-=FEBRUARY 28, 2003=-
Well Miss Pearl is getting into the Motherly mood
Thursday morning she went into Brandon's room and got his Sequoia Beanie baby from on top of his old changing table that now houses some Beanies & Chubbleys and she came out of his room walking swiftly and proudly with Sequoia in her mouth by the scruff of it's neck. It was too funny.. she thought Sequoia was her baby. I wish I could have gotten my camera out fast enough to take a picture of that. LOL She's 8 months old now. Hard to believe!! I'm going to have to get her fixed very soon. :o)

ASK TY
Q: In the section "Most Wanted" what determines which is the most wanted? (submitted by smc25)
A: You determine the Beanies that are "Most Wanted" by adding them to your "Wish List". I'm guessing that Decade may stay at the top of the list for quite some time. http://www.tytrade.com/askty_home 

UPDATE: DECADE 1/100 ON AUCTION
The winning bid for this HOT Beanie was $7,600 with 42 bidders trying to win this elusive bear. Congratulations to the winner of the auction and to Leah for fetching such a high price. VIEW AUCTION HERE

I received this in my inbox. Perhaps this reminder is just that, a reminder, or maybe this little guy is going to be selling out soon. :o)

PRE-ORDER NEW CHUBBLEYS
Gayle of Grandma's Bears is now taking pre-orders on the January and February releases. CHUNKY: Mission - CHUBBLEYS: Toots (new version), St. Clements (orange and lemon), Bjorn, Lily, Blush - CUBS: Creamy, Snowdrop, Petal. Gayle also has a good supply of the other Chubbley Bears. http://www.grandmasbears.net  If you are having a hard time accessing Grandma's Bears website you can email Gayle directly to place an order. GrandmasBears@aol.com 

Ty Makes Forbes List (Again)
Ty Warner lands at number 44 on Forbes list of The World's Richest People for 2003. This is Forbes 17th annual ranking of the world's richest. The magazine states that Ty has a net worth of $6 billion, which is up from last year.
Click Here To View Rankings
Click Here For More Info On Ty

Dusty the New Chicago Cubs Beanie
Attention all Beanie Baby fans. Mark Sunday, May 4 on your schedule. On that date, when the Cubs play host to Colorado, the team will give away the first team Beanie Baby and it'll be named "Dusty." Full Article

Fells Point
Explore Baltimore's waterfront history along this neighborhoods's cobblestone streets and cozy pubs.
A nod of approval goes to Grrreat Bears and Childhood Delights, a children's store that carries a colossal collection of Beanie Babies and other stuffed animals, as well as a number of children's toys aimed at exercising their minds instead of their parent's wallets. Logic puzzles, beginner chess sets, and surreptitiously educational books (ranging from relatively straightforward activity books to the classic Encyclopedia Brown brain teasers) make this a good place to shop for a kid you want to turn out right. Just don't make the mistake of bringing an actual kid in here. The precarious stacking of the store's merchandise looks like it's on the verge of a Beanie avalanche. Also check out aMuse, another toy store that's not just for kids. Here you can find a construction kit for a marble maze to put on your fridge door, among other fun items. VIEW FULL STORY HERE

How a Banana Saved a Company 
John shares with Ms. Janie
Japanese toymaker Takara was almost bankrupt. Then it made a bold bet on a piece of fruit -- and its employees' passion. You might think the moral of this story is that you can save your company simply by taking a risk on something silly. But that's not the moral of this story. A few months ago, I read that a company was selling a dog-to-human translator. The manufacturer, Japan's No. 2 toymaker, Takara, claimed that Bowlingual could decipher the barks of 50 breeds. CBS News even had its Tokyo correspondent "talk" to a cocker spaniel named Ruby. Having studied in Japan, I knew that Takara mostly made dolls. But when I visited its website, I found that Dr. Dolittle devices were the leading edge of a somewhat wacky corporate shift. The company had just launched a subsidiary, CQ Motors, to make real, roadworthy cars -- with a twist: They were modeled after Takara's cute and popular toy vehicles. The product line also included a collection of robot jellyfish, a talking tissue holder, and an alarm clock shaped like an angry old man who, when it's time to wake up, descends from the ceiling and screams at you.  VIEW FULL STORY HERE

LAST DAY TO PURCHASE RAFFLE TICKETS
Desi writes: "Letting you know that 20 people entered the raffle that ends tonight at midnight cst....Also it has made over 40.00...Thank you so much for putting my raffle on your newsletter...I'm also in the works of another one to go towards Taylors party/present....The next one will have 2 prize boxes and will be baby things, since its that time of the year.....I will give more detail later..... Thanks again, Desi & Taylor" The list of items is quite long now so be sure to check it out here: http://www.geocities.com/des103096/TaylorRaffle.html 

MARCH INTRODUCTIONS ~ http://www.ty.com/March_2003_Intro 
TY GEAR TOTES: Yellow Flower, Purple Leopard, Ty-Dye 
BUDDIES: Siam, Sherbet (lemon), Sherbet (lime), Mum, Frolic
PLUFFIES: Winks, Whiffer, Slumbers
BEANIES: Frisco, Nutty, April, Mother, Zeus
CLASSIC: Superdog

-=FEBRUARY 27, 2003=-
ORIGINAL 7 CHUBBLEYS SPECIAL
Chubbley "Original 7" are featured on Kansas Brass & Pewter as a special. This special includes First, Creamy, Rusty, Rollem, Snowbear (original), Moonbeam, and Little Bear.  Take a look at this special featured with a St. Patrick's Day theme. VIEW SPECIAL HERE

BEANIE INFORMATION PAGES
I've updated the Beanie checklist (http://www.planetbeans.com/beaniechecklist.htm) as well as the information pages. If you see any errors please let me know. I'm missing a little bit of info so I'd like to request the help of you, my wonderful readers. I am in need of poems for Dreamer and Buttercream. Not sure if Buttercream has even been shipped yet but if someone has this info I'd appreciate it. I also need style numbers for Cand-e, Coral Casino, Decade, Kiss-e, Luck-e, and Punxy Phil. I am in need of birthdates for Courage, Luck-e, M.C. Beanie, and M.C. Beanie II Anniversary Edition. http://www.planetbeans.com/beanie_listpage_1.htm

Body found on Winnetka street
February 25, 2003 — A body found near the Skokie Lagoons on the North Shore has been identified as a convicted burglar. The man, who was facing additional charges of theft and battery, was due in court today.

The body was found near Forestway Drive in the North Shore suburb. Investigators say 40-year-old Joel Cacharelis had been shot to death before his body dumped in the secluded location.

The Winnetka Police Department said was considered the most prolific burglar on the North Shore. He was convicted of burglary in 1995, and in June of 2001 he was arrested and charged with three more burglary counts as well as possession of burglary tools, resisting arrest and battery to a police officer.

Detectives searched his house shortly thereafter and found 1,000 beanie babies, gold coins, collectible sports cards, assorted electronic equipment and $360,000 in cash. VIEW FULL STORY HERE

PURPLE DECADE
http://www.msjanie.com/2002_photos/Tom_purple_decade.html

RARE DECADE PRESS KIT ON AUCTION
Sly shares with Ms. Janie
DECADE the 10TH ANNIVERSARY TY BEANIE BABY BEAR & PRESS KIT!! BOXED BEAR/TY PRESS LETTER/CASE OF 5 CLUB PINS/BUTTON. THIS PRESS KIT IS ONE OF ABOUT 30 GIVEN TO PRESS AT THE NOW-FAMOUS TY WARNER SIGNING AT TOY FAIR  VIEW AUCTION HERE

Benefit yard sale, book sale
Friends of the Umatilla Public Library are planning a citywide yard sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Shoppers may pick up a map of the 36-plus yard-sale locations at City Hall or the library.There will be yard-sale tables and a plant sale at the Umatilla Community Center on Central Avenue.

The library will have a sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. offering paperbacks, hardbacks, coffee-table editions, collectible sets of Beanie Babies and donated bicycles.

Members of Umatilla Methodist Church will sell barbecue-chicken dinners from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the community center. Tickets are $5 for a quarter-chicken dinner or $7 for a half-chicken dinner.  VIEW FULL STORY HERE

Chicago Cubs Game Giveaways
From: Doodle's Page
Several weeks back, we mentioned in the news of a Beanie Baby named 'Dusty' (named after Dusty Baker), to be given away at an upcoming Chicago Cubs game. One of our readers, 'Susan', writes:

Hi Deb ... Was just wondering if you were aware of two "Ty giveaways" at the Chicago Cubs games this year. Isn't that a little unusual to have two? ..... Susan

Thank you, Susan ... Although a little 'non-standard', after checking the Chicago Cubs website, the information currently states the following:

- Sunday, May 4. 2003 - (Chicago Cubs vs. Colorado - 1:20 p.m). - Wrigley Field Exclusive "Dusty" the Bear Beanie Baby® - Wrigley Field Exclusive "Dusty" the Bear Beanie Baby® with Cubs logo (Commemorative card included - 1st 10,000 fans, 13 & younger)

- Saturday, August 30, 2003 - (Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee - 3:05 p.m.) - Wrigley Field Exclusive Teenie Beanie Boppers® (Commemorative card included - 1st 5,000 fans, 13 & younger)

Click here to view the Chicago Cubs promotional giveaways

UPDATE: DECADE 1/100 ON AUCTION
The winning bid is still at  $7,500 with 41 bidders. Just under 3 hours remaining in the auction. VIEW AUCTION HERE

PROBLEMS WITH PAYPAL
Daphne writes: 
"Hello!

I thought you should maybe alert your readers about a current problem on Paypal

Early this morning (GMT) I was alerted to the fact that the sterling:dollar exchange rate on Paypal had gone haywire:
a transaction of $34.99, was being debited as £35.80, with an exchange rate of £1 = 0.9775

Checking this using the eBay currency converter link, I found that $34.99 should have been £22.0956 - a huge difference from the attempted charge on Paypal and a potentially damaging state of affairs - not to mention expensive for the user 

I've phoned Paypal in the USA and they're looking into it and have promised me a reply

Without prejudice, I would advise users to check any transaction involving a currency transfer that's taken place on Paypal today, Thursday."

