📖 Littlest Pet Shop (Petshops): telling the Kenner and Hasbro eras apart

Littlest Pet Shop (LPS) has existed since 1992 and falls into several eras that differ greatly in style and in value. Knowing which era a figure belongs to is the first thing to check before buying or reselling. I found no reliable source on counterfeits of this line: this guide concentrates on identifying the era and on what makes a piece rare.

1. The two main eras

• The Kenner era (1992 to 1997): stylised animals sold in a themed home, each with an action, often a magnet or a simple mechanism such as flapping wings.
• The line stopped in 1997. Hasbro, which had bought Tonka (and with it Kenner) in 1991, closed Kenner's Cincinnati offices in 2000.
• The Hasbro era (relaunch in 2005): a completely different style, "chibi" animals with a bobbling big head, designed by Gayle Middleton. Over 3,000 different figures have been produced since the relaunch.
• The brand is now licensed to Basic Fun!, which relaunches the line with a focus on nostalgia.

2. Read the number and the copyright

• Hasbro-era figures are numbered: collectors talk about cat #339, for example, and look for a specific animal by its number.
• Figures also carry a copyright marking. Be careful: an F Newsmagazine article notes that many new pets carry old Hasbro copyrights, so the stamped year alone does not date a figure. Also compare the style and shape.
• To value a piece, search by number rather than by description: two similar-looking figures can have very different values.

3. Sought-after Kenner pieces

• Most Kenner sets are not rare. Some are nevertheless hard to find: the foxes, the deer and the swans.
• The rarest known set is the "Pony n' Pet Stable" playset.
• Each Kenner set has an action (magnet, moving part): test it. A broken mechanism or a missing magnet lowers the value.

4. The effect of demand

• The LPS YouTube community strongly influences prices. The series "Littlest Pet Shop: Popular" for example drove up demand for the blonde cat #339.
• A figure in high demand in the community can therefore be worth more than a rarer but lesser-known piece: follow searches on selling sites.

⚠️ Watch out for

• I found no reliable source on counterfeits of this line. Always compare with photos of known genuine examples, by number, before paying a lot.
• The same animal sometimes exists in several paint or mould versions: check that the version offered is the one being sought.
• Many online "LPS guide" pages are auto-generated or copied: be wary of checklists you cannot trace back to an identifiable source.

Sources : Wikipédia (Littlest Pet Shop) · Littlest Pet Shop Wiki (Kenner) · F Newsmagazine (histoire des Littlest Pet Shops) · Fanlore (Littlest Pet Shop sur YouTube)

Updated on Oct 6, 2026. These pointers are indicative and do not replace an expert's opinion: for a valuable piece, have it appraised.