July 2000 News

==July 31, 2000==
WILL THE REAL PEACE ADDICT PLEASE STAND UP
Or as the case may be.. lay down. LOL This is quite a collection!! Have you ever wondered what a Peace symbol made from 40 Peace Bears would look like?! Deb also has quite a nice collection of 13 Peace Buddies. Believe it or not.. she has even more Peace Bears that aren't in the picture. There was no room for them. I want to thank my friend Deb for sharing this awesome picture with me. :o) The Peace Addict!!

I have an interesting feature about Ty Dyed Digger , I was browsing through the TyTrade auctions and came across a very excessive bid for the popular retired buddy which was $4075.75 http://auction.tytrade.com/auctionDetail.msp?offeringID=2255-1-12-0-1-0 I am convinced this may be a error but I thought I would get your opinion as well ?

PLANET BEANS WON AN AWARD
Beanies, Beanies & More Beanies - BBAMB has sent Planet Beans an award. I have proudly displayed it on the Awards page

THERE ARE 31 DAYS THIS MONTH!! LOL
LAST CHANCE TO WIN GARCIA
I can't believe I thought there were only 30 days in July!! LOL Here, I've been telling you that July 30th was the last day you could get your entries in for the Garcia Contest, and it turns out you have one more full day. I'm so embarrassed. Win Garcia

SPECKLES CONTEST UPDATE
I wanted to give an update per the request of one of our readers. On July 29th after just the first 24 hours, there were 183 correct entries. As of midnight, July 30, 2000 there have been 384 correct entries. Keep those entries coming. You guys are keeping me BUSY!! LOL Win Speckles

AGE DISCRIMINATION AT THE BBOC?!
From: Jesica
Hi, Lisa! It's me your occidental Charlene Chan! Just a bit of news, I think. I'm not sure if at the moment anyone cares about the BBOC.

I thought with the "under construction" business and the recent change in proprietorship of the BBOC, some new goodies may be coming our way. I decided to register my Grans. My grandmother was born on December 3, 1925. When I enter this into the BBOC registration along with all the other info and click register, the screen says I have entered an invalid date of birth.

Okay, December has to be valid. And every month has a 3rd. I've registered myself, birth year- 1976. I've registered Craig, birth year- 1954. (You can XX those years out. ;0) So I can only think that it is not accepting the 1925.

Could this be age discrimination in the BBOC? I very much wish to ask this question, but there isn't at customer service for the BBOC at this time.

I'm thinking of some delicious questions such as, "Dear BBOC, do you think that everyone born in 1925 is dead already? And if so, why did you place that year on the drop down list?"

Well, Lisa, I'm getting feisty! I get that way when I'm told that my Grans is invalid.

TY TRADE NEWS (COMING AUGUST 2000)
Is this new or am I just a little slow in seeing it? LOL TyTradeNews
*-*Yes folks.. It appears I've been a bit slow.. I'm told this isn't new news - I guess planning a move, taking care of house and kids has been a bit stressful. LOL

WHY HASN'T TY LISTED THE NEW KIDS?!
I can't believe the new Beanie Kids were introduced almost 3 weeks ago yet the pictures and other info hasn't shown up under the Beanie Kids listing.

THE EX-TY RETAILER
Ryan of Collectiblez sends this in:
An anonymous source, shares the following with Collectiblez at http://www.collectiblez.net :
In April, the Ty Rep and her Regional Mgr made the rounds to see her accounts. We are about an hour south of Kansas City and the outer most part of her territory. Keep in mind, this is the same Rep that has only been in
our Gift Shop a total of 2 times in the 10 years we have owned it. We have always paid our Ty bill and treated our Ty customers with the greatest of consideration. We would get 40 to 50 call a day about Beanie Babies. We
would take phone orders and hold the product for the customer until they could stop by and pick it up. Everyone appreciated the way we treated them and had fun collecting - until Ty lost his mind in December. He managed to -
single handedly - ruin almost everyones enjoyment of collecting. You can imagine what hey have to say now. In May we didn't get any product, and I emailed her 3 times with "no response at all". The best word I can think of
to describe her is "lazy" - "gutless" seems to fit well also. In June we finally got a letter from the Ty company saying they have changed their marketing target and now only sell to "speciality gift shops", and our business doesn't fit their "marketing nitch".

You can read the rest at
http://www.geocities.com/collectiblezdotnet/News.html ! :o)

==July 30, 2000==
GARCIA CONTEST ENDS TODAY!!
Let's keep Pam busy today with orders!! Hurry and get your entry in before time runs out tonight. This is a great opportunity for someone to own a wonderful book autographed by the author AND have a chance to win a prized MWMT Garcia Beanie Baby!! http://www.planetbeans.com/WinGarcia.htm You can now order Pam's book by using PayPal. If you don't have PayPal you can get it by clicking on the graphic located on the Win Garcia URL. You will receive $5 just for signing up and it's FREE

Competitors
From: BeanieWonderland
Take some fabric, shape it like an animal, fill it with plastic pellets, and you too could own a Manhattan luxury hotel. That is how an article in Hoovers.com refers to Ty Warner. They also have Ty Inc. company profile, profits and closest competitors. View Here The link was sent to Beanie Wonderland by Lulu from Canadian Connection who managed to find it using a different than usual search technique, Lulu checked financial sites and searched for TY CFO.

Beanie Kids
From: BeanieWonderland
Several auctions for the new Beanie kids (in hand) closed between $40.00 and $50.00 recently. There are only a handful left of each one on eBay, a search for Buzz, Calypso, Princess and Cookie Beanie Kids produced just 2-3 in hand auctions, all starting around $12.00. View Here

"Shhh It's A Secret"
From: BBSPC
The following was found on World Collectors Net. It was posted by "Shhh It's A Secret". Please treat this as a rumor until Ty announces something:

"Hello, I am involved on the inside track with Beanies. However I do not work directly for Ty. This information has been passed on to me through grape vine of the business. There will be a new bear announced to complete the 2000 Trio early November. It will be ready to ship for the month of November as well. But will retire January 1, 2001. They are doing this to make the completed trio have value. The bears name has not yet been decided. It will look like Spangle with Glory's face to match Righty and Lefty 2000." Read Full Message

IS MAPLE BUDDY RETIRED?!
Ty Trade error - Maple Buddy is listed as retired. Ty.com - Maple Buddy is still listed as current.

From: Ms. Janie
Ty adds Faith Hill to the Ty Auctions at Ty Trade
Ty also changes the Ty Trade registration page for easier use.
http://www.tytrade.com

==July 29, 2000==
SCHWEETHEART FAMILY
(Thank you Kevin (Refreshen) for sharing this picture!!)
Too adorable for words!! From Teenie to XL.. view the picture HERE

BACKDOOR ORDERING A HIT!!
I've heard comments from people that have now been able to successfully order Speckles by bypassing the apologies set forth on the Ty Trade site. I'm happy that I was able to help get the word out to help people.