Daphne
www.bearsandbeans.com

So was this human error in updating the currency conversion rate?  Could sterling have been confused with Euros?  We don't know, but a Paypal representative said 'we think it was a system error' Daphne

ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT TO PURCHASE RAFFLE TICKETS
Desi writes: "Hi Lisa...Letting you know 17 people are now entered in my raffle for my daughters 4th birthday party...I'm also adding a cute basket or a wall decoration for spring in there....I will take a picture as soon as I get time....." The list has been updated with several new additions. The list of items is quite long now so be sure to check it out here: http://www.geocities.com/des103096/TaylorRaffle.html 

-=FEBRUARY 26, 2003=-
SUE'S CHARITY AUCTION UPDATES
The auctions have ended and Sue has written a nice thank you letter. You can view the final auction totals as well as the letter from Sue Owen at http://www.planetbeans.com/SuesCharityAuctions.htm

BEANIE OF THE MONTH OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Thank you to Bean Watcher and Mindy for pointing this out:
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Effective April 2, 2003 we will no longer accept new memberships for the Beanie Baby of the Month program. All orders placed prior to this date will be shipped on a monthly basis according to the terms of the program. To update your Beanie Baby of the Month membership information or to check the Beanie Baby of the Month terms and conditions, please use the links at the bottom of the TyStore home page. For order status information, use the "ORDER STATUS" button found at the top of the TyStore home page.

To join the Beanie Baby of the Month program CLICK HERE.

Thank you for your support !

LUCK-e IS SHIPPING
Judie informs me that she has received her confirmation of shipment yesterday.

LUCK-e IN HAND AUCTIONS
I did a search to see if anyone had received their Luck-e Beanies yet and found 17 auctions (LISTED HERE). I might add that NONE of these 17 auctions have ACTUAL pictures of this bear. They all have images from the Ty Store. If you are amongst the first to receive Luck-e.. please share your pictures with me at Lisa@planetbeans.com so that I may share them with my readers.

THANK YOU BEAR UNIVERSE CONTEST
Allan writes: "Dear Lisa, Thank you very much for all your help yesterday, many members stated that they joined up after seeing my ad in your newsletter so a Big Thank You, I was wondering if you could please also let your readers know that my new contest on TYBU has now started and I would be very appreciative if you could let them know that is has.

Once again thanks for all your help over the last few days and I hope to see you soon maybe on the board perhaps. Allan" http://groups.msn.com/ThankYouBearUniverse/

-=FEBRUARY 25, 2003=-
POMPEY ORDER REFUSED
Kim writes: I refused my shipment of Pompey yesterday.  I had emailed them back in January that I no longer wanted the beanie...they sent me a 'form reply' stating that they may not be able to cancel the order...I can't believe they took so long...the postman tried to deliver mine just yesterday...I refused it...now on to my Ty Mastercard to dispute the charges!!  Oh what fun.  I don't even plan on buying this guy 2ndary...too much of a bad taste in my mouth for how Pompey handled this whole thing.  October 21st 2002 until February 22, 2003 to get ONE beanie...UNBELIEVABLE!!

SUE'S CHARITY AUCTION UPDATES
Just over 7 HOURS left in these auctions. Totals have been updated again. http://www.planetbeans.com/SuesCharityAuctions.htm

UPDATE: DECADE 1/100 ON AUCTION
The winning bid is has been moved back to $6,000 with 40 bidders so far and the reserve has been met. There must have been problems with the bidding for the amount to go from $7,500 down to $6,000. You have plenty of time to place your bid. This is a 10 day auction which ends in just over 2 days. VIEW AUCTION HERE

THANK YOU BEAR UNIVERSE
Allan writes: "Dear Lisa, I have recently just revamped my new website Thank You Bear Universe which you yourself are a member of since June last year and I was wondering if you would be ever so kind as to mention it in your next news letter, If you can that will be brill if not I would thank you just having a look. The address is: http://groups.msn.com/ThankYouBearUniverse/

Thanks again and keep up the brilliant work, Allan"

TEENIE BOPPERS AT THE PORTSMOUTH FOOTBALL CLUB
Linda writes: "Just thought I would let you and other members know that Portsmouth Football Club are now advertising Captain and Hotshot Beanie Boppers for sale for £7 GBP on their web site.   I though this strange, as I hadn't heard that these two had been released as Beanie Boppers, so I just telephone PFC and they have confirmed that the Hotshot and Captain they are selling are actually Teenie Beanie Boppers, as the sales assistant checked the Hang Tags for me.   Believe it or not, they were unaware of the difference between Beanie Boppers and Teenie Beanie Boppers.

I have suggested they change the descriptions on their web site if they don't want war on their hands, given the recent negative reports they are getting from overseas customers. Linda (UK)"  CAPTAIN ~ HOTSHOT

COUNTERFEIT ALERT
From: Ms. Janie
Dear Friends, Just wanted you to alert your readers to a "new counterfeit strategy". Beanie collectors should not buy any Nipponia with the tush tags missing. It appears that the counterfeit sellers are now removing the counterfeit 9th generation tush tags with the publicized counterfeit alpha numeric serial numbers and selling the tush tagless counterfeit Nipponia! The counterfeit alpha numeric Nipponia serial numbers discovered are: 4RPAGDX3, 4LDHGRAE, and 4RDAE9P044 Sincerely, Peggy Gallagher Enterprises, Inc. http://www.peggyg.com

-=FEBRUARY 24, 2003=-
SUE'S CHARITY AUCTION UPDATES
Sue shares exciting information. I've also updated the current high bids. Just over ONE day left in these auctions. Thank you for your bids. You should feel great about bidding on these auctions. :o) http://www.planetbeans.com/SuesCharityAuctions.htm

PLANET BEANS GROUP TROUBLES
I've heard from several members of the Planet Beans Yahoo! Group that there's a problem with reading messages. That problem still exists this morning. I'm not sure why this is happening but I do know that all of my other groups have been working just fine. I hope Yahoo! gets the PB group working soon.

FEBRUARY RETIREMENTS ~ http://www.ty.com/FebRetirement
BEANIES: Bandito, Rusty, Tooter, Woody
BUDDIES: Romance

UPDATE: DECADE 1/100 ON AUCTION
Leah of leahland.com has again (she had it posted but the auction was removed and reposted) posted her auction of the rarest of the Decade Beanies signed by Ty Warner. The winning bid is STILL at $7,500 with 48 bidders so far and the reserve has been met. You have plenty of time to place your bid. This is a 10 day auction which ends in just over 3 days. VIEW AUCTION HERE

-=FEBRUARY 23, 2003=-
GRAB BAGS SOLD OUT
Congrats to those of you that got in on that fantastic deal. Jodi will be mailing your Chubbleys on Monday if you've already paid her for them. http://www.planetbeans.com/JodisGrabBag.htm

Reader Response
From: Bean eWonderland
I am a daily reader of your news, and I wanted to share with you about the Ty Catalog from the Ty Store. I recieved it today and it is truly nothing. I am very disappointed in it, just a few pictures of the current beanies as of January. I was hoping for something more and I feel the way it is worded is very misleading. It is not worth $10 plus shipping at all! Not even worth $5 in my opinion.

I am a very big fan of Ty, but this is just pitiful. I am sure he will be releasing new pages to add to it like every month or so. If so, I still am not going to buy those. It is not worth the money and I am glad they sold out of it before many others could waste their money on it. Other people might have their opinions, but I just think Ty is money-hungry with this product. He could have at least included pictures of all the products instead of just currents. I am very upset and as the other person wrote a few days ago, Ty has somewhat lost my trust! You may put this on your site if you'd like. Thanks Bryan  (It seems that most don't care for the catalog but it sure sold out quickly.)

MARILYN'S DECADE
Marilyn has shared images of her Decade Beanie with Bean eWonderland. Beautiful bear!! VIEW PICTURES HERE

-=FEBRUARY 22, 2003=-
DISPLAYS
Steve and Kim have shared their displays. http://www.planetbeans.com/Displays.htm

BEANIEDAY NIGHT LIVE
Come down to the Beanie Zoo Yahoo Group tonight at 8:00 P.M. EST for Beanieday Night Live with host Sly the fox and a contest to win Howl the wolf! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thebeaniezoo/ Mr. Beanwell

-=FEBRUARY 21, 2003=-
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM CHUBBLEY UK
Daphne from Bears & Beans has posted the following announcement:
As it appears that rumours are starting to develop, Chubbley UK Ltd would like to make the following public statement:

-=FEBRUARY 20, 2003=-
ORIGINAL 7 CHUBBLEYS SPECIAL
Chubbley "Original 7" are featured on Kansas Brass & Pewter as a special. This special includes First, Creamy, Rusty, Rollem, Snowbear (original), Moonbeam, and Little Bear.  Take a look at this special featured with a St. Patrick's Day theme. VIEW SPECIAL HERE

COMMENTS TO "ANGRY CUSTOMER" ABOUT TY 2003 PRODUCT CATALOG
"Dear "Angry Customer", I'm so sorry you were disappointed in your Ty 2003 Catalog, but for those of us that have been collecting the Ty Catalogs over the years, this is a real treat! Many of the older catalogs are really hard to come by. It is so nice to not have to hunt eBay to get this new one. For me, the catalogs are a history of Ty... beanies, buddies, and all the other products that Ty Inc has produced over the years. Some day this will be considered an "older" catalog.... but I will have it in my collection and would like to thank Mr. Warner for making it easy for me to obtain it. Just an observation from the other side of the table.... An Extremely HAPPY Customer"

COMMENTS ABOUT THE NEW TY 2003 PRODUCT CATALOG
Lucy writes: "I would just like to suggest that perhaps for $10 you will get the binder at the beginning and the fact that it only has January 2003 in suggest to me that perhaps Ty will be sending out extra pages to be put in the binder for the other 11 months of the year.

