==March 31, 2001==
TOPICA SENT 2 NEWSLETTERS TODAY
Yesterday I accidentally hit send twice as my connection was slow so you may have received 2 yesterday. Today.. I hit it ONCE so this is a Topica error. 

MARKET WATCH HAS BEEN UPDATED
MarketWatch this week to include a Beanie Spotlight of Kaleidoscope with 15 PICTURES of every piece of fabric on its body along with descriptions of colors and where each piece is located! Now on MarketWatch... Beanie Spotlight: Kaleidoscope, with 15 detailed pics! Beanie Babies: Nipponia Beanie Buddies: Extra Large Ears Beanie Kids: Angel 
Regards, Kody Looper 
BeanKid's NEWSCenter  www.beankid.net

From: Ms. Janie 
Just a quick heads-up - The fun is not over with yet! The Info. Beanie leaves more hints about this weekend. Friday March 30, 2001 9:07 p.m. Have you voted yet? Make sure you do it right away if you haven't already. There are only about 15 hours left to vote! It looks like Prince is way ahead now but anything can happen. Golly, I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight with all of the exciting things happening around here! It's not even the weekend yet either! I think this is going to be the best weekend ever! I'm going to read a little before I go to bed. I hope that will help me to go to sleep. Maybe I should have some warm milk too. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night! http://www.ty.com/infobeanie/lastpage/

Minneapolis man's Rubba Ducks could be next Beanie Babies 
From: Ms. Janie 
Mark Boldt didn't set out to create the next toy collecting craze. But judging by the reception his Rubba Ducks received at last month's Toy Fair 2001 in New York City and the orders for hundreds of thousands of the personified, 4½-inch-tall rubber icons, he just might have done that. "Rubba Ducks was the talk of the Toy Fair," said Lee Schneider, president of Commonwealth Toy and Novelty Co., which is distributing the ducks. "We believe it's going to be the greatest thing since ... Beanie Babies." The ducks are debuting today, when 15,000 SlamDucks (orange, dimpled ducks resembling a basketball) will be given away to those attending the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Final Four basketball games at the Metrodome. SlamDuck and 11 other uniquely designed ducks, retailing for about $6 each, will reach Toys "R" Us stores and specialty retailers next week. The batch includes Sitting, who's painted like a bull's-eye and is always in the wrong place. And there's P.King, their crowned leader. Since Boldt hatched the idea for the ducks three years ago with his then-4-year-old daughter, Savannah, he has come to realize that many people of all ages just love rubber ducks. http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=83892139

Ty Looses Out
From: Bean eWonderland
The Lanesborough hotel in London, where suites cost up to £4,500 a night, looks set to be sold to Simon Halabi. Mr Halabi’s investment vehicle, preferred bidder status ahead of high net worth individuals such as Ty Warner, the Beanie Babies billionaire. Full Story:

'E' In eBay Might Stand For Expansion
From: Bean eWonderland
And then there was one. In the year of the Internet meltdown, eBay has emerged not only as a survivor but as the Microsoft of online auction services. The company, which built its reputation as a virtual swap meet for Beanie Babies and Britney Spears collectibles, has embarked on an audacious path to meet CEO Meg Whitman's goal of $3 billion in revenue by 2005. Full Story:

BEANKID's GIVING AWAY 6 NEWEST BEANIES
http://www.beankid.net

NEW CONTEST STARTS TOMORROW...
Check the contest page for a sneak peek of the graphic for the new contest.

BEANIE ZOO HAS NEW MESSAGE BOARD
From: Nathan
I just wanted to let you know that my site The Beanie Zoo has just launched a new interactive Message Board. I'd love it if you'd share with your readers about this great new place to chat about all the Beanie happenings. http://pub57.ezboard.com/bthebeaniezoo

==LAST DAY TO ENTER THE CORAL CONTEST!!==
Looks like we will pass 5,000 entries!! :o)

====VERY IMPORTANT!!====
The PlanetBeans2@yahoo.com mailbox is 99% full. The entries from today will put it over the top and I'm not sure what will happen with the entries once the 100% capacity is reached. For today.. please send your entries to planetbeans@yahoo.com. I will combine the entries at contests end. Thank you!!

	5,070 entries-to-date WIN CORAL CONTEST WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED...
	WIN CORAL CONTEST #31 (yesterday's question) During Andrea's "Canada" contest.. what did Elizabeth Pritchard win? ANSWER ~ Shamrock BONUS: On the Planet Beans Contest Winners Archive page you will find this answer: What entry number did Andrea pick as the winning entry for the "Win Germania" Contest? ANSWER: 13

==March 30, 2001==
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT SAKURA BEANIE BABIES 
From: The Shoppes - I Luv Collectibles
We, at I Luv Collectibles.com, have decided to stop selling Ty Beanie Babies Sakura until further notice. In the last few days, too much controversial information has come to our attention from various news sites about the authenticity of the Sakura's that are available in the marketplace. To protect our valued customers, and until we have complete information in from authenticators on what determines a "fake" or "authentic" Sakura, no Sakura's will be sold on our site. We feel it is better to be safe and cautious than sorry later. 

At this time we are sending our complete stock of Sakura Beanie Babies out to be authenticated. Once our stock has been authenticated, and only then, will we continue to sell Sakura Beanies. 

Sakura is a beautiful, very popular retired Beanie Baby that is a Japan Exclusive Beanie. It is not available to retailers in the United States. All Sakura Beanies that are acquired in the United States have to be purchased from secondary market sources. It is very sad that there may be someone manufacturing "fakes" of this beanie in mass quantities to try to fool dedicated Beanie collectors. We want no part of this fraudulent practice. We have never pulled a Beanie off the site before, but we feel very strongly that our customers only deserve 100% Authentic product from us. We stand behind our solid reputation for protecting our customers interest. We apologize to any of our customers that may want to purchase Sakura from us but it will be worth the wait until all information is complete on what determines a fake from authentic on Sakura Beanies. IF you do purchase Sakura Beanies from another source, make sure you have your Sakura authenticated from a licensed Ty Beanie authenticator to protect your investment. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL Sakura's purchased from us to date have been 100% Authentic Ty Beanie Baby Sakura's. None of our customers need to worry! 

Please note this does not apply to Sakura Buddy. There has been no problem with authenticity of this Buddy to date. 

Have a great evening! 

Best regards, 
Mary Rena Milazzo 
The Shoppes - I Luv Collectibles 
www.iLuvCollectibles.com

NEW PRODUCTS ON ONE PAGE
http://www.msjanie.com/pix/newproducts3302001.html

THE SPRING INTRODUCTION ~ http://www.ty.com/announcements/2001springintro.html
==BEANIES==
Dearest the Teddy Bear I Dart the Blue Dart Frog I Buzzie the Bee I Hero the Teddy Bear I Jester the Clownfish I Smart the Owl

==BUDDIES==
Ariel the Bear I Hornsly the Triceratops I Baldy the Eagle I Cassie the Collie I India the Tiger I Inky the Octopus I Trumpet the Elephant 

==ATTICS==
Mom the Bear I Socrates the Owl

Beanies On TV
From: Bean eWonderland
On last night's episode of the TV show "The Job" on ABC, the main character (a police officer) had to remember to pick up Butch and Iggy for his wife. He sent 2 young officers out on the errand. They thought they would be picking up suspects or informants, but it turns out to be beanie babies!! The funny thing is that the store owner said that they are very rare and that they were the last ones in the Tri-state area.  The officers handed over more than $40 for the two beanies.  One of the officers was also playing with India on the counter.  Just another example of how far beanie babies have made their way into our lives and culture. Brian Mohs Wisconsin (Thanks Brian)

From: Ms. Janie 
Get the full scoop on Ty Warner Park and all of those bricks - The photos tell the story!
http://www.msjanie.com/pix/tywarnerpark.html

From: Ms. Janie 
Keep a close eye on the Ty site or your e-mail box the next couple of days. The Info. Beanie is once again dropping more hints about retirements! Good morning! Ever since I realized that Prince or Hornsly could retire between now and Saturday, I've been so excited! If they were both retired, that would mean that Cassie would be in the lead followed by Tricks. Gosh, this weekend just keeps getting better and better! http://www.ty.com/infobeanie/lastpage/

BEANIE BABY IN YEAR 3000 TIME CAPSULE
From: Ms. Janie 
Hundreds of items sealed in capsule to be opened in 3000, included are a unicorn Beanie Baby. Now, it's sealed. Not for a year. Not for a decade. Not for a century. But for a millennium _ a thousand years. Sealed until 3000. A 2-ton stainless steel time capsule, built for The New York Times newspaper, was stuffed with artifacts Wednesday in a ceremony here. The configuration is designed in eight geometric forms. It contains books, objects from a typical suburban American town, foreign items, internet material and a baseball. A.R.T. Research Enterprises _ a local business which produced the capsule for the nationally and internationally read New York City newspaper _ built it at a cost of $60,000 in three months as a millennium project. "This is one of our most impressive projects," said Becky Ault, one of the owners of the business. For several months, the time capsule was on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Then, it returned to the East Hempfield Township plant at 3050 Industry Drive. Now full of artifacts that tell about our world, the time capusle will go back to the museum in April. If all goes right, it will be opened in 1,000 years. People will see what their ancient, long-gone ancestors _ us _ thought was important to preserve for posterity. The time capsule has hundreds of objects, including: A purple heart medal from a Vietman veteran, a unicorn Beanie Baby, a cellular telephone, a friendship bracelet and dog tags. http://www.lancasteronline.com/newera_news/capsulek.htm

Fake Sakura
From: Bean eWonderland
If your thinking of purchasing a Sakura Beanie baby or maybe you have purchased one from a secondary dealer than you might want to check it. PBbags have some disturbing news on high quality fake Sakura beanies that is well worth a read. Visit Here:

==March 29, 2001==

A little suggestion for the "Easter Bunny" this year. 
Traci shares the following:
We don't hear a lot about the TY Classic line. If you want something really great to stuff in the baskets I suggest Gumdrop and Sugarplum. The colors are definitely Easter colors and are so cuddly. I have both of them for myself and my Son told me he wished the Easter Bunny would bring him Gumdrop. Also April and May the Attic Treasures. So cute. I have them too. And Baby Ty. Any of them. Perfect for toddlers. Just thought I would share that with you. Have a Great Beanie Day. 

Snakes & Ladders Contest Reminder
Heather of The Daily Bean shares the following:
ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER: Don't forget to sign up for the Snakes and Ladders Contest! There are going to be some GREAT prizes given away!! 
1st Place - Nipponia, Chinook, Germania 
2nd Place - Set of March 2001 Beanies! (not including Issy) 
3rd Place - Set of January 2001 Beanie Kids Rules & Details - http://www.heatherlea.com/contests/snakesnladders.htm

Closet Collector 
Heather of The Daily Bean shares the following:
I just received the "Closet Collectors" journal entry from yesterday evening. Enjoy! If you have not been following the "Closet Collectors" journal, I suggest you visit now. This writer is quite amusing!! "Closet Collector" - http://www.heatherlea.com/articles/closet.htm

Sherry shares the following in the Planet Beans Club
Hi gang, I'm not sure if you guys had seen this already, but if you log on to the BBOC page, it says that a new BBOC site will be coming this summer. Will Clubby IV be introduced at the launch of the new site? Only tyme will tell. You can check out the BBOC site at http://www.beaniebabyofficialclub.com. :-) Sherry

ONE TO SHARE
From: Ms. Janie 
I have got some of the best Beanie people in the world on my list! You all are full of imagination and creativity. Here is a Beanie Easter episode you will never forget! http://people.atl.mediaone.net/scottmegan/beanie-easter.html

BEAUTIFUL HALOS
From: Ms. Janie 
Sue uses her creativity to design some rather beautiful Halo Beanies. Please check them out at the following link. http://www.msjanie.com/pix/queeniebeanie.html

SPEAKING OF BEAUTIFUL HALOS
Be sure to check out the following link. You will find some really nice Dyed/Painted Halos among other characters. Nina also has many gorgeous Peace Bears for sale. http://www.itzmeagain.com/

SPRING IS IN THE AIR
And on the Ty site. http://www.ty.com/spring/ 

LARGE & EXTRA LARGE EARS BUDDIES RETIRE
http://www.ty.com/announcements/ret_032901ears.html 

ADVERTISING AT PLANET BEANS
Now's the time to reserve your advertising space. The News and Contest pages have been renewed for April so they are unavailable at this time. If you are interested in advertising on ANY page of Planet Beans with a banner ad AND a blurb in the daily newsletters, please email me at Advertising@planetbeans.com You may be surprised at how inexpensive it is to get the word out to so many people daily. I will provide you with detailed information, such as, an average number of daily visits, the extra advertising you will receive, and cost per month. 

NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING
If you would like a blurb of advertising in the daily newsletter that's currently going to 700+ collectors daily, it will cost you only $5 per ad. When you advertise with a banner on Planet Beans your newsletter blurb is included at no additional charge.

==March 28, 2001==
PAY attention when reading auctions! 
From: Ms. Janie 
The following auction is VERY misleading! Very Rare PEANUT Royal Blue Perfect Shape No need for a description, this one is listed at $4500, if your looking you know what it is. A perfect TY Beanie Babie Peanut in the elusive Royal Blue. The babie comes from a non smoking home and no children have ever played with him. The babie has the original tag and tush tag. I am liquidating a whole collection of babies and will have them up soon, so keep watch for my other auctions. I also have a Yappy which will be one of the ones up soon. Rest assured peanut is in A-1 condition and has been kept in a closet in a plastic bag for a very long time. If you have any questions please feel free to ask, if you want more pictures let me know, I'll be glad to send any angles you want. This one will not be cheap sorry. We will only accept Cashiers Checks and Paypal on this auction!! 

A note from Ms. Janie - THIS IS NOT A BEANIE BUT INSTEAD A BUDDY! http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=572176057

From: Ms. Janie 
Sals Attic writes and interesting story on Ty Park, which includes photos. http://www.salsattic.com/tybricks.htm

KINGSTON ATTIC TREASURE RETIRES
http://www.ty.com/announcements/ret_032801kingston.html

MarketWatch...
MarketWatch has now been updated!  In this update I talk about the market outlook on Issy the Beanie Baby, both retail and exclusive versions as well as Buckingham Buddy!  We also have the Float Beanie
Spotlight and a Beanie Kid MarketWatch on Shenanigan! http://www.beankid.net

WINEY NEWS
Sally Winey will be doing a class and signing in Thousand Oakes CA and Maui 
Thousand Oakes April 19-22
Maui April 27-28
For location and information Call 805-495-8989
1-800-463-0804 ext2 leave message or Sally 610-827-0166

Ty's SIGNED drawing sold for $5000.00!
From: Ms. Janie 
The charity raised a total of $251,000.00 This is a truly remarkable piece of TY art! This sketch was drawn by Ty Warner himself! HERE

==March 27, 2001==
RETIREMENT ~ Flashy, Wiggly, and Glow
http://www.ty.com/announcements/ret_032701flashyetc.html

From: Ms. Janie 
The Info. Beanie drops lots of hints about a possible retirement. http://www.ty.com/infobeanie/lastpage/

Sports fans losing their heads over suddenly hot collectibles 
From: Ms. Janie 
This season, some of baseball's biggest draws will be about 7 inches tall. And only their heads will move. Don't laugh. Hopeful team marketers predict bobblehead dolls--also known as bobbing heads or nodders--could hit ballparks with the kind of wallop Beanie Babies packed in 1998. "This is the next Beanie Baby," said Rob Gallas, who oversees White Sox marketing. And that's saying a lot. Attendance figures suggested the furry toys were as big a fan draw that season as Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, even though those sluggers were chasing Roger Maris' single-season home-run record. http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/bob25.html

Girl woken up by badger playing with Beanie Babies
From: Bean eWonderland
A nine-year-old girl woke up to find a badger playing with her Beanie Babies. It crawled into Sophie Bernard's home in Hastings, East Sussex through the  catflap. Sophie's parents locked the badger in her room before calling the RSPCA. Officers found the badger asleep among the toys. Full Story:

ADVERTISING AT PLANET BEANS
Now's the time to reserve your advertising space. The News and Contest pages have been renewed for March so they are unavailable at this time. If you are interested in advertising on ANY page of Planet Beans with a banner ad AND a blurb in the daily newsletters, please email me at Advertising@planetbeans.com You may be surprised at how inexpensive it is to get the word out to so many people daily. I will provide you with detailed information, such as, an average number of daily visits, the extra advertising you will receive, and cost per month. 

NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING
If you would like a blurb of advertising in the daily newsletter that's currently going to 700+ collectors daily, it will cost you only $5 per ad. When you advertise with a banner on Planet Beans your newsletter blurb is included at no additional charge.

ANDREA'S ARTICLE
The Third installment of Andrea‘s Attic has been posted at UnderGroundBean. Check it out at: http://www.undergroundbean.com/andreasattic.htm

Linda shares this adorable picture: Can you find little Bailey? LOL  She was born on 3/12/01 Hint: She's the one without the plastic nose.

==March 26, 2001==
NEW CONTEST AT DOODLE's "SPRING HAS SPRUNG" 
"Spring has finally arrived ...
Easter is just around the corner ...
and Doodle's Page is 5 years old this month!" (WTG Deb!!)
There are 7 different prize packages to be won. Stop over quickly so you can catch the first days Beanie graphic. http://www.doodlespage.com/contest.html

Northern Trade Winds
From: Beanieholics
 unauthorized Beanies showing up in Manitoba stores, the end of Chinook shipments and there's a significant decline in the number of local authorized Ty vendors. Click Here For Northern Trade Winds

Mystery Beanie No Mystery (Or Beanie)
From: Beanieholics
The free mystery Beanie that Canadian retailers are to receive in Easter pre-paks is not a Beanie at all but an Attic Treasure instead. At least in email reports we have received so far:

Just a quick update from Ontario. As Laura indicated, our local retailer also ordered the Easter pre-pak and received Azalea as their mystery gift. They had ordered the smaller pak so it would interesting to know what the retailers received that went for the larger pak. The retailer has also been advised that they will be receiving a pre-pak of the new Beanies shortly. Unknown if Issy will be one of them. As far as the People's Beanie Contest, Ty Canada hasn't sent out the fax yet to the retailer I deal with. That makes me wonder if Canadian retailers will be participating in the contest or maybe it is just in the USA. --Bryan from Ontario, Canada

Writing The Book On Staying Alive
From: Beanieholics
John Olsson grimaces slightly as he mentions one of the tools that helped his eponymous group of book and record stores survive the battering that independent booksellers have suffered over the past decade. Beanie Babies. "The day we changed was when we took in Beanie Babies," he said. "That helped us get through." Click Here For More

MORE FROM THE "CLOSET COLLECTOR"
http://www.heatherlea.com/articles/closet.htm

Easter Egg Hunt!
The Daily Bean, BeanieSpot, & The Beanie Zoo are coming together to bring you a HUGE Easter Egg Hunt! This contest starts April 1st! http://www.heatherlea.com/contests/easter.htm

Late Breaking News from Ms. Janie! 
Have a once in a lifetime chance to bid on a truly remarkable piece of TY art! http://www.msjanie.com/pix/tyart.html

Just arrived... New Winey Bears by Cascade Toy. 
From: Handcrafted Beauties
For those new to Sally Winey designs, this is the line that she and Dave Perry of Cascade Toy came out with so everyone could afford a mohair type bear at reasonable prices. The wait was worth it! Once again Sally did a great job with these designs. I think my favorite is Taffy. http://www.handcraftedbeauties.com/wbcascade2001.html However, my all time favorite is still Clarence. I only have one or two extras of each design in stock of the entire Winey Bears by Cascade Toy Designs, some with signatures. Once the inventory is gone, they are gone forever as many are retired or limited editions. http://www.handcraftedbeauties.com/wbcascade.html


==March 25, 2001==

MORE ON RETAIL ISSY
From: Ms. Janie 
Hawk Eye Sly does it again!
Ms. Janie, I found this Kind of interesting! I was looking thru the Issy auctions on Ebay and Noticed that there were a few auctions for the Retail Version of Issy with The Four Seasons Hotel "Shanghai" Tags. I Know from surfing through The Four Seasons Hotel's Website that The Four Seasons Hotel in Shanghai is not set to Open Till Late in 2001. So why would Ty make a bear for a hotel that does not exist yet? Is Ty giving us a clue that Issy will be around for a while and it won't be retiring anytime soon? If so, then this might Be Mr. Warner's way of letting collectors know to be patience? Looks like Ty is planning to have Issy be a current Beanie Baby and available for awhile. Well at least till The Shanghai Four seasons opens! I would think that would Give collectors a fair shot and plenty of Time to Find Issy at retail. To quote the man himself "Patience is a virtue" Scroll down on this page and you will see that it says The Shanghai Four seasons hotel is NOT set to open to late in 2001 http://www.fourseasons.com/newOpenings.html

Here is a link to an auction on ebay with an Issy bear "in hand" with Shanghai tags http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=572737320 Of Course You never Know with Ty But judging from this info it does look like Ty was planning to keep Issy around for awhile. As always! Tyme will tell!

I Luvcollectibles News: 
From: Ms. Janie 
NEW!!! Blossom Bears® by Sally Winey Designed by renown Teddy Bear artist Sally Winey, each bear has a different flower theme. The first four styles include; Rose Bear, Sunflower Bear, Daisy Bear and Dahlia Bear. Colorful silk flower petals surround the necks of the bears and make each fully-jointed bear unique and very collectible. Each bear is 10" tall. Also in stock are the new Spring designs just in: Kimchee a multicolor 15" mohair bear whose design is new and unique! Also in are Taffy, Preston, Christy, Sunny and don't miss the irresistible Bradford. All Winey Bears by Cascade Toys are collectible AND affordable. Please visit: http://www.iluvcollectibles.com/cascadesally.html

GREAT ISSY TAG COMPARISONS
From: Ms. Janie 
For those of you that would like to compare the Issy tags side-by-side, please visit: Folks, this is a great link to view! Ms. Janie http://www.iluvcollectibles.com/issy_versions.html

WIN NIPPONIA
The Bean eWonderland club (http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/beanewonderland)located on Yahoo is holding a prize draw for a MWMT Nipponia Beanie Baby. You can earn FREE entries by completing small tasks detailed below. Each task is worth 'Club Points', the more 'Club Points' you have the more entries you can make. The start date is Sunday 25th March and the closing date for entries will be the 14th April and the draw made the following day on the 15th April. A table with point values is listed below and be sure to scroll down the page for some basic rules. GOOD LUCK !!

I've copied the from the page that Richard has made on his site that explains how this works. For the rules go HERE  If you join.. please post that GotBeans invited you. I'd much appreciate your help. :o) When you join you automatically receive one entry for a chance to win Nipponia. 

Over 5 Billion Served
From: Beanieholics
It's official. The counter on Ty's website has passed the 5 billion-visitor mark. It happened this afternoon a little after 4 CST. Click Here For Link To Ty.com

==March 24, 2001==
Deb shares the following:
LARGE SCHWEETHEART Buddy 
cited on the court last night during the NCAA playoff game between Kansas & Illinois. It was some players mascot/good luck charm!

CASHMERE RETIRES
From: Ms. Janie 
Ty Retailer site News - Cashmere Is No Longer Available

SAKURA BUDDY CONTEST! 
It begins TODAY! Keep your eyes on our News Page and also on this newsletter for when the contest image has changed locations and also hints at where it might be! Our Contest Information page should be updated soon! Please, only one entry per e mail address per day! Once you have found the Easter Image, submit your answer via our online entry form found here: http://www.andreasattic.com/andrea_contest_entry.htm The first image will be posted Saturday (tomorrow) between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM Pacific Time! BEST OF LUCK!

Nipponia Prize Draw
From: Bean eWonderland
Would you like to have the chance of winning a retired Nipponia Beanie Baby by the 15th April, if so then Click Here for details.

Bean Watcher
From: Bean eWonderland
Ty retired Kaleidoscope the Cat Beanie Baby on March 14, 2001.  How much do you know about this multi-colored cat?  How did the market react to the retirement of this short-lived style?  Should you buy this curious-looking cat now for your collection?  Read the Bean Watcher's thoughts on this Beanie Baby by clicking HERE

People's Beanie Contest Poster
From: Beanieholics
Imagine our surprise when we walked into our favorite retailer's store to see they already had mini posters up concerning 'The People's Beanie Contest'. The colorful poster has the silhouette of two bears on it covered in question marks. In between them is a red Ty heart. The print on the poster reads:

Now it's your turn to design a BEANIE BABY!
What will it's name be?
What color will it be?
THE PEOPLE'S BEANIE
April 1st www.ty.com

==March 23, 2001==
Eggs, Swampy, and Buzzy Retire
http://www.ty.com/announcements/ret_032301.html

NEW CONTEST
This email is being sent to you on behalf of both Collectiblez and The Daily Bean.  We want to let you know of a GREAT contest that is going to start on April 1st between Collectiblez and The Daily Bean.  A contest of this type has never happened before on a beanie related website. This contest is a "Snakes & Ladders" type of contest!  All the details and rules can be viewed HERE. Registration is now going on until 11:59pm EST on March 30th.  People must visit the following link to register.