SPECKLES CONTEST UPDATE
Whew.. I have just changed the contest question to #2. In the first 24 hours of the contest there were 196 entries, 183 of which were correct. WTG!! I hope this continues. Keeping me busy guys!! LOL

PAYPAL BOOK ORDERS ACCEPTED
GARCIA CONTEST ENDS TOMORROW
(*-*So far there are only 32 Contest Entries. Hurry and get your entry in before time runs out. This is a great opportunity for someone to own a wonderful book autographed by the author AND have a chance to win a prized MWMT Garcia Beanie Baby!!*-*) http://www.planetbeans.com/WinGarcia.htm
You can now order Pam's book by using PayPal. If you don't have PayPal you can get it by clicking on the graphic below. You will receive $5 just for signing up and it's FREE!! To use PayPal you will be asked the email address of the person you want to send the funds to. Use this email: pam@heartfeltstories.com

360 Beanies
From: BeanieWonderland
There are plenty of secondary dealers out there, but when you get one person selling 30 Dozen new Beanies still bagged and including ones like USA, Lefty and Righty it is no wonder some collectors get mad that stores are back door selling. View Here

TY ASIA
From: Ms. Janie
Pre-launch presentation of Ty products held in Bombay on 25.7.2000. GREAT PHOTOS - view a press release along with some great photos submitted to me to share with my readers. http://www.msjanie.com/pix/asia.html

A Malaysian Family shares their experience with Ty products including photos - I am sending three photos showing the happy moods of "Malaysian Family"captured during "Ty Products" launch at a shopping complex in
Kuala Lumpur . http://www.msjanie.com/pix/kamms.html

==July 28, 2000==
BACKDOOR TO ORDER SPECKLES!!
Richard of Beanie Wonderland was sent a "Back Door" entry link to Ty Trade where you should be able to place your orders for Speckles or even just to check the order status if you were lucky enough to order already.

It's important that you FIRST visit tytrade.com and log on with your username and ID. THEN go to the TyTrade Store "backdoor" link: http://store.tytrade.com/cust/cdeploy?ecaction=ty_ectwsectview

Good luck.. I hope many of you are able to use this "back door" to order your Speckles finally. Good news for an otherwise unpredictable TyTrade.

Thank you goes to Richard for allowing me to let the Planet Beans readers know about this.

BEANIE GREETINGS CENSORED?!
From: Jesica
You may like this bit of news. The Beanie Greetings are censored. Yesterday, I sent ** a Beanie Greeting. ** sent an e-mail to me a couple of weeks ago. It was about making up a new name from the first intitial of your first name and first and last intitials of your last name. Every letter has a silly word as it pairing. Both having "J" names. Our new first names were the same. The name was Poopsie. We've kidded about it for awhile. So I used Poopsie in the Greeting. It wouldn't let me, the "poop" in "Poopsie" was restricted language or something. Actually, I found the whole thing rather funny and absurd.
(**-name is left of for privacy)

The Beanie Scramble Contest is over for general play, however, it looks like there is a TIE! AllieC. and LisaT. will participate in a "Scramble Off". There will be a series of five scrambles all at one time that they will have to answer correctly. The scrambles will be very difficult and can include ANY beanie or buddy! Whichever of them sends me the most correct answers will win USA Bear! In the event that they BOTH get them ALL correct, then I will have them guess a number between 1-100 and the person closest will win.
http://www.planetbeans.com/beaniescramble.htm
For the final standings go here: http://www.planetbeans.com/results.htm

TY WARNER TO SIGN ARIEL AS WELL
From: Ms. Janie
The following point needs to be brought to your attention. A special THANKS to Sly for pointing it out. NOTICE - That Ty himself will now sign Ariel's tag!

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is privileged to present this special Ariel Beanie Baby signed by Tiger Woods. In addition, Ty Warner will personally sign the back of each hangtag. Ariel the Beanie Baby was created in memory of Ariel Glaser who died from complications of the AIDS virus at the age of 7. A drawing that Ariel had done at age 5 inspired the logo of flowers and sunshine embroidered on the bears chest. For a limited time a newly autographed Ariel Beanie Baby will appear on Ty Trade daily. Each Ariel Beanie Baby will come with a collectors display case and a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Ty Warner. Bid on your favorite celebrity Ariel bear today and help make a lasting difference in the lives of children with HIV/AIDS and other serious life-threatening pediatric diseases. All proceeds from this auction will benefit the Foundations critical research, education and outreach programs. The Foundation will send you an acknowledgement for your generous tax-deductible gift. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express Discover or checks made payable to Elizabeth Glaser PediatricAIDS Foundation. On behalf of children everywhere, thank you. http://www.tytrade.com

Washington Gift Show ...
BeanieMom had the opportunity to attend the Washington Gift show on July 26th and had the opportunity to view the new Beanie Babies and Ty Gear outfits displayed originally at the Atlanta Gift show. To read my report, please click here!

Beanie Kids Scare
From: BeanieWonderland
Mark from Toysack reports: I have had Trading Standards buy 2 beanie kids to check for fibres coming out of the bodies of beanie kids, this was due to a complaint from some one who had bought a beanie kid (angel) from a ty retailer in UK, and found that there were fibres coming out of the items body and hair, they have bought them from me so as to do test on them, i am not a ty agent but these were bought from a ty dealer, there bought 2 Angel and Precious of which when looked at both had the same fibres coming out of them, when the bodies were plucked with fingers, there concern is what would happen if a child started to suck the beanie kids. View Here

MY FIRST BEANIE GREETING
I just wanted to share this with all of you. What a sweet gesture. This Beanie Greeting comes from Ryan, Webmaster of Collectiblez. Thank you Ryan.. you've made me smile real big this morning!! :o)

From: Ryan
To: Lisa

Hi Lisa,
You may be wondering why I am sending you a thank you card as you haven't done 
something for me very that you may think, although you have.

I was shifting through archives on your website, and I noticed that you posted about 
when Collectiblez was deleted back in April, and the support you gave to me,  through 
yourself as well on your website. 

I never really thanked you for that, but I thought I should. You are one of the nicest 
people I have met on the Internet as your a very kind woman. You have a very warm 
heart and are incredibly considerate to others. You have helped me out with supporting  
Collectiblez, whether its helping to get the word out about a new contest on Collectiblez 
or anything of the sort.

Thank you Lisa.