I do not have a binder yet but I am seriously thinking about getting one, but being in the UK it would cost $28 (£18.15) to send the UK or $13 (£8.16) to send to the US and then the extra to get it sent to the UK so I shall have to wait for the moment. Lucy Oldfield"

<<if you have comments to share please send them to Lisa@planetbeans.com>>

POMPEY COMMENTS
Nancy writes: "I went to the Pompey Sport website as I saw on Randy and Theresa's site that Pompey Sport was taking orders again.  Just out of curiosity started the order process just to see what it would cost.  You can order up to 10 Pompeys at one time and the shipping is the same for 1 beanie as it is for 10.  So if you knew you call sell the other 9 it would be much cheaper to do that.  At the current rate of conversion each one of the 10 would then be about $11.50 including the shipping, whereas ordering only one would be over $39 (using a currency conversion chart to change pounds into American dollars.)  That seems not very fair, does it? Nancy"

GRANDMA'S BEARS
Gayle of Grandma's Bears (http://www.grandmasbears.net) has informed me that people are still having problems accessing her website. She is currently having a new website created so please be patient with her. I will keep you informed on the progress. If you are having a hard time accessing Grandma's Bears website you can email Gayle directly to place an order. GrandmasBears@aol.com  Gayle is sold out of the following: Chubbley Jacks, Rollem, Rusty, and Honey (blue color). She has all other Chubbley Bears in stock.

MINIMUM ORDER NECESSARY TO BE ABLE TO ORDER DECADE
From: Ms. Janie
I am a Ty retailer in NC (Specialty Toy Store). My sales rep called me yesterday and offered me the option to order Decade with a $500.00 minimum order. The $500.00 could include the 36 Decades I would be allowed to order. I do a very good business with Ty and was told by my rep that she had the option to sell to her "better" accounts...hummmm...so, I guess any retailer who will spend $500.00 with Ty can get them early...I did also ask if they would ship us first with the other colors if/when they become available, got the usual, "not sure"...so, guess here we go again with another Ty teaser...Count me in** LOL Barbara

Ty 2003 Product Catalog is SOLD OUT
http://www.tytrade.com/TyStore

2 MORE NEW CHUBBLEYS INTRODUCED
Daphne of Bears & Beans has posted pictures of two more Chubbleys (St. Clements) to be released soon. The description is: St. Clements come in two versions, one orange and one lemon, both have Oranges and Lemons embroidered around their bodies. VIEW HERE

-=FEBRUARY 19, 2003=-
WHAT'S INSIDE THE TY 2003 PRODUCT CATALOG?
If you'd like to know check out Charlene's comments & pictures: http://www.planetbeans.com/TyProductCatalog.htm

COMMENTS ABOUT THE NEW TY 2003 PRODUCT CATALOG
Marge writes: "Dear Lisa, I received my Ty Catalogue today, and I was disappointed. It is just a few pages with only the Jan. 2003 products. For $10 I really expected more. Mary Beth's Beanie Magazine covers the Ty products much more.Thanks for listening. Marge"

 <<if you have comments to share please send them to Lisa@planetbeans.com>>

UPDATE for 2/19: Note from Sue Own & pictures posted at: http://www.planetbeans.com/SuesCharityAuctions.htm

Burglars Trash Home; Owner Baffled
Thieves who aptly became vandals caused over $36,000 damage to a house in Harnett County over the weekend. The scale of the damage surprised even the investigators, according to the homeowner.

Morrissa Walters of Lane Road, Dunn, said that sometime between Friday and Sunday, someone broke into her mobile home off Tilghman Road, near Dunn, and ransacked it.

The house is in a state of complete disarray, with nearly every piece of furniture damaged or destroyed. Personal items including photographs, toys and clothes were strewn across the floors.    “They just ruined my house. I was devastated,” Mrs. Walters said. “I don’t understand how somebody can be so mean.”

Among the items reported missing were stereos, three Ronald Reagan gold coins, a pearl necklace, a video camera, a breast pump for a baby, a Sony PlayStation, a Ham radio, antique model trains, a cell phone, a men’s diamond and ruby ring, a child’s money bank, a TV satellite box, a CD player, about 100 Beanie Babies collectibles, a camera and a generator.    More items were damaged or destroyed than were stolen. VIEW FULL STORY HERE

The normally reclusive Ty Warner, owner of the incredibly successful but fading Beanie Baby stuffed toy line, visited the Toy Fair to personally autograph "Decade," the 10th anniversary bear.

A line of more than 100 adults snaked from the booth entrance to Warner on Sunday.

"I've been here since 9 a.m. - I took a 4:30 train," said Robert Lloyd, a buyer and collector from New Castle, Del., who personally owns more than 1,200 Beanie Babies.

Lloyd said he likes Beanie Babies for their "affordability and high cuteness appeal." A large group of hard-core collectors make the toy "an easy seller," he said.

Westmont-based Ty Inc. was a big presence at the fair, with banners everywhere, said Lana Simon, spokeswoman for Learning Resources in Vernon Hills, which had its own coup to report. VIEW FULL STORY & PICTURE OF TY HERE

Angry Customer
From: Bean eWonderland
This was in our email today... "Hi Richard, I received my 2003 product catalog yesterday. Here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to Ty Trade this morning. Please feel free to use any portion you wish on your great site.

Sir, I received the above order yesterday... the 2003 product Catalog. I am VERY VERY VERY disappointed with the product. What a RIP-OFF! How do you feel that is worth $10.00??? There was nothing new or interesting or any sort of information that is of use in that so called catalog. Now I understand why a detailed description was NOT given at the time this catalog was introduced, you knew if people really understood what they were buying they would not purchase the catalog.

I wish I had known first because I would NOT have spent my money on it!!! I ordered the catalog on faith & trust of your company. Well, congratulations, you have my money BUT you have lost my faith & trust FOREVER!!!! Jeff Ferels.

Bean eWonderlands comment - Having not seen the catalog I cannot comment on its contents, if anyone else would like to share their opinions of it please feel free to email and let us have your thoughts

Pompey
From: Bean eWonderland
Pamela writes: On Saturday Feb. 15, I finally got the Pompey that I had ordered back in Oct. Now I see the PFC has more to offer to anyone still needing it. I can't imagine what postage to the USA for 10 Pompeys would cost. View Here.

UPDATE: DECADE 1/100 ON AUCTION
Leah of leahland.com has again (she had it posted but the auction was removed and reposted) posted her auction of the rarest of the Decade Beanies signed by Ty Warner. BIN is $10,000 and the current winning bid is at $6,000 with 41 bidders so far and the reserve has been met. You have plenty of time to place your bid. This is a 10 day auction which ends in just over 8 days. VIEW AUCTION HERE

32/100 is standing at $686.36 with 3 bids. The reserve has been met on this one as well. There are 2 days and 6 hours remaining in this auction. VIEW AUCTION HERE

33/100 is also up for auction by the same seller as 32/100. The current winning bid is at $760. There have been 5 bids on this auction and there are 2 days and 6 hours left until it ends. VIEW AUCTION HERE

DECADE ADDED TO TY.COM ~ VIEW HERE
I've added Decade to the checklists and the Beanie Information Pages.
http://www.planetbeans.com/beanie_info.htm 

NEW CHUBBLEYS INTRODUCED
Daphne at Bears & Beans has information posted for 2 new Chubbley Bears: Mission Chunky VIEW HERE (this one has a rocket on his paw and planets embroidered throughout - will be a must have for Chubbley collectors given the recent shuttle disaster) ~ Creamy Cub (this Cub is just like the BBM Creamy Cub but this time with a cream-colored nose) VIEW HERE

-=FEBRUARY 18, 2003=-
Note from Sue Own & pictures posted at: http://www.planetbeans.com/SuesCharityAuctions.htm

WOW.. DECADE 1/100 ON AUCTION
Leah of leahland.com has again (she had it posted but the auction was removed and reposted) posted her auction of the rarest of the Decade Beanies signed by Ty Warner. BIN is $10,000 and the current winning bid is at $4,450 with 38 bidders so far. You have plenty of time to place your bid. This is a 10 day auction which ends in just over 9 days. VIEW AUCTION HERE

Beanie Baby of the Month - Important Information
Charlene shares the following:
Hey Lisa,  I got this from Ty Co. this morning in my e-mail, thought I'd share. It's a notice to all, whom are inquiring about the BBOM procedures and the billing process/ES.  

-------Original Message-------  

From: Your Friends At Ty
Date: Monday, February 17, 2003 01:57:31 AM
To: ..... 
Subject: Beanie Baby of the Month - Important Information  

KUP'S COLUMN
From: Ms. Janie
IN HONOR OF the Cubs' new manager, Dusty Baker, billionaire Ty Warner, creator of Beanie Babies, has created a "Dusty" Beanie Baby that will be given, complimentary, to the first 10,000 (whew!) children attending the Cubs game against the Colorado Rockies on May 4. What a nice gesture and tribute to the popular Dusty. VIEW COLUMN HERE

Pompey Available Again
From: Beanieholics
Looks like the Portsmouth Football Club has caught up on the backorders of Pompey Beanies. Though no formal announcement has been made on the site the Beanie is once again available for ordering from the Pompey Sport Merchandise Store. Click on the link below to take you there. We don't know how long it will stay available this time. (Our thanks to Mark from the UK for pointing this out to us.) Click Here To Order Pompey

New York Toy Fair Extra
From: Bean eWonderland
T-shirts and scissors were handed to attendees and exhibitors for the opening ceremonies of the 2003 New York Toy Fair. The scissors were used to cut the opening ribbon while the t-shirt boasts the ribbon cutting ceremony as breaking a world record. I'm not sure if a record was broken but many attendees participated in the ceremony.

I was able to obtain two different pairs of scissors that were left over after the ceremony. Besides purple and orange, I also saw a green pair. I'm not sure exactly how many different colors there were.

