Leah Swift, an 18-year-old college student in West Virginia, bought her first Squishmallow in October 2020. Less than two years later, she has amassed 350 of the cute, cuddly toys, which overflow from the shelves of her small bedroom. Swift regularly posts videos about her vast collection on TikTok, where she’s garnered nearly 400,000 followers and 11m likes. “It’s gotten to the point where people will stop me on campus and ask if I am the Squishmallow girl from TikTok,” she said. “It’s crazy. When I started making these videos, I never thought it would be this big of a deal.” Squishmallows, a line of whimsical and rounded stuffed creatures launched by the toy company Kellytoy in 2017, have boomed in popularity in recent years. Much like Beanie Babies in the 1990s, the toys have sparked a fanatical following of Squishmallow “hunters” who flock to stores in search of new and rare models. But the craze has also been beset by controversy, as rising demand fuels a pricey black market for Squishmallow resales. Resellers report making as much as six figures a year buying up and flipping the toys, which critics say is stripping shelves bare for genuine collectors. Now, Squishmallow influencers like Swift have found themselves pulled into a debate over the etiquette of buying and reselling the toys. Swift bought her first Squishmallow, a strawberry-shaped toy named Scarlet, for just $5. The same model now goes for as much as $25 on resale sites like Depop and Mercari. Swift estimates she could resell her collection for about $3,000 total – but would not dream of it. “I am against reselling Squishmallows for any more than their retail value,” she said. “There are people who get into the space for all the wrong reasons, and it is having a very negative impact on the community.” When a user named Juliana Lynn posted a video in December 2021 claiming to have made $100,000 in the last year from resales, her page was flooded with negative comments from people who say resales drive up prices and undermine true hobbyists. “This disgusts me. People like you ruin it for kids/people that genuinely enjoy them,” one comment said. “You’re a shelf clearing price gouger,” another read. “Just so you know the people in the Squish community despise ppl like you.” Lynn did not respond to multiple requests for comment but defended herself on her own page, calling it a “side hustle” and nothing more. “I don’t do this for attention,” she wrote. “I do it for fun and extra cash.” Despite the debate over reselling, the trend shows no sign of slowing down. Kellytoy sold 50m Squishmallows betewen February 2020 and October 2021, according to the toy trade publication the Toy Book – bringing the total number sold to over 100m since their launch. Largely fueled by social media, platforms like Instagram, Reddit and TikTok now host Squishmallow communities comprising thousands of users. But the meteoric rise has prompted some to consider quitting the scene altogether. Melanie Schroeder, a California-based college student, started collecting in August 2020 and now has 400 toys, but she says the price gouging has overshadowed the hobby’s originally playful nature. “Unfortunately a lot of people are no longer collecting because they are so tired of resellers clearing shelves and price gouging,” she said. “It takes a lot of the fun out of it.” While Schroeder is personally against resale, she has found other ways to cash in on her new hobby, having signed up for TikTok’s creator fund after her Squishmallow TikTok account blew up in recent months, amassing more than 400,000 likes. Influencers on the platform can make as much as $50 per video depending on its view count. Schroeder attributes the huge rise in Squishmallow popularity to upheaval brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and its emotional impact – particularly among young people. “For me personally, if I am sad, I go Squish hunting,” she said. “They’re so squishy and cuddly and cute and have brought so much comfort and joy to people through the last couple of years.”