Smiles,
Ryan

Christmas Puffkins Arrive In October
From: Beanieholics
The latest issue of the Puffkin Press offers a list of fun things you can do before the summer ends. Also it is announced that four new Christmas Puffkins will be available in October. They are 'Chilly' the penguin, 'Jolly' the smiley face, 'Nutmeg' the mouse and 'Peppermint' the white bear.
Click Here For The Puffkin Press

SPECKLES CONTEST UPDATE
Well so far today I've had 112 CORRECT entries for the Speckles Contest.
*-*One person thought Mary Beth's Bean Bag World was the Author
*-*One person submitted this answer: "Unknown by me." (why bother to enter with that answer?!)
*-*One person thought Mary Beth Sobolewski was the Author.
*-*One person begged me for Speckles and didn't even try to enter: "Please give me Speckles.My mother does not have a credit card and Speckles shares the same birthday as me.Plese have a heart,I am only 10.I have an older sister who gets all the beanie babies i only have the teenies.Please give me Speckle"

Come on people.. the question is too easy to answer if you just look through the site a tiny bit. Won't take much searching, I promise. If you are going to submit nonsense and simply guess, please don't waste your time or mine. I have a hectic life here trying to take care of my 3 children, a house, and an out of state move that is to take place in less than 3 weeks. Give me a break!! I spend a LOT of time on these contests for YOU. Thank you to those of you that can follow simple instructions and put forth some effort.. luckily that's most of you. ;o)

One a positive note... there have been quite a few nice comments about this author and the book. A wonderful book indeed!! :o)

Hooray! I think I finally ordered 2 Speckles!!!
From: Karen
Now I need to check my e-mail. But I do have an order number!!! I had press all of the buttons about a hundred times each, really, including the "charge this to my credit card button" -- they kept telling me that the cash register didn't accept my card because the transaction took too long!! So, I would hit the back arrow and push the button again! I sincerely hope I don''t have a $1450.00 charge instead of a $14.50 charge. Sheesh. Well, I guess it took about 3-4 hours to order him, and I was already registered. Good luck to those of you still at it. Persevere - just keep clicking.

EBay STRIKES BACK!!
An e-bay experience...
By: Jesica
Actually I've had a few, but this one shows e-Bay in a positive light. I know this is a silly thing to do but I love to look at the auctions for rare Beanies. I try and figure out if the Beanie is fake. In keeping with the recent Libearty Buddy release. I've been looking at Libearty auctions. I do that a lot anyway.

I found 2 auctions that were with out question counterfeit Libearties. The flag had four rows of stars. Five stars in the first and third row. Four stars in the second and fourth.

I e-mailed Safe Harbor. Both auctions were ended by e-Bay, and e-Bay sent me a thank you.

Now of course, the seller can relist the item without a picture. But I do think that most people would have the sense not to purchase a Libearty blind on e-bay.

So I'm rather proud of myself, and I'm especially proud of e-Bay.

I'm no expert. But there are things we all know to be signs of a "classic counterfeit." It only takes a moment to do. The seller doesn't know who reported the item as fake.

Lots of seller say I bought this on the secondary market so I cannot guarantee authenticity. That's not good enough. Maybe the seller doesn't know that he/she has a counterfeit. If the item has a Ty hang tag or tush tag or is marketed as a Ty product (or any company's product) and it has the signs of a counterfeit, the item will be pulled. That's the law.

I just thought I'd share that. Too often the stories are of e-Bay doing nothing. And I think this one has a good ending.

The Reason
From: BeanieWonderland
The reason for Tytrade's failure is down to the server software hosing it "Vignette StoryServer 5.0 " was apparently never designed for the sort of volume the site is receiving

Expansion Plans
From: BeanieWonderland
Ty's expansion into Europe is scheduled to continue in September, rumours have it that TY are advertising for sales representatives in France and Portugal.

TY WEBMASTER FIRED?!
From: Underground Bean
This in and quoted directly from the source:

"just a rumor at this point but someone I know who works in Oakbrook, emailed me and said that someone is clearing their desk at TY's personal instructions (word has it TY has just sacked his webmaster), there's also a fax apparently stating that tytrade.com was not to reopen until it was ready for demand and if you notice too, all the newly posted auctions are listed under the seller 'NEWADMIN' I was also told by an IT expert today that StoryServer which is the platform Tytrade is built on is incapable of handling over 200 sessions"

This is some major information folks and could mean that there will be some changes coming soon and that Ty Trade COULD be down for a while now

==July 26, 2000==
UK Exclusive update
From: BeanieWonderland
We have some more news on the expected UK exclusive, we now know that it is based around a Royal theme, although the most obvious are names like Prince and William we would rule these out for various reasons. Expect a name along the lines of Windsor, Buckingham or Balmoral.

Tyras Clothes?
From: BeanieWonderland
I too saw the new beanies at the philadelphia show and I feel that Ty has really done a fine job. I also feel that this will bring back a lot of the enthusiasm again, the colors on all of them are really great, as are outfits for the kids. The cheerlearder outfit is "Tyra"s clothes (I think). Bill in NY

SPANGLE ODDITY
From: BeaNGO
I was looking through Yahoo Auctions when I noticed a Spangle Oddity. I wasn't positive if this was an oddity, until I went and checked all three of my Spangle Beanie Babies. The auction is for a Red Face Spangle Beanie, but both arms on Spangle are blue. From all the Spangles I have seen, one arm is blue and the other is red/white striped. The auction has a starting price of $160.00 and has not attracted any bids yet. Yahoo Auctions

McDonald's Profits Rise 2%, Beanie Mania Cools
From: Beanieholics
Waning fervor for its Teenie Beanie Babies toy promotion in the United States and stay-at-home soccer fans in Europe were among the reasons that McDonald's Corp. cited on Tuesday for the modest increases in its second-quarter sales and profits. The TBB promotion was held in both the 2000 and 1999 second quarters, but enthusiasm for the small plush toys was not as great this year, the company said. Click Here For Story

NEW WINEY BEAR SPECIAL EDITION
From: Ms. Janie
Winey Bears is offering this Handmade 10" airbrushed bear handmade and painted by Sally for you with Love Bear for our 17th Anniversary - Fully jointed and made of string mohair. It will be available to order through August. Special price of $135.00 includes shipping and handling. Call Winey Bears 610-286-5155 or check out the other offers on www.wineybears.com

TY TRADE IS BACK!!
It looks like it's back but everyone is scampering there to order their Speckles E-Beanie Bear. LOL Keep trying.. I wish everyone luck in getting through in a timely manner!!

==July 25, 2000==
RUNNER'S MEAN POEM TO BE RECALLED, CONFIRMED.
From: Daily Bean
hotrodder (03:00 pm. Jul 24, 2000 )
Message Id: 650313

hotrodder writes:

I WAS IN MY FAVORITE HALLMARK STORE THIS MORNING AND A LONG-TIME EMPLOYEE THAT I DEAL WITH ALL THE TIME AND TRUST COMPLETELY TOLD ME THAT THE STORE GOT A CALL FROM TY AND THEY TOLD THEM THAT THE RUNNER WITH THE MEAN POEM WAS NOT SOMETHING TY KNEW ABOUT NOR DID HE APPROVE IT. TY TOLD THEM THAT IF THEY RECEIVED ANYMORE WITH THE MEAN POEM, THEY WERE NOT TO PUT THEM ON THE SHELF, BUT WERE SUPPOSED TO RETURM THEM!! I GUESS IT WON'T BE OUT THERE MUCH LONGER AND I FOR ONE AM GLAS, I THOUGHT THE POEM WAS JUST TOO VIOLENT; JUST MY OPINION.
(You can view this message on the Daily Tymes message board HERE)

*-*I personally don't believe this!! I think Ty WOULD put out a controversial poem just to stir up the market. After all, everyone will have to have both versions, right?!*-*

UK Exclusive
From: BeanieWonderland
One of our close contacts reports that a new UK exclusive will be on show in August/September at the Autumn show in Birmingham. According to one TY rep, the UK will have the first viewing of the fall/Xmas releases. Rumours are sure to surface once again that Ty Warner will be in attendance, this will be nothing new as it is the same every year although it does not mean that we are ruling out the possibility.

