Ty posted on his own guestbook a "NEWSFLASH" that concerns retailer pricing. He says they frown upon retailers pricing beanies, including Princess and Erin, at more than $5 each.  Retailers have been discovered selling on consignment and to secondary dealers when apparently Ty has an agreement with each retailer that the beanies will retail at a certain price.  I think it's particularly funny to post this at this stage of the game as a "NEWSFLASH" when he should have been aware many, many months ago what was happening.  I can't help but wonder whether or not the hits on the guestbook have been slowing up, or retail sales starting to slip as customers grow increasing disenchanted with hunting for certain eternally illusive beanies.  On a personal note, just the other day I was able to acquire both Princess and Erin in a trade with a very nice beanie collector.  I traded him a special edition Stripes the tiger from Canada commemorating the Chinese New Year.  It had a certificate of authenticity and a Canadian stamp of a tiger also commemorative of the Chinese New Year.  As I've said before, I love bears so I felt the deal was more than fair.  Prior to meeting this gentleman, I had never even seen the shamrock green Erin bear.  He also brought along Britannia for me to see, and even let me hold her!  Britannia bears my eldest daughter's birthdate, 12-15, and she is simply one of the best looking bears Ty has come out with yet.  I'm still whittling down my collection though, and will wait until the next scheduled retirement on May 1st to begin to sell off some of my collection.
I expect that
with what is anticipated to be a large retirement, there may also be an introduction of even newer beanie babies.  Several months ago I would be biting my nails on the edge of my chair awaiting the announcement!  Now I'm only mildly interested since I know that with the introduction of whatever new one's there are, the prices will be out of this world!!  Happy beanie hunting!

For any of you who may have read my previous article on the Beanie Babies phenomena, I'd like to brag a little about  my most recent Beanie encounter.  This Saturday past I accompanied my brother-in-law to an industrial park with a large warehouse containing Frank and Sons Collectibles.  It's like an indoor swapmeet with dealers hawking everything from Star Wars memorabilia, Barbies,  Hot Wheels, and sports junk.  I decided to take a couple of my more valuable Beanie Babies with me to see if I could sell one or two to get money for a printer.   I took with me seven full sized beanies, one special edition Canadian Beanie I'd just acquired,  and 5 of the McDonald's Teenie Beanies MIP (mint in package).  To make a long story short, in 15 minutes I had $1140.00 in my purse,  and I still had the Canadian Tiger Beanie and Bessie the Cow in my bag.  I sold six Beanies plus the five little ones, which by the way came free in a Happy Meal last year, and I now have enough money to buy a pretty darn good printer!

For those in the know, the Beanies I sold were Righty and Lefty, a donkey and an elephant that bore an American flag on their sides; Seamore the snow white seal, Garcia the tye dyed bear, Tank the armadillo, and Spot a dog with a spot. I paid $6 for  Spot and Tank, and the others I traded for several months ago with beanies I'd paid $5 or $6 dollars for.  I've been collecting Beanies since last September when I bought my first Beanie Nip the gold cat for one of my daughters.  Though I put away nearly the maximum allowable in a 401K plan twice a month and couldn't really tell you what it is I'm invested in, I've never seen anything turn the kind of profit I made on those little bean bags last Saturday!  Personally, though I love the little guys, I think all of this is ridiculous.  Why would someone pay that much for these toys is beyond me and I truly think the Beanie craze is headed for the rocks because the pricing is now out of control.  When dealers and collectors are one day left sitting with inventory that no one can afford to buy, prices will start to plummet.  When buyers see that dealers are reducing prices, they will begin to question values and will wait to see if they go down further before they buy.

Unfortunately it's already getting to the point where many collectors on Ty's official website are posting their displeasure at the outrageous prices and the unscrupulous behaviors of dealers and shop owners. People are starting to beg and plead with others to sell them Beanies that they are priced out of reach for their children. Ty, apparently still not getting the message, has not increased shipping or quantities of the highly desirable ones.  Collector's are growing restless.  But for me, I've made my money and can now sit back and relax.  If I can't find the one's I'm looking for; Britannia, Erin and Princess, at a reasonable price, I guess I just won't have them.  But I'd bet money I'll find them at a reduced price in the future.  If history has taught us anything about supply and demand, when the demand is gone, the supply will be plentiful.  Happy Beanie hunting!

Just in case you haven't already heard, there's a craze that has taken the nation by storm and has spread rapidly to other parts of the world as well.  It all started innocently enough by a gentleman who'd retired from major toy company and set about to produce and market his own line of small stuffed toys.  What began as a modest idea to entice young children with meager allowances to purchase and collect a colorful selection of  beanbag animals priced in the $5 range, has catapulted the creator and owner of Ty Inc. into a multimillionaire seemingly over night.  Even Rosie O'Donnel and Penny Marshall were seen with some of their private collections this past week on Rosie's daytime show.