I have also included a photo of Ty's banner that prominently hung above the main entrance. I'm not even going to try and estimate the size...let's just say it was B-I-G!! View Images

-=FEBRUARY 17, 2003=-
MORE DECADES ON AUCTION
I did a search for Ty Signed Decade Beanies and found only 4 this morning... for the SIGNED version that is. One of which has ended with a BIN of $3,200!! This was number 73/100!! VIEW AUCTION HERE

Someone got a real deal on this auction. The BIN price was only $1,000. This was number 7/100!! VIEW AUCTION HERE

Here is 100/100 and the bidding continues, currently at $510: VIEW AUCTION HERE

Here is 68/100 and the bidding continues, currently $1,125: VIEW AUCTION HERE

There are 116 PRE-SELLS for Decade. VIEW THOSE AUCTIONS HERE

DEBBIE FROM CANADA
If you are the Debbie that shared your gorgeous display pictures shown here: http://www.planetbeans.com/DebbiesDisplays.htm  Please get in touch with me. Lisa@planetbeans.com  I have a reader that would like to inquire about those shoe bags.

BEANIES HELP TEACH A LOVE FOR READING
Read this story from Judy on the Beanies & Children page: http://www.planetbeans.com/Beanies&Children.htm

-=FEBRUARY 16, 2003=-
JODI'S CHUBBLEY AUCTION (see auction description below)
You are bidding on my FIRST EVER DUTCH AUCTION for several Chubbley Bears. Each is MWMT or MWNMT and tag protected. Please see pics. This group of Chubbleys includes the following: Creamy (Black Nose), Creamy (Cream Nose), Doobloon, First Bear, Great Bear, Hazy, Hugs, Kisses, Little Bear, LITTLE BEAR ODDITY WITH NO STITCHING ON RIGHT BOTTOM PAW (should have a Little Dipper stitched on the paw pad and it has NOTHING there), Paws, Rollem, Rusty, Sleepy Head, Snow Bear (Brown Nose), Snow Bear (Orange Nose), Softie, Sonny, Sovereign, Toots (Embroidered), Toots (regular), Treat & Trick. Also included in this group are Sonny & Russel CHERISH A CHUBBLEY CUBS. Each has an extra tag that is numbered and also comes with a correspondingly numbered certificate. These 2 Cubs are considered 1 item when bidding. If you do not understand how a Dutch Auction works, please either research the information here on Ebay or click on the "Ask Seller A Question" button and I will do my best to answer your questions. At this time, I have already boxed up AND SEALED ALL BOXES with the Chubbleys individually packaged. I WILL NOT OPEN ANY OF THESE BOXES. They are going to remain sealed until you open them. If you win more than 1 box, I will simply tape all of your boxes together and mail them that way. Shipping will gladly be combined on multiple wins. Buyer to pay with Pay Pal only please, within 3 days of auction ending. NO EXCEPTIONS TO THE PAY PAL REQUIREMENT!! Shipping will be via USPS Priority Mail in the US or via USPS Airmail outside the US. Thanks for looking!! VIEW AUCTION HERE

My comments: I'd like to just say that I know Jodi as a friendly and honest person. Normally I'd say to be leery of this type of auction but I will recommend this one to you with confidence and know you will be happy with your dealings with this kind lady.

Play It Again: Some Toys Never Go Out of Style
The soft, golden-brown teddy bear sitting on the shelf brought a warm smile to Maria Clarkson's face last week at FAO Schwarz on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The Westchester grandmother of three wanted to buy a birthday gift for her 6-year-old grandson.

"I had a whole room full of stuffed animals when I was a child," Clarkson said.

Like many parents and grandparents nationwide, Clarkson buys into her memories of the toys of yesteryear. And as the Toy Fair celebrates its 100th anniversary this week, the Toy Industry Association is commemorating the 20th century's most memorable toys - from Mr. Potato Head to Beanie Babies. VIEW FULL STORY HERE

I received this email yesterday from "Your Friends at Ty" The headlines say... "WILDLY POPULAR BEANIE BABIES TO CELEBRATE THEIR 10th ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR." And have we got some news for you!  In honor of this occasion, Ty has created something incredibly special for Beanie Babies fans around the world! Decade celebrates the 10th year Anniversary of Beanie Babies. We know you won't want to miss out on this limited 10th Year anniversary edition! Call or stop by your favorite authorized Ty Retailer soon!

New York Toy Fair opens today 
From: Ms. Janie
A special thanks to my friend Mike who is attending the show for sharing the following information. Security this year is very tight and retailers are being checked and double-checked. He also informs me of a special ribbon cutting ceremony, where there are trying to get into the Geninus World Book of records. More details to follow soon on this event. Retailers were greeted with a special clown band to ring in the festivities. Mike was pleased once the band stopped playing, it simply was too early for so much noise. Mike is now standing in line at the Ty booth with approx. 25 other retailers waiting for Ty to appear and sign Decade the bear. Nobody knows 100% when Ty is due to make his guest appearance but the line is growing! He has agreed to keep me posted throughout the day! Although the East Coast is being hammered with a snowstorm, New York has not yet been affected. I sincerely appreciate Mike braving the elements of the cold to keep us updated. He has already called twice and I expect to hear from him throughout the day. Lines Represented http://home.glmweb.com/nyg_includes/exhibsearchpub/Products/fulllist.cfm?show=88

Designs of The Times
From: Bean eWonderland
Beautiful model Lisa B helped launch Design of The Times, a chairty auction of design memoribilia. Lisa B is seen modeling a dress made out of Beanie Babies and it can be viewed by Clicking Here Thanks to Darren for sharing the picture.

TOY FAIR NEWS... NEW TY ITEMS
Ms. Janie has names and descriptions of new Ty items from the New York Toy Fair. VIEW LIST HERE

SUE'S CHARITY AUCTIONS...
The auctions have already started. I have a complete list of the charity auctions, description, start price, and links to the individual auctions. http://www.planetbeans.com/SuesCharityAuctions.htm 

<< REMINDER >> TAYLOR'S BIRTHDAY RAFFLE
Desi writes: "Hi Lisa...Letting you know 17 people are now entered in my raffle for my daughters 4th birthday party...I'm also adding a cute basket or a wall decoration for spring in there....I will take a picture as soon as I get time....." The list has been updated with several new additions. You can keep up with the list HERE since Desi adds more items often. The list of items is quite long now so be sure to check it out. 

CHARLENE'S HOLMES
Char shares some cute pictures of her Holmes BOTM. http://www.planetbeans.com/CharsDisplay.htm

FINAL REPORT FROM THE NEW YORK TOY FAIR
From: Ms. Janie
http://www.msjanie.com/2002_photos/2003_new_york_toy_fair.html

From: Ms. Janie
PICS OF DECADE ~ VIEW PICTURES HERE

From: Ms. Janie
DECADE ON EBAY SELLS FOR $1,050!! ~ VIEW AUCTION HERE

-=FEBRUARY 15, 2003=-
Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Company The “Sweetest” Booth at Toy Fair #1373 
received via email: Santa Clarita, CA – February 2003 Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Company was founded on Valentine’s Day, back in 1994; what sweeter way for a gift company to spend an almost ten year anniversary than at the 100^th Annual American International Toy Fair 2003. Stop by and tell BHTBC Happy Anniversary at booth #1373 in the Javits Convention Center.

Licensing media will have a field day at the BHTBC booth, like a child let loose in a candy store, when they get a look at the plethora of licenses BHTBC is now carrying. More than 25 different licensed products will be featured in Booth #1373 this year. But what is even more excited will be the unveiling of their "highly secretive" new innovative plush project SNAPS(tm)! Stop by and see what this latest imaginative creation is about.

BHTBC Executives will be on site for personal interviews and personal tours. Just see Karen Morris, BHTBC’s new Director of Marketing and Public Relations for details.

The Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co. is a manufacturer of fine quality plush, animatronics, and other gift items. Licensed products include: Cat In the Hat (Universal Studios), Three Stooges (Global Icons), Spot (United Media), Paddington Bear (United Media), Precious Moments (United Media), Coca-Cola, Bob the Builder (HIT Entertainment), Caillou (PBS Kids), Clifford the Big Red Dog (Scholastic), Sponge Bob Squarepants (Nickelodeon), Spider-Man (Columbia Pictures), Spirit (DreamWorks), Cheerio Kids (General Mills), Jurassic Park III (Universal Studios), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Universal Studios), and 102 Dalmatians (Disney).

Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co. is the parent company to Beverly Hills Gift Co. which creates custom specialty gift items for such licenses as GOT MILK, Pink Panther, Serta, Cheeto’s, Chuck E. Cheese, AFLAC any many others. Licenses at BHTC are growing everyday.

For more information about Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Company visit www.bhteddybear.com, or call (800) 996-2327. Located in Santa Clarita, CA, BHTBC is a leading manufacturer of fine quality plush.

"BEANIEDAY NIGHT LIVE"
Mr. Beanwell writes: "Did you miss Valentine's Day and forgot to say you love your special someone? The cast of "Beanieday Night Live" did and would like to invite you to their Belated Valentine's Day Special this Saturday at 8:00 P.M. EST exclusively at the Beanie Zoo Yahoo Group with host Smooch the bear! Who knows... if you stop by, maybe a Beanie Baby will give you a live Valentine's message? Join us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thebeaniezoo/ Mr. Beanwell"

-=FEBRUARY 14, 2003=-
.. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! ..

