This is an op-ed style piece written by a fan of Jellycat.
As Jellycat has shot into popularity, fans have starting seeing issues that have plagued other popular brands. One of the biggest is resellers buying the product at MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) and flipping it to turn a profit. Electronics, shoes, and items from limited collaborations with designers are some of the most recognizable ones you might see on popular resale sites.
Inflated Prices
In the last years, I have observed an influx of newly released Jellycat designs that are still available at retail posted to resale sites for at least 23% more than they would be if bought by a customer from a stockist. After looking at 26 sold listings on Mercari for Skeleton Bob, I calculated that the average listing sold for $47.23. The retail price for this design is normally $32.50, with the flipped listing selling for 45.35% more than MSRP.
A selection of sold listings for Skeleton Bob from Mercari. (9/13/23)
The problem with this practice is that it creates a cycle that is difficult to break in the resale market. Resellers buy the products when they are released, making it more difficult for those who intend to purchase the product for themselves to buy them. The product sells out. In the meantime, customers who want the product now are faced with a decisions: wait to buy the product at retail OR buy it from a reseller. With supply chains and production changed by Covid, we haven’t quite recovered to a point where it is easy to get products quickly. This has a greater effect when one store or site gets a product in before other retailers.
Although there may be more coming, the scarcity of the item causes the buyer to scramble to get their hands on it. Desperation can cause consumers to buy the desired at inflated prices from a reseller until more come in stock.
The effect is that other people think the item will go for more than it might. This can cause those who may not originally have thought to buy the item to buy to resell or even manipulate our brains to believe it is valuable because it is scarce and increase our desire to own it.
Personally, I frown on the practice of buying items that are available at retail price to resell. In the end, it makes it harder for consumers who want the product to get their hands on it and I detest feeding into the cycle of buying an item to sell for profit. I would like to note that my feelings around this do not include retired products.
Creating scarcity for other buyers and collectors helps no one. Yes, some may turn a profit in the short term, but if we all held off of buying the items at an inflated price, it would eventually get lowered.
Backdoor PMs
The second unfair practice is what I would call “backdoor pm-ing”. This is where a person privately messages a seller to let them know they are selling their item for lower than the value AND / OR asking to buy at a higher value than the seller has listed. This can happen before or after the item has been sold, but is considered worse when the item has been sold because often the seller will cancel the order to the original buyer and re-list or sell to another buyer.
While the person who messages the seller MAY (saying that here is really being optimistic) have the best intentions, i.e. making sure the seller doesn’t lose out on potential earnings, keeping them from being scammed or taken advantage of, the end result is usually that the original buyer ends up with a canceled order. It should be noted that the person who messages is not always the person who ends up purchasing the item in the end.
As a person who has resold a variety of items, I believe that it is up to the seller to research the item and price it accordingly. If it ends up being underpriced, that’s on them. But if the item has sold, you should honor the sale and cut your losses.
While many of the Jellycat Facebook groups have rules against sending PMs to sellers and some have rules about selling items at retail price or less if they are still in production, it is impossible to police all transactions.
Other issues
Scams are another issue that plague most collectible communities. Most people have gotten a message about an item them are searching for or a comment on their post that seems too good to be true. Scammers end up trying to sell an item they do not possess, sometimes successfully. It creates distrust and leads to many people asking for proof that the seller has the item.
Conclusion
While there is now way to force anyone to be an ethical seller, I do believe that it is important for us to be aware of what unfair selling practices are and what the ramifications can be.
This was originally written as a series of comments and posts regarding the leaked information about the 2024 re-release of Jellycats for the 25th Anniversary of the brand. This encompasses my responses and initial thoughts on the matter as they have been posted. I have edited it them for clarity, added previously posted information on pricing, and additional comments.
This is where I remind everyone of what I’ve been saying for years: Jellycats are like stocks or, as I’ve said lately, crypto. Popularity goes up and down and so will value.
