Gary Baseman Toby is Swell Plush Flips for Quick Profits

First, let’s meet the key players. Mattel is Mattel, makers of some of the world’s most popular toys like Barbie and Hot Wheels. January marked the company’s 80th anniversary, and they’ve spun up some commemorative merch to celebrate.

Gary Baseman is a multimedia artist that coined the term “pervasive art” as a way to describe popular contemporary artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey, as opposed to “pop art” or “Reddit art.” His character Toby has become a defining aspect in his portfolio.

What we’re looking at today is the “Toby is Swell as Matty Mattel” plush. As you might guess from the name, this a plush version of Baseman’s iconic character wearing the clothes of Mattel’s mascot Matty Mattel.

Just 500 of these were produced, and each one was signed by Gary Baseman on the foot. They have a posable internal structure that allows the plush to stand on its own feet, and the sweater can be removed to reveal Toby’s distinct belly eye.

Mattel sold the Toby is Swell as Matty Mattel plush for $150 on March 20. Customers were limited to one plush per order, and the entire stock would sell out in seconds.

And you already know a quick sell out means quick profits. With so many collectors crawling out of the woodwork to fight over an obscure plush, you better believe that these have been flying on eBay.

Right now, Toby is Swell as Matty plushes are reselling for upwards of $350. Believe it or not, that’s actually on the low end; early on, these plushes were flipping for as much as $500. We’re not sure why things cooled off, but it goes to show that being early can be very lucrative.

Still, even if you sold late, you stood to make up to $200 in profit from a single product. That’s certainly good enough for us.

And if it’s good enough for you, make sure you subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on everything else worth reselling. From Legos to video games to AI-powered glasses, we’ll talk about it if we can flip it.