Both Ryan and myself would be most appreciative if you could let your readers know about our contest.  Here are the prizes:
- 1st Place - Nipponia, Chinook, Germania
- 2nd Place - March 2001 Set of Beanies (not including Issy)
- 3rd Place - January 2001 Set of Beanie Kids

We have a new writer over at The Daily Bean! He wishes to stay anonymous though...
Closet Collector - The journal of a collector that hasn't come out yet...
http://www.heatherlea.com/articles/closet.htm

Today, March 23rd, is Patricia Roche's birthday. 
Ryan of Collectiblez shares the following
Patricia, if you didn't know, is Ty Europe's chairperson. In order to celebrate her birthday, Collectiblez has created a page with some pieces of information about this lovely lady! An interesting note which I have never seen reported before on any site is that Ty Europe apparently was a sponsor of the Robin Smith Golf Classic, a pro-celebrity golf event to raise funds to take children between the ages of 3 and 11 with serious heart conditions in July 2000! There are more details at the link below! http://www.geocities.com/collectiblezz/Patricia/index.html

WINEY NEWS
BOOK SIGNING & BEAR MAKING CLASS
From: Handcrafted Beauties
Sally will be at The Royalty Store in Thousand Oakes, California for a book signing and class on April 19-22. These will be her first classes from her new book Rainbow Bears to Make and Collect. Class participants will be making a 12" white mohair bear and airbrushing it. This should be a lot of fun. For more information call 1-805-495-8989 The following week Sally will be in Maui, Hawaii for a book signing and class. I will be getting that information out later or you can call the number listed above for more information.

SALLY'S NEW TAGS
From: Handcrafted Beauties

Where Toys Go to Have Fun for Only $3.99! 
From: Ms. Janie 
(Business Wire) ActionScapes are large backgrounds for toys. Think of ActionScapes as being like the scenery in a stage play. ActionScapes announces its scenes are available in stores for $3.99 or less. ``Scapes represent a lot of value for the money. This is important in tough economic times. Kids are delighted by the huge size, and adults/collectors love the price. It's a great combination,'' said Eric Ulwengren, CEO of ActionScapes. As mentioned on NPR, Scapes help stimulate the imagination in children and adults by promoting story-telling and play. Michael Brody, M.D. of Potomac, Maryland wrote that his 9-year-old nephew took a scape and pretended his toys were competing to capture a planet. Scapes allow a child to create their own stories, unlike video games in where the stories are pre-made. Best of all, Scapes are priced for all children and adults to be able to afford. ``These are the first toys available since Beanie Babies® that are collectable, affordable and fun for kids and adults,'' said Matt Owen, creator of ActionScapes. For the full story, go to: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010322/0270.html

'People's Beanie' Contest Details
From: Beanieholics
We have received more details on Ty's 'The People's Beanie' Contest. The retailer that broke the story has sent info contained in a fax from their Ty rep. The fax tells how the contest works and how long it runs. Our thanks to 'T' for sharing this info. Click Here For Details

Everything Is Now Collectible
From: Beanieholics
According to a report issued by the North American Collector's Association, every single thing currently being manufactured is officially categorized as a collectible. "Rarity is nothing. Do you have any idea how many Beanie Babies are out there?" asked Barbara Mason, editor of Beanie Baby Illustrated. "Let's put it this way: There are approximately twice as many Scoop The Pelican Beanie Babies on the planet Earth than there are actual pelicans. And they're worth more, too." (Our thanks to Dale for sharing this article.) Click Here For More

Ty Boosts Girl's Hospital Campaign
From: Beanieholics
When Ty Inc. discovered that Ashley Finley was collecting Beanie Babies to give to patients at two children's hospitals, they decided to donate 336 more Beanie Babies to her cause. (Pat has sent us a readable scan of the newspaper article we mentioned in our news yesterday.) Click Here For Article

MarketWatch UPDATE... 

Now on MarketWatch... we have the MOST IN DEPTH MarketWatch since the beginning of MarketWatch!  From more Spotlight pictures, to more coverage of the product markets!  We have updated it all... be sure and read this MarketWatch!

Issy Checklist Now Available...

http://www.beankid.net/
We have an Issy Checklist will all locations available now at BeanKid's NEWSCenter.  We do not have values to place on each Issy at this time, as they have not been fully distributed yet.  We will continue to update this checklist as we receive information!

==March 22, 2001==
Collectors BEWARE! 
Heather (The Daily Bean) shares the following:
To anyone that is seeking to purchase a "Hotel" Issy, please purchase from an auction that shows an image. There are many auctions out there that sell the "Issy Card" for cheap, and there will be many people out there that will try to pair a "Retail" Issy with the "Issy Card" to create a "Hotel Set." These hotel sets are fetching much more money than the regular "Retail" Issys are getting on auction. Now, how can you tell the difference? First, the "Hotel" Issys will ONLY have "New York" as the Four Seasons Hotel Location. Second, the "Hotel" Issys will have the "2000 Beanie Tag." The "Retail" Issys have the newest "Beanie Baby" tags. Please see the image below to compare. http://www.heatherlea.com/articles/issyimages/vs.jpg

This also may be of interest: http://www.heatherlea.com/articles/issy.htm

SPECIAL WARNING: BUYER BEWARE
From: Ms. Janie 
I'm afraid that people may be trying to pass off the retail Issy cards as New York Hotel cards. I think you will find the following interesting. http://www.msjanie.com/pix/tyissy.html

ISSY NEWS: 
From: Ms. Janie 
The following interesting note was shared by Sly from Ty's Cyberboard. Looks like this Beanie will benefit two charities. 
proceeds from Issy now going to a different Charity? 
U2fan (06:40 pm. Mar 21, 2001 ) Message Id: 827939 
U2fan writes: I was looking at the tag scans of the retail version of Issy at beaniemom. I Noticed That now all proceeds are going to the Terry Fox foundation for cancer research and not Sloan Kettering cancer research like stated on the original New York City Four seasons hotel Issy beanie baby hang tag. Ty changed the Charity on the retail version of Issy! I wonder why? any Guesses? http://www.ty.com/cyberboard/news/msg827939.html

Newsmaker: 
From: Ms. Janie 
Sister's bravery prompted desire to encourage other cancer patients When her younger sister died of a rare form of cancer three years ago, Mary Jean Dietrick's grief was compounded by the fact she couldn't do anything to stop it. Just months before, Dietrick, 36, of Cranberry, had lost her father, John A. Semes, to lung cancer. Two weeks after his death, Dietrick's sister, Patty Semes-MacKrell, then 31, got her diagnosis: adenoid carcinoma. "I felt helpless," said Dietrick, fitness director at the Windwood Health & Sports Club in Bradford Woods. "Cancer has that effect. You feel there's nothing you can do. It was like being kicked in the stomach." So two years ago, Dietrick and Sloan created the Silver Lining Basket Project, delivering baskets filled with gifts to Butler County residents with terminal cancer and their caregivers. The baskets are filled with an assortment of treats, including tea bags, magazines, biscuits and a Beanie Baby, Semes-MacKrell's favorite. http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_north/20010321nnewsmaker6.asp

From Giftbeat 
From: Ms. Janie 
Ty Tops in Strong Month for Plush Sales NEW YORK—Plush is one of the most vital categories each month in Giftware Business’ POSwire survey, and according to the 300 randomly sampled retailers polled for the March survey, last month was extremely strong. Ty, despite the evaporation of the Beanie Baby craze, was the bestseller in plush for February with a total of 222 points, including 64 retailers who named it as the best-selling line of plush. The Boyds Collection and Russ Berrie & Co. were the second and third bestsellers, respectively.

==March 21, 2001==
Sly shares a link into E-bay that offers Issy with Atlanta Tags. 
From: Ms. Janie 
YOU ARE BIDDING ON THE ACTUAL ISSY BEANIE BABY PICTURED BELOW JUST PURCHASED FROM AN AUTHORIZED TY DEALER, MWMT'S AND TAG PROTECTED, FROM MY NONSMOKING HOME. IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THESE BEARS WERE SHIPPED WITH A VARIETY OF WORLDWIDE LOCATIONS FOR FOUR SEASONS HOTELS ON THE TUSH TAG AND HANG TAG. THIS BEAR'S TUSH AND HANG TAG ARE FOR FOUR SEASONS ATLANTA. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE E-MAIL. S/H IS $4 USPS PRIORITY WITH CONFIRMATION. I ACCEPT PAYPAL AND M/O'S ONLY, NO PERSONAL CHECKS AT THIS TIME. EMAIL RESPONSE IS EXPECTED WITH 3 DAYS OF END OF AUCTION AND PAYMENT WITHIN 7 DAYS. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLY WITH ABOVE, PLEASE DO NOT BID. PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS AND ++FEEDBACK. THANKS http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=571973409

From: Ms. Janie 
Deb from Doodles has a scan of a (Issy Tush Tag) "Four Seasons Hotel" Palm Beach http://doodlespage.com/

NIPPONIA RETIRED?!
From: Ms. Janie 
This just in! The following note was shared by a collector. 

Thought you might be interested - I got this in an email from a secondary dealer in Japan. 

In a message dated 3/20/01 7:24:51 PM Pacific Standard Time, E-MAIL ADDRESS REMOVED BY MS. JANIE 

NIPPONIA....IS FINALLY RETIRED OFFICIALLY! No more coming. A bit late, some of you might think! I went to the Ty Japanese web site, but I am at a disadvantage since I do not speak Japanese. But even on the Japanese site, it is still listed with the current Beanies. Anne 

A note from Ms. Janie, This is either a good attempt of someone trying to make us believe that Nipponia is retired OR could it be a hit of what's to come? I'll allow you to be the judge! Have a good evening, Ms. Janie

Where all the retired Beanies go
From: Bean eWonderland
John writes: All the retired beanies are winding up in Japan. A friend's father just returned from an extended stay in Japan and said in the 6 months he was there he was able to buy many different so called "retired" beanies. Months after The Beginning Bear retired stores were getting shipments of them. Most were gobbled up, by the hundreds and shipped back to the states. Various stores are receiving odds and ends like Doby, Bones in the shipments.

"The People's Beanie"
From: Beanieholics
The Ty website now has a graphic which appears where the Ty heart is that reads:
The People's Beanie
April 1, 2001
www.ty.com
Be Here!

We received info last night from a retailer talking about "The People's Beanie". The letter is posted below. Click Here To Visit The Ty Site

A Survivor Bear From Ty?
From: Beanieholics
Well, kind of. You'll at least get to vote bears off of the Ty website. Our retailer friend sent the following note about a new contest involving both Ty retailers and collectors:

My Ty Rep just dropped off a flyer about a contest that Ty will be holding. We will all be able to vote for the next beanie bear that we want to see made. Votes can be cast for the color, style, ribbon, name, etc. There will be 9 finalists and the pictures will be posted on the Ty website. Each day afterward, one will be voted off, until only one remains as the winner! This bear is being called "The People's Beanie", but from my understanding, it will have a name that will be decided by the collectors. My Rep will be dropping off additional information this week, but it sounds very exciting. Will keep you informed. --T

Canadian Mystery Beanie?
From: Beanieholics
From our email:

Hi, Randy and Theresa. I spoke with a Hallmark retailer yesterday who described for me the Easter prepak offer from Ty Canada. There were two available.....The least expensive one includes a dozen of a "mystery" beanie being included free. The more expensive prepak includes two dozen. I wonder.....Could the "mystery beanie" be Issy???? I'll keep you posted and let you know when those prepaks arrive. --Curious in Canada, Barbara

NIPPONIA RETIRES
http://www.ty.com/announcements/ret_032101nipponia.html

==March 20, 2001==
NEW ISSY PICTURE
http://beaniemom.com/  Here you will find an Issy for the Four Seasons Scottsdale. 

From: Ms. Janie 
TyTrade adds two more signed Ariel bears to their line-up Drew Barrymore & Tom Green Autographed Ariel The auction ends on March 23rd. http://www.tytrade.com

MORE ON ISSY SHIPPING
From: Ms. Janie 
Folks keep a look out for ISSY at retail. I have received much e-mail today from collectors and retailers saying ISSY is on its way! 

