* * N E W S
F L A S H * *
As the year comes to an end, I want to thank all of my viewers for their visits during 2000, and hope to see you again in the new millennium. I take great pride in having been able to offer collectors everywhere the longest running Beanie Newsletter on the Internet and I plan to to have all kinds of kewl information for my 4th consecutive year, so stay tuned!
Since the Ty site hasn't been updated since 29 December, I assume the lone programmer is preparing the usual surprises we get on New Years Eve??
Here is a pic of BOTH versions of Roxie, accompanied by her bear pals (left to right) 2000 Holiday Teddy, Klause and North.
- the RARE Roxie, with her RED nose reminds me of Rudolph. Rudolph was the brainchild of Robert
L. May, an advertising writer for Montgomery Ward,
as a promotional giveaway for their in-store Santas in 1939. The
kewl poem was later put to music by Johnny
Marks, a friend of its author, and eventually
released as a record sung by Gene
Autry, and became a Holiday favorite for
generations! It is the 2nd best-selling Christmas song, following
Bing Crosby's White
Christmas!
I had been wanting to do this page for a long time, and finally started! My first National Exclusive Beanie is Germania.
I have also changd my Beanie index page to make it easier to find what you are looking for, with mapped links to all of my different info sections. Check it out and Enjoy!
Here are a couple variations in tags that you should know about :
* * Sunny the VERY short-lived eBeanie Bear was found with two different tag versions in the one and ONLY shipment sent to the official Adoption Centers -
* * Germania is a Bear exclusive to Germany. Although the bear itself has remained the same, its
Hang Tag (5th Generation) and Tush Tag have changed
In the First Issue we find Gasport, birthdate in American style with the month before the day, misspelled words in the poem (which has space between the lines), small web address and instructions on the reverse in English.
Incorrectly spelled are : Geburtsag (Geburtstag), Einheislied (Einheitsleid), un (und), das liebste (der Liebste).
In the Second Issue we see Gosport spelled correctly, the date is now in the German style with the day before the month, the German poem is corrected having NO space between the lines, larger web address, and text on the reverse in German.
TagAlthough the Tush Tag says the same thing on both sides, it was folded/looped in the First and Second Issue Germanias, but in the Third Issue it is a single piece of fabric. This change, if later found on ALL Beanies would result in a new Tush Tag Generation.
According to the latest financial news, Pets.com is going to close its site on 9 November! They have those really cute sock puppet dogs, that were featured on TV commercials. I was waiting until closer to Christmas to order mine, but I rushed to get a couple of these kewl sock puppets before they shut down the site. They should become really hot collectibles.
Rumor has it that a new bear will be available on the Ty site - a purple-ish bear called Periwinkle.
BeaniesWOW, three new cute beanies for the HOLIDAYS. Go see them at >> HoLiDaYs <<
The long awaited Canadian and British EXCLUSIVE bears have arrived and they are really kewl! >> PICS <<
After a series of RARE billboard announcements at different places in the U.S., Ty finally shows what this new series of Beanies is like. Personally, although I have not yet had one in my hands, I think they will be great hits. He has recently opened several new Asian markets, and these new critters are sure to be VERY popular there, as well as in North America (including, of course, Canada!) and Europe.
Check out my NEW - 2000 Beanies page for more info on the Chinese horoscope and a composite pic of all 12.
This new UK site, welcoming kids and toy collectors from all countries, has Beanie Boards for finding / trading / selling AND also fun, games, and drawings for toys. It promises to be a very popular site in the coming months. It was founded by Fortune, the Dragon, whose cute pic appears on the banner above. You have to get a password to post, but that is found on many boards to attempt assure that the posts are reliable. Carol, Fortune's best friend, told me that they are planning even more fun things to do and yet more varieties of toys in the near future. The contests remind me of those which REX, the Dinosaur had on my site a couple years ago. Check it out and bookmark Winner's Quest to return again for their latest developments.
I went to my first U.S. Government auction of confiscated items well over 10 years ago. They are held in several cities across the U.S., and you may find real estate property, cars, planes, boats and ships, and a very diverse variety of items from spices, rugs, jewelry and personal effects, to LARGE lots of new clothing, shoes, books, CDs, computer parts and many other goodies. During the last few months there have been auctions on the East and West coasts in which large lots of Beanies were available! They do not specify which critters are in the lots and you would personally have to go to the pre-sale exhibit of the items to see them for yourself. Some of the lots are sold FOR EXPORT ONLY, which means that they must leave the U.S. following purchase.