Variation in Bones Buddy already?
From: Kris at Cajun Connection http://www.premier.net/~dirkthib
David one of our readers has made this observation:
Hi! I'm a fan of your page and check it out daily for the latest news. I don't know if this is newsworthy or not but I purchased a second Bones Buddy today as I thought it looked different than the 1st one I had
bought last week. When I compared the 2 of them, I noticed the difference right away: one has eye brows; the other does not! I don't know if the missing eye brows is just a mistake or if this was an
intentional change by TY. Interesting? David

I'm surprised how few people want a chance to win a beautiful MWMT Garcia Beanie Baby. Pam Knapp, Author of "Heartfelt Stories About Beanie Babies and Those Who Collect Them" has made a wonderful offer for our
readers and she's even giving away one of HER MWMT Garcia Beanie Babies. She's even autographing her book for people that order during this contest. Well the contest is over in 6 days... there are ONLY 29 entries
into this contest so the odds are VERY good to win. I can't stress enough how special this book is. I have a copy and have read some of it and it's very heartwarming. I wish I could find the time to sit down and
read the rest of it. Hard to put it down once you start reading it. Be sure to stop by the contest page
http://www.planetbeans.com/WinGarcia.htm to find out how you can take advantage of this special opportunity.

I've seen a number of people complain that the Lefty2000 graphic has been hard to find. I must tell you that I haven't hidden it in any difficult places YET!! Starting today, I will list on the contest page
http://www.planetbeans.com/WinLefty.htm the location of the previous day so that you will know where you didn't look or didn't look hard enough.

==July 24, 2000==
Speckles Update
From: BeanieWonderland
Gordon writes: Thought I'd let you know that Speckles is starting to ship in relatively large numbers, a search of ebay shows, as of Sunday night, about 82 Speckles "in hand" to be sold. Also, the number listed on MetaExchange shows an increase to be sold. That should be positive news for many who ordered Speckles through Ty Trade. Also The beanies, Lefty 2000, Righty 2000 and the buddies Lefty and Righty: my thoughts are that Ty will not retire these beanies by early next month. It's a bit too soon. A more logical time will be after the Repbulican and Democratic and Republic conventions are over. The Republican Convention will be held during July 31 - August 3, 2000. The Democratic Convention will be held during mid August 14-17, 2000. This time period seems to be more logical if Ty will retire these two beanies and buddies early. Of course, one never knows, and Ty may retire the beanies and buddies at any time - perhaps even after the US election in November 2000!

Osito Oddity
From: BeanieWonderland
Thanks John for sending us a link to an Osito Beanie Baby with upside down flag, the bidding so far has reached $70.00 with three days left. View Here

INDIA IN OKLAHOMA
Linda writes in:
"I just bought India beanie, in Enid,OK. I was so excited."

East Meets West
From: Beanieholics
B & J have submitted a picture of Sakura riding atop of Roam the white Buffalo.
Click Here For Picture

More Retirements
From: BeanieWonderland
On the Ty retailers page Taffy, Baby Patches and Large Black Paws have all just been retired.

Rare Runners
From: BeanieWonderland
Runner with the cobra poem seems to be relatively rare, there were around 215 listed to be sold on eBay as of Sunday night. I don't know if people know how rare they really are. If the rumors are true that there will only be one shipment of these "mean poem" beanies, then they will be highly sought by collectors. Search Here

SAKURA
GERMANIA
MAPLE
BRITANNIA

==July 23, 2000==
Flap Arises Over Ty Warner Home In Montecito
From: Ms. Janie
No official bells or whistles sounded when Beanie Babies magnate Ty Warner submitted plans to "partially demolish" a stately, 83-year-old house in Montecito Officials are concerned that no public opposition surfaced before Ty Warner got approval in April to level most of his Montecito home and replace it with a architecturally similar mansion. The county's Board of Architectural Review said the historical significance of the two-story home was never considered. The 12,095-square-foot house was purchased in February 1999 by Warner for somewhere between $7 million and $8 million. The loss of the old mansion may prompt county planners to more closely scrutinize such projects in the future. Ty Warner was unavailable for comment on the situation. John Davies, a public relations consultant for Warner said, "If this house wasn't supposed to be torn down, it would have been on a (historical) landmarks list." Click Here For Story

A RETAILER SOUNDS OFF
From: Ms. Janie
A Retailer shares a very important message on the Ty Times Message Board.
Beanie Collectors - Please Read!
retail_worker (04:50 pm. Jul 22, 2000 )
Message Id: 648059
retail_worker writes:

I am employed with a retail store that sells Beanies. My fellow workers and I have noticed the same things about some Beanie collectors, and we would like to bring them to your attention.

Most stores sell more than Ty. Don't get mad at us if we don't know the exact name of a specific Beanie right off. Not only are there numerous Beanies for us to keep track of, we do have a whole store of things. No means no. If we say we don't have new Beanies, we don't have new
Beanies. Please don't read us a list of all the new Beanies you want, because we don't have them. Please don't call stores more than once a day. Once is sufficient. Remember: we are probably helping customers and handling store business. Calling twice or three times a day is quite a distraction. Please don't chew us out if we don't have new Beanies. We have nothing to do with it. We get new Beanies only when Ty sends them.

Thanks!
http://web1-3.ty.com/cyberboard/news/msg648059.html

TOY FADS OF THE PAST
From: Daily Bean
Article Source:
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/lifestyle/fad22.shtml
Love it or hate it, Pok�mon is merely following in the footsteps of many a toy trend that came before. Beanie Babies, Furbies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Pet Rocks -- all have been, at one time or another, sought after, adored and hoarded by kids and adults alike. In fact, some of these toys have been so popular, they've pitted parent against parent in wrestling matches over ownership.

Will Pok�mon be remembered as a flash-in-the-pan fad or will it have the kind of staying power it takes to become a toy classic? Only time will tell.

Take a look back to see who paved the way for Pikachu.

BEANIE BABIES: Introduced 1994
These furry legume-filled toys are an example of consumerism at its worst. Adults pay thousands of dollars to own the likes of Peanut the Elephant and Nana the Monkey, wasting money better spent on their children's education.
Fortunately, Beanie Babies finally seem to be going the way of the Pet Rock.

FURBIES: Introduced 1998
This furry piece of artificial intelligence charmed children with its ability to learn, speak and interact. Furbies were the hot item of Christmas '98 and have remained strong sellers.

TICKLE ME ELMO: The star of 1996
The lovable Sesame Street character had been around for years before the plush-toy version of him hit the big time during Christmas '96. Unfortunately, parents seemed to lose sight of his cheery message and instead embarrassed themselves and their children in desperate -- and sometimes violent -- attempts to purchase the cuddly red toy. The poor guy's popularity then faded faster than you can say "Keep your hands off my Elmo."