Hello, Just wanted to let you know that Issy IS shipping. My retailer friend got her 12 today. She had ordered them at the New York show, although we live south of Chicago. The tush on my bear says 4 Season's Hotel - Mexico City. All that she had in the box also said Mexico City. It will be interesting to see what the others will say. It also came in a plain brown box (didn't get a real good look) and it didn't say Oakbrook as Ty products usually do. Thanks, Kathi

Re: Issy Shipping!! southsider (06:54 pm. Mar 19, 2001 ) Message Id: 826791 southsider writes: My favorite retailer in northern Wisconsin received 12 Issy today . They were ordered at the New York toy show in Feb . They are gorgeous ! http://www.ty.com/cyberboard/news/msg826791.html

Teachers Rewarded For Creative Methods
From: Beanieholics
Three Baton Rouge teachers received Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching as a result of the creative teaching techniques they used. One math teacher had their third-grade students plot the different sizes and types of Beanie Babies on a graph.
Click Here For Story

ANDREA'S UGB ARTICLE
Have you read Andrea's latest article at Underground Bean? http://undergroundbean.com/andreasattic.htm

==March 19, 2001==
The NEXT contest is right around the corner! 
From: Ms. Janie 
Get ready to win some more fabulous prizes. Spring Scavenger Hunt contest beginning March 20th at 9:00PM ET; 8:00PM CT; 6:00PM PT. And goes through Saturday March 31, 2001 You must send in one email with all 12 correct URL's by Sunday April 1st, 9:00 p.m. EST and 8:00 p.m. CST - The email address will be: Beaniephenomenon@aol.com The 23+ contest winners will receive retired Ty™ products and 3 CASH PRIZES!! Forget the Hay Fever or Spring allergies and have fun hunting instead! Good luck! http://www.peggyg.com

Ty Drops 50 Places
From: Bean eWonderland
Forbes ranking of the top 500 Private Corporations dropped Ty Inc. from #133 in 1999 to #185 in 2000.  The information provided by Forbes is based on estimated revenues of $1,200 ( millions) representing an 11% decrease. For the full story and links please visit Sals Attic:

Bean Watcher
From: Bean eWonderland
Ty retired Zip the Black Cat Beanie Buddy on February 27, 2001.  How much do you know about this Beanie Buddy?  How did the market react to its retirement?  Should you buy Zip now for your collection?  Read the Bean Watcher's thoughts on this adorable black cat  HERE

Ty Beanie Baby ISSY Update!
From: The Shoppes - I Luv Collectibles
This morning we had asked anyone if they had seen or heard reports of the "retail" version of Issy shipping to email me directly. 

I received an email from a Ty Retailer in California. We are not including her email address to protect her identity. She was kind enough to write in to me immediately after our earlier newsletter was posted. 

First Email: Good morning from California. I checked our ty account online and it looks like they shipped Issy!!! They only sent 12, but at least its on the way! Just thought I'd let you know. Have a great day! 

Second Email: I actually have a tracking number for the shipment. I'm soooo excited!!! I luv getting all the great newsletters from you...Thanks a lot for all the great info. Tracey So it looks as if Issy will be arriving shortly! This is great news - thank you Tracey :)

MORE ON ISSY
La Rue of Kansas Brass & Pewter shares the following:
Just checked with my retailer in Colorado, and even though they attended the Gift Show, they were unable to order Issy and cannot place an order until the first of April. She stated also that they had not received any of the of the new March 1st releases. They are in the system but delivery has not been made. Kansas and Nebraska retailers have already received shipments of the new ones a couple of weeks ago. Interesting, isn't it?


==March 18, 2001==
Bidders vie for £1m-a-room hotel
From: Bean eWonderland
London's Lanesborough Hotel, where the Royal Suite commands £6,500 ($9,600) a night, is to become the most expensive hotel ever to change hands. The potential sale price has surprised the industry, and several bidders who offered about £105m have been turned away. Ty Warner, the entrepreneur who made a fortune from the Beanie Babies, is also thought to be interested. He recently paid $150m (£105m) for the luxury Four Seasons hotel in Santa Barbara, California, and is known to want to buy more.  Full Story:

Students succeed in cuddle quest
From: Bean eWonderland
When students at Grand Blanc Middle School's Brendel campus began collecting stuffed animals for children, they never dreamed their peers would donate more than 500 cuddly toys. For two weeks, the kids in a new club called Service Quest used catchy P.A. announcements and a contest between homerooms to get students interested in donating everything from safari Beanie Babies to teddy bears.

Ty Interested In Another Hotel?
From: Beanieholics
According to an article in the London Times Sunday newspaper, Ty Warner is thought to be interested in London's Lanesborough Hotel, where the Royal Suite commands £6,500 a night. The hotel is set to become the most expensive hotel ever to change hands. The London paper says that Ty Warner recently paid $150m (about £105m) for the luxury Four Seasons hotel in Santa Barbara, California, and is known to want to buy more. Click Here For Story

From: Cajun Connection
Beanie Mom has posted an interesting press release from MetaExchange. The company says that its trading volume in Beanie Babies has reached 30% of eBay's volume and that this success in the face of eBay's marketplace dominance shows the inherent strength of the spot market over the auction format for many collectibles. Click Here For More

==March 17, 2001==
=~HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!~=

Check out this fun loving Jumbo Peace with two American Eskimo dogs. http://www.msjanie.com/pix/2peace.html

Issy Theory
Sly shares a theory with Ms Janie as to why Issy has not yet been shipped. It appears there is already a stuffed toy named Issy. Read the article HERE

Girl donates toys to children's hospitals for her birthday
From: Bean eWonderland
In lieu of asking for birthday presents, 8-year-old Ashley Finley of East Alton collected Beanie Babies to give to patients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Shriners Hospital later this month. While many people from age 8 to 88 can only sit around hoping to collect as much as possible on their birthdays, Ashley is sitting this one out. Instead of gifts for herself, she's collecting Beanie Babies that will be donated next week to St. Louis Children's Hospital. Full Story:

Horoscopes are silly
From: Bean eWonderland
Horoscopes are silly. Our fates are not shaped by the stars. The zodiac was dreamed up by primitive peoples to explain planetary movements and other celestial phenomena. No right-thinking person truly believes in such superstitious claptrap. So how come I devour three horoscopes a day? I might be too busy to read beyond the headlines when it comes to world events, but I've always got time to see whether it's a good day for us Aquarians to embark on new careers or to invest in Beanie Babies. Full Story:

Doug Flutie And HolyBears Take The Field Against Autism
From: Beanieholics
The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, Inc. and HolyBears, Inc., have teamed up to produce the Dougie's Team HolyBear to help raise funds for the foundation. The Flutie Foundation was co-founded by Doug Flutie, star quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, and his wife Laurie.
Click Here For Picture And More Info

ADVERTISING AT PLANET BEANS 
Now's the time to reserve your advertising space. The News and Contest pages have been renewed for March so they are unavailable at this time. If you are interested in advertising on ANY page of Planet Beans with a banner ad AND a blurb in the daily newsletters, please email me at Advertising@planetbeans.com. You may be surprised at how inexpensive it is to get the word out to so many people daily. I will provide you with detailed information, such as, an average number of visits, the extra advertising you will receive, and cost per month. Advertising on Planet Beans has proven to be a valuable asset to many. Just ask Andrea of Andrea's Attic, who has seen an increase in sales and visits coming from her advertising here. 

==March 16, 2001==
VALENTINA RETIRES (All sizes!!)
http://www.ty.com/announcements/ret_031601valentina.html

Small businesses pull back
From: Bean eWonderland
Small businesses — which create the majority of the nation's new jobs — are tapping the brakes on growth in the face of a weakening economy. Nearly 90% of the USA's 5.6 million employers have fewer than 20 workers, so their hiring, spending and pricing decisions are an important barometer of the economy's direction. And, for now, they're behaving cautiously. Larry Clarke, for example, is holding steady with three employees at his gift and greeting card store in Rhinelander, Wis. Sales are down 60% from a year ago. The culprit: Customers don't want to shell out for Beanie Babies, the store's one-time hot seller, when they're worried about a possible recession. Full Story:

Meta Takes Bite Out Of eBay
From: Beanieholics
Beanie Mom has posted an interesting press release from MetaExchange. The company says that its trading volume in Beanie Babies has reached 30% of eBay's volume and that this success in the face of eBay's marketplace dominance shows the inherent strength of the spot market over the auction format for many collectibles. Click Here For More

==March 15, 2001==
'N Sync Autographed Super Bowl Football Up For Auction 
From: Ms. Janie 
'N Sync has put an autographed Super Bowl XXXV halftime commemorative football up for auction at the website allstarcharity.com. The white, green, orange, and light blue-colored Wilson football is signed in black ink by all of the members of 'N Sync, Britney Spears , all of the members Aerosmith , and rapper Nelly . The entirety of the winning bid will go directly to 'N Sync's Challenge For The Children, a charitable organization whose mission is to offer financial support to children's programs, including funding schools that have suffered educational budget cutbacks in sports programs and music education. Challenge For The Children also assists children's health-care causes such as pediatric AIDS, adoption and foster care, teen pregnancy, alcohol/drug programs, and the fight against teen violence. The football also comes with a certificate of authenticity from allstarcharity.com. The auction is open now through April 12. View HERE 

One to Share
From: Bean eWonderland
The following email was received yesterday: Hello,  I am one of your daily readers. I come on line and search for the missing pieces of my many hours and well spent money of a beanie collection.  I realize there are a handful of us left that are hanging on strong to reach that goal of satisfaction when that one last piece of bag of beans is sitting with it's friends.  I'm writing this to you because I want the true beanie collectors out there to know that there are still some of us out there.  I have spent close to $6000. on beanie babies through out the last 3 years. I know I will never see that from this collection and I don't care because I set the goal and I still plan to complete it. Although it's hard at times, I have been taken by the selfish people out there that use beanies to get your money and with all of the fakes it's very hard to determine whether or not you have the real thing.  When these first came out everyone went crazy and  it was really fun. I enjoyed doing beanie lines at the nearest bean store. But now people say it was a fad. And it may be, but if you are still buying a beanie baby to come home and add it to your precious collection and still have a list of every bean that you have and that you need.  Then you know your in it for the long run. I wish every true beanie fan out there good luck and I hope you succeed your goal. Sincerely, MDB

Heather (The Daily Bean) shares the following:
Hi all! I just received an email from Ty! :)  Have you received yours yet?

From: Your Friends At Ty [mailto:Your_Friends@ty.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 2:45 PM
To: dailybean@mail.com
Subject: DON'T FORGET TO WEAR GREEN !!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from your friends at Ty!
Here's hoping you have the luck o' the Irish everyday!
http://www.tytrade.com/st_pats

Whats the scoop on Issy, anyone know?
Heather (The Daily Bean) shares the following:
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/beaniebabiesrock
Interesting in our last shipment, the bill showed we had 36 Issys on backorder, even though he was never on the order forms!! And he is not showing up on any of our outstanding orders online....anyone know what the scoop on this bear is?
Carolyn
the reps sure don't!! :P

LAST DAY! 
Well, today is the last day of selling Ty products for Andrea's Attic! All day long, everything is an additional 10% off! Thanks for all of your support! We will stick around to provide you with some of the best Beanie contests and Beanie news around!!

Planet Beans Comment: Here's hoping Andrea comes back soon with her great prices and unbeatable customer service!! She's one classy lady. Good luck Andrea.. enjoy the time with your precious Sophia and please keep us all posted on special happenings in your life. If ever you need anything, I'm here to help. :o)

==March 14, 2001==
Connecticut man sentenced to 21 months for selling fake moon rocks 
From: Ms. Janie 
A Connecticut man who sold rocks that he claimed were gathered from the moon's surface during the historic 1969 Apollo 11 lunar landing was sentenced Monday to 21 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver in Phoenix sentenced Richard Keith Mountain, of New Milford, Conn., after he pleaded guilty last October to six counts of mail and wire fraud for selling the ''moon rocks'' in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mountain, 53, using an alias, owned and operated several businesses in Arizona and California that sold artwork and collectibles dealing with space exploration. He earned almost $100,000 selling what he claimed were lunar soil samples collected by Neil Armstrong and Edwin ''Buzz'' Aldrin. The Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston analyzed the granules sold by Mountain and determined they were not from the moon. View the story HERE 

This week on MarketWatch... http://www.beankid.net
Beanie Spotlight... 
Mellow
Market Watch Updates...
Beanie Babies: Cassie
Beanie Buddies: Erin
Beanie Kids: Calypso

Be sure to check out these latest updates on BeanKid's NEWSCenter's MarketWatch! 

