By now, that Chia Pet/Head you got for Christmas should be sporting its second or third coat of watercress "fur" or "hair." No? Well, if it's still sealed in its box, you might want to consider a few things before unloading it at your next yard sale.

Introduced to the market by Joseph Enterprises, Inc. http://www.chia.com in 1982, the first Chia Pet was the ram, now retired. Since then, over a dozen of the handmade figures including Pets (pigs, hippos, frogs, etc), Heads (professor, clown, guy), and Licensed Chia (Taz, Homer Simpson, Scooby-Doo, etc.) have been added to the line. Most of these are somewhat ubiquitous (i.e., there are a lot of them out there). But certain pieces are beginning to inch up the secondary market, and this is especially true of those manufactured as promotional items.

For instance, a Mr. T (A-Team) Chia Head (watch his mohawk grow!) was used by TV Land to promote their network. Not available on the general market, a relatively limited number were given to employees and sold on TV Land's online store and at convention booths. Those that have appeared on eBay have generally garnered final bids from $25 to $30. Now, that's not a lot of profit if you originally paid full price, but it's not bad if you picked up a Mr. T at a yardsale for a dollar or two. (The full retail price of a new Chia is about $15.)

Licensed characters like Scooby-Doo, Tweety, and Homer Simpson have their own built-in demand as cross-collectibles. I was surprised to find that even though these pieces were available at drugstores and discounters around the holidays, some are auctioning at prices over retail. Either they weren't widely available in bidders' areas for whatever reason; or some bidders didn't know they were available until too late (Chia's are released once a year only); or some people don't bother shopping anywhere but online.

It's true that the collectibles market for Chia Pets/Heads is not large: they haven't been around long enough, and there is not yet a tremendous variety of objects. No one has yet written a book about the subject, and there are no Web sites devoted to the Chia Pet collector. They have, however, generated a peculiar culture all their own:

Interested in the "inner teachings and principles of the long lost six-position form of the Tai Chia Pet"? Go to http://www.squish.com/goodnames/taichia

The Chia Pet: Missing link between plants and animals? http://www.improb.com/airchives/paperair/volume4/v4i4/chias.htm

Abandoned Chia Pets threaten New Mexico! http://www.getodd.com/news/hamhock/71599h/71599h.html

(I could go on, but you get my drift.)

So, what should you do about that Chia Pet/Head you got for the holidays?

Well, if you like it, use it, or start your own collection. If it's still MIB (mint in box), you could pack it away in a closet until that day when it may be valuable. Or you could do what you had intended, and sell it at your yardsale. That's the gamble with a "future collectible."

Good Luck!

For a short history of the Chia Pet, go to http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blchia.htm