Top 10 90s Fads and Collectibles

Fads & Collectibles of the 1990s

There were plenty of trends that ruled the 90s, but one particular group of fads stood out: collectibles. Kids and adults alike had plenty of options when it came to what to collect, because the 90s was simply full of crazy trends. Looking back, most of these items are simply not worth anything, but at the time, we had to have them. Here are the top ten collectibles of the 90s:

  1. Furbies

What even was a Furby? No one seemed to know, but it appeared to be some kind of gerbil/owl hybrid that came in tons of colors. These little monsters came out in the late 90s, and every kid wanted one for Christmas. They would start out speaking in “Furbish”, but would slowly start speaking English over time. As if that wasn’t creepy enough, they had a tendency to suddenly turn on in the middle of the night – giant eyes open – and startle you awake. It didn’t matter, though – Furbies were must-have toys for any elementary school student.

  1. Troll Dolls

Troll dolls were first created way back in 1959, and they ebbed and flowed in terms of popularity over the years. By the 90s, though, this collectible was back. They were so popular that the inventor who owned the rights to troll dolls restored his U.S. copyright, giving his company full control of the market. That same decade, cartoons and video games starring trolls were also very popular. Trolls were just cool enough for teens to want them, too, making them one of the most universally beloved toys of the 90s.

  1. Tickle Me Elmo

While not technically a collectible item, the Tickle Me Elmo craze of the 90s might as well have been. When it made its debut during the holiday season of 1996, its distributor greatly underestimated just how many dolls they would sell. Consequently, the $30 toy could be found on eBay for more than $1500 at times, and parents fought each other in the store to get their hands on a Tickle Me Elmo doll. After all, who wants to be the one to tell their kids that Santa ran out of the hottest gift on the market? Crazes don’t always make sense, and this was one of them.

  1. Polly Pockets

In the 90s, parents were less concerned with choking hazards, so we were allowed to play with Polly Pockets. These quickly became one of the most popular collectibles for younger girls, as there were plenty of characters, props and settings to acquire. Each Polly Pocket set came with a few tiny pieces, less than an inch tall, inside of a compact-size container. Trading dolls and accessories was very important to the social hierarchy of elementary school girls in the 90s, so we counted on our parents to acquire the coolest Polly Pocket sets for us.

  1. Gel Pens

Every year, we got a school supply list, and it usually included the phrase “no gel pens” somewhere on it. Yet we couldn’t resist collecting these shimmery utensils to write notes and doodle in our notebooks during class. Gel pens were even better if they were sparkly or glow-in the dark, and Milky pens were the ultimate style. These pens were literally impossible to write with unless you frequently carried around black paper, but that didn’t stop them from being the most popular pen in school. You got bonus points if you had a cute supply bag to carry them all around in, too.

  1. Lisa Frank Supplies

Every girl in the 90s spent their back-to-school shopping trip begging their parents to buy Lisa Frank supplies. Even if your neon unicorn folder from 4th grade was still in great condition, you needed a new neon horse folder. There were so many cute animals to collect – puppies, dolphins, tigers, kittens and more. Lisa Frank made everything: notebooks, folders, pencils – even backpacks. You could always tell whose parents were the strictest based on who came in to class with boring Mead folders instead. If it didn’t have a day-glo penguin on it, honestly, why bother?

  1. Tamagotchis / Giga Pets

Everyone in the 90s had at least one Tamagotchi or Giga Pet attached to their keychain. These tiny digital games were small enough to carry in your pocket, but they needed to be looked after constantly. In order to keep your pet alive, you had to feed, water, exercise, and clean up after your pet. Basically, it was all of the work of looking after a real pet, only there really wasn’t any reward. While some dedicated kids had their parents babysit their pets during school, most Tamagotchis and Giga Pets ended up abandoned after just a few weeks, because kids simply do not have the attention span for this kind of toy.

  1. Pokémon Cards

Pokémon might be the single biggest phenomenon of the 90s. From television to video games, this Japanese hit dominated the minds of kids everywhere. This was especially true when it came to Pokémon cards, which could be used to play the actual Pokémon game – or simply hoarded in giant binders. Even if you didn’t really understand the gameplay aspect of Pokémon cards, you could still frantically search for the rarest of cards in order to complete your collection. “Gotta catch ‘em all” didn’t just apply to trainers, it also applied to you – and the parents who drove you to the local game shop for yet another pack of cards.

  1. Pogs

Most kids never really knew where Pogs came from, but everyone had at least a few. In the 90s, you could get them in your Happy Meal or cereal box, because just about every brand wanted to promote themselves on Pogs. To be honest, most of us didn’t really know how to play the game – we just liked having stuff, and when you’re a kid, collecting cardboard circles feel a lot like having important possessions. Naturally, schools eventually banned pogs because there were always a few kids who just couldn’t stop trading them during class.

  1. Beanie Babies

The most notable of all 90s collectibles, Beanie Babies were literally a crazy fad. These were simply stuffed animals, albeit really cute ones, yet we treated them like they were made of gold. Collectors swarmed toy stores to get ahold of rare finds, and eBay practically built itself on Beanie Baby sales. Ty filled these stuffed animals, which came in every species, with plastic pellets rather than cotton or polyester stuffing. This gave them the appearance of being lifelike, but still – were they really that valuable? The answer is no. However, we all definitely have a box of Beanie Babies somewhere in our parents’ attic.