, decided to direct a short documentary (resurrected by Dazed Digital, which recently interviewed Chris) called "Bankrupt by Beanies" about his family's experience.

He interviewed his brothers Christian and Taylor, his mother Lesleigh, and his father Chris Robinson Senior to find out more about how the obsession started and the impact it had on his family.