(I received this in my email this morning) Important news from your Friends at Ty  Time's running out !  The latest edition (red) to our "America Trio" is almost gone !  Don't delay, visit the Ty Store now to complete your collection.
	Your purchase of this new red version of "America" will help support Red Cross services in your local Community. Click Here for all the details
Your support of our "America" series has been overwhelming.  With your help we have raised over 1.5 Million Dollars for the Red Cross.   From all your friends at Ty . . . . THANK YOU !

Ty April Ordering Parameters
From: Beanieholics
Our retailer friend 'T' shares the ordering parameters for Ty retailers for the month of April. This includes a confirmed list of items coming from Ty in April and the quantities they can be ordered in plus info on the World Cup Soccer Beanies and how they will be distributed and displayed. Click Here For More

-=March 29, 2002=-
Rare Ty
From: BeaneWonderland
Carrying on from the 'rare ty' theme, the following ebay auction is for a Ty 2000 Canada Christmas Card given to employee's View Here:

There are changes afoot in the Chubbley camp
From: Bean Bag World UK
Soft Touch Toys (UK) Ltd, the creators of the chubby Chubbley Bears have announced a name change!

Darren Barker told BBW ‘We just figured that everyone calls us Chubbley so we might as well BE Chubbley!! They are now known as Chubbley UK Ltd.

This could be good news for collectors, as we shall be seeing another change to the hangtags to reflect the new name

One things certain, Softie will be one to get hold of, with its Soft Touch badge

Hi Randy,
Here's a list of what can be ordered on Monday. No word yet on the Teenie Beanie Boppers or ordering parameters, so this may only be a partial list.

Please view the list HERE

BEANIE QUESTION ON WEAKEST LINK
Marc shares the following:
"I keep reading on some Websites that "news is slow" in the world of Beanies, so here's something for you to start Friday with. :7)

On one of the March 28 syndicated (half-hour) epsiodes of The Weakest Link, the following was asked:

"What Ty Corporation stuffed animal line includes Diddley the fantasy dog and Cheery the sunshine bear?"

answer : Beanie Babies

I remember questions about Ty or Beanie Babies on other game shows this past year, once on Jeopardy and maybe 2 or 3 times on Millionaire. With all of the new products that Ty keeps releasing, it might help out to get on and WIN BIG MONEY on these shows to support our collecting habit. LOL. :7)" Marc

ASK TY
Q: I always wondered when you know it's time to do another animal, like the lion, elephant and the butterfly. Do you have some sort of rotation for repeated animals or is it just when a certain design strikes you as being perfect?
(submitted by Figmentbear )
A: As you can imagine, I am always working on new designs. There is no special rotation or a set plan. Every detail on a new design must be perfect. Once this has been accomplished the piece goes into production and then is introduced. Speaking of new introductions, here's a hint . . . . APRIL YES !

ONLY 6 DAYS LEFT TO ORDER SPECKLES BUDDY
http://www.tytrade.com/TyStore 

BASKET BEANIES RETIRE
http://retirement.ty.com/bbretirement

-=March 28, 2002=-
Tidbits Newsletter
From: BeaneWonderland
Bob writes: Attached is a scan of a Ty Tidbits newsletter that was sent to Ty Retailers (may have been included with billing statements).  It details information previously known concerning the new Teenie Beanie Boppers and contains information about American Millie, the only Teenie Beanie Bopper unique to this line.  Her birthday is July 4 and she is from Westchester, Pennsylvania.  Favorite American things are Ferris wheels, fireworks, and fireflies.  Millie has reddish-brown hair and has an American flag on her shirt.  The newsletter concludes with "For a full report on this new Ty product line, be sure to check the May/June 2002 issue of Mary Beth's Beanies & More: The Magazine for Collectors." View Here:

100 FREE IMA HERO BEARS 
Diane shares the following:
In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Teddy Bear, IMA Hero is
giving away 100 free Ben or Florence IMA Hero Teddy Bears with purchase to the first 100 people. Details are available on the IMA Hero Web Site through the link below. Don't delay! This offer ends Wednesday, April 3, 2002. Find out more: View HERE 
Email any questions to info@imahero.com

-=March 27, 2002=-
Rep Report 
From: BeaneWonderland
This has been confirmed folks, The world cup beanies and buddies are ready to ship, all 32 of each. The beanie version is meant to be like Sequoia in material, country flag on nose and FIFA emblem on chest. They will come with a point of sale stand too. Ty has invested £20 million into this promotion (about $30) I have also been told a few new animal beanies are ready to be released and also confirmed Commonwealth and Jubilee beanies... but not to be released just yet. 

Pink Ribbon Debate
From: BeaneWonderland
From the email: Hello, I just wanted to share a picture with you of a KISSME BEAR with a PINK RIBBON.  I bought this beanie here in PA.  The Ribbon is much darker than that of an Eggs II.  I made up an alternate screen name on AOL to hide my identity.  View Here:

Bean eWonderlands comment - It could be that the Ribbon was purchased from a store and was the nearest match. I would always be cautious about paying more for a beanie with a variation in a ribbon please read the 'Beanie Alert' article by Peggy Gallagher (25th March).

Planet Beans Comments: That ribbon looks too perfect doesn't it? I just don't trust that there is actually a Kissme bear out there with a pink ribbon. If someone I know and trust owns one and you'd like to prove me wrong.. please send a picture in.

Yes, Dear, It's Rascal
From: Beanieholics
The Beanie Kid called Rascal made a brief appearance on CBS last night in an episode of 'Yes, Dear.' While the house was being cleaned he was picked up and held for a few minutes during a conversation between the main characters of the show. (Does that make Rascal a 'primetime kid?')

McDONALD'S TY PROMOTION
From: Ms. Janie
Sly post a note on my message boards about a promotion with McDonalds and Ty coming this Fall - Check it out HERE

-=March 26, 2002=-
Officials try to stop woman from feeding birds
From: BeaneWonderland
After 15 years of feeding the bald eagles of Eagle River, Betty Hand can't understand why authorities want her to stop. State and federal wildlife officers, who blame Hand for two bald eagles' deaths in March 2000, can't understand why she won't. A 67-year-old retired elementary school cafeteria manager born in Middlesex, England, Hand remains fascinated by the birds. A bald eagle Beanie Baby perches on the dashboard of her SUV. A sparkling eagle pin soars on her lapel. Full Story:

Redeeming 'Ty Rewards Points'
From: Beanieholics
So you have been using your Ty MasterCard and have racked up a considerable amount of 'Ty Rewards Points.' You're ready to cash them in for more M.C. Beanies or possibly some of the cool looking Ty merchandise that is available but you are not sure how to go about it. Wonder no more as 'Your Friends From Ty' take you through the ordering process step-by-step.
Click Here For More

SEVERAL SETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE
Get yours in time for Easter if you purchase by Wednesday .. a SET of Basket Beanies for $12.99. Kid's Collection has some great buys on your favorite toys including Bob the Builder, Superman, Thomas, Winnie the Pooh, Ty, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Madeline, Myrtlewood Stables, Mickey and Minnie, Bendos, Playmobil, and MORE! Stop buy today for daily specials on popular educational toys!

- Set of 5 New Buddies $49.99
- New Beanie Babies are always $5.99 each

Kody offers a flat rate for shipping: $4.95 no matter how much you order.
http://www.kidscollection.cjb.net/

New Chubbley Bear contest at Bean Bag World
Daphne shares the following:
Some additions to the Chubbley Bear range are expected to be announced this Spring and there’s a brand new contest on the Bean Bag World website at www.beanbagworld.info to help share in the excitement! 

Visitors have the chance to offer their guesses at the names of the new ones and can win prizes of these new Chubbleys.  You can enter new guesses each day and the contest will run until announcements of the names are made on the official Chubbley website www.chubbleybears.co.uk 

By the way, there are also two more current, free contests: win a Sakura II and a numbered/signed Show exclusive Chubbley Bear 

Regards
Daphne

NEW CONTEST AT ABOUT BEANIES
Marie shares the following:
Hi Everyone! Could you let your readers all know we are starting a Easter Basket Hunt Contest this Monday March 25 for some great prizes! Just visit http://www.aboutbeanies.com for more information! Thank you have a great Beanie Week! -Marie  

-=March 25, 2002=-
Beanie Alert
From: BeaneWonderland
From the email: Please alert your readers that if they are planning on spending a lot of money on a Kiss Me bear oddity with a pink, purple, yellow and white ribbons, save your money. Here is what has been occurring: Kiss Me was released from the Ty company with the blue ribbon!  A few Beanie collectors AKA fashion designers have been removing the yellow ribbon from Chickie, pink ribbon from Eggs II, purple ribbon from Eggs, and the white ribbon from Issy.  