CABBAGE PATCH KIDS: Introduced 1983
Cabbage Patch Kids have been called the "granddaddy of the toy frenzies." These cuddly kids with pudgy faces that only a mother could love inspired some of the first brawls. And in the past 17 years more than 90 million Kids
have been "adopted."

SMURFS: Stars of 1981
These blue elves were created by Belgian illustrator Pierre Culliford in 1958. Smurf mania worked its way from Europe to the States. But Papa Smurf, Brainy Smurf and Smurfette truly made it big in the United States when the cartoon hit in 1981. Although Smurf merchandise still sells, these elves are a rare sighting.

RUBIK'S CUBE: Patented in 1975
This six-sided, multipieced puzzle invented by Professor Erno Rubik would consume the public's attention from the mid-'70s through the early '80s. Adults and children alike spent unhealthy amounts of time twisting and turning these cubes in an attempt to get the colors right. Hence the book "How to Live With a Cubaholic."

PET ROCKS: The fad of 1975
Take a plain ol' rock and, in some cases, paint on a pair of googley eyes and a goofy smile and -- voil�! -- you have a fad. People actually paid money for these.

BARBIE: Born in 1959
This impossibly thin-waisted belle has remained a favorite of girls throughout four decades. Now THAT'S a chick with staying power.

Honorable mention: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Pogs, Slinky, G.I. Joe, Hula-Hoop

2000 SIGNATURE BEAR WITHOUT HEART
From: BeaNGO
A 2000 Ty Signature Bear Beanie Baby with no heart on its chest is current up for auction the eBay. The auction has currently attracted 11 bids and is at $500.00!! The auction includes some wonderful pictures of this oddity, which would make a great addition for any oddity collector. eBay Auction

CONTEST UPDATE
Have you checked out the standings for the Beanie Scramble Contest lately? http://www.planetbeans.com/results.htm There are only 4 days left until the winner of the USA Bear is announced.

If you would like to win a Lefty2000 Beanie donated by Forever Collectibles, you have 3 weeks to get your daily entries in. http://www.planetbeans.com/WinLefty.htm

==July 22, 2000==
TYTRADE LETTER IS BACK!!
I just checked the Ty site and see they have put the apology letter back as it was. I wonder why they changed it to begin with. LOL Yesterday when you clicked on the TyTrade link you found the message on the left.. this message linked to the message on the right. Now it's back to only the message on the right.

Thank you for visiting TyTrade.com

Regrettably, we must inform you that all features of Ty Trade are temporarily unavailable. We made this decision based on the site's inability to handle the overwhelming response received. We will bring the site back up as soon as we have made the necessary changes to accommodate this unprecedented volume.

At that time, you will have the opportunity to register, order Speckles� the e-Beanie� and utilize all of the features offered by TyTrade.com. All time-sensitive features of the site, such as free auction transactions will be extended for the brief period of time TyTrade.com is down. Thank you for your support of TyTrade.com. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,
TyTrade

Ty Warner Statement

Beanie Oddity
From: BeanieWonderland
One area of the Beanie market that never seems to loose value is the oddity market. Several weeks back I managed to obtain a Germania without a flag and sold it on to an oddity collector. This person has kindly shared a picture with us of her vast collection which includes over 200 oddities. View Here: While on the same note a Beanie Kid oddity has been spotted on eBay, it is for a Rascal with Four toes although there is no picture available, View Here

SLOW NEWS DAY AGAIN!!
Perhaps something exciting will happen a bit later. ;o) Possibly an announcement from Ty?!

==July 21, 2000==
BIGGEST BEANIE AUCTION EVER!!
How would you like to have a chance to own ALMOST every Beanie, Buddy, and Beanie Kid ever made?! You should check out THIS no-reserve auction. This auction ends tomorrow at 10:56pm. The current high bid is at $740.00!!

INDIA IS ARRIVING IN STORES
People have reported that India the Tiger has finally started to make an appearance in the States and in Canada.
Beanie Mom has posted a picture of India. Click HERE

DALMATIAN MISSPELLED
Kim points this out...
On the retirement page for Dotty did you notice that "Dalmatian" was spelt "Dalmation". Dalmation IS spelled correctly on both the Beanie and Buddy sections.

New Beanie Descriptions
From: Beanieholics
In case you missed the report Beanieholics has posted on the Gift Show in L.A., they have gathered the descriptions of the 13 new Beanie Babies due to be released in September from Ty onto one page for easy reference. Click HERE

CHECK ON YOUR SPECKLES ORDER
From: Doodle
Several readers have written in informing me that they have emailed Ty Trade and have received an auto response regarding the Speckles e-Beanie order placed earlier in the month. Supposedly, after writing customerservice@tytrade.com, they have received a reply email informing them of an approximate ship date. If you got a chance to order yours already and wish to check on the status, be sure to give them the name, shipping address, and order # used when placing the order.

*-*I emailed to find out the status of my Speckles order... here's the reply I received. I sure hope I receive another response but it doesn't sound like I will.

Thank you for visiting TyTrade.com

Regrettably, we must inform you that all features of Ty Trade are temporarily unavailable. We made this decision based on the site's inability to handle the overwhelming response we received. We will bring the site back up as soon as we have made the necessary changes to accommodate this unprecedented
volume.

At that time, you will have the opportunity to register, order Speckles(tm) the e-Beanie(tm) and utilize all of the features offered by TyTrade.com. All time-sensitive features of the site, such as free auction transactions will be extended for the brief period of time TyTrade.com is down.

Thank you for your support of TyTrade.com. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Regards,

Ty Trade

This is an automatic response. This is the only response you will receive to your inquiry unless you have a specific questions regarding your Exclusive Offer purchases or existing auction transactions.

==July 20, 2000==
Riding Ty's Roller Coaster
From: Sal's Attic
Here we go again, the first pictures of Birch are up on eBay. From the reports we have received, we know his tag line is "Growing Old Gracefully!" and his style number is 6232. For a look at this cutie click here.

CONTEST ALERT
Could you please inform your visitors about our newest contest called "Contest USA"! All they need to do is
go to our site and answer ten questions and they are in! SIMPLE!!! Check out the site for more details!
http://www.strongtower.cjb.net

A GOOD QUESTION!!
From: Derek
Whatever happened to the supposed new hang tag that had BEANIES over the star instead of 2000? Could it have just been false? And a fake graphic? The newest Beanies still have 2000 over the star!

==July 19, 2000==
PRICING FOR ALL OF THE 2000 BEANIES
I've added the new beanies to the Ty2000 page http://www.planetbeans.com/Ty2000.htm Prices range from a VERY low $2 all the way up to $102. These prices are ALWAYS up to date to reflect the continuous price changes. I will add the 2000 Buddy prices when I get a chance. :o)

LOOK WHO SHOWED UP AT TY!!
Looks like Ty finally put the picture up of Fetcher and Happy Buddy. I noticed the quality is really poor of these pictures. They aren't as clear as the other pics. Now if Ty would get the pictures of the new Beanie Kids up, they'd be all set. That is.. until the NEXT batch comes out. LOL

JUMBO SCHWEETHEART/JUMBO PEACE/XL LIBEARTY
BeanieMom has a picture that someone sent in to her with these three beauties in it. You will notice there is difference in size of Jumbo Schweetheart and Jumbo Peace. See how the XL Libearty stacks up. (are you drooling yet?!) LOL BeanieMom also has a picture of a newborn named Jonathan, born on the 4th of July, being cared for by Spangle Buddy! Adorable!!