The Beanie Zoo has posted two new articles about Counterfeit Beanie Babies. 
The first is about Impostor Bronty's, and the second is about Impostor Grey Happy's. Just thought you might want to share these articles with your readers. http://www.geocities.com/hoganzoo99/fakes/bronty.html http://www.geocities.com/hoganzoo99/fakes/greyhappy.html

Issy Rumour
From: Bean eWonderland
I work in a Ty Retail Store in Ontario, Canada.  I wrote to you a few months back about the Chinook shortage and thought you would like to hear this new information.  We received our Ty shipment today and Ty has stopped shipping the retired Chinook Beanies.  Shortly after we opened the boxes, the Ty Rep called to see if we had received everything we had ordered and to check to make sure we were satisfied with the shipment.  My supervisor asked if we should expect to see Chinook again and he told her that the warehouse was empty.  She also asked about receiving the new Beanies, and he said we could expect the new ones within about a month.  She asked him about the Issy situation and he told her that their
had been problems and Ty had decided not to manufacture the bear for retail sale after all.  She asked what he meant and he informed her that Issy will never be shipped, not just in Canada, but world-wide.  He said that at this time, not to ever expect Issy at a retail store. Jeremy. (Bean eWonderlands comment - Please remember that this still has to be treated as a rumour, lets hope if they are going to be delivered to stores it is sooner rather than later).

Issy Rumour Update
From: Bean eWonderland
Hi Richard, as you know I am a secondary market dealer. Anyway my supplier attended the show in NY and actually met Ty himself. He was told at the show that the Issy's were already manufactured and most of them were already in the warehouse in the states. Therefore the person that rumoured that they were not going to be manufactured is wrong. (Thanks Leigh)

Please Help Update (original posting was yesterday)
From: Bean eWonderland
I wanted to forward this message from Beth's Ty Rep Julie to you.  I wasn't aware of the additional item that comes with the Billionaire Bear #3. which is a gold Ty letter head which has also been signed by an important person at Ty. This letter head could not be duplicated anywhere. The letter is thanking the employees for a great job we have all done in 2000. Also if you are interested in this raffle and you are not from the Chicagoland area, you will need to make your cheques out and send them to: Attn: Susan Barrett, c/o Bank One, 5 North Randall Road, Batavia, IL   60510. Please include your address, telephone number and email address with your check. (Thanks Carolyn Schwartz).

TY RETIRES NILES, KALEIDOSCOPE, AND LURKEY
http://www.ty.com/announcements/ret_031401.html

==March 13, 2001==
The following was found on Ty's Cyberboards: 
From: Ms. Janie 
**Gramma Pat's Daily Bad Trader Update** 
New Info on GrammaPat (07:47 pm. Mar 12, 2001 ) Message Id: 823249 GrammaPat writes: New bad traders. Please check the newsflashes at traderlist. Bad trader updates are also available for bad traders from Pennsylvania, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, California, and England. Please check the bad trader list daily, and of course I know that you all will ALWAYS INSURE EVERYTHING..won't you? :) http://www.ty.com/cyberboard/news/msg823249.html

The Info. Beanie writes about a St. Patrick's Day Party.
From: Ms. Janie 
It is the hope of many that Ty retires beanies on this day. If you recall last week I posted a note from the Info. Beanie that gave us hints of retirements to come! I guess with Ty anything is possible and we should continue to expect the unexpected! Monday March 12, 2001 8:59 p.m. We have our party menu and our grocery shopping list all done. We had a great time thinking about the wonderful things that we are going to have for our party. It was making us really hungry so we made a big bowl of popcorn. I guess we weren't as hungry as we thought though because there was an awful lot left over. That was ok because we just put it outside for the birds and squirrels to have. We also put out some birdseed and nuts for them. With all of the snow that we got over the weekend, they really need the extra food. Maybe I should add birdseed and nuts to our grocery list. I think I'll do that! I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night! http://www.ty.com/infobeanie/lastpage/

Ty Revamps Retail Channel?
From: Bean eWonderland
The following article was posted on Tushtag.com: "Last week Ty published a picture of a new hanging mobile that is included in their new Authorised Retailer Kit.  This new mobile will allow retail customers to identify Ty Authorised Retailers more easily. Could it be that Ty is about to smarten up its act with regard to retail, maybe even its business model? Whilst the article is nothing new, one reader shares their opinions on the subject and they do make some valid points. View Follow-Up:

Please Help
From: Bean eWonderland
I know this is a little unusual for a beanie website to do, but I am in need of your help. My best friend Beth's husband Al is in need of a liver transplant.  We need to raise $185,000.00 in two months.  Beth used to own the Gallery of Dolls in Elgin, Illinois which was a fantastic place to not only purchase porcelain dolls, but she carried the full line of TY products.  To all us beanie fanatics, she's a very special person.  Unfortunately, due to the progressive nature of Al's illness, she was forced to close her business after Christmas 2000 in order to find a job with health insurance without much luck. Her old TY Rep, Julie, has graciously offered to raffle her Billionaire Bear #3 Signed By Ty Warner for $10.00 a ticket.  We are running this event from March 10th through April 16th, which is when we will be drawing the winning ticket. The bear is on display at: Abby's Hallmark, 79 S. Randall Rd, Batavia, IL   60501, (630) 879-0888. For more information please Click Here:

Happy St. Patrick's Day Page from Ty
http://www.ty.com/stpatricks/happystpatricks.html

==March 12, 2001==
eBay Scam Artists Face Criminal Charges 
From: Ms. Janie 
Federal prosecutors issued an indictment on Friday against three eBay users for self-bidding on their own art auctions in an attempt to spike bid prices. The indictment alleges that the three men used 40 different names on eBay to place over 50 false bids on paintings they auctioned online from November 1998 to June 2000, including a fake Richard Diebenkorn painting that garnered a US$135,000 bid. Rob Chesnut, eBay's deputy general counsel, told the Associated Press that he believed the indictment marks the first criminal case to result from alleged shill bidding online. eBay spokesperson Kevin Pursglove told the E-Commerce Times that the Web auction house assisted the investigation by providing federal authorities with access to eBay tools that can help pursue individuals who perpetrate auction fraud. "Anytime we see a series of listings that may be a fraud, we will often contact the authorities and let them know what kinds of information we have available," Pursglove said. "A lot of the information we have is confidential and covered by our privacy policy, but we make it very clear to our users that if they engage in any fraudulent activities we will cooperate with the authorities to the max." http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nf/20010309/tc/8086_1.html

Charles "Jeff" Williams had agonized for a month about moving to California. He sought a better life for his young teenage son, Andy, an honors student. Jeff Williams, a 41-year-old single father, saw few opportunities in their hometown of Brunswick, Md., a place with a one-room library and no movie theater.

Williams wanted his son to find a stronger sense of family. Andy didn't see his mother much after she split up with his dad 11 years ago, just before the boy turned 4. So Jeff Williams was considering moving to Twenty-nine Palms, where his parents lived and he had attended high school.

Last Monday about 9:20 a.m., about 15 months after leaving Maryland, Andy Williams, 15, allegedly used his father's long-barreled .22-caliber revolver to fire more than 30 rounds, killing two classmates and wounding 13 other people at his high school in Santee, Calif. 

Andy volunteered for a walkathon, along with his father, to raise money for Baptist missions. He played bass guitar in a church youth group. His father helped coach--and, when needed, served as umpire--at baseball games.

At his new school, Andy came off as a quirky individualist who thrived in drama class, carried a monkey Beanie Baby and sometimes donned a Superman costume. Once he wore his underwear over his pants. Read the rest of the story: http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20010311/t000021415.html

I received this from Traci about the above story:
I just read the article about Andy Williams you sent in the newsletter you just sent. It breaks my heart. He seemed like any normal kid who just couldn't get a break. He went to church, had a father who loved him and was doing the best he could to raise him. I could go on and on. But I just wish children would realize exactly how cruel they can be. WHY? I always here the excuse "children will be children." So that makes it okay? NO! That's no excuse for being cruel. And there is no excuse for what the boy did. People young and old need to realize that words and criticism does hurt and can tear a person down. We don't know what a persons limits are until it's too late. Then we ask ourselves what could we have done to prevent this? Take time to listen to people. Realize that our words can hurt no matter how old or young you are. I hope out of this tragedy that people will learn from this and realize that there are consequences to our actions no matter how menial we think they are.

From Kris at Cajun Connection ( www.premier.net/~dirkthib )
Grandma Pat at the TraderList has added a newsflash section to alert you of important Bad Trader updates in cases where the authorities are involved. During the past week, information has been posted for the following sellers: 

**If you are a victim of Breezeway-Pam or Howard Asher or Jason Lim please contact: Ronald.Nelson@mail.co.ventura.ca.us , Sergeant Ron Nelson Moorpark Police Department 26 Flory Avenue Moorpark, CA 93021 USA Telephone 805-532-2706 http://www.traderlist.com/BadTraderNewsflashes.html 

**If you are a victim of Rick Parris or Ben Shidla from Minnesota, please contact Postal Inspector J. D. Long JDLong@uspis.gov 

**If you are a victim of Tom Reed..Colorado..Please contact: Colorado Springs District Attorney's office.. 719-520-6000 Colorado Springs police department is 1-719-444-7564, ask for Detective Dehart 

**Victims of Aun Sayal/Kapuvari need to contact nicholas.roach@met.police.uk *Important message for victims of California Counterfeit Ring. Please email Inspector Yvon Guerrero at yguerrero@uspis.gov or call the Inspector at 562-983-9817.

ANDREA WRITES WEEKLY COLUMN FOR UGB
"As you may or may not have noticed we are proud to offer an Andrea's Attic article here.  Now each week you too can read all about Andrea's adventures, information and scoop of the week as well as send her your beanie™ related questions and she will try to answer them as best she can." You can view Andrea's first column here: http://undergroundbean.com/andreasattic.htm

Bargains Galore
From: Bean eWonderland
With the recent activity in the Beanie market and sudden retirements now could be the time to snap up a few of the older and harder to find Beanie Babies. Sakura Buddy is now down to $68.00 on the Meta Exchange, compare this to Buckingham at $115.00 and it looks very good value for money. Britannia Buddy is also a little over $70.00. On the Beanie Baby side, Nipponia is at $36.00, Germania $13.00 and two that I have seen many asking for on trade boards, Radar $33.00 and Holiday 1997 $10.00 look good value. Now could be the time to start filling the gaps in your collections.

==March 11, 2001==
Upcoming Spring Contest 
From: Ms. Janie 
(March 20th: 9:00PM ET; 8:00PM CT; 6:00PM PT) Please visit Peggy's site for all of the details! Peggy's contest are always fun and full of wonderful prizes, you don't want to miss this one. Mark those calendars now, rest up and get ready to have some fun! http://www.beaniephenomenon.com/

Gas Bill's & Beanie Babies
From: Bean eWonderland
Whilst searching the news today, I found one article regarding Californians paying the country's highest prices for gas supplies, it states, " bidding on the colorless methane gas has at times resembled the chaos of the Beanie Baby frenzy. Full Story:

Buckingham Buddy Update
From: Bean eWonderland
We have been informed that Buckingham Buddy is simply out of stock. Ty still have not fulfilled all of their show orders for it. The next delivery of the buddies is intended to fulfill these orders as a priority.

Counterfeiter
From: Beanie News Galore Online!~ 
Just heard from the US Postal Inspectors who are beginning an investigation into a ring of counterfeiters operating in California. They are on the Bad Traders List and go by the names of Darren Nguyen, Bao or Tom or Anthony Nguyen or Christopher or Johnny Dole or Jason Smith or Thuy Quach (many aliases) of California. The postal inspectors need to hear now from anyone defrauded by the above people. The inspector asked me to post their email address and telephone number (but please only if you -- or someone you know -- have been defrauded by anyone in this particular investigation) -- we don't want to slow down their investigative work on this California ring: Contact Inspector Yvon Guerrero at yguerrero@uspis.com or call the Inspector at 562-983-8317 with any information you may have. Their investigation is beginning now. If you, or someone you know, have been defrauded by this ring, input is essential NOW.

MLB Beanie Kid Promotions
From: Beanieholics
Beanie Mom reports that the New York Yankees will be holding a special Ty Beanie Kids promotion on August 5. The first 18,000 fans 14 and under will receive a limited edition Ty Beanie Kid courtesy of Ty, Inc. Peggy Gallagher also reports that the Chicago Cubs, at their season finale on September 30, will offer a Beanie Kids Gear exclusive with the Cubs Home Uniform to the first 10,000 kids age 14 and under.