After collecting for over 10 years, I’ve watched different ones become popular over months or years. This has become more extreme as social media has spread the popularity of certain designs. What was popular five years ago isn’t as popular now. As an example, I remember when SE bunnies were going for high prices. The market shifted and now some of the regular bunnies I bought are going for less.
Some, like Fergus Frog, are sleeper hits: not popular on release but successful later. And no one can predict what will prove to be popular. Would you have bought stock at Apple if you knew they would have been so successful? Of course! No one ever knows that in 6 months, a plush they sold would become highly sought after. (I’m looking at you, Wumpers!)
I have spent a fair amount on Jellycats; it stands to reason as I have over 1925. Some I’ve bought at MSRP (retail price), some I’ve bought secondhand. I’ve certainly bought ones for over MSRP once they were retired. Do I regret it? No. I bought mine because I wanted them and thought about which ones I would love to have in my collection.
Pricing Variables
The design, length of time it was available, retire date, region of sale and even the store it came from can factor in to price and value. As things go, the older Jellycats are and the better condition they are in means they will sell for more money. This factors in particularly when a design becomes popular after being retired. Fergus Frog is a good example of this. Fergus was released for one year and then retired. The supply is lower than the demand, thus affecting price. This is not restricted to Jellycats: look at boxed action figures, memorabilia etc.
Like Limited Edition1 releases that are a planned short term, small batch products, items that get released for a short time and taken out of production, have the same issues with supply/demand. That doesn’t make them “limited edition” in the sense that they aren’t tagged that way, but it does make them hard to find.
Exclusive designs that were only available in one country or region drive up the prices too. With shipping and charges like VAT, language barriers and sites that are only accessible in one country without use of a VPN and an address within the country will add to value.
Pricing is highly subjective. Everyone wants a bargain but the prices are what the market will hold. If one person sells a plush for 200 more than the last person was able to sell it, an individual looking for similar comps probably go off that pricing the next time. Interest in an item can also drive prices up. When a bunch of people post they are interested in an ISO, the price can go up as it becomes more sought after. If you haven’t been looking at Smudge Bunnies recently, you can see what I mean by searching those. Perceived scarcity—the idea an item is in short supply—may also factor into people searching for an item before it sells out, in case it sells out because it could become popular. That can lead to buying up a bunch to resell and then boom! No one can buy them at retail and end up going to those who purchase to sell for profit—like price gouging.
Prices that may be reasonable to some are unfathomable and ludicrous to others.
Re-releases
Now that we have re-releases, there are mixed feelings. It is always going to be controversial and no one is going to be pleased either way: people complain when there aren’t enough of a design, but also are happy to sell in demand products for profit for at least half, if not double MSRP. There will be people who are happy there are more Jellycats coming into circulation as the price for the product when it was retired is more than they will pay. They get them at MSRP and then people are upset because they spent more to get them before the re-release when they thought they were gone for good.
Who bought a custom Fergus or Smudge because they wanted one and weren’t going to pay the hundreds?
I am not sure everyone realizes this, but Jellycat designs, like other companies’ designs are copyrighted. That means they are part of the company’s intellectual property or IP or “creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.” Making designs that are copied after a copyrighted design are subject to legal action, if the company so chooses.2 This isn’t new either. It’s not something I am posting for debate. This is a fact. I highly doubt Jellycat decided to re-release designs in some sort of revenge scheme against people who have handmade plush.
Jellycat did re-release Bashful Lemon Bunny. It was marked retired. Bashful Rose and Honey Bunnies in medium wer released as exclusives at Selfridges in the last couple years; Jellycat has been ok re-releasing designs. They have also done reintroductions—like Bumbly Bear (Huge) in the 2021 Holiday catalogue.