Now we have an array of Kiss Me with a variety of pastel color ribbons.  This is not a Ty company manufacture error!  This is only a few people changing ribbons from Beanie to Beanie.  The nlue ribbon Kiss Me will be the most valuable because that is the way the Beanie was designed and released! Important to remind yourself....... when a seller begins explaining that they got it from someone that bought it direct from an authorized Ty store.  This is the oldest story in the "Beanie Baby book!" 

You may also want to ask yourself, does the authorized Ty store sell secondary market Beanie Babies? Many store owners have innocently switched, redesigned, dressed, and removed ribbons from all kind of stuffed toys, not only Ty! So please BUYER BEWARE Peggy Gallagher:

-=March 24, 2002=-
Could it Be Any Harder?
Heather shares the following:
Have you gotten frustrated by trying to find that elusive Scotland or Wales bear? Well, this is a must-read for you then!

Heather of Canadian Perspectives has sent in her latest article detailing how those two may be a figment of our imagination... She also thanks all her friends & a very special Lady in the US for her kind heart. This lady has created over 160 baskets for the ill/sick kids in hospitals!
Click Here for the Latest Canadian Perspectives - http://www.dailybean.net/articles/canada/

Red Cross aims for donations 
From: BeaneWonderland
To help with March’s fundraising efforts, Ty, the company that manufactures Beanie Babies, has added the “America” bear to its collection with 100 percent of its profits benefiting the Red Cross. “They (employees of Ty) look at where the orders came from by area code and whatever portion of the money came from that area is sent to their local Red Cross chapter,” Snodgrass said.

The collectible bear can be ordered through the Ty website www.ty.com or local residents may check out Calloway County’s newly established Red Cross website www.callowayredcross.org where a link is provided to order the bear from the Ty company. Full Story:

Bean eWonderlands comment - I mentioned just the other day that others are now picking up on this same rumour, strange so little was said about it back in January but I guess more information is now starting to leak out.

I have heard that they will be available to everyone, it would be difficult to make them available to only their respective countries as exclusives. Some of the teams who have qualified like, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tunisia and Turkey (to my knowledge) have no Ty retailers in their countries. Beanie Bonkers have more on this.

I have also seen one report on Beanieholics that all the bears will be brown in colour with the flags on their noses. This would seem the best option considering Ty is already using this colour material and design for the MC Bears.

-=March 23, 2002=-
The world of Joshua Whitehouse, 11, autist and artist
From: BeaneWonderland
Joshua likes the jungle, Aztecs and buildings. He doesn't like power pylons, cigarettes and the September 11 attackers. When he gets angry, he draws "to put my anger out." Joshua is 11 years old, living with his mum in Birmingham, central England, and autistic. He is also an artistic prodigy, one of only 23 in the world of his kind, whose drawings are startling critics here with their detail, imagination and depth.

More than 50 of his drawings have been sold, including one of New York that was sold for more than £1 000 ($1 400) at a benefit auction for victims of the September 11 attacks. The rest, which are on display at Brenson's gallery, have sold for between £100 and £400 Joshua's world is one of beanies — small bags of grain topped with a human face, much beloved of children in Britain - pirates and Aztecs. "In some cases a magnifying glass is needed to see the sneer on a bad beanie or the twinkle in the eye of a good one," Brenson said. Full Article:

World Cup Beanies?
From: Beanieholics
Though not confirmed by Ty, there is talk going around of the possibility of World Cup Soccer Beanies. RyeByPost reports a reliable source saying that Ty will be introducing a new set of Beanies and Buddies to tie in with this. Reportedly there will be 32 Beanies and Buddies, one for each of the countries playing. All the Beanies will be a dark tan color with the corresponding country flag as a nose. In addition to this information, we also received the following email from one of our foreign readers:

The Ty rep who visited one of my favourite retailers showed him a sample of a brown bear with a plastic shamrock nose. It was due to be released soon, representing Ireland as one of the teams participating in the World Cup soccer tournament. There will be one for each of the participating countries. They will not however be restricted to the country they represent, but will be available everywhere. He said it was really lovely. I can't believe you have not heard this rumour elsewhere yet. The retailer wasn't told not to spread the word, so I don't think I'm getting him into any trouble. I didn't see it myself, as the rep took it away with him, but this retailer isn't prone to leg-pulling, so I believe him about this. All the best ~Brenda

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. We do believe that Beanies based on World Cup Soccer would be very popular if they are released. If you are wondering which countries would be represented in this, RyeByPost has set up a World Cup Soccer page. Click Here For Link To RyeByPost

Ty On TV
From: Beanieholics
Keagan writes to tell us that a Kaleidoscope Beanie Baby was spotted on ABC's presentation of World Championship Figure Skating on Thursday night. Kaleidoscope was given to one of the skaters performing. Also on Good Morning America this week it was mentioned that Ty had presented a check for $7,500 to the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund from the sale of charitable Beanie Babies.

-=March 22, 2002=-
ASK TY
Q: Where do you get the personal info for each Beanie Bopper (hometown etc)? (submitted by QB_Sue)
A: Whenever I travel I always try to visit one of my retailers. More times than not, I spot a child playing with one of the Beanie Boppers. The personalities, hometowns and pets . . . . . all come from these wonderful children.

Tokyo Cherry Blossoms Bloom Early
From: Beanieholics
The Japan exclusive called Sakura is linked to cherry blossoms so we found the following story from The Japan Times interesting:

Balmy weather brought flowering cherry trees in Tokyo into full bloom Thursday, the earliest on record, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The full blossoms in the capital are the earliest since the agency began observing them in 1953, and are 15 days earlier than average, agency officials said. Unusually warm weather since mid-January prompted cherry trees to bloom early at many locations in central and western Japan, with cherry blossoms beginning to bloom on March 16, 12 days earlier than average. Click Here For Picture

STILL LOOKING FOR AMERICA
A reader writes in the following:
"Hi,  I just wanted to say I saw the American Bear at Waldenbooks today.  For those people who didn't get it.  I live in California and Waldenbooks is a nation-wide bookstore. It was only $5.99!  Good Luck in the hunt!"

RETIREMENT - http://retirements.ty.com/mrl
Beanies: Kirby, January Birthday Bear
Buddies: Seal, Ears, Flitter
Attics: Rosalyne

AMERICA - RED VERSION
Thanks to Tami for the heads up
You can now order a RED version of America from TyTrade.com
http://release.ty.com/AmericaRed

-=March 21, 2002=-
Report from New Zealand
Rosemary shares the following:
"It seems like all the Asian exclusives have sold out down here.  All stores made you buy 2 commons for each Ferny.  However, while some required 2 commons for each of the other exclusives,  one store chain only required 1common.  They have certainly proved popular here.  The biggest complaint I personally have is that there is not a great choice of commons available, at least compared to the USA.  I managed to find a few blue Americas and Courage dogs.  The stores apparently could order either Courage or Rescue, but not both."

Ro
(Rosemary Allen)
New Zealand

CONTEST WINNER RECEIVES PRIZE
Betty writes in to let me know she received 'George' the UK Exclusive Chubbley Bear from last month's contest
"Hi Lisa, I received Chubbley bear George.  He is adoreable.  So soft and cuddley.  Just love the fuzzy nose and the belly button.  Thank you soooo much for introducing me to the chubbleys." Betty  

Roll Up Roll Up - Its Show Time 
From: BeaneWonderland
What is known as nothing short of a yearly tradition for most Australian Families, tomorrow (22nd March 2002) sees the start of this years Sydney Royal Easter Show. 
 
The First Show was held in 1823, only 35 years after English Colonisation. The main purpose was "furthering the quality of Australia's primary production by means of contests and competitions."
 
Held every year since (apart from 1942-46 due to WWII) The Sydney Royal Easter Show is famous all over the world for the event that it is. It is tradition in Sydney that if you live here, you must attend every year. To give you an idea of its popularity, in 1947, the record of attendance was 1,232,413 (a record for the time) yet Sydney's total population at the time was just over 1.5 Million.
 
The year of 2002 can be marked with a new Milestone, because for the first time in the Sydney Royal Easter Shows history a new event can be recorded. Ty Beanie Babies are GOING TO THE SHOW!!!
 
This can only been seen as nothing more than the total success of Ty in Australia. After only 4 months since the release of Ty, the idea of setting the precedent of Beanie Babies going to the Show gives you total excitement of hoping it could be a yearly tradition. What will they have - How will it look - What will it be ??? All the Questions will be answered tomorrow. Read the rest at BeaneWonderland on the news page.

