Squishmallow FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Squishmallow collecting may seem like a trivial task, but in fact there are many questions that are commonly asked. We try to answer many of them here so that they can all be seen in the one place. See something that's incorrect? Let us know!

The Squishmallow Magazine

Can I buy/sell/trade squishmallows here?

No, buying, selling, and trading of squishmallows (or anything, really) is not allowed here. The purpose of this place is to invite discussions, collection pictures, new finds, and other various squishmallow related things. Transactions and pickups bog down this content.

You may, however, discuss purchasing squish from retail places. We just don't want any attempts to buy, sell, run pickups, or ask how much things are worth here.

I keep seeing "BST" around the community. What do all of the acronyms mean?

Good question! The community has a handful of abbreviations to help save space. You may not see all of the following in this community but if you hang around other sites, you'll see them.

• BST: Buy, Sell, Trade
• UFT: Up For Trade
• UFS: Up For Sale
• ISO: In Search Of (squishes someone really wants to have)
• DISO: Desperately In Search Of (squishes someone REALLY, REALLY wants to have)
• NMP: Not My Picture
• NWT: New With Tags
• BNWT: Brand New With Tags
• NWOT: New Without Tags
• 5B: Five Below
• int: this is short for "interested"

What should I do if I see someone breaking the magazine rules?

The best you can do is submit a user report. If it is something serious, message the mods and we will do what we can based on the situation. Remember, we are still humans and may not be immediately available but we are here to help. We're a community and have to look out for each other!

Shopping For and Storage of Squishmallows

Where can I find squishes in the wild?

Squishmallows are available all over the place, depending on where you live. Some of the more popular places are:

• Walmart
• Five Below
• Target
• Costco
• Walgreens
• Cracker Barrel
• Amazon
• Owl & Goose Gifts
• Toy Drops
• The official squishmallows website
• GameStop
• Claire's
• Box Lunch

Some squish can only be found at certain stores and some sizes are only available in certain places. Other stores, like ALDI and Hallmark may offer rotating or seasonal selections.

Note that these stores are seen in the U.S. Feel free to provide other common stores found in other countries!

Where can I buy non-retail squishes? Are Mercari/eBay reliable?

It is possible to buy squishmallows from resellers. Both Mercari and eBay are reliable in general, but you have to be very careful when shopping to avoid scammers, fake squishes, and overpriced items. Mercari appears to the most popular site according to the community. However, eBay can have a decent selection.

How do I keep track of all of my squishes? Is there a list of all squishes available?

Kind of!! We highly recommend you download the SquadApp from your app store (it's free!). This app contains most squishes ever made, including different variants. You can create an account, add in squishes you have to your virtual collection, browse squishes you don't have, and add your ISOs to a wantlist. You can even add friends to share collections and get updated when they add a squish. The app is also capable of alerting you when online stocks are refreshed. A win all around!

How do I store/display my squishmallows?

This can vary by personal preferences. We've seen collectors have success with the following, especially as your collection grows larger.

• Purchase storage crates/baskets for a wall in a room
• Use a rotating schedule: after a certain time period, take some squish out of storage and switch them out with some you currently have displayed
• Put squish wherever they fit on shelves, couches, beds, other furniture, etc. and store the rest
• Use vacuum sealing for compact storage (squishes will need a little fluffing once revived)
• Use laundry baskets for non-displayed squish

How can I spot a fake squish? How can I spot a scammer?

It can be tricky to spot fake squishmallows, especially as fakes are getting closer to the originals. Our best advice is to get to know the squish you are searching for. Look it up online, look at official pictures, and/or ask on this sub to be sure you have a real squish. A few things to look for: color of embroidery, quality of fuzz, butt tag color/design, presence of a side loop (we want this), and slight differences in details.

Scammers can also be tricky to find. In order to avoid getting scammed, we highly recommend the following:

• Always request photos of the actual squish with a username and a date. To help avoid photoshopping, you may also request a picture of the squish in an odd location (such as a washing machine or with a hand making a peace sign).
• If buying from a reseller, make sure your payment service offers scam protection (PayPal works great for this)
• Request purchase receipts (but do remember that not all people keep purchase receipts)
• Keep an eye out for outrageously good prices coupled with non-response, and avoidance of pictures. However, there can be legit sellers who meet these criteria so use your best judgement.
• A current scammer tends to go by Tonia/Tannia Grabko so keep an eye out for that name.
• If you get scammed in a trade and send a package out, try contacting USPS to reroute the package back to you.

Squishmallows Themselves

Should I keep the tags on or off?

This is totally up to you! Some collectors prefer to take them off in order to better hug and squish the squishmallows. Others prefer to display squish and keep the tags on. Even others take the tags off and store them somewhere so they remember their squishes' names and bios.

This all depends on your preference and use of the squishes. Technically, squish will be better to resell (if this is what you want to do) if their tags are still attached. However, you can always remove the tags but store them somewhere.

What are the different kinds of squishes? What is a squad?

Squishmallows come in many sizes (see below), shapes, characters, and themes. Sometimes, a group of squishmallows are released at the same time and this is called a squad. There are many squads such as Sea Life, Valentine's, Halloween, Christmas, Wildlife, Pets, Food, and more (you can use the SquadApp to search squads). Squads and individual squish are released at different dates times around the world and can sometimes take time to travel. You may want to use the Squish Alert app/Instagram page to help you out with this!

There are also different flavors of squishmallows:

• "Standard" squish. Your typical round, lovable friends
• Fuzz-A-Mallows. Modified standard squish: the majority of their bodies is covered in fuzz (rather than soft fabric)
• Flip-A-Mallows. A form of squish that can flip inside out to display a differnt squish
• Clips. A small squish with a clip attached to it.
• Stackable. A flattened form of squishmallows that can be stacked in a tower
• Hug Mees. An elongated form of squishmallows that is easier to hug. These usually take the form of animals with arms and legs to ease the hugging process.
• Hugmallows. A different form of huggable squish, these are typically elongated squish that look like they are laying on their bellies
• Squeezemallows. These squish look like they're sitting up (and easy to squeeze)
• Box Sets. Sold in certain stores, box sets contain multiple (usually smaller, around 5") squish.
• Mystery Bags. Sometimes scented, these usually smaller squish come in packaging that hides their identity.
• Squishville. Very small (around 2") squish that come with pieces of clothing or furniture in order to build a squish world.
• Other accessories. Squishmallow merchandise also exists such as slippers, neck pillows, backpacks, stickers, trading cards, clothes, headphones, and pet beds/toys.

What sizes do squishes come in?

It is not possible to find every squish in each size (for instance, Orphie the octopus is only 20"). However, squishmallows have been spotted in many different sizes:

• 2" (Squishville)
• 2.5"
• Clips
• 4"
• 4.5"
• 5"
• 7"
• 7.5" (usually from 5B)
• 8"
• 10"
• 12"
• 14"
• 16"
• 18"
• 20"
• 24"

(Originally from r/squishmallow, adapted for kbin. Last Edited: June 14, 2023)