Personal Thoughts
I have complicated feelings about ones I’ve bought for more, but (and this applies to ME) I know I can’t change it so I’m trying to not be fussed. Sometimes I question if I should have purchased them at such a high price. I wish I bought them when they weren’t so expensive. Some of my Jelly friends have listened to me gripe about how much we had paid years ago because they have become more popular. Most of the ones that I’ve gotten that were more expensive were exclusives that were retired. I’ve told people how much I’ve spent on one and the reactions vary from “What a great price!” to “I would never pay that much!”
There was one point a couple years ago, where I was afraid I’d have to give up my whole collection. An article accused Jellycat of being involved in labour trafficking: as a survivor of trafficking, this was unacceptable and I was prepared to give away what I owned as I would not keep something that had used forced labor.
I emailed and the president of the US side of Jellycat was kind enough to explain their practices and how they deal with manufacturing—none of which involve forced labour. They also connected me to the managing director who also happened to be the CEO. We discussed Jellycat at length: collectors, popularity of designs, regional designs etc. I suggested many of the things that are happening now: re-release for anniversary and social media. I have no idea if those ideas were shelved and used now or if they helped plant seeds for this. But it isn’t a new concept and you can see it over many companies and their products.
Jellycat never made a promise that products would stay retired and that was made clear to me in that conversation with the CEO as well. They were open to the idea but “retired” products to bring new ones in. When I spoke to the CEO, they hadn’t known about some of the popularity designs had. I was told at the time that “Jellycat doesn’t have social media because we want the products to speak for themselves.”
Changes: Social Media and a New Direction
Pre-Facebook Group Bunny Collection – Late 2019 to early 2020. All bunnies owned in picture.
We can’t deny that social media has changed our shopping habits and what influences us to buy things. As the now former CEO said in 2021, “There’s something wonderful about being discovered on an individual basis….and we like to let the products speak for themselves. Social media is something we’re looking into, but we want people to buy from Jellycat because they want to, not because they’re being told to.” That reiterates the conversation I had and had been a consistent message from Jellycat.
Times have obviously changed: a new CEO, a new direction for the company and a bigger fan base. Most importantly and arguably the most influential piece, is social media.
I think we can credit many Jellycat ISOs to cute pictures that have been posted online. Does anyone remember the run on Dumble Sloth? The beautiful rainbows of bunnies in circles or the snaps of vintage Jellycats?
Who hasn’t gone to Bashfulbunnies.com to find out information about SE Bunnies or other Bashful Bunny styles?
I remember seeing a rainbow of bunnies in a circle and going “OMG I WANT THOSE!” Discovering designs that were not in local stores and thinking “Yeah, I need that now.”
Was I influenced by social media? Have you been? Who added Baby Fuddlewuddle Lamb, Fuddles Calf, Rumpkins, Poloneck Peekers or any of their ISOs because they saw one posted somewhere?
Post-Facebook Group Collection 2023. (Only display medium and small. Other sizes and spares omitted from display.
No, I am not pointing fingers. I haven’t bought those, but my Bashful Bunny collection was influenced by social media. We make many decisions based on what we see and hear around us and social media is most definitely in the forefront. You hear a product is good, you’re more inclined to buy it. Word of mouth (WOM) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) are instrumental in driving our desires.
To Collect or Not to Collect?
There has been plenty of complaints about Jellycats in the last years: limited stock, regionals exclusives, increasing price and a downgrade in quality.
Comparison of two Medium Bashful Mineral Blue Bunnies with different heights, wonky arms and lopsided eyes.
With prices of Jellycats rising and a decrease in quality, there are a fair number of collectors who are disappointed. Inflation and heightened living costs haven’t helped the situation. While not every Jellycat has had these problems, they have appeared more often. I’ve had several with bunnies missing fur, badly sewn arms, lopsided faces, open seams and other issues that I have not seen before in any of my purchases. Causing much discontent, it hasn’t helped collectors feel confident about the products they have loved.