In the old days they did not have subscriptions to fliers, an online presence and a mass presentation as they do today. It was through an ad in the auction section of the local newspaper, usually on Sunday, when you might happen across their notice. And they were NOT as well attended as they are now.
If you would like to check where and when their future auctions will be held, and to get a subscription to their bulletins of upcoming sales, go to U.S. Department of the Treasury Auctions.
Incidently, other sources for not only Beanies but also other toys and collectible items, many by the case-lot, may be found at the hundreds of local auction liquidators. throughout this country and others. A shop or company goes out of business for whatever reason and the inventory is sold, as is, to the highest bidder, most often at way below wholesale! Check the AUCTION listings of your town newspaper for what may be available in your area. You might just be absolutely amazed at what you may find! Make sure that you do NOT pass the word to all your friends though -- they may just outbid you in the future on some choice goodies! And make sure you empty out your van BEFORE going, as a friend of mine learned recently when I introduced her and her kids to one of my favorite country auctions! It was her first real live auction, and she loved it!
In Spain certain banks act as pawn brokers for precious metal and gem jewelry, tableware and other objects. They also hold auctions of unreclaimed pawned items 2-4x a year, and you can obtain really great vintage stuff there. The fabulous finds I made in those good old days will hopefully eventually appear in my as-yet incomplete Remembrances of Skies Past section, elsewhere on this site.
Ms. Janie's site has a kewl survey about Ty Beanies. You should take the time to answer her GREAT questions, and she promised to post her results within a few days! It would be interesting to see what MANY Beaniephiles think at this time. Her questions include, along with my answers -
What do you think of Ty's new looking website; how appealing are the auctions on Ty Trade? **the website makeover made it more "modern", colorful and all (BUT the foreign boards have remained the same--WHY?), BUT since everything does NOT work as it should, why bother? It's sort of like the overkill on eBay formatting-- every time they add or try new stuff, they go down! I am NOT interested in the least in his charity auctions.**
What do you think Ty Warner meant when he said he was working on something special for us? ** another group of toy shows with new releases!! Just what we needed!! The rest of his last batch of new ones hasn't even reached many shops yet-- although they are all over the flea market tables--WHY?**
Now that Ty has introduced Ty Trade to their site and it offers news, pictures and auctions, how will other websites serve a purpose to you? **as HIS site is strictly promoting his stuff, a lot of the pics are REVERSED (causing confusion among collectors!), and he only puts up what he wants to, when he wants to-- the usefulness of other sites remains the same for FRESH and correct news and commentary that HE would NOT ALLOW on his anywhere!**
How important is it for you to stay abreast of Ty News? VERY-- I maintain a Beanie Newsletter with all kinds of info, and think that kids and collectors need this info, plus, I also collect the things!**
When you view a Beanie or Collectible website, what are you looking for? **breaking news tidbits, maybe a good trade offer or a link to another site that has useful info**
What in your opinion can Ty do to make his product more collectible and enjoyable? **STOP being the bxxxx that he seems to be! SHIP promptly, POST numbers of critters produced, MAKE fewer and have them RETIRE faster. ANY collectible has "value" IF there are NOT zillions of them out there, be it a car, bear, porcelain figure or trading card. The "market" for Bamm Beanos, Celebrity Bears, Collectible Treasures, AND TY stuff has gone downhill mainly due to the constant bombardment with piles of NEW releases and slow retirements-- PLUS vast quantities produced, even though Celeb Bears makes relatively few. The ONLY ones that get high prices on auctions are the new releases that greedies want to get their paws on asap, and pay through the nose to get them, only to find that after a couple months, their "value" has gone down to zilch! The Beanie magazines do NOT help matters any with their absolutely outrageous "values" attached to most of the toys-- why not?? They want to sell their rags, which they DO-- they have a VESTED INTEREST in what they are doing, which to a court judge, would have them thrown off a case for CONFLICT OF INTEREST!! MANY websites also have highly inflated TY "values" because their owners also have goodies on the auctions, and they want to inflate what they get for the things. I have always called these lists, "Price Guide's By The Nose"!!**
I found this ad on a well-known posting board and thought it was really off-the-wall --
9 KIDS FOR 1 SAKURA::::::Need Sakura to be MWMTs, authentic, and from nonsmoking home. All my KIDS are elastic, potty trained, and ready to be adopted. That's the deal: my 9 KIDS (one of each of the 1st 9) for your 1 Sakura. If you are outside the US, please be prepared to offer something else to balance the shipping of 9 KIDS vs. 1 beanie. Thanks .