DON'T FORGET THE CONTESTS!!
Pam Knapp has made a special offer for Planet Beans readers. You will have a chance to own one of Pam's prized MWMT Garcia Beanie Babies in a special contest for anyone ordering her wonderful book. She's giving everyone a special deal on her book AND she will also autograph it for you. Order 3 books, get 3 entries to win Garcia!!

I HIGHLY recommend this book. I have read a number of stories and I have come away a better person. You will experience wonderful feelings and emotions, being both amazed and warm-hearted when reading about how Beanie Babies have really affected peoples lives. http://www.planetbeans.com/WinGarcia.htm

Win a Ginger Beanie Kid just for being the lucky poster on the Planet Beans Forum. (link to the forum is on the main page)

At the Planet Beans Yahoo! club:
-You can win an Autographed copy of Pam Knapp's book, "Heartfelt Stories About Beanie Babies and Those Who Collect Them". Terry is hosting this contest at the club.
-There's also an on-going posting contest to win "good" cards.
-Would you like to win a 2000 Signature Bear just for posting on a special pre-selected post?!

==July 18, 2000==
RUMOR
Sent in via email from Benito
Rumours are surfacing, that for a limited period, the '97' Holiday Teddy, was produced with a bell on its hat rather than a white ball! This variation apparently also came with a gold rattle!

EUCALYPTUS BUDDY RETIRES
http://www.ty.com/announcements/071800retire.html ($7.50@10am)

RUNNER IN THE NEWS
From: Kansas.com
Omigosh, have you seen the poem?
"It seems that Runner^� the mustelidae, one of the eleven new Beanie Babies^�, has a dark side. He evidently eats cobras, and his poem is a bit violent. The "official" poem, and perhaps a mistake?
Our astute site leader has found another poem attached to a recently-acquired Runner^�. It appears unaltered and it has shown up in other towns across the country. We're thinking someone made a mistake, or someone at Ty may have a bad sense of humor. Decide for yourself:"

MORE ON RUNNER'S POEM
From: Donna
I just got back from Hallmark, where I purchased Runner. When I first went in I saw one sitting on display and it had the nice poem so I asked the clerk if that was all she had that I was looking for a different poem. She said that she had heard about the poem differences but that is what she got in. She then pulled the bag from under the counter and let me look thru it. There was about 9 left in the bag and all but one had the mean poem. These Poems are definately from Ty and came mixed up with the new poems in the same bag.

Wow, it is hard to believe that Ty would let something like this get out of the factory. I had my doubts about this being a rumor until I saw it for myself.

==July 17, 2000==
AN APOLOGY
I have had email "discussions" about the Glory Clubby II Kit with Fran. She is the lady that ran the auction I highlighted below (July 16th). It appears Fran purchased her kits from a different store in the Nashville Airport. I really had no idea there was another authorize Ty store in the airport other than the one that sells Ty products exclusively. I would like to apologize to Fran Meeks known as mema on eBay. It wasn't my intention to tarnish her reputation and I'm told I may have done just that. You are welcome to click on the auction link I spoke about HERE and read mema's feedback. It really speaks for itself. :o)

STILL NO BEANIE KIDS
I just checked the Ty site for additions or changes. The new Beanie Kids still haven't been added. Fetcher is still missing from the Beanie section and Happy still hasn't been added to the Buddies section. Batty was added to the Buddies yesterday.

FETCHER HAS BEEN ADDED
Thanks to La Rue for the info!! :o)
Lisa, Fetcher has been added to Ty's beanie baby list but "Photo Coming Soon".

==July 16, 2000==
GLORY CLUBBY II KIT RUMOR EXPOSED
I went to the Nashville airport yesterday to pick up my daughter. I stopped by the TY store to inquire about the Clubby II kits that were showing up with Glory. The manager on duty happened to be the MAIN store manager so I was in luck to get an accurate answer because she knows all of the products that show up in her store. When I asked her if she has EVER seen a Clubby II kit with a Glory beanie instead of a Clubby II beanie. She told me "I've NEVER seen a Clubby II kit with anything other than the blue Clubby II beanie in it". I told her that I run a beanie baby site and explained the rumors and even those that have been for sale on eBay claiming to have been purchased at her store. She was shocked and told me they have NEVER had such a kit and she doubts one even exists. Robin stopped by the Nashville Airport the following day after the story broke and she asked the manager that was on duty at that time about it and she knew nothing about it. Now if you decide to purchase one of these SPECIAL Clubby II kits, you are doing so at the risk of it not being so special. HERE is one of the older auctions that listed the described Clubby II kit.

BUDDY PAGE COMPLETELY UPDATED
Hang and Tush tag info, pictures, release/retirement/birth dates, style numbers, what the hang tags say. It's all HERE If you happen to own one of the newest buddies that I don't have the Style # and birthday info please email me so I can add it to the page.

BEANIE BIRTHDAY CALENDAR COMPLETED
All of the beanies are now listed on the new calendar. I was playing around with the colors. If you have any suggestions on how you best like the colors I'm open to suggestions. :o) You can view the NEW calendar HERE

L.A. Gift Show Report
From: Beanieholics
This will be the third time that 'Spiked' has reported on the L.A. Gift Show for us. We always look forward to what he has to say, mainly because he looks at all of the products through the eyes of a collector, the same way that we would if we attended. Spiked reports on what he thinks were stand outs at the show from other companies and also included is information on the happenings at the Ty booth. He gives some great descriptions on the Beanie Babies that were introduced at the Atlanta Gift Show. There are still no names to go with these Beanies but you will have a much better idea what is on the way after reading this report. Click Here For L.A. Gift Show Report

CONTEST REMINDER
Hi there,
It's Mark from the Toysack.com and I was wondering if you would give my site a mention at the new competition we are hosting thanks to GreatReplicas.com who will be donating a huge Pokemon / Beanie Prize Pack
All you have to do is answer one simple question and you will instantly be entered into our FREE prize draw , PLEASE could you mention this on your site?
Kind Regards , Mark (Toymaster)
http://www.toysack.com

==July 15, 2000==
BEANIES & BUDDIES ADDED
I've finished adding the Beanies & Buddies to both the information pages and the checklists but noticed some missing buddies and a missing beanie. I noticed the Ty site hadn't added the pictures of the Batty and Happy Buddies to the lineup. I have them on the Buddy page but the quality isn't quite as good as it will be when I get it from the Ty site when it's added. Fetcher is missing from the Beanie pages.