What's happening with Beanies & Chubbleys where you live? 
Is there still a great deal of interest in them? My main collectible now is Chubbley Bears. I just love them! I do want a Beanie here and there so I'm not totally out of them but my interest isn't near what it used to be. Remember those days when we all wanted to have every Beanie that came out? Had to have all of the Halloween Beanies, the Easter Beanies, etc. They were like a set that couldn't be broken. LOL Now I choose to get only those that I really really want and haven't purchased "sets" in years. I'm curious to know how you all feel about collecting. If you'd like to email me your stories to post on Planet Beans.. I'd like that. :o) Lisa@planetbeans.com

If you are curious to know what your fellow collectors have to say about collecting.. I've created a page to display such comments. http://www.planetbeans.com/CollectorsStories.htm

JUDY'S DISPLAYS
Judy shares pictures of some of her collection and displays. WOW.. wonderful displays!! I'm enjoying these display ideas. Keep 'em coming. :o) http://www.planetbeans.com/JudysDisplays.htm

RE: DEBBIE'S DISPLAYS
This is great idea. now what I wondered is if it would be possible to get some of these shoe bags. We don't have them here in Scotland, and if someone could get a couple for us and ship them over would send $ cash for them. Maybe Debbie could do this if you know her return address. Jacqueline in Scotland <<if you can help.. please email me at Lisa@planetbeans.com>>

ASK TY
Q: Why did you pick a heart for the hang tag/logo of the Ty products? (submitted by song bird)
A: The idea for the Heart Hang Tag came during the development of my original line of plush cats. I envisioned someone giving a gift from the heart. As a matter of fact, some of my original hang tags had the words "With Love" printed inside.
http://www.tytrade.com/askty_home

ITZMEAGAIN'S FEBRUARY MINI-HUNT
Nina writes: " The February Mini Hunt begins this Sunday 2/16. This is a multi-site graphic hunt, where, once posted, each graphic will remain up until after the end of this contest. This allows you to miss a day or two & still have pleanty of time to catch up on your own schedule, not ours :) For more information, please visit your hunt page: http://www.itzmeagain.com/Contests/03februaryminihunt.htm "

Kiss-e Retires
http://www.ty.com/Kiss-e_ret 

-=FEBRUARY 13, 2003=-
What's happening with Beanies & Chubbleys where you live? 
Is there still a great deal of interest in them? My main collectible now is Chubbley Bears. I just love them! I do want a Beanie here and there so I'm not totally out of them but my interest isn't near what it used to be. Remember those days when we all wanted to have every Beanie that came out? Had to have all of the Halloween Beanies, the Easter Beanies, etc. They were like a set that couldn't be broken. LOL Now I choose to get only those that I really really want and haven't purchased "sets" in years. I'm curious to know how you all feel about collecting. If you'd like to email me your stories to post on Planet Beans.. I'd like that. :o) Lisa@planetbeans.com

Sue writes: "hi I started collecting a few years ago as I wanted to get the matches to the McDonalds ones, then it my collection grew and grew. Are hoping to get more Chubbleys in time as they are cute. Paul has bought me a few buddys from time to time but do not really want to get to many of those. Sue"

WHAT'S IN THE TY 2003 CATALOG
<Thank you to Alan who also shared this info.> Dawn writes: "Hi A friend of mine received this mail confirming what the new ty catalogue will be :

Each catalogue comes in a specially sealed box bearing the Ty logo. This special Consumer Version of our 2003 Product Catalogue is a custom printed 3 ring binder that contains full colour pages of all products available as of January 1st, 2003.

The product pages are separated by special Category tabs. Included inside the catalogue is a special letter from Ty that contains a gold foil Seal of Authenticity. 

thought your readers might like to know

Beanie Wishes
Dawn"

DEBBIE'S DISPLAYS
Debbie shares pictures of her wonderful displays. All I can say is WOW!! http://www.planetbeans.com/DebbiesDisplays.htm

-=FEBRUARY 12, 2003=-
UPDATES TO BEANIE CHECKLIST
I had a request yesterday to add check boxes to the Beanie Checklist. I added them last night and this makes the list just over 4 pages long. My printer isn't working as of yesterday so I'd like some feedback. I have the entire checklist on one page now. It was a bit of work to do it on 3 separate pages having to shift all of the Beanies around trying to make sure there were even columns that weren't too long to print on that particular page. Please let me know if this list prints okay and in it's entirety. The check boxes may not print out but if you put a check in the check box it should print. :o) http://www.planetbeans.com/beaniechecklist.htm 

WHAT'S IN THE TY 2003 CATALOG?
I've had a few readers ask me this question and to be honest with you.. I haven't a clue. I wouldn't spend $10 on a catalog myself so for the money.. this must be a special one. If you know what's inside.. please let me know so I can share with my readers.

New UK Exclusive
An announcement on the Sunday before last regarding a new UK Exclusive should have been made... but the full stock was not in the warehouse, so the announcement has been put back. Once the new UK exclusive does hit the shelves, retailers have been informed that there will be no limit on the number that they can order. It is unclear if this means a 'one off' delivery or not.

Pompey
From: Bean eWonderland
Jim writes: I thought you might like an update on the latest. The Pompey Shop now has permanent bags of 10 if you want them. However, since the price dropped considerably, hardly anybody is going in to buy them. They are mostly selling singly now. There is a massive box on the shop floor, full of Pompey Bears. All of the local Ty Secondary stores have shelves full of Pompey Beanies, most are selling for between £8.00-£10.00.

-=FEBRUARY 11, 2003=-
UPDATE ~ TAYLOR'S BIRTHDAY RAFFLE
All of the prizes to date are listed on this link. There is a picture of some of the items also. http://www.geocities.com/des103096/TaylorRaffle.html

LATEST UPDATE ON SUE'S AUCTIONS FOR CHARITY
http://www.planetbeans.com/SuesCharityAuctions.htm

PICTURES OF HOLMES
Bean Watcher writes: "Hi Lisa!  Just wanted to let you know that I have two really nice in hand photos of Holmes on my news site.  He's really a great puppy and I can't wait for my order to arrive! Take care, Bean Watcher " VIEW PICTURES HERE 

Press Release from Bestever, Inc. 
Rancho Dominguez, California 
Date: February 10, 2002 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
Stop by for a visit with Bestever, Inc. at Javits Booth #2681 Rancho Dominguez, California - February 2003 With Toy Fair 2003 just days away and schedules being completed minute by minute, Bestever, Inc. would like to take this opportunity to formally invite you to come and view their latest innovations in plush. They will be in the Javits Center displaying their amazing line-up of whimsical plush for 2003 in Booth #2681. 

Director of Sales/Operations, Sandy Willens, National Sales Manager Constance Castillo, Custom Product Manager, Tracy Gonzalez, and National Accounts Manager, Toni Lagunoff will be on hand to take you on a fanciful tour through the plush gallery of Bestever, Inc. originals. 

Stop by and see Boingers, the latest craze in bobbling plush, Leggz, the poseable fine-feathered friends in all the HOT colors, and Bestever's expanded line of their most famous Funny Feet. Meet their new Elephant, Leopard and Lion. Also get a sneak peek at what is coming out for Halloween and Christmas 2003. 

Personal interviews are welcome on February 16, 2003 in the morning, February 17, 2003 in the afternoon hours and February 18 and 19, 2003 anytime. Bestever is known for having the most innovative, unique plush designs in the industry. You won't want to miss them. Manufacturing Plush in Korea and China for more than 30 years, Bestever is the leading plush distributor in Korea and for the past five years has experienced the success of national distribution in the US market. Bestever, Inc. product appeals to three specific consumer groups, Babies, Kids and Everyone. To flip through the 2003 Bestever Inc., scrapbook, go to www.besteverinc.com.

Punxy Police To Hand Out Beanies
From: Beanieholics
According to the Punxsutawney Phil website, Punxy State Police will be handing out Beanie Babies this week as a part of National Child Safety Week. Captain James Tripp, Troop 'C' Commander says that Mike Johnson of the Punxy Groundhog Club called and said that they and Ty would like to donate some of the 'E' version of the Punxy Phil Beanie Babies to give out to kids for rewards when troopers inspect seats.

Gift Of Real Camel Helps Family Far Away
From: Beanieholics
About 23 years ago, Dorothy Skronski found a little blue camel figurine in a trash pit at the family cottage on Pine Lake. She took it home, washed it up and put it on her window sill. About a year later, she decided it needed company. Now, it has about 150 brothers and sisters, and the latest sibling is real. Click Here For More

TY PRODUCTS IN MOVIE
Sharon writes: "I am beginning to see more and more beanie babies, classics, attic treasures, and buddies in the movies and on television. I was watching a movie last week called, "The Best of Show". Basically, this is a comedy about a dog show that highlights 4 different dogs and their owners and trainers. One young "yuppie" couple that had a dog entered in the dog show had misplaced the dog's favorite toy. The young lady went to the hotel gift shop and tried to locate another toy like the one they had misplaced. She asked for help from the cashier and he showed her first an Attic Treasure, Beezee, which was not what she was looking for. Then he directed her to a box of plush animals in front of the counter to look through. She picks up the Beanie Buddy, Bubbles, and of course, also that was not the one she wanted. If you look really close at Bubbles, you can make out the red heart shaped tag on the opposite side that is visible as she holds it up. I like to watch for Ty products in movies and on television. It is surprising how many you see. Just thought I would pass that on to anyone who likes to look for beanies and other Ty products in the movies and on TV. Have a great day! Sharon from North Carolina"

TY TO INTRODUCE 'DECADE'
From: Ms. Janie
Wildly Popular Beanie Baby(R) Line To Celebrate Its 10th Anniversary This Year Ty to Introduce Decade(TM) The Anniversary Beanie Baby(R) at the New York Toy Fair to Commemorate Milestone OAK BROOK, Ill., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The wildly popular Beanie Baby(R) line will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. To commemorate this milestone, Ty is introducing Decade(TM), the 10th Anniversary Beanie Baby(R) bear. Created by Ty Warner in 1993, the Beanie Babies(R) line of plush toys has been a favorite of collectors worldwide. Ty Warner will be on hand at the upcoming Toy Fair in New York City to autograph Decade(TM) bears on Sunday, February 16th. READ FULL STORY HERE

PUNXSY PHIL RETIRES
http://www.ty.com/Punxe_ret 

150 SIGNED 'DECADE' BEANIES
From: Ms. Janie
BILLIONAIRE Ty Warner, the founder/chairman of Oak Brook-based Ty--creator of the Beanie Babies phenomenon--puts in a rare appearance next week in New York City at the American International Toy Fair. Warner's company is celebrating its 10th anniversary. In commemoration, he will personally sign 150 of the new "Decade Bears" at the Toy Fair. VIEW STORY HERE