American Red Cross Flyer
From: Beanieholics
Sal's Attic has posted a picture of an American Red Cross flyer. It shows the white version of the America Beanie Baby along with info about that bear. The size of the flyer is approximately that of an envelope. Click Here To View Flyer

Info Beanie Hint?
Heather shares the following:
Thursday March 21, 2002 7:05 a.m.
Good morning! I just can't wait to get outside and start enjoying spring! I wonder if our friends at Ty have any more spring surprises for us? I don't think they would have surprises for us two days in a row, but it sure would be neat if they did! Even if we don't get any surprises, I think it's going to be a great day anyway! I think right after breakfast I'm going to head outside and blow some soap bubbles. I want to see how big of a bubble I can make. I can smell breakfast and it's making me hungry! I'll talk to you later. Bye!

-=March 20, 2002=-
Happy Spring!!
Today is the official first day of Spring. I hope the birds are chirping and the flowers blooming where you are. ;o)

READER COMMENTS
Brenda shares the following:
Good Afternoon,Lisa!
I just arrived home; a short while ago, thought I would set down and read some of my email messages.

I noticed; that you had sent your Newsletter, so started to read it. As I scrolled down; the letter, I read your little note pertaining to your viewing links.

Well, I thought; that I would visit your site, for a change, to read your NEWS page and click on your links. Which; I enjoyed viewing and reading, very much!

Lisa, I have to tell you; that your BEANIE Graphics, on your NEWS page, are the CUTEST Graphics!  Even, the little EGGS! I love them!  They made your NEWS Page; so enjoyable, to read!

I had; to email you, to let you know!   I hope; that you continue, to use the little graphics!

Sincerely, Brenda 

IMA HERO BEARS SHOW UP IN ENGLAND
Diane shares the following:
We all have heard the saying, "We live in a small world."  Well, now the IMA Hero Bears have shown up in England.  That's right. The March, 2002, issue of the Bean Bag World UK magazine introduces the IMA Hero Teddy Bears to our British friends in an article titled, "I Need a Hero."  The writers, Randy and Theresa Creager, share the story behind the creation of the IMA Hero Bears and why StarRise Creations decided to introduce another collectible bean bag teddy bear into the toy/gift market.  The article will be posted on the IMA Hero Web Site soon.  However, if you would like an advance copy, just email your name and mailing address to diane@imahero.com.

GALILEO SPACE CRAFT
Did you know the Galileo Space Craft was launched from Florida on October 18, 1989, on a mission to Jupiter?  And it is still going!!! The Galileo IMA Hero Bear was happy to personally meet one of the engineers of the Galileo Space Craft, and his new friend was quite pleased to meet the Galileo Hero Bear. Check out the Picture of the Week: http://www.imahero.com/yourpage.html#Picture

See more photos of Galileo and his new friend:
http://www.imahero.com/photos/jplphotogallery/galileo_jpl.html

INFO BEANIE HINTS?
From: Ms. Janie
Is the Info. Beanie leaving hints of something to come or is it just a Spring party?

Tuesday March 19, 2002 9:07 p.m. Have you voted yet? I know there is a lot of time left but I don't want you to forget. I think we have everything ready for tomorrow's party. All of the decorations look so awesome and the food looks really yummy! Especially the cookies! I can't wait to see what kinds of surprises our friends at Ty have in store for us! I'm sure the surprise game will be lots of fun even though I don't know what it is yet. I hope it's something we can do outside! Maybe if I ask now before I go to bed they will tell me! I'm going to try! I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night! 

Tuesday March 19, 2002 4:16 p.m. It stopped raining but it's kind of cold. Maybe this is winter’s way of saying good-bye. I hope that spring will say hello with some warm and sunny weather! We cleaned the whole playroom for the party tomorrow, and our friends at Ty said that they have a really fun, special surprise game for us! I wonder what it will be? I just love surprises, don't you? Our friends at Ty said that if it's a nice day tomorrow, we could have as much of the party outside as we want! I sure hope that spring shows up early tomorrow and it's nice and warm! We're going to make some more cookies for the party so I'll talk to you later. Bye! 

Tuesday March 19, 2002 7:01 a.m. Good morning! It's another rainy day. I guess I don't mind too much that it's raining today because we have a lot to get ready for our Welcome Spring party! I'm hoping that tomorrow is a lot more springy than today. It would be really nice to have part of our party outside. I wish we could have the party at the lake or the park. Maybe we can go for a walk in the park during our party. That would be a perfect way to celebrate spring. I'm going to see what everyone thinks of my idea. I'll talk to you later. Bye! http://www.ty.com/infobeanie/lastpage/

Ty Asia Pacific Exclusives Take Off
From: Beanieholics
The Australian website, The Beanie Kingdom reports:
Australia's very own taste of exclusive Ty Beanies has well and truly gripped collectors around the country. Many stockists report extraordinary sales since the release of the Asia Pacific group. It seems as if Ty fever is spreading more strongly as each month passes. Click Here For Link To The Beanie Kingdom

AMERICA BEANIE BABY RETIRES
http://retirement.ty.com/retired_product
I'm surprised to see this Beanie retire at this time. I know Ty promised the availability all over the world and everyone that wanted one could buy one. Not the case.. I know of many that haven't found America in the stores yet.

-=March 19, 2002=-
Beanie Poem
The Bean eWonderland group from Yahoo have been having a competition to win an England beanie bear. To enter they had to submit a poem, votes were kindly cast by many of you and we are now down to the 5 finalists. This will be the final round of voting and I would ask if you could please visit the following link and help by voting on which one you feel is the best of the very good bunch. Vote Here: This is a stiff competition with some creative poems. I'm lucky my little poem made it into the top 5. LOL

COUNTERFEITS
Hello Beanie Friends, Would you please alert your readers? 
We discovered 2 additional counterfeit Buckingham serial numbers over the weekend. 
They are: 4MHU7TFD and 4MLPUHG5 

Other Counterfeit Serial Numbers Discovered---- 
Counterfeit Sakura Serial Numbers 4B8G9DP8, 49F8GDZB, 49P8GDZE, 4FWEZTKT, 4FROEAQZ, 47P8B6GD, 4E6GBA8Z, 48GEZ07P, 4UP0ERG9, 40GEA78G, LP0U887U, 4BZAFDRP 

Counterfeit Nipponia Serial Number 4RPAGDX3 and 4LDHGRAE 

Counterfeit Buckingham Serial Number 4HBNGFRD, 4DDB339J, 4ZSOGT6D, 48PRDE93, 4BGUOERA, 4SXWQAZD, 4CFTREDA, 4LN&G9FD 

Thank you. Sincerely, Peggy Gallagher Enterprises, Inc. www.peggyg.com

-=March 18, 2002=-
Bean Bag World Competition News
Daphne shares the following:
I thought you may wish to know that we’ve just launched two competitions at www.beanbagworld.info 

One to win a Sakura II Beanie 

Another to win a Show exclusive Chubbley Jubilee, numbered 274 of under 500 produced; this one is signed by the Chubbley creators 

Be Strong Enough To Bend! 
From: Ms. Janie
Read my latest article voicing my opinion on the current status of Beanie Babies and Ty. http://www.msjanie.com/articles/strong_enough_to_bend.html

Saying yes to the things we don’t want 
From: Ms. Janie
I’m a sucker for almost any sales pitch, and my checkbook is ongoing testimony to my spendthrift ways: the suit I said yes to even though I didn’t really like it, the unworn shoes in my closet I never should have bought, the food that rots in my refrigerator after an overeager grocery-shopping trip. We’ve all been there. But why? Shouldn’t it be easy to say no to something you don’t really want? No, actually, says Arizona State University psychology professor Robert Cialdini. We’re often motivated to spend by deeply embedded, subconscious reactions to selling “triggers” that we often don’t even realize we're facing, he says. In his book Influence: Science and Practice, Cialdini lays out six principal reasons we spend money even when we shouldn’t or don’t want to. “They're very unthinking, kind of automatic processes,” Cialdini says. “That gives marketers a lever to use on us.” Marketers, manufacturers and retailers are certainly aware of our automatic responses, and they’re manipulating them every step of the way. Likeability is another trigger: If someone you like makes a request of you, you’re more inclined to say yes. That was the secret behind Tupperware parties. Authority works. If someone making a sales pitch seems like an expert (like my aesthetician in her white coat), you’re more likely to buy. Then there’s social validation: If lots of other people are buying something, you’ll be more likely to want it as well. Finally, if something is scarce, a consumer’s desire skyrockets. The manufacturer of Beanie Babies exploits this phenomenon by making each stuffed animal for only a limited time and sending limited quantities to stores. Cialdini outlines these six buying triggers to make average consumers more aware of the subconscious processes that influence their spending habits. This can help them gain control over their behavior by recognizing how marketers exploit our unthinking responses. – LAT-WP - view article HERE