==March 10, 2001==
SERVER IS WORKING...
Those of you that are a member of the Planet Beans mailing list knew the reason for lack of updates to the site for the last week or so. The server has been down so I've been sending updated news and contest info through the newsletter. If you want to keep informed all the time and be able to enter the great contests here at Planet Beans, I recommend you subscribe to the Newsletter

I will continue to make the updates today as best I can. I was in the middle of adding the new beanies to the Beanie Babies Information pages when the server went down a few days ago. I was able to get the Beanie Birthday Calendar and the Complete Beanie Baby Checklist updated.

Ms. Janie's 2nd Year Anniversary Contest Starts This Evening! 
I know you won't want to miss this one!! Sign up today to be eligible to participate in one of the largest contest ever offered to date! NO link into the contest pages will be posted on my website. All links will be provided through the newsletter ONLY!

Planet Beans Comments for Janie: I have such respect for you.. and over these past couple of years that I've been keeping up with Beanie news, you've always come out on top in keeping people up-to-date on the happenings in the collectibles community. I wish for you, many more years in having a most successful website and newsletter and if you ever need anything.. please don't hesitate to call on me. :o)

Is the Info. Beanie Trying to Tell Us Something?
From: Ms. Janie
Friday March 9, 2001 7:16 a.m.
Good morning! Wow! Can you believe it is Friday already? Wow! This week sure did go by fast! I think the time is going to start going even faster now that I'm retired! It's been so exciting here with all of the retirements. We never know who will be retired next! Since I'm going to stay on as the Info Beanie until the end of the month, we're going to wait until then to have a big going away party. That way, if there are any more retirements, we can all say good bye at the same time and maybe it won't seem so sad. I'm going to see if breakfast is ready yet. I'll talk to you later. Bye!
http://www.ty.com/infobeanie/lastpage/

Sly alerts Ms. Janie to FAKE Nipponia's - Here

Northern Trade Winds
From: Beanieholics
Lulu provides more info on Attic Treasures without Canadian tush tags showing up at Zellers. Plus which Ty Beanie Bear is not a Beanie? And the Info Beanie says there are more retirements coming and a Collectibles Convention is on the way, one which Theresa and I will most likely attend.
Click Here For Northern Trade Winds

Beanie Help Vietnam Children 
From: The Daily Bean
Musical sisters organize benefit FUNDRAISER WILL AID CHILDREN IN VIETNAM Chi Nguyen, 12, and her sister, Truc, 18, used to imagine their own Vietnam. Born and raised in the United States, the sisters viewed Vietnam as a country full of life, but also with many needs, particularly for poor children. Using their musical talents, the sisters have organized a Sunday concert in Pleasanton to fill some of those needs by raising money to benefit homeless children in Vietnam. "There's so much we can give from over here, and we take everything for granted,'' said Chi, an eighth-grader at Pine Valley Middle School in San Ramon. ``If you see what they have in Vietnam, you would be thankful for what we have over here." Truc, a freshman at Stanford University, wants to raise enough to send a 17-year-old orphan to college. A mere $100 would pay for a year's college education. . . . . . . .But the girls saw that the power of the dollar could transform the lives of children in Vietnam. The $1,000 the girls had raised by selling homemade almond toffee and Chi's Beanie Baby collection bought books for a library in Giai Xuan, a tiny village. 
Full Story & News Source - The Mercury News - http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/benefit10.htm

==March 9, 2001==
Auction proceeds to pay medical expenses
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Bonner Springs — Family and friends of Don and Teresa Kirkpatrick have
organized an auction for this weekend to raise money to help with Don's
medical expenses after a 1999 car accident. A silent auction will begin
at 11 a.m. Saturday at George Meyn Community Center in Wyandotte County
Park, 126th and State Avenue, Bonner Springs. Doors open at 10 a.m., and
an auction will begin at 1 p.m. Items for bid include compact discs,
jewelry, tools, Beanie Babies and gift certificates.
http://www.ljworld.com/section/citybriefs/story/45123
=====
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Sly recently shared a note that contained valuable information regarding
the new Ty catalogs. From what I can tell Sly was VERY accurate in his
reporting and although I tried to get scans of this catalog I was
unsuccessful.
Thanks to Beanieholics and BeanieWonderland for their efforts in
gathering the following information.
Beanieholics has a letter that was enclosed in the Ty catalogs at the
following link http://www.randyandtheresa.com/Catalogue.html
=====
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
A Preemie Prayer HolyBear(TM) signed by Freddie Prinze Jr. is now being
auctioned off on eBay (www.ebay.com). The auction ends on March 15. All
proceeds from this HolyBears Charity Auction benefit Beanies For
Preemies, Inc. (www.beaniesforpreemies.com).

Please visit the following link for more information
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=567875202
=====
Imperfections?
From: http://www.beaniewonderland.com)
Scott writes: "It seems to me that the quality of Beanies is rapidly
degrading. You used to be able to tell counterfeits by certain
imperfections. Now it seems there are imperfections on nearly
everything Ty produces. It used to be that people went to the store and
were happy to see the new items and just grabbed one. Now they search
through them to make sure there is nothing wrong with the item they
purchase. The local Hallmark I visited yesterday had several new
releases sitting on the shelf and I was surprised until I saw the poor
quality of many. The owner is "in negotiations" to return them to Ty
but not getting anywhere. One of the things that made Beanies so
popular was the "cuteness". Now some are looking like malformed
mutations. (Bean eWonderlands comment - I have often visited a store and
picked a Beanie out of a basket only to find the tag creased, I have
also seen young children with grubby hands handle Beanies and put them
back not realising what they are doing, these factors do not help the
appearance of a Beanie in a store. Maybe some beanies are arriving at
stores not in the best condition, could this be due to packaging or is
the quality really deteriorating, let me know what you think?)
=====
St Paddy's Contest
From: Beanieholics (http://www.randyandtheresa.com)
It's contest time! With St. Patrick's Day coming up we have gotten hold
of a couple of the St. Paddy Bears from Celebrity Bears to give away.
This will be a quick contest. We want to try and get these in the hands
of the winners by next weekend's holiday. To enter visit Beanieholics.
=====
WIN AN AUTHENTIC CORAL BEANIE BABY
http://www.planetbeans.com/CoralContest.htm
940 entries-to-date
CORAL CONTEST Question #9 (today's question)
How much is the Flitter Buddy listed on Andrea's CLEARANCE page?

CORAL CONTEST Question #8 (yesterday's question)
How much is the Orange Libearty B-Day Series 4 BBOC Card?
ANSWER: $1.50


==March 8, 2001==
Ty Authorized Retailer Kit Introduced!
Look for all your favorite Ty products at stores that display the Ty Authorized Retailer Kit.
http://www.ty.com/announcements/newsflash_030801.html

The Different Faces Of Mellow
From: Beanieholics (http://www.randyandtheresa.com)
Mellow the Ty-dye Bear has been showing up in stores but which version
have you picked up? Marilyn has sent us pictures showing some of the
differences being found. http://www.randyandtheresa.com/Mellow.html
=====
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Yesterday I shared the following story:
MAN GUILTY IN FAKE BEANIE BABY TAG SALES
Today the following NEW story broke:

2ND MAN ADMITS TO BEANIE SCAM

A Lockport man who provided counterfeit Beanie Baby tags that were sold
clandestinely at a west suburban toy fair pleaded guilty Tuesday to
forgery. John Carroll, 45, of the 900 block of MacGregor Road, was
sentenced to 75 hours of public service employment and placed on 24
months' probation for his role in the phony Beanie Baby tag scheme. Last
year Carroll and Paul Hrdlicka of Woodridge were arrested after an
undercover operation at a Willowbrook banquet hall, where legitimate
Beanie Baby toys were being traded. When Carroll was arrested he had
more than 250 tags that carried the trademark of Ty Inc., the Westmont
manufacturer of the popular toy line. Hrdlicka pleaded guilty on Monday
to a misdemeanor charge of attempted forgery.
http://www.chicago.tribune.com/version1/article/0,1575,SAV-0103070318,00.html

=====
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Win a MWMT's GERMANIA BEANIE by making a toy or trading card donation to
SUNSHINE PROJECT. Please visit our website for details on how you can
make a difference to a child! See how one little smile can brighten a
whole room! Visit Sunshine Project and help a child!
http://www.sunshineproject.net
=====
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Simple toys can teach important skills to kids Most toys and activities
that have been around forever -- blocks,
dolls, toy trucks, pails and shovels, paper and crayons -- provide young
children with a variety of important learning opportunities. When
youngsters play with blocks, they get experience with a variety of math,
science and social-studies concepts. In a sandbox with toy trucks or a
pretend kitchen with dolls, little ones develop language and social
skills, as well as creative problem-solving skills. With pails and
shovels, children practice eye-hand coordination and learn about size,
weight and volume. When preschoolers color or draw with plain paper and
crayons, they develop creativity and problem-solving skills. Youngsters
must fill a blank piece of paper with their own creation, a much more
difficult task than merely filling in spaces in a coloring book.

Beanies can surly benefit any child's life as they can be used as
imaginary friends. They are colorful, non-toxic, easy to tote and
surface washable. Best of all they are inexpensive and offer hours of
enjoyment. Ms. Janie
http://www.modbee.com/living/story/0,1155,246154,00.html
=====
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
News shared from a retailer: SMOKEY, the gray cat Classic is no longer available to order. . .they don't actually retire Classics, they just advise that they are no longer available . . .Smokey has been a very
fast seller and we were all sorry to see him go!
=====
Mellows Smile
From: http://www.beaniewonderland.com)
Marilyn sends us the following: Just saw your article on the differences in the Mellow, actually, there is a red smile on my Mellow, it's just not showing in the picture. In order to show the smile, my camera angle isn't very flattering to our new little Mellow, but it does prove that he does indeed smile in the U.S.A. A couple more stores in the area got in the new beanies today and one store did not send a rep to New York so the orders from March 1st are starting to arrive.
http://www.beaniewonderland.com/news/extra.htm
=====
EARN A FREE $5 TODAY
If you sign up for PayPal at https://secure.paypal.com/affil/pal=Gotbeans@yahoo.com we will both earn
a FREE $5. Then people can sign up for you and you'll both get $5. I use PayPal for all of the auctions I win bids on and highly recommend it. :o)


==March 7, 2001==
BeanKid's NEWSCenter has just unveiled MARKET WATCH! 
A brand new feature
to our site! The description of Market Watch is below! "Market Watch is
an outlook on one item from each of the three most popular Ty product
lines; Beanie Babies, Beanie Buddies, and Beanie Kids! Market Watch is
updated two times a week, once on Tuesday and once on Saturday. We give
both a market summary of the item, as well as a future prediction on the
product! As an extra feature, we give a spotlight look on one Beanie per
week which includes a life long summary on the product, and detailed
pictures on the product, as well as information on variations of it!"
Thanks,
Kody Looper
http://www.beankid.net
BeanKid's NEWSCenter
=====
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Ty sweeps top three categories according to GiftBeat. View the graphic
at the following link http://www.msjanie.com/pix/tymarket3.html
=====
MAN GUILTY IN FAKE BEANIE BABY TAG SALES
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
A Woodridge man accused of producing false Beanie Baby tags that others
allegedly used to pass off their stuffed toys as authentic pleaded
guilty Monday to attempted forgery. Paul Hrdlicka, 26, of the 2300 block
of Vista Avenue accepted a plea agreement with the DuPage County state's
attorney office. As part of the deal, a felony charge of forgery was
reduced to the misdemeanor. Richard Kayne, Hrdlicka's defense attorney,
said his client was placed on 24 months of probation and fined $500.
Last December, Hrdlicka and John Carroll of Lockport were arrested after
an undercover operation at a Willowbrook banquet hall, where legitimate
Beanie Baby trading, buying and selling was occurring. The fake
tags--white pieces of paper with the word Ty written inside a red heart,
the trademark of the Westmont manufacturer of the celebrated toy
line--were being sold for $10. "Hrdlicka has no police record, played a
minor role and cooperated with police," said Kayne. Carroll's case is
pending.
http://www.chicago.tribune.com/version1/article/0,1575,SAV-0103060286,00.html
=====
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Hawk Eye Sly reports the following:

Ms. Janie,
I thought I would send you a little follow-up report on the Ty 2001
Catalog I had mentioned to you last week. Today I had the pleasure of
seeing one and all I can say is "WOW"!! Ty has always put nice catalogs
together in the past but This Time Mr. Warner has outdone himself!
Retailers are starting to receive the new catalogs and are thrilled that
Ty has put together such a beautiful and complete catalog for them to
use and to order from. Both the front and back of this catalog could
pass as Beanie Baby artwork it is so Nicely done. The catalog's very
colorful cover looks to me to be a computer-generated montage of beanie
baby images. Even
Billionaire III bear makes an appearance in this montage on the back
cover. When you open it up right in front there is a Signed Letter to
retailers from Ty Warner on translucent/parchment type paper. A Really
Nice Touch
Ty! The Catalog itself contains pictures of every current Ty product and
even a Few from this year that have retired already including Buckingham
and Chinook, Hairy and Smooch. It even contains Pictures of all the
Buddies in all the different sizes and the beanie kids all dressed up
and sporting their Ty gear outfits. The catalog had a very classy flair
and I was quite impressed by it as you can tell-LOL Ty Collectors might
like to ask their friendly Ty retailers if they can sneak a peek at
these new catalogs because they are kind of neat to
see.

