You’re digging through a dusty bin at a garage sale or maybe scrolling through a frantic eBay listing when you see it. The tag says April 28. To most people, it's just another spring day. But in the weird, wonderful, and sometimes frustrating world of Ty Warner’s creations, that date is a signal.
People get weird about Beanie Baby birthdays. Honestly, they always have. Back in the late nineties, collectors didn't just want the pellet-filled plush; they wanted the "soul" of the toy, which Ty Inc. cleverly manufactured through those little red heart-shaped swing tags. Each one had a name, a poem, and a birth date. If you find an April 28th Beanie Baby, you aren't just looking at a toy. You're looking at a specific piece of nostalgia that belongs to a very particular set of characters—some common, some rare, and all of them carrying that specific DNA of 1990s hype.
Which Beanie Babies Were Born on April 28th?
It isn't just one. Ty was prolific. They released hundreds of these things, and naturally, dates overlapped. But for the April 28th crowd, a few heavy hitters stand out.
Gigi the Poodle is probably the most famous member of this birthday club. Released in 1997, Gigi is this prissy, pink-bowed black poodle that basically embodies the aesthetic of a suburban mall in the Clinton era. If you check her tag, there it is: April 28, 1997. She’s classic. She isn’t the "million-dollar" find that people lie about on clickbait TikToks, but she’s a staple.
Then you have Slippery the Seal. Slippery is a bit more understated. While the world was losing its mind over Princess the Bear or Peanut the Elephant, Slippery was just vibing with his grey fur and black whiskers. His birthday? April 28, 1998.
There's also Prickles the Cactus, part of the Beanie Buddies or later collections, but for the hardcore "OG" collectors, the focus usually stays on the 1997-1999 era. Why? Because that’s when the madness was at its peak. That's when people were literally getting into fistfights at McDonald’s over Teenie Beanies.
The Birthday Connection: Why This Specific Date?
Is April 28th special to Ty Warner? Maybe. The man is notoriously private. He’s a billionaire who rarely gives interviews and treats his company like a fortress.
📖 Related: What Does a Stoner Mean? Why the Answer Is Changing in 2026
Collectors have long speculated that birthdays were assigned based on the employees' children or significant dates in the company's history. Sometimes, it was just random. But for a buyer, the April 28th Beanie Baby often holds value not because of "rarity" in the traditional sense, but because of the personal connection.
Think about it.
You’re born on April 28th. You’re seven years old in 1998. Your mom takes you to the Hallmark store. You see a poodle that shares your birthday. Boom. Lifetime core memory unlocked. This "birthday matching" is what kept the secondary market alive long after the investment bubble popped. People stopped buying them to get rich; they started buying them because "it's me in plush form."
Identifying a Real April 28th Collectible
Don't get scammed. Seriously. The internet is full of people claiming a "rare error" Gigi is worth $50,000. It's not.
To verify an April 28th Beanie Baby, you have to look at the generations.
- The Swing Tag: This is the heart-shaped tag. For Gigi, you’re looking for a 4th or 5th generation tag. If the birthday is printed inside with a colon after "Date of Birth," it's a standard mass-market version.
- The Tush Tag: Look at the small white tag on the bottom. If it has a red heart and says "Gigi," you’re golden.
- Condition: "Mint" means the tag is unbent. No creases. No "iron-on" protectors. Just crisp cardboard.
Prices for these vary wildly, but let's be real: most are worth $5 to $15. If it's a rare variation—like a Gigi with a "tag error" where the poem has a typo—you might see it listed for more, but listing price isn't selling price. Always filter by "Sold Items" on auction sites to see what people actually paid. Nobody is paying five figures for a poodle in 2026.
👉 See also: Am I Gay Buzzfeed Quizzes and the Quest for Identity Online
The Psychology of the "Birthday" Hunt
There is something deeply human about seeking out your own date. It's a form of digital-age astrology. People search for the April 28th Beanie Baby because they want a piece of their childhood that is uniquely theirs.
In the heyday, stores would actually have lists behind the counter. You could walk in and ask, "Who was born on April 28?" and the clerk would pull out a binder. It was a pre-Google era of data mining. Today, that hunt has moved to Reddit threads and specialized collector forums like Beaniepedia.
It’s worth noting that Beanie Babies were the first real "internet" collectible. Ty.com was one of the first major consumer-facing websites that used the web to build mystery. They would "retire" animals without warning, causing the price of an April 28th Slippery the Seal to jump overnight simply because you couldn't find him at retail anymore.
Myths About April 28th Rarities
Let's clear the air. There is a persistent rumor that certain birthday Beanies are "worth a fortune" because of the date itself. This is mostly nonsense.
A Beanie's value is determined by:
- Generation: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gen tags are the "old money" of the hobby.
- Fabric: Did they use PVC pellets or PE pellets? (PVC is generally older and more desirable).
- Country: Was it made in Indonesia or China? (Indonesian versions often have different feel and can be rarer).
The date "April 28" is just metadata. It’s flavor text. It adds emotional value, but it rarely adds raw market value unless that specific production run was tiny. For Gigi and Slippery, the production runs were massive. They are "common" Beanies. But common doesn't mean worthless to the right person.
✨ Don't miss: Easy recipes dinner for two: Why you are probably overcomplicating date night
How to Care for Your April 28th Find
If you actually own one of these, or you just bought one for a birthday gift, don't just toss it in a box.
First, get a tag protector. Those little plastic shells are worth their weight in gold. A bent tag can drop the value by 50% instantly. Second, keep it out of the sun. The "Ty dye" or solid colors on pets like Gigi can fade into a sad, sickly grey if left on a windowsill.
And please, for the love of all things nostalgic, don't wash them in a washing machine. The pellets will get weird, and the fabric—which Ty called "TyLux" or just standard plush—will mat up and lose that signature softness. A damp cloth is all you need.
The Enduring Legacy of the 1990s Plush Craze
We look back at the Beanie Baby era and laugh sometimes. We see the photos of people dividing their collections on a courtroom floor during a divorce. It looks insane.
But the April 28th Beanie Baby represents the part of that craze that was actually sweet. It wasn't just about the money for everyone. For a lot of people, it was about the ritual. The hunt. The excitement of opening a tag and seeing your own birthday staring back at you.
Whether it’s Gigi the Poodle or Slippery the Seal, these toys are tiny time capsules. They represent a moment when the world felt a little smaller, and a $5 plush toy could be the highlight of your month.
Actionable Steps for Collectors
- Check the Tush Tag: Flip your April 28th Beanie over. If the tush tag is dated 1993 but the birthday is 1997, don't panic. The tush tag date is the copyright for the pattern, not the birth of that specific toy.
- Verify the Poem: Genuine April 28th Beanies have specific four-line stanzas. If the font looks "off" or the spacing is weird, it might be a counterfeit from the late 90s (yes, people faked $5 toys).
- Use Specialized Databases: Don't rely on random blog posts. Use sites like Beaniepedia or BBToyStore to cross-reference production years and tag generations.
- Search "Sold" Listings: If you're looking to sell your Gigi or Slippery, ignore the $10,000 listings. Look at the $8.00 sales. That is your actual market value.
- Gift It: Honestly? The best value for an April 28th Beanie Baby is giving it to someone born on that day. The sentimental value will always outweigh the $10 you'll get on eBay.