For some, after paying an arm and a leg for a sought after design that is being released again is upsetting. For others who have yet to own that design, the re-release is highly anticipated. Others may fall in the middle, but it’s already caused controversy.
Conclusion
Whether you choose to collect or decide you want to move on, continue to buy or enjoy the ones you have, sell or buy is entirely a subjective and personal decision. After ridiculous amounts of worry, a huge bought of insomnia that will hopefully leave when I publish this (it’s almost 5 am and I’m annoyingly wide awake), and a bucket of tea, I don’t think I should make any statements about this without a good nap. More thoughts will follow. I hope this encourages a think.
Footnotes
Jellycat hasn’t done anything that was tagged limited/special edition since the bunnies they released in the 2010s. ↩︎
Or maker if it is a smaller business or individual—like for people who design pins of stickers for example ↩︎
Jellycat is changing their Bashful sizing names. To help with the transition, here are the conversions.
As stated in the Autumn / Winter 2023 Catalogue for Jellycat: “We have made some changes to our Bashful sizing names. These will come into effect with the launch of our new Autumn Winter 2023 Collection. As these changes are implemented throughout 2023, items will be phased in with the new sizing designation.”
Giant (Previously Really Really Big)
Sitting Height: 29″ / 77 cm
Full Height: 43” / 108 cm
Width: 16” / 44 cm
Depth: 13” / 28 cm
Really Big (Really Big)
Sitting Height: 18” / 56 cm
Full Height: 26” / 67 cm
Width: 10” / 31 cm
Depth: 9” / 27 cm
Big (Previously Huge)
Sitting Height: 15” / 38 cm
Full Height: 21″ / 51 cm
Width: 8” / 21 cm
Depth: 6” / 12 cm
Large (Large)
Sitting Height: 11” / 28 cm
Full Height: 15” / 36 cm
Width: 5” / 15 cm
Depth: 5” / 13 cm
Original (Previously Medium)
Sitting Height: 9” / 23 cm
Full Height: 12” / 31 cm
Width: 5” / 12 cm
Depth: 4” / 9 cm
Little (Previously Small)
Sitting Height: 6” / 15 cm
Full Height: 7”/ 18 cm
Width: 3” / 9 cm
Depth: 3″ / 8 cm
Tiny(Previously Baby)
Sitting Height: 3.93″ / 10 cm
Full Height: 1.18″ / 3 cm
Width: 1.36″ / 6cm
Depth: 1.57″ / 4cm
As of right now, I am not updating every post I have already made. I am keeping them the size they were when they were released. As the sizing changes get released, I will note that on the pages but for now, this is the explanation.
(Originally commissioned and posted for the FB group Jellycat Fans & Collectors )
I wanted to highlight some of the differences in Jellycats. Even though they may have the same or similar names and designs, Jellycat changes the colours and patterns and it pops up as a new release or redesign.
I wanted to highlight two different styles of Bashful animals here.
The first are 3 different Bashful Tigers. I did not include the latest incarnation that was introduced in the Main Collection in 2021.
From Left to Right: Bashful Tiger (2011), Bashful Tiger (2015) Bashful Tiger Cub (2017)
All of these are an iteration of a tiger, however they are all a little different. The 2011 version is a little lighter orange than the other two with the white muzzle and tufts on the face and short tail. The 2015 version has a smaller white muzzle, longer tail with a white tip and white ears. The Tiger Cub lacks all of the fluff and has a bigger white muzzle like the 2011, with no other white and a shot tail. Depending on when you bought a tiger, you may have gotten any of these and been confused as to why your tiger didn’t match with the rest.
From Left to Right: Bashful Tiger (2011), Bashful Tiger (2015), Bashful Tiger Cub (2017)
The second example is Bashful Hippo. I did not include the newest iteration (Main Addition 2021) of this one either for these purposes. This design hasn’t changed physically, but the colour has changed throughout the years. This is an example of four different shades that Jellycat has released throughout the years. The Lilac is a North American exclusive colour.