Shop At Home grows softer side 
From: Ms. Janie
For much of its 16-year history, Shop At Home Inc. built a reputation as the television home-shopping network that hawked sports memorabilia and other collectibles with the help of hosts such as Don West, who saw an ''unbelievable deal'' in every Michael Jordan trading card or Mark McGwire autograph. It was a strategy Nashville-based Shop At Home depended on for more than half its annual revenues as the company grew to become the nation's fourth-largest home-shopping network. It also attracted a male audience that set it apart from competitors. Category killer As recently as the company's fiscal year that ended June 30, 2001, nearly 60% of Shop At Home's revenues were derived from its collectibles sales category, a portion of which also includes sales of fad collectors' items such as Beanie Babies toys. But recent years have shown it to be a difficult niche to sustain. Shop At Home's net revenues for its most recent fiscal year dropped almost 12%, from $201.5 million to $177.6 million, a result the company in its annual report blamed primarily on a ''decline in the sports memorabilia and collectible toys category.'' ''A lot of it has to do with eBay,'' Woods said. View article HERE

SIZZLE & CUPID BEANIE BABIES RETIRE
http://retirements.ty.com/retired_products

EASTER EGG HUNG AT BEANYSPOT
Ryan shares the following:
With Easter just around the corner, BeanySpot has launched an Easter contest! With a chance of winning five great easter-themed prizes, you don't want to miss out!Easter Egg Hunt 2: http://www.beanyspot.net/egg2.php3

TY-SIGNED ZODIAC RAFFLE WINNER Ryan Johnson of BeanySpot.net sent in this picture to share with the Planet Beans readers of his Ty-signed Zodiac ROOSTER. What an awesome prize!! :o)

-=March 17, 2002=-
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY
Whatever your tradition.. I hope today is an enjoyable one for each of you. Peggy has shared a beautiful St. Patrick's Day site with me so I wanted to pass it on to all of you. http://www.marvelicious.com/stpatrick.html  ENJOY!! :o)

SLOOOOOOOOOW NEWS DAY IT SEEMS
I've searched all over and can't find anything of interest to share. Perhaps something will happen later today. I won't send out a newsletter until there's something to share. :o)

YAHOO! GROUPS ARE WORKING AGAIN
I popped in briefly this morning and found all of the Groups to be working at this time. Let's hope they don't go down again. How many of you had withdrawals yesterday? Did you get your houses cleaned? I did 4 loads of laundry and cleaned a bit. Will have to tackle the rest today.

Grin bear
From: BeaneWonderland
Hendersonian Pat Girten never has to look far to find a friendly face to put a little extra smile in her day. In fact, she's surrounded by hundreds of pairs of shoe-button eyes that constantly remind her of the joys of being a teddy bear collector. 

Ms. Girten collects all kinds of bears, but focuses on the Cherished Teddies collection of resin figurines, and her collection has grown to about 600. She also has dozens of stuffed bears -- including Beanie Baby bears (and the initial "Libearty" Bear) and Boyd's Bears. "You just get carried away," she said, explaining that her bear-collecting hobby has been a lot of fun since she started it almost a decade ago. "You never get tired of bears." Full Story & Pictures:

-=March 16, 2002=-
Auction helps terror victims
From: BeaneWonderland
The following article explains how a teacher camped out on a school roof to raise money for the families of victims of the Sept. 11 crash of United Airlines Flight 93. It also has a picture of a young girl and her mother entering a competition to win a Beanie Baby View Here:

PayPal Hit With Second Lawsuit
From: Ms. Janie
Internet payment service PayPal [NASDAQ:PYPL] today confirmed it has received details of a second federal lawsuit filed by disgruntled customers. The suit, filed Tuesday in the San Jose venue of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that PayPal restricted, closed or froze some its users' accounts. This week's complaint marks the second such filing against the popular Internet payment service in only two months. The national law firm of Jacoby & Myers filed a lawsuit against PayPal on Feb. 20, alleging improper restriction and administration of customer accounts. The Jacoby & Myers suit was filed in the California Superior Court in Santa Clara, Calif. Both suits are seeking national class-action status. PayPal spokeswoman Julie Anderson said the company had the same reaction to both lawsuits. View article HERE 

NEW RAFFLE AT COLLECTIBLEZ
Ryan shares the following:
Collectiblez has now started a new raffle on their website giving collectors a chance to own a new England the Bear Beanie Baby! Tickets for the raffle are only $1 each or five tickets for $3 so it's a great buy to get in on a lucky chance to win this pretty bear! The profits from the raffle go towards Ryan's College Fund for this Fall! More Information: View HERE 

A LOT OF BOUNCING GOING ON
I've noticed and increased number of "bounces" at Topica for the Planet Beans mailing list. Please.. if you are a member of this list and you have problems receiving your daily copies, let me know so I can check to make sure you are still active on the list. Sometimes Topica drops people if they have had repeated "hard bounces".

BEANIES WORTH MORE THAN A SMILE (I just had to share this)
From: Ms. Janie
Hi Ms Janie-I read how so many people are gripping about how beanies have lost their value. My Mother is in a nursing home, she is not the Mother we use to know mentally, does not smile much anymore, Friends and family have bought her stuffed animals and she just tosses them aside. I collect beanies, I take her to the hairdresser and out to lunch every Thursday and I take her with me to the store where I get my beanies, it is the only time she smiles is when she is looking at them , she loves the bears and bunnies. Of course I have to buy her one once in awhile. She puts them on a shelf and when I come in to see her she points them out and smiles, even though she forgot I am the one who bought them. Point is for $5.00 to $10.00 we get some sort of happiness they seem to be the only thing she connects with. So I would say they are worth a whole lot!! Evelyn


-=March 15, 2002=-
BEAN WATCHER COMPARES LIBEARTY & AMERICA (white version)
Bean Watcher shares the following:
Hi There!
There are so many references to the similarities between Libearty and America (White) the Bear Beanie Babies, that I decided to compare the two styles, side by side.  Not including the obvious color differences in their ears, the two bears can be easily distinguished -- if one knows what to look for.  I compared the Libearty and America (White) bears in my personal collection, took photographs, and found at least four major distinctions between the two.  If you would like to share my article (which contains photographs) with your readers, please do so.  Helping them to be better educated can prevent them from being scammed in the future! View HERE

Sincerely,
Bean Watcher

Ty Donates Beanies
From: BeaneWonderland
When Westmont asked for corporate support for its large blood drive in May, one of the world's best-known stuffed animal manufacturers responded by donating 300 Beanie Babies. Westmont-based Ty Inc. is donating 300 of its "Cupid" stuffed animals _ puppies with red hearts over their left eyes. Blood drive organizer Cathy Casey, executive aide to the village manager, said the heart symbolizes the donated blood.

The Beanie Babies will be given to people who participate in the blood drive, but the particulars still need to be worked out. Casey did not know yet whether the toys will go to people who pre-register or people who walk in _ or to people who are turned away because they cannot donate, as a token of thanks, Casey said. "With the way people feel about Beanie Babies, we hope they will be a motivating factor to get people involved," she said. Full Article:

Helping hands 
From: BeaneWonderland
It can take a major event -- an illness, a death or even a birth in the family -- to change one's priorities. Sometimes, it takes a news event that's initially unrelated to your life. Along with pledging to see more concerts my daughter and I have been talking about volunteering.

Our first outing is planned for later this month and is the end result of a successful drive at Sarah's school to put together a Beanie Baby collection for the Albany-based Ronald McDonald House. Caitlin Johnson, 9, a fourth-grader at Orenda Elementary School in Clifton Park, got the idea for the drive when she saw a box at the Ronald McDonald House that had a few Beanie Babies in it. When she asked, house volunteers explained that the Beanie Babies are given to children when they leave the hospital. Albany's Ronald McDonald House of the Capital District provides parents and family members of seriously ill children a refuge from the hospital. Full Article:

Justice After All
From: BeaneWonderland
It looks like the low life that has been giving Grandma Pat and the traderlist.com so much trouble has now found himself in hot water. The following link is to an interesting article on the Cyber boards detailing how he has finally dropped himself in it. View Here: (Thanks Pamela for the link).

Interesting!
From: Doodle's Page
While many wonder what and when the next Ty retirement will be, I find it interesting that only six Beanie Babies (including Speckles e-Beanie) and four Beanie Buddies (including Clubby IV BBOC Exclusive) have retired this year. The last Beanies to retire was one month ago today (Romance and Kissme) and Cupid has not even retired yet.

Last week (March 7), while updating the lists on the site, I checked to see what the 'oldest' Beanie Buddies were yet to retire. As you may recall, it was stated that Ty had introduced 21 Buddies at the Dallas Gift Show in June, 2000. Of those 21 Buddies, 10 still remain current ... Bones, Bushy, Flitter, Happy, Pouch, Schweetheart (lg and x-lg), Sneaky, Teal Teddy, and White Tiger. Are these (or at least some of these) next in line for their spot in the retirement home?

