The Story Behind Counterfeits!


Counterfeiting can be a very serious offence.

Ty, Inc. stands to lose millions of dollars to organizations illegally marketing and counterfeiting Beanies. Counterfeiting is a lazy way of making money off of someone else's product. We must all ban together and stop the flow of counterfeit Beanies.
Ty has set up a hotline number for suspected counterfeits. If you feel you may have purchased a counterfeit Beanie, call the number at once.

1-888-317-5489

This article is being written to help you determine what counterfeiting is and offer helpful hints on how not to get caught holding the bag!

What is Counterfeiting???
Counterfeiting is a criminal offense! Many individuals and companies make an imitation of a trademarked product with the intent to defraud others into thinking it's a genuine item. The term counterfeiting is usually associated most frequently with money, paintings, manufactured parts and now Beanie Babies.
It may be unlawful to buy, import, obtain and process counterfeits. Counterfeit passing is just as serious. There is no defense in IGNORANCE! If a counterfeit piece can be spotted by the average collector and traced back to the source, be prepared to face the consequences. You must be able to prove without a doubt that you had no knowledge of passing off a counterfeit, or you could be held accountable.

Consumer tips on spotting Beanie FAKES.
Don't be fooled into purchasing anything other than an Original Ty Beanie Baby!

  1. While inspecting your tags, look for the gold foil to have a smooth line encircling the tag. Make sure that the gold is not Ink!
  2. Become familiar with the different generation tag styles.
  3. Compare the font size and style to identical Beanies.
  4. Pricing - If the price appears to be out of the ordinary, research is strongly advised. Especially on those hard to find and first retired pieces.
  5. In some cases, the original tag color letters differ from fake tag colors. Watch for the reds and stars! Some fakes are appearing with faded orange colored letters on tush tags. The letters should be RED.
  6. Compare the inks and font styles to your Beanies with the same generation tags.
  7. Some fakes are showing up with misspelled words and extra spaces in the text.
  8. Compare manufacture's codes, trademarks and or copyrights.
  9. Compare tag size, some of the fakes that are showing up on the market (Teal and Violet Teddy's have smaller tags)
  10. Know your source. Become familiar with their practices and ask for references. There is no such thing as a dumb question.
  11. Face detail is VERY important. Most fakes can be spotted by knowing the right face size, expression and in some cases sewing pattern.
  12. Be extremely careful when ordering off of TV shows! These shows purchase strictly from the secondary market. Although most of the secondary market dealers are safe, a few have gotten fakes from China.

Ty's Beanies have character; their faces offer many expressions. Become familiar with these expressions and it will help to ensure you from being ripped off! Watch particular for changes in the nose, eyes and mouth. Other areas to watch for are the ribbons. Many fakes are showing up on the market with a ribbon, some of these Beanies were manufactured without a ribbon; Erin is a good example.
Most fakes have come from China and were shipped to Chicago O'Hare Airport. Fake Beanies have also been shipped to airports in Washington, DC Other locations where fake Beanies have been spotted by customs are as follows:
Virginia, Minnesota, Arizona and Illinois.

A Compiled list of some of the FAKE Beanies showing up all over the country.
1. Bruno the dog
2. Chilly the polar bear
3. Chops the lamb
4. Erin the green bear
5. Flash the dolphin
6. Flutter the butterfly
7. Garcia the bear
8. Grunt the razorback
9. Humphrey the camel
10. Kiwi the toucan
11. Libearty the bear
12. Lizzy the lizard
13. Peanut the elephant
14. Peking the panda
15. Pinky the flamingo
16. Princess the purple bear
17. Maple the bear
18. Quackers the duck
19. Smoochy the frog
20. Spooky the ghost
21. Spot the dog (Version 1 without the spot)
22. Tabasco the bull
23. Teddy (Teal Old Face bear)
24. Teddy (Violet Old Face bear)
25. 1997 Teddy the bear
26. Trap the mouse



Princess Errors - Will the REAL princess stand out!

In all four pictures, the real Princess is ALWAYS smaller.
Fake Princess.