-=FEBRUARY 10, 2003=-
MARCH RELEASE RUMOR
John writes: "Hi... Just wanted to inform you I heard from a source that Ty's March new releases will be: COMFY - brown bear with texture like Sizzle MILK - white cow in a position like Hoofer, Charmer, etc. STORMY - gray dog MOMMY - Mother's Day Bear DADDY - Father's Day Bear. Also new Beanie Buddies will include Mum, Pops, Bride, Groom, Charmer. John"

THREE VERSIONS OF DIPPY THE BUNNY
Krystal writes: "Lisa, I was at Hallmark today, and the saleslady showed me 3 versions of the Dippy bunny.  She identified them by the face - the face has the 3 sections, like the teddys.  One version had a blue center, and white sides.  Another version had a yellow center and white sides.  The third version had a purple center and yellow sides (this one is shown on the Ty website).  All 3 versions had different arrangements of ears, belly, back, arm, legs, hand and feet colors, but they were consistent among the versions.  I asked her if the 3 versions came in equal numbers, or was one version more rare, but she hadn't unpacked them, so she didn't know.  I only bought one version (the blue/white head), so I am unable to show you the 3 versions together.  Krystal from Iowa City, Iowa"

PLANET BEANS.COM EMAIL
Did you know that you can get a FREE email account with Planet Beans.com? Currently I have 790 people signed up for my email service. Stop by and see why there are so many people using the service.

Why choose Planetbeans.com for your email service?
Convenience is the number one reason! This new email service is  web-based, meaning that you can check your email from any computer anywhere! It works similar to the other web-based email services such as Yahoo, but has a 99% uptime guarantee. (Yahoo can't make that claim) Another reason is because since you have to come to the Planet Beans site to log in to your email, you will always know about any contests we are holding to win FREE beanies and buddies! Isn't that like killing two birds with one stone? Plus, the new email service is SO simple! All you have to do is come to Planet Beans and there will be a log in box right on the front page! Simply type in your ID and password and you will be taken directly to your personal email account. Best of all....it's totally FREE! To learn more go here: http://www.planetbeans.com/email.htm

2003 Ty Product Catalog
http://www.ty.com/product_catalog

-=FEBRUARY 9, 2003=-
4 JACKS + a BONUS / SWEETHEART BEANIES OFFER
There are TWO Valentine Specials at Kansas Brass & Pewter currently. One for Chubbleys and the other for a trio of Valentine Beanies. Do you have Smooch Beanie yet? Be sure to check out these special offers from La Rue. http://www.angelfire.com/ks2/kansaspewter/cb.html

BEANIE OF THE MONTH - HOLMES
Nadine writes: "Hi Lisa..... just wanted to let you know I received my Beanie of the Month "Holmes" and he is just adorable, long ears and such a sad face... he also is wrapped in the Valentine paper. Ty is really getting these out fast."

Flint: Toymaker donates Beanie Babies to Hurley
Toymaker Ty Inc. donated 400 new Beanie Babies to Hurley Medical Center on Friday for children patients.

Some of the Beanie Babies, which are collectible stuffed animals, will be given to children who visit the emergency department, while most will be distributed to children who are admitted to the hospital. VIEW FULL STORY HERE

Display celebrates
America Residents devoted to upkeep of makeshift 9/11 memorial
LA HABRA -- Tracey Chandler's finger nails are painted red, white and blue the same color as the beanie babies on her dash, the flag on her sweater and the colors on her license plate cover.

And for the past year or so, since about a week after Sept. 11, 2001, she and her four young children have kept up a makeshift memorial adorned with patriotic symbols on a fence and strip of grass at the corner of Whittier Boulevard and Macy Street. VIEW FULL STORY HERE

TY SHOPPING BAGS
Ms. Janie shares
Ty will be offering Ty shopping bags to retailers. http://www.msjanie.com/2002_photos/Ty_shopping_%20bags.html

-=FEBRUARY 8, 2003=-
ASK TY
Q: Would you someday walk us through how a Beanie is made on the Discovery Channel? (submitted by mom4two)
A: I would certainly consider it, but there are some things that I must keep secret. . .like the special ingredient that goes into each Beanie that makes people smile! http://www.tytrade.com/askty_home 

It was, federal prosecutors allege -- from the person who tried to buy it.

The seller, 20-year-old Richard K. Parris of Minnetrista, never delivered the jacket after the buyer sent him a money order, prosecutors say.

Parris was arrested Thursday in connection with that and similar Internet auction transactions. He is accused of defrauding nearly 1,000 customers of more than $120,000.

He pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on Thursday afternoon. His attorney, Katherine Menendez , said she couldn't comment further.

Prosecutors allege that from April 2000 to December 2001 Parris offered brand-name jackets, rare Beanie Babies and other items on e-Bay or Yahoo auction sites. But they say he either didn't deliver the goods or sent customers fake brand-name items he bought from sources in China or the United States. He is indicted on 24 counts of mail fraud and two of trafficking in counterfeit goods. VIEW FULL STORY HERE

Chance to reassess, not to splurge
Couple learns inheritance is about much more than money
On the day my husband's father died, 18 months ago and only two short years after his mother's death, the last thing on our minds was our inheritance. Yet it was not long before we had to deal with what was left to him and his two siblings: the family apartment in New York City.

As the youngest child, Daniel had come home from the hospital 40 years earlier to the newly purchased duplex on Manhattan's as-yet-ungentrified Upper West Side. He had learned to crawl on the linoleum floor in the kitchen, raced his Matchbox cars up and down the long hallway connecting the front living room to the back bedrooms, and sneaked his friends in through the rear service door late at night as a teen.

After college he moved back in for a year to save money and, soon after, introduced me to his parents over a leisurely Sunday brunch in their sun-strewn, sky-high dining room.

Little did I know that this apartment would become my home away from home for the next 20 years, particularly since we would move to Europe shortly after our marriage and then use it as our U.S. base every summer.

Daniel marveled as our three children found new uses for the long, sleek wooden corridors: in-line skating and competitions tossing Beanie Babies. In turn, the children loved listening to the doormen tell them stories about their father as a little boy making mischief in the building. VIEW FULL STORY HERE

Poway chapter closing in family's history of fun and games
POWAY – Displays have been taken down and shelves are getting bare. Yet hardly a day goes by that a customer doesn't come in to urge Sue Ottosen to change her mind, to stay in business.

But after 13 years, Toys Etc., Poway's only toy store, will be closing at the end of this month.

"We've even had a few people come in and cry because they feel so bad," Ottosen said. "We feel bad, too, and we'll miss this place. But it's something that we just have to do."

Cathy Bauer had tears in her eyes when she talked about the imminent closure of Toys Etc. on a recent afternoon.

"I've been coming here since 1993," Bauer said. "They had a place for kids to play and would special-order things for me like wooden Brio sets. Poway needs more stores like this, not less."

Kayla Givens, a 9-year-old fourth-grader at Valley Elementary School, called the store's end "pretty sad." Kayla said she and friends would drop in at least once a week to look at and sometimes buy Breyer horses, stuffed animals and other toys.

"I guess now I'll go to Wal-Mart," she said. "But it won't be the same."

A combination of factors are putting her family-run store out of business, said Ottosen, who lives in Poway. They include high rent, insurance, the cost of workers' compensation, the difficulty of competing against chain stores and her parents' decision to retire.

"To be honest, it's always been a bit of a struggle here," said Ottosen, whose shop is on Poway Road in what is known as the DMV/Dixieline shopping center.

"For three years in the early 1990s, the anchor store here was empty. About the only time we did well was during the Beanie Baby boom of 1998 and 1999. Since then, it's been rough." VIEW FULL STORY HERE

-=FEBRUARY 7, 2003=-
GOBBLES BUDDY ON UK TV
Stephen writes: "hello lisa.. in the newsletter you are allways telling us about when a beanie is seen on the usa tv.. well last night in the uk i was watching COR0NATION STREET it is the longest running tv programme in the uk... it as been on the uk tv since the 8th december 1960..in one scene they had gobbles the beanie buddy.. i could not believe it.. it is the first time that i have seen a beanie on uk tv..when i was in the usa i found out that your fellow americans are mad on coronation street.. take care stephen"

TY NEWSFLASH
Color Me Bunny gallery: http://www.ty.com/color_me

Press Release from Bestever, Inc.

Rancho Dominguez, California

Date: February 6, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Bestever, Inc. Puts a Twist on Plush

Rancho Dominguez, California February 2003   Bestever Inc., known for their innovations in plush, will be giving visitors a sneak peek at their Halloween 2003 line this year at Toy Fair when they introduce Twist'ems cats. Twist'em, bend them, pose them, the name Twist'ems says it all!

What makes these whimsical cats able to twist? Each one has a special ball/joint mechanism throughout their entire body including their tail, which allows them to do the twist and strike any pose you like. The fabric used for these capricious kittens has been referred to as "eye-lash" fabric. This fabric choice makes Twist'ems appear "wired."

Twist'ems were developed based on Bestever's tremendous success with plush designs targeting the child and pre-teen consumer. These kitties combine style and attitude with the newest trend in fabric and a fully armatured body," said Senior Product Development Manager, Teresa Gomez.

Twist'ems come in two colors black or purple and are available in two sizes 10-inch and 13-inch. Twist'ems cats have a suggested retail price of $14-$22 and will be available mid year at specialty gift stores nationwide. Look for extensions to this line throughout the year.

Manufacturing Plush in Korea and China for more than 30 years, Bestever is the leading plush distributor in Korea and for the past five years has experienced the success of national distribution in the US market. Bestever, Inc. product appeals to three specific consumer groups, Babies, Kids and Everyone. To flip through the 2003 Bestever Inc., scrapbook, go to www.besteverinc.com. For additional information, e-mail bestever@besteverinc.com

RUMOR HAS IT...
From: Ms. Janie
Rumor has it that Ty will be signing the 10th Anniversary Bear at Toy Fair. It is also my understanding Ty retailers can order the bear in March.