So what's next in the Ty plans? Retirements of some of the older products? ... new releases? ... new products? ... where are the Teenie Beanie Boppers? Come on Ty, we're (patiently?) waiting to see what's next! With St. Patrick's Day and Easter just around the corner, perhaps something soon? I think I've heard the saying a few times ... "tyme will tell".

ATTIC RETIREMENT
Blarney retires: http://retirement.ty.com/retired_product

-=March 14, 2002=-
ANOTHER GREAT WAY TO HELP THE CHILDREN
Raven writes:
"Living on a military base, you not only experience the tours of duty via your mate, but you also cry the tears they can't.  Most people want to do things, but never have the money, or the ideas. The past 1.5 years, my husband did a 7 month tour of Bosnia, my cousin did a six month tour of Bosnia, my husband did a 1 month tour in Eritrea (Africa), and now my husband's best friend is in Afghanistan. I came up with a little idea that kind of grew...and it was so simple, so easy.  We all help our own kids clean out the "old toys".  Well, besides donating used toys at Christmas, there didn't seem a way to be rid of all the fast food styled toys.... teenies, barbies, dinosaurs, dalmations, etc etc.... Well, I got out some baggies, collected the little things my daughter didn't play with anymore.... (or was willing to part with), and made up little packages for the kids.... (I bought some candy that went 1/2 price after Halloween, and some stickers from a local dollar store....200 stickers for one dollar!).... well, I put one toy, one pack of candy, and a few stickers in each baggie... and before I knew it, I had done up just a little over 100 packages. I then took all the magazines that came through our house (kept in boxes) that were not good to us anymore and packed them in my car with the baggies.... and set forth to the military base. There, we went to their Family resources centre, were they helped me take the boxes in, and thanked me endlessly.  The magazines would be sent to the troops,  and the candy/toys would be sent over too... just so the troops could hand them out to the kids they met.  Some of these children don't have toys, let alone ever get candy!  This stuff... that meant nothing to us anymore, would be not only a gift  for a poor kid, but also gestures of peace. I'm not writing this to you for credit....I got my pat on the back from the Resource Centre.  I write this to you hoping that it will go out in the newsletter to get people to realize that they too can make a difference... and these things do mean all the world to the troops."
From.... A Very Proud Canadian Military Wife...

COUNTERFEIT BUCKINGHAM
From: Ms. Janie
Hello Would you please alert your readers to a new counterfeit Buckingham serial number: 4LN7G9FD Sorry for the bad news! ): Thank you. Sincerely, Peggy Gallagher Enterprises, Inc. http://www.peggyg.com/

Gramma Pat post the following on Ty's Cyberboard 
From: Ms. Janie
**TRADERLIST appreciates all your support during the lastest spam campaign by.. GrammaPat (08:25 pm. Mar 13, 2002 ) Message Id: 1030078 GrammaPat writes: one of the bad traders listed on TRADERLIST. Please know that there is no lawsuit, no grounds for a lawsuit, and no attorney. Unfortunately there are some traders who may believe everything in the spam they have received. Traderlist would never compromise our integrity by doing what this disgruntled bad trader suggests. Please forward (as attachments) all the illegal spam email directly to the email providers. Please also watch for updates on TRADERLIST Caution Messsage Board. We have just tied two Canadian bad trader pages together. Threats to take down Traderlist by this person are not new. He has been sending these threats since last fall. I have had almost 40 illegal attempted intrusions into my computer in two days. With your help, this will be stopped. Please have faith that everything you have been told in the spam email is untrue and spread the word. Bless you all for your kind words and help! Hugs, Pat http://www.ty.com/cyberboard/news/msg1030078.html

Poem Voting
The Bean eWonderland group has been having a beanie poem writing contest. The winner is to receive an England Exclusive beanie baby. I now need your help in selecting a winner. Stage one will be to select the top 5 poems to go through to the next round of voting. Please help by taking a read of some excellent material and casting a vote for your favourite. View Here: Please stop over and vote for your favorite. We have some talented people over at the Bean eWonderland Group. I have 2 of my poems on the list too.

ASK TY
Q: Do you have your own fabric designers or do you just view fabric samples until one strikes you? (submitted by QB_Sue) 
A: I look at thousands of fabrics every year. When I can't find just the right one, I create it. Tylon and Tysilk are two examples of fabrics I created exclusively for Ty product. http://www.ty.com/askty/askty.cfm

NEWSLETTER COMMENTS
Yesterday's contest question was: "Would you prefer me to continue sending daily newsletters or would you rather visit the NEWS page for all of the complete news?" I wanted to share some responses with you. Only 3 people said NO. :o) Thank you VERY much for your comments. I have decided to let the majority rule here. I will continue to send out newsletters daily and those of you that prefer not to receive it can delete yours. :o)

Sharon H writes:
"I like the IDEA of a newsletter but I know how time consuming they are to produce. I don't mind at all checking the newspage daily - maybe you could have a News Flash letter and just send the late breaking news that you want to send. I don't know how you get as much done as you do, anyway!" : ) Sharon

Bonnie P writes:
"Lisa, it seems that with so many newsletters coming out, most of the news is repeated. It would be great to keep the new on the NEWS page. It won't clog up our emails and it will always be there rather than being deleted at the end of the day from our email accounts. I hope this input helps." Bonnie P.

Calvin L writes:
"NO - you don't need to send a daily email re: news.  I'm going to visit your site anyway and this is just unnecessary work on your part.  Plus this would also cut down on transmission of worms/viruses that are so prevalent these days.  I'm not saying that I ever got a virus from your emails but have gotten viruses from contaminated emails from friends even though I have the McAfee Anti-Virus Program installed and activated.  Thanks." Calvin

Wendy writes:
"Hi there! Just wanted to say I feel it would be best if you kept sending the email... I know personally that I don't have time to go to all of the websites I'd like to and this would make it much easier for me. And by the way, I already know which Chubbley I want! ;-)" Wendy

Gwyn writes:
"Yes, that is, I would like to continue receiving newsletters. In the short time I have been reading yours, they seem warm and to the point. I enjoy getting the mail--it feels more personal than going to a webpage, and I like to think that all beanie/bear/plush collectors form a sort of community. Egad, I'm getting all warm and fuzzy on you! It must be the bears..." Gwyn

In any event, I like getting the newsletter by email and prefer to continue receiving it by email.  If it were available only on site, it seems to me the result would be that I'd not read the newsletter as often or visit the site as often, because the incoming email serves as a pleasant reminder to go to the site for details on the stories I'm interested in, but without that reminder... well... with my memory.... umm, what was I saying again?? LOL. Anyway, I love the newsletter!! Have a great day!" Colleen

Nancy D writes:
"I said NO because, I always seem to get the newsletter late in afternoon.  When I don't get it at a certain time, I go and visit the News Page or visit Topica, which ever has the update.  But then again, which ever is the easiest for you.  It doesn't matter much to me.  It's almost like a yes/no answer.  :-)"

Nancy M writes:
"I said NO because, I always seem to get the newsletter late in afternoon.  When I don't get it at a certain time, I go and visit the News Page or visit Topica, which ever has the update.  But then again, which ever is the easiest for you.  It doesn't matter much to me.  It's almost like a yes/no answer.  :-)"

Jodi S writes:
"Lisa, I hope you continue with your newsletter.  Yours is one of a couple that I really enjoy and look to first for news.  You always do a great job with the newsletters and your website!  Keep up the good work." Jodi

Nita writes:
"Hi Lisa, The only reason I said yes is because, I like to read the special news reports as soon as they come out. Like retirements, new releases and specials ty comes out with at the ty beanie store.  Your newsletters have been very helpful.  I have been able to place my orders within the first hour.  Don't get me wrong, I do go to your newspage also but, mostly in the evening when I more time to read all the stories.  I do appreciate all the time and hard work you put into your newsletter. Thank you and, keep up the good work." Nita

Stephen writes:
"hello lisa please dont stop sending out your daily newsletters as you know i am a web tv user.. i cant always get on the sites because the sites store so much information web tv just cant cope with all the info.. so please carry on with the daily newsletters thank you stephen in the uk"

CHUBBLEY RETIREMENT
Kathie Currie has notified me that Hugs & Kisses are now retired. Get them while you can from Kathie. Info on ordering can be found on the Choose-A-Chubbley contest page. View the official retirement on the Chubbley site at: http://www.chubbleybears.com/

-=March 13, 2002=-
YOU CAN HELP THE CHILDREN TOO
Pat shares the following:
Hello,

Our Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) Clarksville, Tennessee Chapter Q joins other GoldWing (motorcycle) riders from across the state each year in raising money and other items for St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. In 2001 Chapter Q raised almost

$11,000.00 for St Jude and the total raised by the GoldWingers in Tennessee was $102,729.00. St Jude Children's Research Hospital was founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962. Research conducted at St Jude is shared with other doctors and researchers free of charge. St

Jude treats children from all across the United States and 60 foreign countries who are stricken with the most severe childhood cancers. Treatment is administered regardless of race, religion, or financial ability.