Nice Job TY!!

Happy Hunting!
Your Bud,
Sly The Beanie Guy
=====
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Sly also shares the following link:

Merging Old and New (The Industry Standard)
It was a deal that rocked the clubby auction world. EBay, the company
best known for auctioning off Beanie Babies and bogus autographs, buys
Butterfield & Butterfield, the venerable 134-year-old auction house.

Price: $260 million - just 1 percent of eBay's $26 billion market value
when the deal was announced in April 1999. The partnership would give
the brash Internet company the chance to expand into fine art. Says
Geoff Iddison, general manager of the eBay unit that includes
Butterfields: For the full story, go to:
http://biz.yahoo.com/st/010306/22525.html
=====
Web Auctions Top Complaints
From: Bean eWonderland (http://www.beaniewonderland.com)
Scams involving Internet auctions have been the most common type of
Internet related fraud reported to an FBI Web site, according to a study
released today. Alleged auction fraud accounted for almost two-thirds of
the complaints that authorities screened and forwarded to law
enforcement. Last month, two Louisiana residents pleaded guilty and were
sentenced to prison terms of 21 and 30 months for bilking would-be
buyers of computers and Beanie Babies out of more than $20,000. They
advertised the merchandise on Yahoo's auction Web site and collected
from 33 buyers through small-town post office boxes, but didn’t deliver
the merchandise, according to the Justice Department.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/162788.html
=====
Clean Beanies!
Heather of the Daily Bean (http://www.heatherlea.com) has added a Keep
those Beanies Clean (http://www.heatherlea.com/articles/clean.htm)
section to her site. She's added the reponses received from collectors.
Right now it has only a few tips, so please if you have any great tips
on how to keep your collections clean, please send them to Heather!

==March 6, 2001==
SHAMROCK RETIRES
http://www.ty.com/announcements/ret_030601shamrock.html

IMA Hero Collection News http://www.imahero.com
More additions to the web site:
New Item:
See the new bookmarks -- Only $.79 each
http://www.imahero.com/teacherspage/bookmarks.htm
=====
Urgent
From: Bean eWonderland
We have just received this email from one of our readers, if anyone
knows anything about it please advise us: Hi Richard, I received an
email today with the subject line 'Amanda's Yatze' from someone calling
themselves 'Candy'. It has an attachment called 'Amanda's Yatze.zip'.
The text of the message is as follows:
Hi, sorry it's been so long writing you. I am sending this to all my
Beanie Baby friends that I have met over the years on the web. Please
forward this to your friends. Attached is a wonderful Yahtzee game. I
personally think it is the best one out there. I'm sending this because
it was on the news. The maker of the game has had his share of bad luck
and is trying to raise money for his daughter's college fund. It's only
5 dollars and you get a great, fun game plus you get to feel good about
yourself. Us Beanie Baby Fans must stick together. Thanks, Candy.

I have not opened the attachment, and I would urge you to advise people
not to. I replied to the email address which was
beanie-@hotmail.com' and (surprise surprise) it bounced right back.
I strongly suspect that this could be a virus, so please warn your
readers to look out for this. If it is genuine, then please advise
'Candy' that he or she should only send emails with attachments to
people that actually know them. I have no idea where this person got my
email address from, and I am not suggesting my address came from you,
but please let people know of it's existence. Thanks. Andrew Langmead.
=====
Questions
From: Bean eWonderland
Lee writes: "I have heard a rumour from my TY dealer that Shamrock and
Kaleidoscope are not on the next order form. The thing is Eggs is
available but not the pink version, they say it is going to be white
from now on. Has anyone else heard this, could he be doing another
Spangle treatment.. (Bean eWonderlands comment - We have heard that
Shamrock and Kaleidoscope have been sent out in larger than usual
amounts, a sign maybe that they are set to retire soon. As for the Eggs
rumour, I have heard this and it originated from an online secondary
dealer. I have not heard of anyone else report a sighting and would not
like to say if this is true or not, my own feeling is that it is false
but only Ty knows the real answer. If it is true watch for an
announcement today now that I have said false :o)).
=====
Gann Spring Cleaning - Free Bears
From: Beanieholics
Gann Inc. is doing some spring cleaning. The result is free bears for
collectors that want them. Yep, we said FREE. Visit the Gann Memorials
website for all the details. Click Here For Gann Memorials
=====
Fake UK Tags
From: Beanieholics
Peggy Gallagher passes along a note warning of Beanie Babies with
counterfeit 2nd generation UK tags. These fakes are normally found on
colored bears and wingless Quackers. Here is what to look for:

The counterfeit is written: Ty(UK)LTD.
The authentic is written: Ty(UK)Ltd.

The "td" must be small letters on the authentic 2nd generation Ty Beanie
Baby tag.
Click Here For Peggy's Website - Beanie Phenomenon
=====
EXCITING NEWS:
Hi Ms. Janie,
I picked up the current edition of the German collecting magazine
"Sammler-Hit!" yesterday. I found a very interesting article in it
concerning some supposed new Beanies to be released. I scanned the
article and attached it to this email. Translation is courtesy of my
wife.
http://www.msjanie.com/pix/germanbeanies.html
=====
***PRESS RELEASE from the JUMBiELAND JOURNAL***

Aliso Viejo, CA - JUMBiES(TM) creator, John Bilotta, will be on a
nationally syndicated radio talk show called "Bizness Soup" which is
scheduled to air "live" on this Saturday, March 10th at 5:00 PST (8pm
EST). However, the JUMBiES(TM) segment is scheduled for 5:30pm PST (8:30
EST). The topics that will be covered on the JUMBiES(TM) segment include
how the JUMBiES(TM) were created...marketing strategies...and what's the
latest news on a JUMBiES(TM) cartoon series.

The show, hosted by John DeBevoise and Chris Jaynes, Bizness Soup (i.e.,
BizSoup & The Soup) is a fast paced radio program dedicated to Business
and the Customers of Business. The show promises to entertain, inform,
and empower you toward financial profitability by providing the tips,
tools, and techniques that help you run your business better, invest
smarter, and be a better consumer.

A list of stations is attached to this email that will be carrying the
program or you can click on the following link for the list:

http://www.bizsoup.com/stations_saturday.htm
JUMBiES(TM) are the hottest, new original collection of beanbag toys.
JUMBiES(TM) , which stands for jumbled babies, are combinations of two
breeds from the animal kingdom. The designs utilize characters derived
from mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, and even dinosaurs. Apparently,
the Stork Delivery Service (SDS) jumbled up countless species when they
continually crashed into one another resulting from their faulty air
traffic control center. The results, for example, are hilarious
combinations like the DINGBAT(TM)=(Dingo + Bat), the
BLABBIT(TM)=(Bluebird + Rabbit), and the PANDAPOTAMUS(TM)=(Panda Bear +
Hippopotamus).

JUMBiES Inc.
PH: 949-448-7088
FX: 949-448-7188
in-@jumbies.com
www.jumbies.com
=====
At it Again?
From: The Daily Bean
I received at rather long email about some notorious people that were
into beanie baby fraud sales online. Since it is rather long, please
click the link below. http://www.heatherlea.com/again.htm
=====
From: Ms. Janie
The following was found on Ty's Website.
I found it rather cute and interesting. Ivan is a regular poster on the
boards and makes many predictions. This is the fun part of collecting!
A prediction.......by Ian St.Ian...heh...heh....
retirethis (09:44 pm. Mar 05, 2001 )
Message Id: 819610
retirethis writes: The homepage is clear...must mean that we will be
receiving an incoming transmission tomorrow! I'm thinking (if it's not a
retirement) that it will be the introduction of some colored EGGS
BEARS!!!!
Pink, Blue yellow and Green!
The cutest Eggs you've ever seen!
Fun to buy and cute to hold!
The lucky one will find a GOLD!!
Signed by Ty and worth big bucks!
To all you collectors...I wish GOOD LUCK!
Ian© http://www.ty.com/cyberboard/news/msg819610.html
=====
SOMETHING CUTE TO SHARE
Princess wedding photos and wedding party at the following link. A
SPEICAL THANKS TO Shellee Hoff for sharing her photos!
http://www.msjanie.com/pix/princesswedding.html

==March 5, 2001==
Mellow Variations?
From: The Daily Bean (http://www.heatherlea.com/nr.htm)
Jamie shares the following from his obversations.
Mellow I 
The Mellow on your ebay picture is different than the one on Smart Collecting and the one from ebay is from England, while the one from Smart Collecting is from the U.S.A. You are probably wondering by now what the difference is. The one from England has a red happy face and eye brows and the one from the U.S.A. has no eye brows and no happy face. What does this mean? Are there 2 variations? Uhoh. Looks like the hunt is on for an EU version and a US version. Also did you notice that
the U.S. version looks like the more serious classic Winnie the Pooh and the EU version looks like the regular more happy version of Winnie the Pooh. Happy Bean Hunting!!!!!

Mellow II
Just looked at the Ms. Janie picture of the new beanies and the Mellow there is from the U.S.A., but has a happy face and eye brows. 

Heather has posted a picture comparison which you will find here:
http://www.heatherlea.com/images/spec/compare.jpg
=====
Believe in your dreams
From: Bean eWonderland (http://www.beaniewonderland.com)
Dreams can come true. That was the message state Sen. Doyle Webb took Friday to second-graders in Janis Barker's classroom at Caldwell Elementary School in Benton. Webb, R-Benton, brought with him a special item for one of the children in the class - a red, white and blue Beanie Baby elephant. The elephant was a central part of a dream in which Jeremy had an elephant that had been autographed by President George Bush. After Jeremy's parents shared the contents of the dream with Webb, he and his wife, Prosecuting Attorney Barbara Webb, attempted to get the elephant autographed when they attended inaugural festivities for Bush in Washington, D.C. Although the Webbs tried valiantly to accomplish this goal, they didn't succeed. This week, however, before the new president was scheduled to visit Little Rock, the Webbs again borrowed Jeremy's elephant. It was time to try one more time, they believed. In this instance, the second time was the charm, for Webb was able to speak with Bush when he visited Lakewood Elementary School in North Little Rock. In that setting, the senator said he told the nation's chief executive officer about Jeremy's experience and asked if he would help make the dream come true. The president autographed the elephant, Webb said. "He was happy to do so," Webb added. Before returning the elephant to Jeremy. Full Story:
=====
Teddy Talk
From: Beanieholics (http://www.randyandtheresa.com/)
Chris Herrington, chief designer and founder of Herrington's Teddy Bear Club delivers a 'State Of The Toy Fair' address by way of a press release. Of interest, Herrington talks about Ty Warner and the Beanie
Kids line at the show, "I was blown away by all the hoopla surrounding Beanie Kids. I even overheard Ty Warner himself asking people what they thought of Beanie Kids." Click Here For More On Ty And Toy Fair

Fake Beanie Kids
From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Beaniemom has some real ugly photos of FAKE Beanie KIDS! http://www.beaniemom.com


==March 4, 2001==
Good afternoon! I just wanted to let you know that BeanKid's NEWSCenter ( www.beankid.net ) is currently having a contest to win ALL 5 NEW BEANIES (Cassie, Float, Mellow, Hornsly, and Purr!) ...That's right! We are giving away all 5 NEW BEANIES! It's another easy contest to win... no daily questions, you just have to subscribe to our mailing list and join our Yahoo! club! This is the most exciting contest BeanKid's NEWSCenter has ever had! You can win ALL 5 NEW BEANIES!