TY ON TOP 100 TOYS OF THE CENTURY
From: Bean Watcher
As part of the American International Toy Fair Centennial Celebration, the Toy Industry Association released a list of one hundred of the industry's most memorable and creative toys from the past century.  Ty's Beanie Babies made this prestigious list (click here). 

-=FEBRUARY 6, 2003=-
JACKS & AN EXTRA SPECIAL CHUBBLEY
La Rue writes: " The ongoing Valentine Special at Kansas Brass & Pewter has only a few sets of Jacks left plus one mystery item. Among the mystery items remaining is a George the UK Exclusive Chubbley, of course the VHTF black nose JOKER, and Sterling with embroidered paws. If you have not completed your set of Chubbleys with the Jacks, great price plus 1 unknown item still available for a short time. http://www.angelfire.com/ks2/kansaspewter/cb.html "

***IMPORTANT NOTICE*** 
From: Ms. Janie
A VERY reliable source has reported to me that Ty Warner will be signing a new bear at the New York Toy Fair on Sunday. If you were thinking about attending, now is the time to catch a glimpse of the mastermind himself!

NEW TEENIE BOPPERS
From: Ms. Janie
Found the new Teenie Boppers today for Alicia and before I knew it they she had them posed and waiting for a picture. I love it...notice the Angels are all brunettes? Yes Alicia is a brunette and she said brunettes are all smart! LOL! Sue/QB http://www.msjanie.com/2002_photos/Alicia_Teenie_Boppers.html

Room At The Top
From: Beanieholics
The Four Seasons' futuristic Royal Suite is the height of luxury. The first tip-off that this suite is not small: It houses seven flat screen televisions. "I wanted the latest audiovisual equipment to be in harmony, not at odds, with the feeling of luxury that the Royal Suite conveys," says the hotel's owner, Ty Warner. "I hope that we succeeded." Click Here For Story

Basket Variation
From: Bean eWonderland
Bob writes: I was lucky enough to pick up four new Basket Beanies® today and discovered that the tush tag has changed. Previous Basket Beanies® have a hologram on the tush tag whereas the newest ones do not.

Another variation on the new releases is the inclusion of a bell inside the body. Previous Basket Beanies® do not have a bell.

Rare Ty
From: Bean eWonderland
The rare Ty auctions mentioned last week listed by Karen Gomez are into the final few hours, if you are looking for a Ty collectable, then take a look at the items on offer. The print and a couple of the very rare magazines are amongst my favourite. View Items.

Another interesting item, Mary Beth herself has listed a complete set of 45 Pillow Pals, Ribbit Style #3006, Snap #3007 and Grey Meow #3011 are worth in excess of $700 on there own View Auction

Press Release from Herrington Teddy Bears

"The Original Signature Teddy Bear"

Costa Mesa, California

Date: February 5, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Lots of Love at Herrington Teddy Bears

Costa Mesa, California - February 2003  Herrington Teddy Bears, providing the nation with Signature brand bears in more than 38 countries, has just released a plethora of new Valentine's Day sweethearts. Does it get any more romantic than dinner and a teddy bear at Hard Rock Cafe (HRC)? Perhaps a few nights stay at Hard Rock Hotel (HRH) would sweeten the date.

If you are looking for love, the marriage between Herrington and Hard Rock is the place to find it. Hard Rock Teddy Bear collectors are passionate about Herrington's designs and they are sure to be smitten with Herrington's latest Valentine delights. Available at all USA HRC locations is Herrington's "2003 Cupid Bear." He is a 10-inch fully jointed teddy bear fashioned from ultra-soft caramel-colored chrislon fabric. He wears nothing but white satin wings upon his back and a white satin diaper complete with safety pins. "2003 Cupid Bear" has a heart-shaped HRC logo on his chest and is a limited edition run. He has a suggested retail of $20.00 each.

Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas is currently carrying a limited edition, fully jointed, 10-inch pink bear also made of chrislon fabric. She is wearing a white hooded sweatshirt with the HRH heart-shaped logo embroidered on the front. The year "2003" is inscribed on her footpad and she retails for $20.00 each. Also, at HRH Las Vegas is a brand new "2003 White Valentine Beara," with a heart-shaped HRH logo embroidered on its chest. Like most Hard Rock Bearas, the suggested retail price is $8.00 each.

Japanese collectors are "in love" with Herrington Bears. At all Japan locations collectors will find a 10-inch white chrislon bear wearing a pink hooded sweatshirt with a new red rose HRC logo embroidered on the chest. Also, at the Hard Rock locations in Japan is a new "2003 Pink Valentine Beara" sporting the same rose logo.

Several variations of vibrant Valentine's bears are available at HRC around the world from the Cayman Islands to Belfast. To see them all log into www.herringtonteddybears.com.

Recently, the Trump Plaza Hotel jumped on Herrington's Signature brand teddy bear bandwagon. Trump clients will celebrate Valentine 2003 with a set of  "Kissing Bears designed by Herrington.  These 12-inch floppy style bears have a magnet in their muzzle that draws them to each other. The very exclusive Kissing Bears will be available the first week of February at the Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City.

Lastly, Herrington's Teddy Bear Club will be celebrating Valentine's Day with yet another monthly club exclusive design. Available to MEMBERS ONLY is a 10-inch floppy style pink chrislon bear with a red heart embroidered on its chest. This little sweetheart carries a white TBC backpack on its back. If you have not joined Herringtons Teddy Bear Club you can sign up on their new e-commerce website at www.herringtonteddybears.com. Each month New club exclusive bears become available.

To view the complete line of Signature Teddy Bears created by Herrington Teddy Bears visit www.herringtonteddybears.com or call (800) 942-4498

For more than fifteen years, Herrington Teddy Bears has designed and produced Signature Teddy Bears for respected, high profile companies around the world such as, Hard Rock Cafe & Hotels, The Cheesecake Factory, Giorgio Beverly Hills, Cartier, Mercedes-Benz, DFS and Tavern on the Green in New York City, Notre Dame University and many others.  

-=FEBRUARY 5, 2003=-
POMPEY FANS TAKE SHIRT TO THEIR HEARTS WITH RECORD SALES
Pompey have sold just over 31,000 of their shirts which were launched last year before the current season. A Pompey spokesman said: "With hand on heart I always knew we were on to a winner."

The total has been hailed as a hearty success by Pompey shop staff and the club in general.

The blue, gold and white shirts with the Ty heart logo were greeted with some scepticism by a few who said that many fans would not wear a shirt with a heart on.

The record sales have proved the doubters wrong as fans from the city, country and all over the World have invested in the Pompey look taking the shirts to their heart.

Pompey are hoping to sell many more as their promotion bid comes to a climax and everyone at the club remains in good heart about the prospects. VIEW STORY HERE

CHUBBLEY FEBRUARY WALLPAPER
Jen has made another great wallpaper for Chubbley Corners. VIEW HERE

PICS OF NEW BEANIES & BASKET BEANIES
Mary Ann shares her new Beanies with Ms. Janie
http://www.msjanie.com/2002_photos/MaryAnn_colormebeanies.html

Marilyn shares her new Beanies and Basket Beanies with Ms. Janie
http://www.msjanie.com/2002_photos/Marilyn_6_new%20Beanies.html
http://www.msjanie.com/2002_photos/Marilyn_BASKET_BEANIES.html

"Yours Truly" (and More)?
From: Doodle's Page
Is "Yours Truly" the name of the Hallmark Exclusive Beanie coming next month? Guess 'tyme' will eventually tell. "Will" writes:
Hi Deb ... Nothing much going on here. Basket Beanies hit the area - they Jingle like the Jingle Beanies - very cute! Saw that Kanata retired - this was overdue! Got the Basket Beanies at Hallmark and they had more info on their bear- looks like the name will be Yours Truly and that those of us who have “Preferred Membership” will get something extra (not sure)…thought this was interesting! Gotta Scoot! Will

-=FEBRUARY 4, 2003=-
TOUCHING TRIBUTE
The radio station I listen to had a very touching tribute to the Space Shuttle Columbia and those lives lost in this tragedy. If you would like to listen to the MP3 tribute, click HERE

As per usual--In all my years--and there have been many----which I will never tell.. :o) I have yet to go to the knob--I prefer to do my watching from the "warmth" of my home.. Thank you very much...So--another Groundhog Day has come and gone--and we have 6 more weeks of winter--and even though TY Warner tried to change the name of our dear PHIL to Punx-E and failed---there will be another Groundhog Day--and Phil will live on...See y'all next year! Lynda

Birmingham needs more rooms in the inns
It's something of a catch-22.

Room occupancy is down in the Birmingham area. Rates are down too. That's what happens with supply and demand. Ask the Beanie Babies folks.

That's also what happens when people still are enormously apprehensive about air travel.

When the stability of the economy is questionable, life in the hospitality industry looks even bleaker. VIEW FULL STORY HERE

HALEY MEETS TY
Beanzaddiction Webmaster, Haley, had the opportunity to meet Ty in person at the Birmingham fair. Read her story HERE

IMA HERO'S ASTRONAUT TRIBUTE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
February 3, 2003 
CONTACT: Diane Malowney * 
StarRise Creations Tel: (858) 453-5789 diane@imahero.com 

ASTRONAUTS ARE HEROES The folks at IMA Hero join in mourning the loss of the seven astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. All the members of the NASA family are dedicated to peace and scientific research. "Our exploration of space has taught us to view the Earth, ourselves, and the universe in a new way." Learn more about the NASA and the Space Program: http://www.imahero.com/photos/space1.html

<< REMINDER >> TAYLOR'S BIRTHDAY RAFFLE
Desi writes: "Hi Everyone, I am doing a Raffle for my Daughter Taylor's 4th Birthday party coming up in March. This is my first raffle. Starting on Monday January 27, 2003 till February 28, 2003 Midnight CST. I am holding a Raffle for My daughter's 4th Birthday party. This goodie box includes:" The list has been updated with several new additions. You can keep up with the list HERE since Desi adds more items often. The list of items is quite long now so be sure to check it out. 