We love to ride our motorcycles but we also work very hard with several fundraisers throughout the year...along with our sponsorships from local/national corporations. We join other GoldWingers annually on the last weekend of September to ride our motorcycles to the hospital in Memphis and take our money to the children. They enjoy seeing the motorcycles and we are glad to help them in their fight for life.

One chapter makes 200+ handmade quilts each year and the children can pick their very own quilt to keep. They get sponsors ($25 each) for these quilts and embroider the sponsor's name on the quilt. Another chapter collects hundreds of ball caps from many different sources (the

children love to wear them after they have their chemo treatments).

I am writing you because our Chapter would like to take Beanie Babies to the children. I've talked with an Administrator and they will use these to give the children when they are having a particularly "Bad Day", from chemo or other treatments. We are asking for your support in our

endeavor to bring some enjoyment to these children. You can ship them to:

Pat Inman
403 Gable Ct
Clarksville, TN 37042

If you have any questions or need additional information please contact me anytime at (931) 551-4218 or email me at: pbinman@charter.net

Thanks for your support,

Pat Inman
Assistant Chapter Director
GWRRA TN Chapter Q

HELPING THE CHILDREN - (read the story above to see how to help like Barbara did)
Barbara shares the following:
"Just wanted to let you know that I will be shipping a box of beanies, attic treasures, 2 boopers and about 20 teenie beanies later in the week. I hope that all total this will come to about 95 or 100 items about 75 being beanies and the rest teenies. It is a great way for me to make some space getting rid of some of the multiples especially those Issy Bears just keeping the ones I want. Never would be able to complete that collection. Once I started this I just kept getting happier and happier this is such a wonderful thing that thes people are doing and I am grateful that someone is taking the time to bring some joy to these kids. I thank them for letting us all be a part of it. Now I don't feel so guilty because I keep buying all these multiples of beanies. Thursday I am off to UPS and will be smiling all the way there. Barbara"

BUYER BEWARE - PLEASE READ (from yesterday.. wanted to remind you)
I, too, received the email from this person. Thank you Janie, Loretta, and Gramma Pat for helping to get the word out. http://www.msjanie.com/temp/buyerbeware.html

JOIN CHUBBLEY CORNERS
Kathie Currie and her friend Vicki have created a place to talk about Chubbley Bears: http://communities.msn.ca/ChubbleyCorners 

	BEAN BAG WORLD What's inside the April issue...
News	Including an amazing report of Bean Bag World in the rain forest of Venezuela!
Time to make a change	Announcing our new name from the May issue
Spring into action	8 page special on the Birmingham Show; see thewonderful photo of the Ty stand!
Readers Gallery	The artistic talents of our younger readers
Disney Dayz	Steff Wayne provides our regular Disney news and warns ‘there may be trouble ahead’
Your letters	Readers share their joys and photos of their Collections
The Power of the Toy	Sue Owen tells how Beanies & Internet friends came together to help children’s charities
Tale of a Bear in Brum	We had some fun at Birmingham Show when we let Doobloon loose! The photos tell the tale
Trivia Time	Test your knowledge with our three quizzes and cryptic puzzles; plus last month’s answers
Something old, something new	Round up of Disney photos and information
‘Orf to a Flyer	Introducing the Orfs, strange characters in a world of their own! We have the story of their development from their creator, Sam
Sealed with a Kiss Kiss	Ryan tells us all about these bears’ magnetism! Plus pics from Doodles
It’s time to get busy!	Updates and news from our adopted charity
Peace of the action	Guide to the variations & values of Peace Bears
They DO want to be Webmasters	Introducing two young people who’ve been inspired to set up their own beanbag websites in the UK
Plus our monthly Beanie, Disney and Chubbley Buyers Guides, with checklists Full page posters of the UK trio Three competitions and free draws this month: Win one of our Paddington Bears Free Chubbley Bear tag protector offer Win the ‘travelling Doobloon’ Chubbey bear from the Birmingham Show

-=March 12, 2002=-
Scam Alert
From: BeaneWonderland
Remember the scam alert last week (March 5th archives) for a signed Clubby Bear which was supposedly authenticated by Authenticationsusa.com? well the seller is back. this time the bear is authenticated by http://www.authusa.com/ Visitors to Authusa.com will once again see that the whole set-up stinks. If anyone from eBay is reading this then please act now. I would report it myself but as my eBay membership has been suspended for one month (due to my lucky dip auction breaking their policies) I can't. View Auction:

We Can Help Pictures
From: BeaneWonderland
Pat one of the organisers for the St. Jude's charity writes: Thanks again for your help!!!  I'm attaching a photo that I took as we paraded into the hospital last year.... and the photo they took of us in front of the hospital.  Thought you might like to see them.  I'll be sure and get some of us presenting the Beanies too this year!! View Here:

Counterfeit Buckingham
From: BeaneWonderland
We would like you to alert your readers we have just discovered another counterfeit Buckingham this morning. The serial # is:  4CFTREDA. The other counterfeit Buckingham serial numbers that we know of are 48PRDE93, 4HBNGFRD, 4SXWQAZD, 4DDB339J, 4ZS0GT6D, and 4BGUOERA. Thank you. Sincerely, Peggy Gallagher Enterprises.

SOMETHING TO SHARE
From: Ms. Janie
The very talented Megan has done it again! Spring is starting to hit the south, and the beanies are getting Spring fever here in case you'd like to take a look. :o) http://home.attbi.com/~scottmegan2/farmer-cheery.html Can you tell which daydream would be mine? lol! Megan

CONTEST WINNERS
I have heard from Rachel W. who received her prizes from the England & ??? contest sponsored by BeanieTown-USA . She received England and her surprise Beanie was the white version of America. I hope to be able to share a picture soon.

If you were a winner of the Ty-Signed Zodiac Raffle.. please let me know that you've received your prizes and share pictures if you would. I know the Planet Beans readers would love to see our lucky winners with their prizes. :o)

BUYER BEWARE - PLEASE READ
I, too, received the email from this person. Thank you Janie, Loretta, and Gramma Pat for helping to get the word out. http://www.msjanie.com/temp/buyerbeware.html

-=March 10, 2002=-
We Can All Help Update
From: BeaneWonderland
So far I have had several emails from readers willing to help this cause, our retailer friend 'Bill' is sending a mixture of 30 beanies, Mark in Denver 24 beanies, Mary 5 beanies, Ann W. 25 beanies and buddies and Mary from Scotland aged 12 is sending one that she went and purchased today specially. Thank you to everyone.

I have also received the following response from 'Pat' in an email this morning: I would like to "Thank You" and your readers for your help in our effort to collect Beanies for the children of St Jude Children's Research Hospital.  I am thrilled at the positive response already and am hoping that it continues to gain everyone's support... and that we'll have a big supply to take to them. I asked for Beanies.... but, actually anything that the children would love will work too. They can all be sent to my address and we'll just collect them in one place.  Thanks again for your support in this!!! Thanks, Pat Inman

-=March 9, 2002=-
BeaneWonderland's Beanie Dip
From: BeaneWonderland
Several of you have suggested a raffle for the Beanie Dip auction which eBay refused. I have decided to go along with this idea as I now have 60 Beanie Babies all around me in padded envelopes. For full details please Click Here:

We Can All Help
From: BeaneWonderland
Our Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) Clarksville, Tennessee Chapter Q joins other GoldWing (motorcycle) riders from across the state each year in raising money and other items for St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.  In 2001 Chapter Q raised almost $11,000.00 for St Jude and the total raised by the Goldwingers in Tennessee was $102,729.00.  

St Jude Children's Research Hospital was founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962.  Research conducted at St Jude is shared with other doctors and researchers free of charge.  St Jude treats children from all across the United States and 60 foreign countries who are stricken with the most severe childhood cancers.  Treatment is administered regardless of race, religion, or financial ability.

We love to ride our motorcycles but we also work very hard with several fundraisers throughout the year... along with our sponsorships from local/national corporations.  We join other Goldwingers annually on the last weekend of September to ride our motorcycles to the hospital in Memphis and take our money to the children.  They enjoy seeing the motorcycles and we are glad to help them in their fight for life.

One chapter makes 200+ handmade quilts each year and the children can pick their very own quilt to keep.  They get sponsors ($25 each) for these quilts and embroider the sponsor's name on the quilt.  Another chapter collects hundreds of ball caps from many different sources(the children love to wear them after they have their chemo treatments). 