From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Beanie Baby Authentication Service by Peggy Gallagher
Saturday, April 7, 2001 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
The Cat's Meow Gift Shop Tele: 1 847 657 6369
1814 Glenview Road
Glenview, Illinois 60025 (Chicago Suburb)
Free Parking (Between Harlem Avenue and Waukegan Road) Downtown Glenview Limit 5 Beanies per person please. $15.00 per Beanie Save the insurance and shipping fee!! Peggy is looking forward to meeting you! Thank you 
Sincerely, Peggy Gallagher Enterprises, Inc. http://www.peggyg.com

RARE PATTI's FOR SALE
Contact Joan at asio@webtv.net

==serious and reasonable inquiries only!!==
Your offer may be the one she's looking for so don't hesitate to contact Joan.

This seller comes with a lot of references.. I also stand behind Joan as I have purchased from her in the past and have been very happy with my purchases.

Maroon Patti is listed on certificate #012378 as a "RARE COLORED PATTI", mint Maroon with no h/t but a 1st generation tush tag

Magenta Patti is listed on certificate #012377 as a "COMMON COLOR PATTI" in mint condition with no h/t but a 1st generation tush tag.

Both Patti's come sealed in a case with 2 certificates of authenticity by Peggy Gallagher. One sealed in the case and the other separate. They are both certified as mint and have mint black and white, 1st
generation, butt tags. NO frays. No creases.

If these Patti's had hang tags, they would list at about $100 to $325 for Magenta and $400 to $510 for Maroon.

Product Codes (style numbers)
From: Bean eWonderland (http://www.beaniewonderland.com)
I know some of you like to keep track of the Beanie product codes, here are the codes for the recent new releases: Cassie - 4340, Mellow - 4344, Float - 4343, Hornsly - 4345 and Purr - 4346.

==March 3, 2001==
LINDA SHARES THE FOLLOWING:
Hi Lisa, We were lucky enough to see the new beanies today. Cassie has lots of long hair on him and I'm sure he'll be popular. Purr has fur like Sniffer's. Hornsly is great, smaller than I expected. We bought Float, an absolute Beauty. I wonder if Ty will announce a Bee called Sting? ('Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee' as Mohamid Ali said). We also got Mellow and we all like him, that ebay photo is very unflattering, we think he looks like Winnie the Pooh, a happy bear with Groovy's fur. We all agree (me and my daughters) that the only thing we don't like is his ribbon, it's 15/16 " or 25mm wide and the wrong colour. Have a super weekend!

NEW CONTEST BEGINS TODAY AT ANDREA'S ATTIC (http://www.andreasattic.com)
You have voted for the newest contest!
Here are the results!
PRIZE PACKAGE #1: New Prize Every Day - 199 Votes
PRIZE PACKAGE #2: Coral & Sting Beanies - 39 Votes
PRIZE PACKAGE #3: Sakura Buddy - 143 Votes
So the winner is...
NEW PRIZE AND A NEW WINNER EVERY DAY!
The prizes will be:
Saturday: Beginning Buddy
Sunday: Kaleidoscope
Monday: Shamrock
Tuesday: Flashy
Wednesday: 10 Colored Tag Protectors
Thursday: Eggs
Friday: Birthday Buddy
Saturday: Hairy Beanie
Sunday: 4 Beanie Cases
Monday: Clubby I Beanie
The contest questions will be posted in the newsletter each day, with a new winner picked each day as well. Questions must be answered on the contest form located on the contest page. BEST OF LUCK!

SAD NEWS FROM ANDREA’S ATTIC (http://www.andreasattic.com)
This will be our last contest :(
Andrea’s Attic will be closing it’s cyber doors on March 15th. With the blessings of God, this website grew well beyond my dreams, but it also has grown well past my capabilities. I do all the buying, packaging, shipping and newsletters by myself. Not to mention answering well over 100 e mails every day. Unfortunately, this is quite near impossible with a 6 week old newborn baby. It breaks my heart to close this website, as my webmaster, Hank and I have worked very hard to bring it to where it is today. But I feel I cannot offer the service I want to be able to offer you...which is one that exceeds your expectations. I hope that somewhere down the road I will be able to open my doors again, but for now, I need to be with my family, as times with a newborn are precious, because before I know it she will be dating, graduating college and out of the house LOL I will keep this e mail account open well after the
website closes as I feel I have made friends with many of you kind Beanie folks, and I am always up for a good bit of Beanie gossip! I will leave it up to you though: And I welcome your e mails to
Andrea@andreasattic.com with your thoughts: Would you like to see Andrea’s Attic remain open as a news-only site, where you only receive newsletters when the Beanie gossip breaks? Not to mention postings on the website with all the latest Beanie rumors? It is up to you..... Beanies are in my blood...I can never give them up. Either way...I am still here...and all orders will be shipped that have been placed over the last couple of days! Not to worry, I am an honest person and would never do a person wrong! Looking forward to hearing from you on this one....

Planet Beans Comments: Andrea will be missed.. I do hope she will stay in touch and be involved somehow in the Beanie community. I fully understand as I'm sure everyone else does.. she has a little one to take care of and babies grow so quickly I admire her for making this decision to spend her time with the family. There will ALWAYS be a place for Andrea in the Beanie community and hopefully we'll see her again very soon. :o) I wish I lived close enough to her to help her keep things going.

New Beanies
From: Bean eWonderland (http://www.beaniewonderland.com)
Marilyn once again is kind enough to share her pictures of the 5 new beanies with us, you will notice each one also include a close-up of the hang tag. View here: http://www.beaniewonderland.com/news/extra.htm

Thank You Update 2
From: Bean eWonderland (http://www.beaniewonderland.com)
We received a nice email from Jacqueline Greenwood of Smart Collecting regarding our complaint of the stolen story and why it was not corrected after we emailed our concerns: Dear Richard, I am the only one who can update the news portion of this website. Since I was on vacation, I just worked on my news. News stories are not emailed to me. They are submitted via the web. (I would like to thank Jacqueline for clearing this up. We don't mind sharing our news with anyone but the same goes
when people send us information, if it comes from another site please inform the site that you are sending it to where the article originates from).

From: Ms. Janie (http://www.msjanie.com)
Lots of new BAD TRADERS..and updates..
GrammaPat (09:59 pm. Mar 02, 2001 )
Message Id: 817987
GrammaPat writes:
on many old Bad Traders are available at traderlist. Please don't forget to check the list before you deal on the internet, and please be sure to...ALWAYS INSURE :) http://www.ty.com/cyberboard/news/msg817987.html


==March 2, 2001==
Who is Annie Nickels? 
Read the following story and learn something new about the spokesperson from Ty Inc http://www.msjanie.com/pix/whoisannie.html

HORNSLY VARIATION OR MISTAKE? NICK SHARES THE FOLLOWING: Attached is a graphic from the very first announcement where Hornsly is spelled Hornsley.  Will this be one of those variation things, or did the creator of the graphic have it wrong the first time? Planet Beans comment: It is my opinion that the graphic maker made a simple mistake but only Tyme will tell with this one. :o)

NEW BEANIE POEMS
Nick shares the following:
Float - November 12, 2000
She flitters and flies and floats around
Graceful and lovely, not making a sound
Although she flies both near and far
She'll always return to where you are.

Cassie - July 12, 2000
This loyal collie will stay by your side
When you're lost, she'll be your guide
If you need her, wherever she roams
Just call out, "Cassie come home!"

Purr - March 18, 2000
Today feels like a lazy day
He won't even want to play
He won't try to catch a mouse
He'll just lay around the house

IN HAND PICTURE OF MELLOW
From: Ms. Janie 
Sly has sent Ms. Janie the remaining link, which is the last one to view. I'm sorry but in my humble opinion, Mellow is one UGLY bear. LOL
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=565625900

SPECIAL WARNING: 
Susie shares some rather disturbing news about fraud once again on e-bay! Folks PLEASE be careful and inspect all photos! As the X-Files would say - Trust No One! Ms. Janie, Check out the picture in the ad. They claim this to be a 4th gen. flip. I claim it to be a teenie beanie! Look at his nose! Some poor beanie lover got taken. I have since seen ads for what claimed to be maple beanie but the picture clearly was a teenie beanie again but I don't think I still have the ad for that one. Please tell people to be careful when bidding! And look at the pictures when people put them in. A picture is sometimes worth a thousand words! Best wishes, Susie
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=558325366

What is MWMT
From: Bean eWonderland
When one of our readers asked us our definition of a beanie that has a mint with mint tag, we replied, "A tag that is in perfect condition, no tears, creases or blemishes". When the reader replied they had purchased a 'mwmt Buckingham' from a seller on the Meta Exchange which had a price sticker over the tag we assumed this was not a MWMT and that the buyer had a cause for complaint. This is the reply our reader received from the Meta Exchange. "We do not have a policy regarding a price sticker on the tag if the tag itself is mint, at the MetaExchange, a mint beanie baby is one that is not torn, not faded, is smoke and odour free, and has no creases in the tags." I myself would not have been happy if the tag had a price sticker over it, so maybe it would pay to ask this valid question if you are considering a purchase.

==March 1, 2001==
New law benefits adoptees
From: Bean eWonderland
Breann Spencer has pink and blue toys. There are Beanie Babies on the wall above her bed. On her Blue's Clues bedspread sits a doll named Ping with a red dress and black hair. But this 4-year-old also has a "China Drawer" in her desk with treasures collected when her mother went to China to adopt her. Full Story:

Thank You
From: Bean eWonderland
Another thank you goes to Bill (the supplier of the article) and several others who all pointed out that our 'Quiet Retirement' article has been stolen and placed on the Smart Collecting web site under the name anon. I have emailed the people over there informing them of the situation but have not received a reply. It is not the first time they have done this and I doubt if it will be the last. I have seen many quality articles on other web sites appear on Smart Collecting a day later, usually with the description 'A smart collecting member reports'... Everyone makes mistakes but surely you should learn from them?

Thank you Update
From: Bean eWonderland
Mary writes: "I posted the info to Smart Collecting, this is on a retirement, you don't have exclusive rights to a retirement announcement by Ty Inc". (Bean eWonderlands comment - We are not saying we have exclusive rights to anything but it is not correct for an article to be re-produced word for word on another site without giving the originator in this case Bill the credit. You copied text from this site and mailed it to another site. Smart Collecting should have realised this was taken from another source and they could have replied to my emails but they never. I stand by the statement that the article was stolen from Bean eWonderland). 

Planet Beans Comment: I've noticed this before with articles that I've posted. What's the big deal about giving credit where credit is due?!

Zany Brainy's show 'n tell day for vendors
From: Bean eWonderland
Somewhere out there lurking in obscurity is the next major breakout toy, and Zany Brainy wants to find it first. To improve the odds of discovering the next Beanie Babies before its competition does, the specialty toy retailer has begun holding monthly forums for toy vendors at its support center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Entitled Zany Best Stuff Search, the meetings, which kicked off in late February and are being held the last Thursday of every month, are designed to make it easier for vendors to pitch their creations. Full Story:

St. Patrick's Contest
Collectiblez [ http://www.collectiblez.net ] is currently having a new St. Patrick's Day contest where you could win many great prizes including Erin Beanie, Buddy & Teenie, Shamrock & more!! Visit Collectiblez for more details!

3,363 JUMBO VALENTINA ENTRIES
Winner has been announced ~ Contests

"White" Beanie Baby Eggs???
From: The Shoppes - I Luv Collectibles
We have seen and heard reports of a "White" Beanie Baby Eggs showing up in various parts of the country. If you have this Beanie or have seen it - please write in to us and let us know! We all know that Ty will make a different color variation of a "beanie or buddy" unannounced as a surprise. Eggs currently is listed and available in Pink on the Ty site and also we have the Pink version in stock.

NEW MARCH CONTESTS
Visit the Contest Directory to see the NEW Listing of NEW Contests for March at The Shoppes - I Luv Collectibles! Prizes include: New Ty Beanie Buddy Sakura, Dale, Jr. & Sr. Bears, Decorated Musical Halo. New Club Members contests for March including a new "hunt" starts soon also! http://www.iluvcollectibles.com/contestdirectory.html

March 2001 Ordering Parameters 
http://www.msjanie.com/pix/marchordering.html

ISSY IS ANNOUNCED
http://www.ty.com/announcements/issy022801.html

NEW BEANIES IN THE UK ~ GREAT PICTURES 
From: Ms. Janie 
Sly has been on the prowl and found some incredible pictures of the NEW Beanies, which have already arrived in the UK. 
Hornsly http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=565565308 
Cassie - http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=565563696 
Purr - http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=565564739 
Float - http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=565565819