TY CARRIER?
Bears and Beans has a photo of one of the styles available to order. VIEW HERE

CHUBBLEY KEY RING?
Bears and Beans has a photo of a Chubbley key ring that was given to people placing an order at the Chubbley stand. VIEW HERE Bears and Beans will be giving one of these key rings away in an upcoming contest in the next few days.

-=FEBRUARY 3, 2003=-
JOHN'S TOY FAIR PHOTOS
 http://www.msjanie.com/John/John_main.html

UPDATE ON HONEY CHUBBLEY ODDITY AUCTION
Sue writes: "Good Morning, Many thanks for giving publicity to the charity auction for the Chubbley Honey Oddity auction in aid of Cancer Research UK.

The auction closed yesterday evening at £92 - a fantastic amount which exceeded my expectations. The website publicity can only have helped to get those extra bids and I am so grateful to you for your support.

I will shortly be in touch about some interesting auction lots to be listed on eBay on 15th February. That day is International Childhood Cancer Day and seems a very suitable day to launch these auctions. Some of these items are quite unique!

The theme for these auctions is: CHERISH - putting the ty into charity

For example, Patricia Roche who is the head of Ty Europe signed her namesake Beanie Patti the Platypus for this purpose; Sir Steve Redgrave, the five times Olympic rowing gold medallist signed and dated an England Beanie on Jubilee Day last year; generous benefactors have donated interesting items such as the complete set of International Attic Treasures - to add to the fun and solve the display problem that these bears in flag jackets have always posed, I have knitted each bear a sweater with the country flag on the front! (see photo) I am privileged to have had pictures of my bear sweaters in each of the three main collectors' magazines - the UK Bean Bag Magazine, Ms Janie's Collectibles Extravaganza and Mary Beth's Beanies and More.

These are just a few of the items, the links to which I will provide in due course. I will also tell you about more of the items in a few days. There is certain to be something in the auction listings to appeal to most Ty collectors!

Thanks in anticipation of you being able to include this information on your website.

Best wishes, Sue Owen  http://www.geocities.com/sue_owenuk/ "

-=FEBRUARY 2, 2003=-
APRIL 2003 BEANIE OF THE MONTH
Meet Buttercream at: http://www.tytrade.com/images/bbom/pop-up_buttercream.jpg

DAPHNE REPORTS FROM THE BIRMINGHAM SPRING FAIR
CLICK HERE for News from the Ty booth (Daphne spoke with Ty Warner)
CLICK HERE for News from Chubbley UK  (dragons, dogs, cats, and bunnies?)
CLICK HERE for Other Bean Bag news

<< EARLY SPRING OR LONGER WINTER >>

Groundhogs disagree, but tie goes to Atlanta
Call it a split decision. But the tie will go to metro Atlanta.

In the annual Groundhog Day derby, General Beauregard Lee of the Yellow River Game Ranch in Gwinnett County didn't see his shadow today, meaning an early spring.

Way up in chilly Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow and saw his shadow on Gobbler's Knob, suggesting another six weeks of wintry weather.

General Lee squeezed his 20-pound body through the doors of his burrow and onto the grounds of his shadowless home early Sunday. VIEW STORY HERE

Punxsutawney Phil Predicts More Winter
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. - Don't put those sweaters away yet.

As an anxious crowd shivered in 33-degree temperatures early Sunday, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow and saw his shadow on Gobbler's Knob, suggesting another six weeks of wintry weather.

Kathleen Perdy, a fifth grade teacher from Alliance, Ohio, joined thousands in the predawn chill.

Her 26-year-old son had been deployed to the Middle East on Saturday, the same day the nation grieved the lost astronauts aboard space shuttle Columbia, but Perdy tried to stay positive.

"Life goes on. You learn you have to value your time, and you have to respect each other. Most importantly, you have to have fun," she said.

The crowd watched fireworks and danced to stay warm. Then they sang the national anthem, with flags set at half-staff.

Groundhog Day organizers expected the weekend crowd to top 30,000 this year. Attendance has ballooned so much since the movie "Groundhog Day" was released in 1993 that shuttle buses are now used to bring visitors up to Gobbler's Knob. Last year, Phil also saw his shadow. VIEW STORY HERE

Phil Says Six More Weeks of Winter!
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania at 7:27 a.m. this Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2003, Punxsutawney Phil, King of Groundhogs, Seer of Seers, imitated but never equaled, responded to the summons of Groundhog President Bill Cooper. Bill Deeley, his friend and Handler greeted him affectionately and placed him atop his domicile, the old oak stump. From this lofty seat he addressed the large enthusiastic throng of faithful followers, wishing them a "Happy Groundhog Day." Phil may be as cute as a Beanie Baby but when he predicts in his Groundhogese there is no maybe. He directed president Bill to the appropriate scroll which reads:

Governor Rendell joins this joyful throng
of several thousand strong
and he like everyone will thrill
at seeing the magic on this hill
as I make my prognostication
and give my justification:
I see my shadow beside me
and that is that magic you see.
It causes this midwinter revelry,
six more weeks of winter there will be.

Watch the site later in the day for photos from this morning's festivities! VIEW THE OFFICIAL PUNXY PHIL WEBSITE HERE

TY DONATES $75,000 TO THE RED CROSS
WPXZ News Phil predicts six more weeks of winter when sees his shadow this morning on gobblers knob in front a huge crowd. Punxsutawney Phil the world’s only true weather forecasting groundhog emerged from his old maple stump on Gobblers Knob at 7:25 this morning a spoke in groundhogese to President Bill Cooper who translated and gave the message to proclaimer Dr. Rusty Johnston who read... a comparison of Phil to a beanie baby in which he predicts six more weeks of winter coming our way. The crowd at the knob was estimated to be one of the largest ever which could top 40,000 when the official count is in.

Governor Rendell says that groundhog day is all about fun. Ed Rendell the first sitting governor to visit Punxsutawney for groundhog day spoke at the banquet last night and said that he was honored to be asked to come to the weather capitol of the world and that it’s all about fun. Groundhog banquet master of ceremonies Jeff Lundy said that they had some fun with the governor and innercircle member Mike Johnston having their own beanie babies. they auctioned off the two one of a kind beanie babies not made by Ty to benefit the groundhog club. Ty did donate a Phil beanie baby to every person who attended last night’s banquet. No it wasn’t the Punxsutawney -y tagged beanies.

Ty celebrates the 10 year anniversary of the beanie baby with the Punxy Phil edition and a donation to the red cross. Scott Weirs of Ty corporation spoke at the groundhog banquet on Saturday night and revealed that with this the 10 year anniversary of the beanie baby they wanted to do something special and that’s when they came up with the Punxy Phil beanie baby. He then made a donation from beanie baby sales of $75,000 to the Jefferson County American Red Cross. Sheia Reed Executive Director of the Red Cross said they were very grateful for the donation. Ty Corporation traditionally makes a donation to a worthwhile cause from monies derived from each and every beanie baby. VIEW PUNXY PHIL'S OFFICIAL NEWS HERE

-=FEBRUARY 1, 2003=-
HEARTFELT PRAYERS
What an unbelievable sight on the TV this morning. Prayers go out to the families and friends of the Shuttle commander Rick D. Husband, Pilot William C. McCool, Payload Commander Michael P. Anderson, Mission Specialists David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who were were on board the Columbia.

Shuttle and crew lost
The space shuttle Columbia, with seven astronauts aboard, broke up as it descended over central Texas today before a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A Bush administration spokesman said the shuttle's altitude -- over 200,000 feet -- made it "highly unlikely" that the shuttle fell victim to a terrorist act.  http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/01/shuttle.columbia/index.html

TY EXCLUSIVE IDEA
Patricia writes: "If TY is recognizing sellers like Cracker Barrel and Hallmark (many of which no longer prominently display Ty products) maybe he owes an exclusive to all the one shop small retailers who have been faithful suppliers to beanie collectors like me for many years. What would you think of a specific bear sent only to such retailers and NOT to chains, etc?"

MS. JANIE'S VALENTINE CONTEST
http://www.msjanie.com/Valentines/MAIN.html

Pompey
From: Bean eWonderland
Jake writes: Hi, I e-mailed you about pompey and how mad I was about prices and delivery, well today the four I had ordered showed up. I had tried to cancel my orders, but when I opened the package I had a suprise. The store had sent all four Pompey via Parcel Force world wide and bagged not boxed.

Despite me placing 4 orders at different times, all 4 arrived together and instead of charging me shipping 4 times, I was charged just $17.70 (shipping cost) and then $6.00 for each bear. They all arrived tag protected so in total I managed to obtain 4 Pompey beanies for $41.70. I guess after all of the complaining they got it right after all, well I am one happy pompey buyer.

CHAR'S DISPLAY
Charlene shares some of her displays. Be sure to check out those neat Beanie thimbles. Some of you know Char as "Peace-i-Love" in the various forums/groups online. I believe she's the original Peace bear Queen. She tells me that she has about 200 Peace beanies, 100+ Peace Jingles and 7 Buddies and a Jumbo. http://www.planetbeans.com/CharsDisplay.htm 

<< REMINDER >> TAYLOR'S BIRTHDAY RAFFLE << other items added >>
Desi writes: "Hi Everyone, I am doing a Raffle for my Daughter Taylor's 4th Birthday party coming up in March....This is my first raffle.....Starting on Monday January 27, 2003 till February 28, 2003 Midnight CST...I am holding a Raffle for My daughter's 4th Birthday party/Present..... In this goodie box includes:" The list has been updated with several new additions. You can keep up with the list HERE

TOY FAIR NEWS
John from Germany shares a report from Nuremberg Toy Fair with Ms. Janie - VIEW REPORT HERE