Ty Warner is the founder and creator of the Beanie Babie TM., line of collectible beanbag toys.  Since the very first 'Beanie's' were introduced in 1993, the line has grown to well over 100 pieces many of
which are no longer produced.  It was this particular idea, retiring certain pieces, that has caused what can only be characterized as a collecting frenzy.  Once Mr. Warner realized that demand and values increased significantly for Beanies no longer available, he began a trend of twice yearly retirements which fueled rumors and buying frenzies among collectors hoping to possess at least one of the newly valuable
pieces.  Another key to the success of the Beanie Babie product line is the fact that initially they were very hard to find, being sold only to smaller card and gift shops and in limited quantity.  Mr. Warner shunned
the idea of marketing to larger toy stores such as Toys R Us, and KayBee Toys.  This makes some particular pieces almost impossible to find, though they might be plentiful in another city or other state. This factor tends to make collector's frequent many shops in their quest to locate a favorite, which in turn, has made those lucky enough to have an account with Ty Inc., very happy.

In addition to the fortune Mr. Warner made for himself, a very formidable secondary market for his product quickly emerged as quick thinking and an entrepreneurial spirit took hold and individuals began to realize huge profits from stocking and selling product that was either retired or simply hard to find.  It is not uncommon to see secondary dealers selling current Beanies for two to three times the retail price, with a steady stream of customers gladly slapping down the bucks.   Though Mr. Warner has his own official website at www.ty.com,  there are countless other sites and links related to Beanie Babies.  These sites offer Beanies for sale, Beanies for trade,  Beanie rumors, Beanie sitings, Beanie magazines and books, Beanie clothing, and well, you get the point.   Might I suggest you go to the site yourself so that you can see with your own eyes the astounding number of over 1 billion hits his page has received.  I have personally made over 20 trades with people across the country in my quest to be Beanie Queen, but many individuals have made many, many more.

One of the first signs of Beanie insanity became apparent when adults took over collecting and the toys prices began to escalate so rapidly that no one in their right mind would allow a child to 'play' with the Beanie.  Beanie Babies have a distinctive hag tag that is red, in the shape of a heart, and bears the Ty logo with a yellow star.  Detached hang tags, or even scratched or creased hang tags for that matter, can significantly decrease the value of a Beanie.  Parents learning of the toys value for the first time tell stories of digging frantically through toy boxes and under beds to locate and dust off 'well loved' Beanies that though old, are still valuable enough to fetch a fine price on the secondary market. Other parents on the guest book section of the website frequently bemoan the fact that they unfortunately cannot afford a particular favorite piece for their little one due to the high demand and ridiculous prices.

Well, you might say, how much could they possibly cost? On Ebay, which is an auction page, a set of 2 bears given only to Ty employee's at a Christmas party went for an unheard of $9,800.00!!  Now granted, those bears are pretty rare, but they are cloth bears, stuffed with pellets and made not only in this century, but just last year!  Another of the popular bears is a fairly new release, Princess.  Princess is a deep purple colored bear made in honor of the late Princess Diana of Wales.  Ty had to get special permission from the estate to make this bear, and it was released in small quantities in December, prior to being made available for everyone to have, according to statements from the company.  Originally intended as a charity bear, the inside of the Ty tag indicates that proceeds would go to various charities of the late Princess of Wales.  Unfortunately, that seems hardly the case.  The poor bear is being hawked all over the place for hundreds of dollars to line the pockets of greedy dealers.  Even the small mom and pop operations apparently are beginning to be lured by the large profits beanie babies bring.  They are withholding them from their own shelves where they would be forced to sell them at retail, and are selling them out the back door on the secondary market.  Two new bears have been introduced since then, Britannia, marketed and sold only in the U.K., and Erin a shamrock green bear for St. Patrick's Day which is also being initially released in limited quantities.  Erin has debuted on the guest book at over $200!  Britannia has been preselling up to $500!  Remember, these are not retired, they are new releases that are supposed to retail at around $5 to $6 a piece.  Though I'm a bear collector first and foremost, my chances of owning Princess, Britannia or Erin appear to be slim and none.

There are Beanie Babie shows and fairs, and if you're smart, you'll have yourself on the calling list of half a dozen stores or more to be called the moment a new shipment arrives.  It is a common site in the wee hours of the morning to see long winding lines of grownups with lawn chairs awaiting the 9 or 10 o'clock opening of a small toy or gift shop.  I must admit to standing in several lines myself, once in a downpour of rain, to hopefully obtain the precious bounty.  Many times myself and others are outdone by a group of regulars that literally camp out overnight insuring they'll be first in the door to get best pick of the shipments.  I currently have no need to stand in line, as I believe I have all the currents and new releases stashed safely under my bed in a large plastic container.  When I recently was reading one of the many publications related to beanie collecting I found a section listing the most current values.  I was pleased to learn that even by conservative standards, my beanie collection could now be traded for a hefty down payment on a new car!  But get rid of my babies, no way!