So I posted my own, hoping to let other traders know that they should NOT give their critters away so easily! Hey, a TRADE should be FAIR - NOT totally lopsided! Would you trade your new car for a new bicycle or your spacious, well-kept 3-story house for a run-down shack in the woods?
HEY, since somebody wants to trade their entire family for ONE single SAKURA, I'll do them one better -- how about ALL my nieces and nephews (only 7), and I'll throw-in a couple cousins just to make the deal exciting! It would NEVER occur to me to trade THAT much for a single Beanie, unless, perhaps, it might be something signed by TY himself right in front of me, with pic of signing + letter by him! Hey, GREED is GREED! They paid RETAIL for the toy, and some are even dealers as they offer unopened bags of 12!!
Some Sakura traders want an entire set of the American Trio 2000 AND the corresponding Buddies! HEY, what do they think? There are NO streets that I know of in the U.S.A. paved with GOLD, and this American EXCLUSIVE Trio is much harder to find in the LARGE U.S.A. than Sakura was in that TINY Japan! When trading at least try to use some common sense -- they are ONLY toys, and as we have seen over the last year or so, their values have been going WAY down from what they used to be. Unless you are a millionaire who ate rats and worms on some island and really couldn't care that much, don't get locked into a trade where YOU lose big-time and the other person gets 20x the value of their toy in trade! I traded a Maple for a Sakura to a kid in Japan, BUT the Maple was a gift to me and I have others, so the Sakura really only cost me the postage.
Well, I will not go into details about how I started using my black light = ultra violet (UV) on some Beanies earlier last night BUT... I found some kewl surprises!! I started with Glow, because he was supposed to glow in the dark, which he does. His tail AND his eyes glow a kewl greenish color after exposure to normal white light.
Under the UV light his tail looks different from the other normal glow, being MUCH brighter
OK, so I tried a couple other Beanies -- Squirmy and USA Bear
Squirmy glows a BRIGHT yellow green, and the white fabric of USA Bear and the embroidered white of the patch glow a BRIGHT white. The pics were NOT easy to take and the colors are not exacctly true, but those who collect fluorescent minerals may have a black light and be able to get better photos.
My biggest surprise was that the 2000 on the front of the new tag glows a BRIGHT YELLOW!! Could this be one of the counterfeit deterrents which Ty added to the new labels? The inside and back of the tag looks sort of dull beige under the UV light.
Other glowing Beanies include : Beginning - bright white with darkish stars
Bushy - green and orange body, light violet nose, red brown paw pads with gray-green and pink-red hair and red-brown paw pads
Scurry - red orange legs, orange spotted upper body from the middle legs to the head, and a bright white underside
Springy - orange speckled body with a bright orange nose
Morrie - yellow speckled body, light orange inside mouth and bright white teeth
Swoop - mottled orange underwings, body front and legs, and a bright orange inner mouth
Rufus - an lightish orange body and inner ears
Halo 2 - bright white body
2000 Bear - speckled orange with bright white signature and 2000
Glow - dull green eyes, brightly spotted tail end, banded orange upper wings , mottled pink-orange main body and orange legs (BUT on one of the two I checked, the front two legs were duller and the hind 4 VERY bright -- and the other one had 6 dull orange legs! In normal light they all look the same color)
Peekaboo - irregularly striped orange body, head and legs
Lefty 2000 and Righty 2000 are bright white with dullish red stars and stripes, while Lefty's red tasseled tail and mane are much brighter in color
Ariel - looks sort of light gray, with the middle embroidery in bright hot pink-orange, and a reddish glowing ribbon
Sakura - glows a "dirty" pinkish, with a very bright orange flower and bow.