WINEY RETIREMENTS
From: Handcrafted Beauties
RETIREMENTS Here is a list of Winey Bears from the 1999 Catalog that are now retired. I either have or can get for you some of these bears. http://www.handcraftedbeauties.com/wbretirement

WINEY BEARS & THE COLLECTIBLES CONVENTION 2000
Sky's the Limit the 1st Limited Edition Bear is almost sold out. Only 25 of these bears were made. I only have 3 that are not spoken for. Sky is a 10" string mohair bear painted to look like clouds in the sky. Each bear retails for $180. but can be purchased through HandCrafted Beauties for $150.

2nd Limited Edition Convention Bear Announced. Because of the popularity of Sky's the Limit a second bear has been commissioned by the Collectibles Convention Staff. Sally tells me this bear will be pink and white. To make the bear highly collectible it will have a limited edition of 25 and can only be purchased through the Collectibles Convention. Contact Lori Greenbeck at Hnlmedical@aol.com for further details. The convention is approaching fast! I hope those that plan to attend have signed up for Sally's bear making class. This must be pre-paid so Sally can bring the kits along with her.

==July 14, 2000==
Ty has retired Springy & Fleecie
http://www.ty.com/announcements/071400retire.html
Notice the date on the picture says that they retired June 14, 2000. Makes me wonder if they are a month behind on the announcement. <giggle> It looks like they changed the date to reflect July 14, 2000.

CONTEST ALERT
Hi there,
It's Mark from the Toysack.com and I was wondering if you would give my site a mention at the new competition we are hosting thanks to GreatReplicas.com who will be donating a huge Pokemon / Beanie Prize Pack
All you have to do is answer one simple question and you will instantly be entered into our FREE prize draw , PLEASE could you mention this on your site?
Kind Regards , Mark (Toymaster)
http://www.toysack.com

==July 13, 2000==
NEW BUDDIES SHOWING UP AT STORES
We were able to pick up two of the new buddies at a local gift shop in Tennessee yesterday afternoon. Be sure to check the Ty retailers in your area this week because the new buddies are coming!

CHECKLISTS UPDATED
Sorry it's taken me so long to get them updated. :o)

CURRENT CONTESTS AT PLANET BEANS
We seem to have an abundance of contests here to keep you guys busy.
At the site:
-Win Garcia
-Win Lefty
-Win USA Bear
-On the Planet Beans Forum you can win a Ginger Beanie Kid just for posting.

At the club:
-You can win an Autographed copy of Pam Knapp's book, "Heartfelt Stories About Beanie Babies and Those Who Collect Them". Terry is hosting this contest at the club. (Started today!!)
-There's also an on-going posting contest to win "good" cards.
-Would you like to win a 2000 Signature Bear just for posting on a special pre-selected post?!
*-*SEVEN contests going on here at Planet Beans!!*-*

EARN ADDITIONAL CONTEST ENTRIES
You can earn additional contest entries in the Win Lefty 2000 contest. If you order ANYTHING from Forever Collectible during this contest, you are entitled to additional entries. If you order 2 items you get 2 additional entries and so on. Please use the form on the contest page to let me know you've ordered something from Deb and once it's verified with her I'll add that entry in for you. :o)

MS. JANIE TAKES A BREAK
She will return July 18th. It's good to see her taking a much needed break and spending time with her family. There's a special postcard from Ms. Janie and the Beanie Kids. You can view it HERE

==July 12, 2000==
PLANET BEANS DONATES BEANIES, BUDDIES, BARBIES, AND PUFFKINS in the name of Mabel Scott to all the children at the Sumner Regional Medical Center. You can read the full story and see the photos by clicking HERE.

WIN LEFTY 2000!!
How would you like to win a Lefty2000 Beanie Baby?! Details on how you can are on the Planet Beans Contest page HERE

BEANIE KIDS/BABY TY ANNOUNCED!!
http://www.ty.com/announcements/july_prod_intro.html

Beanies And Buddies Stolen
From: Beanieholics
A thief made off with about $2,000 worth of Beanie Babies and Beanie Buddies from a Colleyville store over the weekend. According to police, it marked the tenth time that Hallmark stores owned by the same family have been robbed of the floppy toys since May 1999. Click Here For More

==July 11, 2000==
SPECKLES ODDITY
Yesterday I put the news item on this page about a Speckles shown as an oddity over at Cajun Connection Beanies I didn't mean to imply it WASN'T an oddity. I should have chosen my wording more carefully and finished my thought before allowing myself to be distracted by my children. I received an email from the owner of that ODDITY Speckles this morning and I told him I'd post something to clear it up. When you click on the following links you can clearly the problem with the leg. Speckles Leg Close Up View I Speckles Tush Tag Close Up View Pete has now put Speckles on auction. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=376418444

NEW BEANIE STORY POSTED
A new beanie story has been posted on the site http://www.planetbeans.com/BeanieStories.htm

NEW CONTEST COMING SOON...
Stay tuned... there will be a contest starting at any time here at Planet Beans that you WILL not want to miss!!

LOOKING FOR BEANIES, BUDDIES, ETC?!
If you are looking for any Beanies, Buddies, Attics, Bammers, Kids, etc. visit this site for great prices and fast delivery. When you buy products from this site you are helping to pay for the immense pile of medical bills this wonderful family has incurred in treating their 5 year old daughter for Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Please check it out. http://www.ForeverCollectible.com/beanies.html

SPECIAL BULLETIN ABOUT TYTRADE.COM
From: SmartCollecting
I just got off the phone with TyTrade.com and have some important information to share with you.

1. Speckles the new E-Beanie bear that is only available for sale on the TyTrade.com website to registered users is NOT SOLD OUT. We have been assured that everyone will be able to register soon for TyTrade.com and will be able to order up to 2 Speckles E-beanies for $5/bear plus $3 shipping and handling. They have "plenty" already in their warehouse. So PLEASE be patient and do not pay ridiculous prices in pre-sale auctions!

2. The problems everyone was having accessing the site, registering and logging on were due to the fact that no one could have predicted in their wildest dreams the kind of traffic the site was receiving! While
TyTrade.com does not which to publish numbers, we can say that they would have made the Top 10 charts for the most heavily visited websites in the U.S. based on the number of unique users!

3. If you received an email order confirmation that contained someone else's information, please send an email to: help@smartcollecting.com

4. TyTrade is listening! They will be changing the Message Board so that messages are displayed in descending order, which means that the most recent postings will be displayed first. If you have any
suggestions that you would like to make, please email: ideas@smartcollecting.com

5. Please be patient for the re-launch of the TyTrade.com website. Please understand that they are working around the clock to resolve the issues at hand and get the website back up as soon as possible.

==July 10, 2000==
From: Beanieholics
A Lack Of Space?
We have mentioned on several occasions that our toys were taking over our home. One of our readers, Spiked, had the same problem but he did something about it. He got organized and provides us with some ideas that may just help get your collection under control. Click Here For More

RUNNER TAGS
BeanieWonderland has the following scans of what are said to be BOTH Runner tags. See for yourself if you think they both look real enough. I still find it hard to believe that Ty would come out with Version #1 since his target is young children. Something just doesn't seem right to me about that.

