Frequently Asked Questions

Mohair is a natural fibre spun from the hair of the Angora goat. It has a soft sheen and takes colour beautifully, which is why many makers save it for their collector bears.

Much like fashion houses, many teddy makers bring out new collections every year, some of them in several parts. Older designs then make room for new ones, so the selection keeps changing.

Once a design has left the maker's range, it is usually no longer available to order, and it can only be found where it is still on the shelf. If you are looking for a particular teddy, ask us: if it is recent, we can check with the maker.

A limited edition is a design the maker produces in a fixed number, such as 250 or 1,500 pieces, and no more are made after that.

It depends on the maker. Every Steiff limited edition comes with its own numbered certificate; for other makers, ask us about the teddy you have in mind.

A replica is a new teddy made true to a historical model, such as a Steiff bear from 1951. A replica made decades ago is itself a vintage teddy today.

We call a teddy vintage when it is at least 20 years old. Vintage teddies are no longer made, and each one comes with a history of its own.

Makers have lines made especially for adult collectors, such as Steiff for Collectors and the Charlie Bears Isabelle Collection. These teddies are often made of mohair, fully jointed and limited, and the maker marks them as collector's pieces rather than toys.

Handmade teddies differ a little from one another in their faces and fur, so for some designs we photograph each teddy separately. You can then pick the exact one you like by its number.

Start with one teddy you love the look and feel of. Many collectors then follow one maker, one line or one theme, but there is no right way: a collection is whatever brings you joy.

Besides Steiff, collectors of antique teddies look for the early British makers Farnell, Chad Valley and Merrythought, among others. Many collectors also follow teddy bear artists, who make their bears by hand in very small numbers.

The record for an antique teddy bear is held by Othello, a black mohair Steiff bear from 1912, made in mourning after the Titanic sank. He sold at a special Steiff auction in Giengen, Germany, in July 2023 for a hammer price of 180,000 euros.

It changes as new teddies arrive and others find their homes. The most precious ones are usually the smallest limited editions and the rarest vintage teddies: ask us at the Helsinki shop and we will gladly show them.

We receive only a limited number of some items, so we offer them through a queue. You join the queue on the item's own page, and when the item arrives, we email you a Pre-order turn: a time slot to choose and order yours.

No. Joining is free, and it doesn't commit you to buying. You pay only if you decide to order during your Pre-order turn.

No: there is one place per person in each item's queue. You can join the queues of as many different items as you like.

Each item's queue goes in the order people joined it. Those who joined earlier get their Pre-order turn first.

A Pre-order turn is your time slot to choose and order the items you queued for. Most Pre-order turns last two hours during the European daytime, and we email yours at least a day in advance.

Makers often deliver a collection in parts over several months, a few items at a time. Each shipment gets its own Pre-order turns, and you get one Pre-order turn per shipment for all the items in it that you're queuing for.

Open the link in your Pre-order turn email. It shows the items you're queuing for in that shipment; choose each one on its own page. We then email you a checkout link that takes you straight to checkout.

No. Everything you choose during one Pre-order turn goes into one order with one shipping fee.

An item you don't order passes to the next person in its queue. You can pass it yourself on the item's page during your Pre-order turn, or simply let the turn end.

Use the Leave the queue link at the end of our pre-order emails. Your place in that item's queue is then removed.

If every unit goes to those ahead of you, we let you know by email. You keep your place in the queue, and we'll write to you if more arrive.

Not always. Deliveries can be smaller than ordered, and sadly the most popular items may not be enough for everyone in the queue. We'll write to you either way.

Once everyone in the queue has had their Pre-order turn, any items left go on sale to everyone, on our site and in our Helsinki shop at the same time.

For collections with an announced opening, leave your email on the collection's pre-order page and we'll let you know when pre-orders open. You then join the queue on each favourite's own page.

Charlie Bears call a design retired when it has left their current collection. It does not mean the teddy has been owned before: a retired Charlie Bear in our shop is new, just from an earlier collection.

Charlie Bears make several ranges, from the pocket-sized Cuddle Cubs to the limited mohair characters of the Isabelle Collection. Each range has a character of its own, and new designs arrive every year.

Each year Charlie Bears make a Year Bear for that year. The 2026 Year Bear is the 18th, and many collectors add one to their shelf every year.

Look for the Steiff button in the left ear and the ear tag held by it. Steiff created the button in 1904 to set its own toys apart from cheaper imitations, and it still marks genuine Steiff toys today.

Steiff mark their teddies with a metal button in the left ear, a trademark since 1904. The tag under the button tells what kind of piece it is: red lettering for limited editions, blue for open editions and black for replicas.

The button, the ear tag and the teddy's own construction all give clues. No single detail settles it, so collectors read them together, along with what is known of the teddy's history.

The Steiff Club is the maker's own club for collectors, and each year it has a Club edition made for its members. The editions are limited: the 2024 Club bear, for example, was made in 1,992 pieces.