So it seems that all the whites show up EXTRA white under the UV light, and some of the colors are different from the ones we normally see. This opens up an entire new way to study our beloved critters and their variations. I even checked out a couple Beanie Kids and Teenies, but shall let that part of this fun new investigation for you to do! And while you are at it, try the black light on your Attics and Plush! Why not make it your SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT for this year? It would be the kewlest one in the school!
Although the actual names may change BEFORE they finally appear in the official adoption centers, here is the list that seems to be circulating :
Aruba the Fish, Bananna the Monkey, Buzzy the Buzzard, China the Panda, Howl the Wolf, Huggie the Bear, Lurkie the Turkey, Oats the Horse, Pellet the Hamster, Prince the frog, Slayer the Lizard, Tricks the Retriever, Whiskers the Dog
Chris went to the Philly show and reports on his observations of the new Beanies and RATES them! (I believe the ones at the show were only the PROTOTYPES so the ones that reach the shelves may vary somewhat). He also mentions the new clothes line for the Beanie Kids.
He has the FIRST web site dedicated to the Ty PLUSH line on the internet, and he is currently updating to a new, way kewler format. Incidently he is also an expert on turtles, lizards and frogs, the live kind! Thanks a lot for your kewl play-by-play report, Chris!
In a message dated 18/07/2000 00:09:31, Chris writes:
<< Wow! Wow! Wow! I have never been to a Gift Show so this was a unique experience. My friend J invited me to go with her so I could see the new Ty items. The place was in the middle of nowhere. It took us like 45 minutes to get there maybe less, we were talking about Ty the whole time so TYme flew by. We went straight to the Ty Booth. It seemed like there were at least 10 reps.. Not all were walking around, some were over at a table. Well J and I talked with A who is our rep's boss. We just talked about what designs I liked. I was not very happy with any of the new ones. None had ANY kind of tag on them, so they may have been prototypes.
The LIZARD is not a GILA MONSTER nor a Velociraptor and it's a poor attempt at a frilled lizard. Gila Monsters are black and orange and look like they have beads all over them. Velociraptors stand on two legs and this critter was lying down. So the so-called dinosaur was really just an Australian Frilled Lizard. I would rate it a 9:10
The FROG would have made a great tropical frog if the head was not gigantic. It was really just a toad with color, yellows and oranges. It was not sitting like a teddy bear or lying flat, it was crouched. I rate this toad at a 6:10
The WOLF was very cool. It was very detailed. It was all gray and it has red beady eyes. I rate this critter at a 9:10.
The HAMSTER is very cute yet I expected cuter. It sits like Cheezer and is brown and white. I rate this piece at 8:10
The HORSE is ok.. it resembles a sitting version of Whinnie the Ty Plush Horse. I thought the head was too narrow for the body. I rate it at an 8:10 because it will be a major hit!
The DOGS are somewhat cute. The GRAY LAB is just a mutt. It looks like Fetch but with gray and brown multi colored fur. It is very very cute and deserves a 10:10
The SCHNAUZER TYPE DOG is the colors of Toffee the Ty Plush. It looked more like a type of terrier then a schnauzer. It was very cool yet it only deserves a 7:10
The TURKEY is very awesome!!! It was so detailed I forget the actual details. I give this masterpiece a 10:10
The VULTURE is very blue/purple, neck was way 2 short and beak was way 2 small. I rate its a 6:10
The BEAR is in a sitting position like a Teddy.. colors of Rufus.. beige body and brown ears. Same material as Cashew. I rate it a 5:10
The PANDA is very cute too! It is like Aurora and Cinders yet a Panda. I rate it a 9:10
The ORANGUTAN has Speckles the eBeanie color I believe.. yet I have never seen a Speckles in person. It also has a goatee as I recall. I rate it a 9:10
The FISH sounded very cool from its description.. yet it looked like a tacky version of an angel fish. It has a glittery sequined type material, almost scaley, in blues and pinks. It was a new material. It was sorta very unique. I rate it a 10:10 for uniqueness but a 7:10 for cuteness. Overall everything was just.. O.K.!
The new Beanie Kids clothes are phenomenal! They are great!!!!!!!! They come in blister packs similar to those the tag protectors came in that Ty made. The princess outfit was awesome!!! Ginger looked very cool in it! The baseball outfit was very nicely made as well! They were all very cool!