BEANIE STORIES
I have added a new page to Planet Beans. It is dedicated to our wonderful writes in the Beanie world. If you'd like to have your story listed for all to see.. email it to me and I'll post it if the language and story are appropriate for even our youngest readers. You can view the new page HERE

SIDNEY 2000 official mascot Bean Bag Plush
From: Cajun Connection Beanies
Visit the Cajun Connection Beanies site for the following pictures.
This is your first glimpse at the SIDNEY 2000 official mascot Bean Bag Plush!
Pictured 1st is Lizzie, a representative of the Sydney Games.
Pictured 1ST is Syd the Platypus, one of the official mascots of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Pictured 2ND is Millie the Echinda, one of the official mascots of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Pictured 3RD is Olly the Kookaburra, one of the official mascots of the Sydney 200 Olympic Games.

SPECKLES ODDITY?!
From: Cajun Connection Beanies
Check their news page for a picture of an oddity Speckles. Is this really an oddity?

Missing Your Order Confirmation Number?
From: MBBW
A note from Ty Trade was sent to one collector concerning the number: Thank you for contacting Ty Trade. When you begin the Exclusive Offer ordering process on Ty Trade, your transaction is assigned an order number. The order number does not represent confirmation that the order has been successfully placed. Once the transaction is completed and the order is confirmed, an e-mail is sent to the registered e-mail address. If you have not received the confirmation e-mail, your order is not confirmed. As you know, TyTrade.com is temporarily not available. Once the site is available, you will be able to access the Exclusive Offer portion of the site and re-enter your order. Again, that order will be confirmed once you receive the confirmation e-mail.

STYLE NUMBERS ANYONE?!
Have you ever been involved in a contest and needed the use of a "style number" page?! Robin has created a page here at Planet Beans to make this so much easier on you. She has listed ALL of the Beanies, Buddies, and Beanie Kids style numbers on one page. Thank you Robin.. I'm sure people will find your hard work very useful!! Style Numbers

BEANIE KID INFO PAGES
Planet Beans now has Beanie Kid Info pages as well as a Checklist page.

TY.COM BACK TO NORMAL
One has to wonder why Ty.com was messed up to begin with. I expected there to be some kind of great announcement when they fixed the site. Perhaps we will see some action there today. It looks like Ty Trade is still down.

WIN GARCIA!!
This is a reminder for those of you that may have missed the previous information sent out about this wonderful opportunity. Pam Knapp has made a special offer for Planet Beans readers. You will have a chance to own one of Pam's prized MWMT Garcia Beanie Babies in a special contest for anyone ordering her wonderful book. She's giving everyone a special deal on her book AND she will also autograph it for you. Details about this contest can be found at: http://www.planetbeans.com/WinGarcia.htm

Speckles with Upside Down Pin on Auction on eBay
From: SmartCollecting
Smart Collecting member, Kelli in Idaho, received her order from TyTrade.com which contained two Speckles e-Beanies. One of them has an upside down pin. The Beanie is currently on auction on eBay and is already at $182.50. Auction ends tomorrow! Go to Auction

==July 8, 2000==
CONTEST FOR USA BEAR
From: Brent of BeaNGO
Hi Lisa!

I have just started a contest to win a USA Bear. All the info can be found at
http://members.aol.com/beans45014/contest.html.

TY.COM PROBLEMS
It appears that Ty.com has somehow come up with a main page from May 17, 2000 that announced the retirement of Slither & Weenie Buddies. Do you think they did this on purpose. Only TYme will tell!! After all.. today is the big day at the Atlanta Gift Show and this may be some kind of ploy.

NEWS FROM ATLANTA GIFT SHOW!!
From: MBBW
Ty� released 13 new Beanie Babies� at the Atlanta Gift Show this morning -- but the big news was the premiere of the new Ty Gear� line of doll clothing. Sized for Beanie Kids� and featuring exquisite detail, from the soccer cleets that come with the soccer outfit to the picnic basket sold with the summer outfit. The 12 Ty Gear outfits each come with shoes.

Ty Gear is a hit with retailers -- the Ty booth is so crowded with retailers hoping to order the outfits that the 50 Ty Reps on hand can barely take the orders fast enough. Retailing for $5-6, the Ty Gear outfits will ship in September.

IS THIS A HOAX OR IS TY NOW PROMOTING VIOLENCE?
According to Smart Collecting, and various other sources, the new beanie baby Runner the Mongoose has two different poems. The first one listed appears to be promoting violence! Surely Ty would not sell a beanie baby that has a poem that promotes such violence, would they?

Poem #1
I'm not so mean, I'm really shy
But every cobra has to die
I grab them by their little head
And whack them till they're stone cold dead!

Poem #2
A ferret, mongoose, weasel or mink
What am I....what do you think?
Find a book, look and see
I'm whatever you want me to be!

SPECKLES SELLS FOR $347.02!!
*-*(Can you say impatient or more money than brains?!)*-*
Hi everyone, remember that Speckles E-bay in-hand auction I posted a few days ago? Well, it ended last night and the winning bid ended up being $347.02!! I posted the link below in case you would like to see it for yourself. :-)Sherry http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=373649148

NEW BUDDIES AUCTION
Remember those NEW Buddies you saw pictures of yesterday from Jannette's Beanies? She has them on auction. You can be one of the first to own these great buddies. View her auctions HERE

NEW SALLY WINEY SNOWMAN
From: HandCrafted Beauties
Sally has released her first creation for Christmas 2000. He is a 10", jointed, white Snowman. He is holding a hand carved wooden shovel and is sporting a fine looking black hat. He is made of the finest Alpaca Mohair which comes from Peru. The Alpaca is like a llama. This is one of the highest quality and most expensive mohairs available. Because of this, Sally is limiting the edition to only 70. That is it. These are now available for delivery. ORDER now and get a low number.

==July 6, 2000==
NEW BUDDY PICS!!
Are you ready to see some new buddies?! Visit HERE to see pics of 8 of the new buddies. After you view the pictures you may want to join in on the many competitions and the great forum Jannette has on her site!!

WIN GARCIA!!
This is a reminder for those of you that may have missed the previous information sent out about this wonderful opportunity. Pam Knapp has made a special offer for Planet Beans readers. You will have a chance to own one of Pam's prized MWMT Garcia Beanie Babies in a special contest for anyone ordering her wonderful book. She's giving everyone a special deal on her book AND she will also autograph it for you. Details about this contest can be found at: http://www.planetbeans.com/WinGarcia.htm

WIN USA BEAR!!
People seem to be having a great time participating in this month's competition to win USA Bear. Stop by the Beanie Scramble page to see what the fuss is all about:
http://www.planetbeans.com/beaniescramble.htm

LOOKING FOR BEANIES, BUDDIES, ETC?!
If you are looking for any Beanies, Buddies, Attics, Bammers, Kids, etc. visit this site for great prices and fast delivery. When you buy products from this site you are helping to pay for the immense pile of medical bills this wonderful family has incurred in treating their 5 year old daughter for