I am writing you because our Chapter would like to take Beanie Babies to the children.  I've talked with an Administrator and they will use these to give the children when they are having a particularly "Bad Day", from chemo or other treatments.  We are asking for your support in our endeavor to bring some enjoyment to these children.  You can ship them to:  Pat Inman 403 Gable Ct Clarksville, TN  37042 If you have any questions, please contact me anytime at (931) 551-4218 or email me at: pbinman@charter.net. Thanks for your support, Pat Inman Assistant Chapter Director GWRRA TN Chapter Q.

Bean eWonderlands comment - We receive between 1200 and 1700 unique visits a day to Bean eWonderland. If everyone sent just one beanie, it would mean so much to the children. I will help get the ball rolling, I will trade with a Bean eWonderland reader an England beanie to the person who can send the most 'commons' to the address listed above. Please contact me if you are interested with the offer you will be able to send.

Planet Beans comments: What a wonderful way to help give a child something to smile about. I hope many of the Planet Beans readers will also be helping this very worthy cause. :o)

ASK TY 
Q: How do you decide which Beanies will get made into Buddies? (submitted by elecboy)
A: That's pretty easy. I just look at all of your "Bright Ideas" and then get to work!

TY EUROPE
From: Underground Bean
Keith sends this in:
"Thought you might find this interesting: Ty  Europe have sponsored English soccer team Portsmouth F.C. to the tune of £1,000,000 over 3 years. Patricia Roche, the Chairperson of Ty Europe Ltd said in a press release 'As an internationally recognized brand, Ty Europe is a Portsmouth based company and has worked in supporting the local community for some time with schools, charities and hospitals. Regards Keith" 

Yavett has a great picture of one of the uniforms. View HERE

-=March 8, 2002=-
The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation
Dear Lisa, Sluggers Collectables in Canada has donated over $35,000. to the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation in Canada since 1998.  They have done this by releasing the Sick Kids Beanies series.  They have just released the 8th (Maple) and 9th (Pierre) in the series.  In order to raise more money for this charity they decided to place the low numbered Beanies on Ebay.  Each of these Beanies are limited to 300.  All proceeds of these auctions go to charity and end 3/10/02.  Their seller ID is sluggers55@hotmail.com

When they did their last release in October they donated the proceeds of the #1 set to Auctions for America and raised over $400 for the 911 Fund.

I was hoping that you would mention this in your newsletter since it is for a good cause.

Thank you,
Susan G.
New Jersey

Costly Shipping
From: BeaneWonderland
Over a dozen complaints from UK readers regarding the cost of shipping the America beanie to the UK. The following is one of many example emails received tonight: "How much to buy 2 America beanies in the UK from the TY store? 2 beanies @ $5 equals $10 then get this. $16.70 handling/shipping charges plus $2.22 for UK import duties, a grand total of $28.92 for two beanies. Whatever happened to the UK distribution centre we used not so long ago to buy our clubby 3 sets?

Bean eWonderlands comment - I am pleased that the UK finally gets the chance to order from Ty store but yes I am disappointed with the high shipping charges. I have been lucky enough to have 2 America posted to me from an American friend, they were charged $9.00 to post them using Global Priority mail. 

I would have thought it possible to use the UK distribution centre as a European postal point, I am only guessing that the $2.22 import duty has been added to ensure the full $5.00 cost goes to charity. I am not going to complain too much though, at least we have a choice now, even if the extra costs will put most people off.

Another Beanie Bopper Exclusive!!!
From: Doodle's Page
We have some NEW Bopper news to pass along to you ... the New York Yankees have JUST posted their promotion schedule today for 2002. Included in this years promo is yet another Beanie Bopper. The promotional giveaway is currently scheduled for Saturday, September 7, 2002 ... and reads "Beanie Bopper - Road Uniform Day - 1st 18,000 fans/14 & under - sponsored by adidas".

To read the rest and  view links to additional information.. visit Deb over at Doodle's Page.

-=March 7, 2002=-
UK Can Order At Ty Store
From: BeaneWonderland
At last Ty has opened up Ty store to the UK and another 22 countries in total, at present Ty store is closed whilst the changes take effect but you can view the terms and conditions which clearly state this fact. View Terms & Countries: I would also like to thank Peggy Gallagher at Beaniephenomenon: for pointing this out.

Beanie booster
From: BeaneWonderland
As a heroic teen recovers from second-degree burns in a Toronto hospital, her aunt is counting on friendly Manitobans to cheer up the 14-year-old with Beanie Babies. Angie Campbell's clothing was burned off as she walked through flames and rescued her younger brother and sister during a Sunday morning blaze that ripped through their home in Wasaga Beach, about 120 kilometres north of Toronto. Full Story:

TyHair vs TySilk
HJ shares the following:
Good Morning All (Good Afternoon for some)--
I haven't noticed this posted previously so I hope I'm not repeating old news.  I was able to get all five new March Beanies and Buddies (and Rescue with flag on left arm) yesterday.  All the stores I went to also received the brand new (and recently new) Baby Ty and Classics.  The Baby Ty pieces used to say "TyHair" on their tush tags to describe the shell material, but the newest ones say TySilk.  I purchased a Baby Ty Snugglefrog in January and his tush tag says "TyHair", but the ones I saw yesterday in stores (including the new Snugglefrogs) said "TySilk" on their tush tags. The new Classic dog Skippy says "TyHair" on his tush tag, whereas the newer shipments of the Classic dog Nuzzle say "TySilk" (my Nuzzle, purchased in July 2001, just sports the Ty heart on his tush without any shell material indicated). Just thought I'd share my observations.  Thanks for listening.  One day
closer to Friday.....  HJ  :-) Madison, WI

Ty Europe Sponsors UK Football Team 
Daphne shares the following:
News has just broken of a Ty Europe £1 million sponsorship deal with Portsmouth Football Club.  The story, some pics and links are on the Latest News section of www.beanbagworld.info

BASKET BEANIE SET
ALL TY 20% OFF - Take advantage of this great buy on Basket Beanies, at 20% OFF regular retail price at KidsCollectionToys.com JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER! - www.KidsCollectionToys.com Tell Kody I sent you. :o)

ITZMEAGAIN'S MARCH MINI HUNT
The March Mini Hunt is a multi web-site graphic hunt, which begins Saturday 3/09. We have lots of great prizes up for grabs, including an Unity Buddy!!! just click here for complete details: http://www.itzmeagain.com/02marchminihunt.htm

-=March 7, 2002=-
Buckingham Counterfeit Alert!!! 
From: Ms. Janie
Hello Everyone We just wanted you to alert your readers we have discovered another counterfeit Buckingham today, the serial # 4SXWQAZD Thank you. Sincerely, Peggy Gallagher Enterprises, Inc. http://www.peggyg.com

GOOD POINT
From: Ms. Janie
"Hi Ms. Janie! Just have to vent a bit here about Ty's latest newsflash! I wish I could just jump in my vehicle and go visit my nearest retailer on a whim - like when Ty puts out a newsflash to tell us to visit our nearest Ty retailer to view the latest 17 releases! Well - that would be great Ty, IF I lived close by a retailer! But I don't think I am going to be able to visit my nearest retailer for a while .... since it is 205 miles away, on icy winter roads (well, the roads are not bad for being winter - but there are icy patches and one must drive much more carefully on them during the winter no matter what - even tho' they are pretty good considering it is winter). Soooo - anyway, thank you Ms. Janie for showing pics on your site .... because otherwise, beanie collectors like myself would not be able to even see the newbies! But .... aaarrrggghhhh - I am still irritated at Ty for his assumptions in this latest newsflash! Maybe he doesn't want folks like me even buying or collecting his products! Irritated in rural Alaska .... Eloise"

ODDITY TAG?
From: Ms. Janie
Lisa wonders if she may have an oddity tag. Her shipped America from Ty is displaying a retail tag instead of the typical Ty Store tag. This bear was introduced as an Internet exclusive therefore I doubt we will see it at retail. To view a photo of her bear and tag visit the following link - http://www.msjanie.com/temp/oddity_america_tag.html

CHUBBLEY COMMENTS
Bev writes:
"Hi Lisa, I received my first 3 bears and have just ordered 9 more, so I have all but 5. The thing I wanted to bring to everyone's attention regarding these cuties is that each one has a belly button. Now that's attention to detail. Bev"

-=March 6, 2002=-
BOPPERS ADDED TO TY.COM
From: Ms. Janie
Looks like the new items might be listed in the new Mary Beth's Beanies & More magazine and not introduced on the Ty.com site like normal this go around.
View HERE

On a no reserve Dutch eBay auction right now, I have 60 Beanie Babies up for grabs, some are older than others but all are MWMT. I have decided to make it a bit of fun by making it a lucky dip auction, included are 2 England Bears and a Britannia Bear. The England Bears were purchased at retail but saying this I still expect to sell the collection on offer at a loss. I do not really mind, space is running out and what use are beanies when they are packaged away in containers."  View Auction:

Red America Rumour
From: BeaneWonderland
Could we see a Red version of America, some members of the Ty Cyber Bords certainly believe so, thank you to pamela for pointing out the following messages; Red America to ship and  Guess what I just seen:

TY NEWSFLASH
Visit your local Ty Authorized Retailer to see the 17 new March designs by Ty! http://newsflash.ty.com/MarchReleases

This is an interesting way to introduce these new items. :o)

TONS OF NEW BEANIE/BUDDIE PHOTOS
Heather from the Daily Bean shares the following:
I wanted to be the first to let you know that the Daily Bean has a ton of GREAT photos sent to us by Marilyn! These photos are great quality photos of the newest Ty products! Marilyn has been busy today with newbies! She shares the following: 
Group Shot & Mum.....Mum is very cute with lavender flowers & a real bow and silver shiny speckles on the pink material....but I think bears look better with a bow around the neck....hides that pulled up look under the chin from the thread making the muzzle. 