  1. Eyes are spread further apart.
  2. Ears are larger.
  3. Bigger head.
  4. Overall body size is larger and fuller.
  5. Rose appears to be lower on chest.
  6. Ribbon is not silky smooth on both sides.
  7. Ribbon is attached with royal blue thread, instead of purple thread.
  8. Steam color on rose is slightly lighter.
  9. Rose bud if slightly fuller with more stitching.
  10. Gold trim on tag has small air bubbles. Ty's tags have a gold foil which is smooth encircling the tag.
  11. Font inside of tag appears to be slightly smaller.
  12. Star appears to be rounder than the star on Ty's tags.
  13. Tush tag is a faded orangeish color. Ty's letters are RED.
  14. The white part of the tag is not a crisp white as on Ty's tush tags.
Comprehending Heart and Tush Tags!
Is your Beanie worth money, OR does it's worth depend on the tag? 85% of all collectors demand a perfect tag, without creases and tears. Ty's heart tags help to authenticate your Beanie and increases its value.
Ty offers five generations of heart tags. Each tag has it's own specific markings and helps determine the value by the generation of the tag.

Generation # 1 TAG
This tag is a single heart tag, which does not open. The heart on the tag is red in color trimmed with a fine gold foil. The back of the tag displays the Beanies name and style number; there is no poem on the first generation tags. The ty letters are slim lines in style. (Not chunky letters like with future generation tags). The tush tag is black and white and has the year 1993 on it.

Generation # 2 TAG
Ty releases their first double heart tag. This tag was used from late 1994 to mid 1995. This tag is perfect for gift giving. The tag includes a To and From space, which can be filled in by the giver. The front appearance of the tag remains the same as the first generation tags. The tush tag ink is black with the year 1993 but no Beanie names appears on the tush tag.

Generation # 3 TAG
The third generation tag was used from mid 1995 to early 1996. The front appearance of the tag changes slightly. Ty is (ty) in a chunkier font. The tag is a double fold tag and now includes the locations of Ty's offices in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. The tag also contains the title "Beanie Babies Collection". The tush tag date has been changed to read 1995 and now displays a small red heart. The tush tag lettering is now in red ink. There is no Beanie name on the tush tag.

Generation # 4 TAG
The forth generation tush tag was used from early 1996 to fall of 1997. The front of the tag has changed considerable. The gold star, with the words Beanie Baby original make their appearance. The font style on (ty) on the tag remains the same, while the (y) on the tag appears to be lower than on the other generation tags. The ty letters are no longer outlined in gold. The To and From on the tag have now been replaced by a Beanie poem. The Beanies also have birthdays. Ty displays their website address www.ty.com The tush tag has undergone a major change. The color of the tag has changed to white with red print and also displays a red star, the tush tag also includes the Beanies name.

Generation # 5 TAG
The fifth generation tag was released in the fall of 1997 The tag has a change. The birth dates are now written out and are no longer in numeric form. The style number now appears in a bar code.

Help!! I suspect I have a FAKE Beanie. What do I do?
1. Contact Ty, Inc. by calling 1-888-317-5489
2. Contact your local Better Business Bureau
3. Visit the following Internet sites for more Information
The Fraud Information Center - http://www.echotech.com/
Federal Trade Commission - http://www.ftc.gov/
If possible, it would be helpful to have the following information available

Don't overreact!


Please let me assure you that NOT all Beanies are fake. Only report to the above authorities if you know or suspect a fake Beanie. Ty is desperately trying to cease the manufacturing of fake Beanies. I suggest we all ban together and support Ty in their efforts.
Imagine This - You have just purchased a RARE royal blue elephant! You debated for months, the price seemed ridiculous, but you finally gave in. Weeks later, you learned that your Beanie is Fake!!
You feel ripped off, deflated, and not to mention, you just lost $5,200.00.

Be informed, educate yourself, and don't let this happen to you.
Become a Fake Beanie Buster!
Help stop the crime and let them pay the time!


This article was written by:
Janie E. Daniels
August 3, l998
Copyright registered

Copyright 2004 All rights reserved.