We wandered around and looked at all of the booths.. well almost all :) There is a company called JAAG that makes plush. I have not seen a single company that might even compare to Ty. Watch Out Ty!!! They have some great dog pieces including a VERY CUTE border collie and collie. The plush are so unique. They have all types of animals! Chris >>
OK, so word seems to be trickling out about the new Beanies first seen at the Atlanta show - there seems to be 13 new ones -- NO names yet -- a 2-toned brown bear, 2 kind of birds (turkey with fanned tail ?, vulture ?), 2 dogs, some knd of crested lizard or dinosaur ?, a hamster-like one, a fish, a froggy, a wolf, a horse, an orangutan ?, and a panda bear.
At a UK shop it was reported that an entirely new bear having the name BIRCH was found.
Someone reported finding a RIVER bear with a HUNTLY hang tag. Another tag-switch glitch which probably means that some new unannounced bear should appear within a month or so.
According to an email I received, this avid collector bought a Righty2000 and Lefty 2000 in SCOTLAND!!
In a message dated 11/07/2000 12:51:43, glorybear writes:
<< they were the beanies - i got one of each but dont have a scanner so cant send a photo im afraid - two shops in Glasgow got 12 of each - they are listed on the ty website as us exclusives so i dont know if this is a mistake or not! >>
I assume it is a mistake, which is NOT uncommon. I can remember getting a Canadian Attic Collectible at a shop here in Trenton last year -- at least I do not think Governor Whitman sold New Jersey to balance the budget?? My ZIP code is still the same!
Could it be that one of the new critters is such a cold-blooded killer? The poem, which I read about online in several places (BUT have NOT seen personally), described it as a shy, not mean animal -- it justs wants to kill every cobra that it meets! It grabs the poor snake by its little head, wacking "them till they're stone cold dead!" Now isn't that a nice passtime?
Curiously, the only animal that I know of that routinely kills cobras is the Mongoose (= mungoose), native to India. BUT, the little significant detail is that it belongs to the Scientific FAMILY called Viverridae, along with the civets. Did some scientifically oriented Ty employee, of which I am sure there must be many, discover that the mongoose was NOT a member of the group of animals after which the new Beanie was named (Mustelidae) and make a quick change in labels? Or did they find the poem just a tad too graphic for young collectors - although it would be just fine and dandy with many ESDs (Evil Secondary Dealers) who have always enjoyed wacking their customers with outrageous prices until their wallets were dead empty!?
Those of you who went to the Ty site today found the OLD screen dated 17 May!! I gave TyTrade the same week until it would be DOWN that I gave his CyberBoards when they first started and problems arose! What a way to update a single section of the site!
It seems as if a whole herd of more new critters was announced at the Atlanta Toy Show! Stay tuned for their names and whether they will be more e-Beanies. Once Ty gets all the glitches out of his new online ordering site, I think that MOST, if not ALL, of the future Beanies will ONLY be available online! That would finally put an end to the back-door disappearance of MANY Beanies and their magical reappearance at scalper prices at flea markets everywhere. And if you read my Newsletter for 1999, you know that he already has copyrighted several e-names for them.
WOW, a kewl image MAP to search for the new summer Beanies appeared on the TY site today!
Ty issued an VERY understanding and contrite apology to the zillions of TyTrade potential customers who were unable to log-on and order the new e-Beanie. He remarked that he also was unable to log-in! Thanks Ty - now you could see first hand what all the gripes were about! [read some of them below]
In a message dated 05/07/2000 11:52:24, cen writes:
<< It's hard to believe and
I am still shaking my head..but today I got the e-beanie delivered
by USPS. I see the postage was a whopping $1.33, so the poor person
who shoved Speckles in the box cost me over $3...LOL!
They are okay looking..soft like Groovy but if they are calling
it a "brown-speckled" bear anywhere..I don't see it!
It has yellow, pink, green, orange and blue varigated "fur".>>
So they have been received in AT LEAST San Francisco, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Iowa and Ohio already! I am really glad to see that, although some people are still having problems ordering their new e-Bear, that TY has finally gotten on-the-ball after years of gripes from collectors ordering his cute critters, and things are looking really BRIGHT for his new venture!! Hey, I shall even order mine!
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| This site has NO relationship with TY™, and brings you this info as a service and promotion of Mr. Warner's wonderful toy creations. I hope he does not mind. |