While the changes may be subtle, like the change of fabric in the ear of Bashful Lamb, or take on completely different colouring, the designs do vary.
The newer bashful animals are plumper than the older ones and the heads are bigger. The fabric on some is a little shorter and the feel, in my opinion is a bit less soft and more synthetic feeling. They also seem to be less well made than the older ones.
As to pricing:
The design, length of time it was available, retire date, region of sale and even the store it came from can factor in to price and value. As things go, the older Jellycats are and the better condition they are in means they will sell for more money. This factors in particularly when a design becomes popular after being retired. Fergus Frog is a good example of this. Fergus was released for one year and then retired. The supply is lower than the demand, thus affecting price.
Like Limited Edition releases that are a planned short term, small batch product, items that get released for a short time and retired have the same issues with supply/demand. That doesn’t make them “limited edition” in the sense that they aren’t tagged that way, but it does make them hard to find.* Jellycat hasn’t done anything that was tagged limited/special edition since the bunnies they released in the 2010s.
Pricing is also highly subjective. If one person is able to sell a plush for 200 more than the last person was able to sell it, and it is the only one people have seen for sale in the last months, they’ll probably go off of that pricing the next time someone tries to sell one. Checking recently sold prices can give you a range for what it has sold for and from that you can determine a median price to use to sell.
Interest in an item can also drive up pricing. When a bunch of people post they are interested in an ISO, the price can go up as it becomes more sought after. If you haven’t been looking at Smudge Bunnies recently, you can see what I mean by searching those. Perceived scarcity may also factor into people searching for an item before it sells out, in case it sells out because it could become popular.
This is a short explanation of some of the issues around pricing. If people are interested, more can be posted.
*Often times, sellers will post “Limited Edition” on items that are just released, hard to get a hold of, or a regional exclusive. They should be more accurately titled “X Exclusive”, I.e. UK exclusive or AUS Exclusive, but usually are not.
🌸🌼🌸🌼🌸🌼🌸🌼🌸🌼
I hope this breaks down different designs changes and gives some understanding as to why pricing is so high. If there is more interest in this kind of information, I’ll make another post about it.
Amuseables are some of the most popular Jellycats out today. I’m going to be honest, I really wasn’t sure if I was going to get any of them. They were adorable, but I didn’t think they fit in with my collection: I only had creatures and I was trying to keep with a theme. I was wrong. Now I have nearly 100 Amuseables and over 50 non-animal designs that fall into the Amuseable category on the Jellycat website (Numbers are still from 2022).
In the 2018 Main Collection, Jellycat released the first Amuseable designs. They consisted of a Cherry, Watermelon (now sized as Large), Pineapple (now sized as Large), Mushroom, and Cactus. By the 2018 Mid-year Collection, the Cloud (now sized as Large), Avocado (now sized as Large) and Yucca joined the line up as well as bag charms and zip pouch variations of the original five designs.
When the collection was first released, the names on the tag said ‘Amuseable’. The tags featured a green leaf with the words ‘Amuseables’ and ‘Jellycat’.
Original Amuseables paper tag
In mid-2024, this was changed to ‘Amuseables’, and the tags changed as well. In an effort to combat counterfeits and to distinguish the different Amusesables lines, the tags now feature the house shape that are used for all Jellycat tags. The jelly on top of the cat is replaced with a pineapple for the regular Amuseables designs and a sport cap for the Amuseables Sports.
Amuseables Tag – 2024-PresentAmuseables Sports Tag – 2024-Present
I have used both ‘Amuseable’ and ‘Amuseables’ in this database, depending on when it was released, to be true to the tags and names that appear in the catalogues and on the website. But the correct phrase is Amuseables, when referring to a design.
Four years later, the Amuseables range has gotten bigger, with recent designs including plants and stationary materials. With smiling faces, or not so happy, as is the case of some of the boiled eggs, these designs are highly popular among collectors.