April Birthday Beanie Photos - http://www.dailybean.net/4.shtml 
Hoofer Beanie Buddy Photos - http://www.dailybean.net/5.shtml 
Group Beanie Baby Photos & MUM Photos - http://www.dailybean.net/6.shtml Dearest Beanie Buddy Photos - http://www.dailybean.net/7.shtml 
Panama & Frolic Photos - http://www.dailybean.net/8.shtml 

Heather ~ DailyBean.Net ~ www.dailybean.net ~ info@dailybean.net

-=March 5, 2002=-
Ty Store Response
From: BeaneWonderland
Pamela kindly sends us some links to the Ty Cyber Board and Ty Store responses. The first is regarding the question, "If American local chapters receive proceeds from America bear who receives the proceeds for ones purchased in Canada." View Response: 

The other two are concerning damaged America beanies or bent tags, what you should do if you are unlucky enough to receive one this way: View Response 1 | Response 2:

YAHOO! GROUPS ARE FINALLY WORKING AGAIN...
All of us Clubbers were suffering withdrawals yesterday since Yahoo! was obviously having problems. I'm glad Yahoo! got the problem fixed.

If you are interested in meeting some great people, chatting with others about Beanies and life, and making some new friends, we'd love to have you at the Planet Beans Yahoo! Group. Come and join us for some fun. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/planetbeans/

PUZZLE PLAY: The Newest DailyBean Contest!
The Daily Bean has come up with another FUN, ORIGINAL contest!~ (Or at least I don't remember any contests like this before...) The beanies have been broken up & scrambled! If you can put the puzzle pieces back together, you can win entries towards some great Daily Bean Products. (Oh, there might be a few Ty products hidden in the prize!)
Click Here for the Puzzle Play Contest Details!

-=March 4, 2002=-
GIFT BEAT RANKING
From: Ms. Janie
I am a subscriber of Gift Beat magazine and they have Ty listed as follows: http://www.msjanie.com/temp/giftbeat_march2002.html

Cub Scout honored for saving his mom
From: BeaneWonderland
Nine-year-old Conner Shaddix seems like any other boy his age. He loves dogs, horses and Beanie Babies. He goes swimming every chance he gets. He challenges his dad to PlayStation football games. But on Saturday night, about 400 Cub Scouts and their parents gathered to celebrate an act of courage that sets Conner apart from other 9-year-olds. Conner, a fourth-grader at Maize Elementary School, saved his mother's life. Full Story:

-=March 3, 2002=-
INTERNET EXCLUSIVE AMERICA'S ARRIVING
Bean Watcher shares the following:
HI -- 

Thought I'd let you know that I'm seeing many posts on the Ty Talk Cyberboard, showing that the white version of America the bear has already been received by a number of collectors.  In addition, there are numerous in hand auctions posted on eBay and numerous listings on MetaExchange for the bear.  The first credible posts appear to indicate that collectors from the Midwest were the first to receive America yesterday -- on March 2, 2002. 

Bean Watcher

-=March 2, 2002=-
Canadian Perspectives!
Heather sends in her latest article on current trading happenings.  Ty has really stirred up things with the flurry of exclusive releases!  Also, kudos to Heather & her very dear American Friend for building 160 Easter Baskets for sick children.
Click Here for Canadian Perspectives

"Closet Collector"
ATTACK OF THE KILLER . . . Beanies?  This is what happens when your beanies love you.  Also, see the "Closet Collectors" thoughts on how to wash a Baby Ty plush. Click Here for the "Closet Collector"

Third German Exclusive?
From: BeaneWonderland
After Baron Black and Red Count I feel there is a strong possibility for a third German Exclusive, possible named 'Earl' following on the theme. I was preparing this article late last night and after checking my email this morning Bean Watcher feels a Gold or Yellow bear could be next as it is the missing colour in the German flag. 

RETIRED UK EXCLUSIVE CHUBBLEY "GEORGE" - winner has been announced
Planet Beans Contest Page

Ty-Signed Zodiac Raffle - winners have been announced

Ask Ty
Q: What are you working on now? Any new ideas? (submitted by melanielyn) 
A: New ideas, new fabrics, new designs, new products . . . . I’m always working on something. Speaking of new, I can’t wait for you to see the new Teenie Beanie Boppers! 
http://www.ty.com/askty/askty.cfm

-=March 1, 2002=-
RETIRED UK EXCLUSIVE CHUBBLEY "GEORGE" - winner to be announced
Ty-Signed Zodiac Raffle - winners have been announced

WIN ENGLAND + A SURPRISE
Ending March 4th at midnight EST. http://www.planetbeans.com/EnglandContest.htm

NEW CONTEST HAS STARTED ~ Choose-A-Chubbley Contest

NEW WINEY BEARS AT HANDCRAFTED BEAUTIES
http://www.handcraftedbeauties.com/newsletter022802.html

Annie Nickels Birthday Celebration Contest! 
From: Ms. Janie
Come join in on the fun and enter this special contest created in Annie's honor! This is not a rumor! It is a well-known fact that Ty's secretary Ms. Annie Nickels is aging gracefully and as of March 2nd will be another year younger. FACT - Annie's Birthday is March 2nd Please visit the following link for full details - http://www.msjanie.com/temp/annie_birthday.html

The world's top billionaires, according to Forbes magazine
From: Ms. Janie
A special thanks to Sly for sharing the following: 
The ranking of the world's 100 richest people as estimated by Forbes magazine. Listings include rank, name, home country, age where known, wealth in billions of dollars and source of the money. 

Ty not only makes this list but he beats out Ross Perot. 

87. Warner, H. Ty, United States, 58, dlrs 4.0, Beanie Babies 

Man the beanie and Hotel business must be doing well! Ms. Janie http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/020228/us_forbes_billionaires_list_1.html

NEW GERMAN EXCLUSIVE INTRODUCED
Grad Von Rot http://release.ty.com/GrafVonRot

Beanie Baby sales to help Red Cross chapters
From: BeaneWonderland
To honour local Red Cross chapters that provide lifesaving services and education in local communities year-round, Ty is introducing a new "America" bear to support local Red Cross disaster relief efforts. As of Feb. 25, 100 percent of Ty's profits from the original sale of "America" will be donated to local chapters where the buyers live.

Available exclusively online, the new "America" Beanie Baby can be purchased by visiting www.ty.com. This second "America" bear immediately follows the top-selling blue "America" bear, which to date has generated more than $1.1 million for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

"Our first 'America' bear was such a success with customers, I knew they would want a second one," said Ty Warner, president of Ty. "The new 'America' bear is our way of saying thank you to Red Cross chapters that help people in communities everyday. I hope both collectors and the public will join us in saying thank-you for the great work of the Red Cross." Full Story:

NEW TY ITEMS
Yavett from Underground Bean has a great scan of the new releases (probably introduced in full later today) from the March issue of Mary Beth's Beanies and More magazine. View scan Here

WHITE AMERICA SHIPPING
Anna shares the following:
"Morning Lisa, Just wanted to lyk that I received an e-mail confirmation that my order for white America has been shipped!!! WOW....that's fast, I ordered the first day. Take Care, Anna"

Judie & Rose have also posted in the Planet Beans Yahoo! Club that their White America Bears have also yesterday.

March Ordering Parameters http://www.msjanie.com/temp/MarchOrderingParameters.html

WIN ENGLAND AND ??? AT PLANET BEANS (4 more days to enter)
BeanieTown-USA.com has asked me to run a contest and they have kindly donated an England Beanie Baby AND ??? as the prize. This will be a 2 week contest in which you can gain daily entries as well as 50 additional entries PER ORDER you place during this time. http://www.planetbeans.com/EnglandContest.htm