The results of this survey are not necessarily this authors opinion.
Have you witnessed individuals stocking tables
of Beanies for sale in remote locations?
The # 1 answer was tailgates of pick-up trucks.
Many collectors are reporting that Beanies are showing up in the
strangest places, example - Electronic stores, pet shops, gas
stations, etc.
Have you witnessed any strange places yourself?
- Please explain.
Janies' opinion.
As you can tell by these responses, Beanies are everywhere. Many
collectors are reporting prices between $8.00 to $30.00 for currents,
retireds are selling from $15.00 to well over $200.00 each, older
retireds are going for much more. I'd like to know what happened
to the small mom and pop stores, card shops and gift shops? It
seems as if the secondary market has taken over completely.
Ty has just released a new Beanie named Princess. Princess is
a deep purple teddy with a white rose on it's chest. Princess
is in honor of DIANA, Princess of Wales.
In your opinion, how can Princess be protected
from the Secondary Market?
When I refer to the Secondary Market, I'm referring
to individuals who purchase Beanies in large quantities to sell
for a large profit. I'm not referring to retail stores who purchase
them and sell them for a reasonable amount to satisfy customers.
The # 1 answer - MASS MARKET PRINCESS.
This question generated a enormous response. I will share for
you word for word what many collectors feel about this issue.
Ty should definitely mass produce Princess, everyone who wants
one should have one. Elton John mass marketed his song written
for Princess Diana, he wanted to make a lot of money for her charity's.
If the product is not mass marketed, the losers are the little
people, small time collectors, and most importantly, the kids.
The only people that will profit are greedy secondary market sellers,
that's exactly what should not happen!!!
Princess protection - Unfortunately I don't think there is really
anything that can prevent the secondary market from exploiting
her. Collectors are paying $60.00 for Peace and he is still current.
The secondary market is already taking advantage of Princess.
Many of the stores have started silent auctions which are as high
as $600.00. The problem is, they don't even have Princess in stock.
Many honest stores are limiting Princess to 1 per customer. This
is to avoid any misgivings the secondary market may have.
Ty should flood the market with this product. The secondary market
won't touch Princess, and Ty would make a lot of money for this
good cause.
Ty should mass market Princess worldwide (as well as the five
holiday Beanies). There should not be a limit shipped to retailers
and her price should remain the same as other Beanies. Princess
Diana was considered the "Peoples" Princess" and
I think anyone that wants her should have her and be able to afford
her. Millions of children loved Princess Diana and that's ORIGINALLY
who Beanies were made for!!
I think Ty should have just donated some money to the Princess
Diana fund and not create what will become one of histories biggest
secondary market frenzies!! (She is cute though).
I don't know of any way to protect Princess. Beanies are so popular
that supply will probably never meet demand, especially for Princess,
a Beanie that will remind people of the most well known and admired
person of the 20th century.
Janies' opinion.
I could fill two more pages of responses but I'm sure you will
agree, Ty must MASS MARKET PRINCESS. I still believe in my heart
that Ty's intentions are good ones and I also believe that they
will eventually do the right thing. Ty must realize that the secondary
market has hurt Beanie sales. Many collectors purchase from this
market, but on the other hand other collectors are frustrated
and refuse to pay higher prices. These same collectors are losing
interest in Beanies because of lack of availability and outrageous
pricing. If Ty mass markets Princess, everybody wins and hopefully
the individuals purchasing Beanies in large quantities only for
profit will stay away from this very special Beanie. Once again,
I must define secondary market. There are many retailers who are
unable to obtain purchasing rights from Ty, Inc. In order to meet
demand and satisfy their customers, they purchase Beanies for
their establishments. I do not consider them the secondary market
if they only mark the Beanie up a few dollars in order to cover
their cost of the initial purchase and inconvenience. If a store
purchases Beanies at regular prices and then sales them for a
substantial markup they should be considered secondary market.
I have witnessed one store in particular which continually lies
and rips off their customers. They have a contract, not a purchase
order with Ty. They receive Beanies on a regular basis. They inform
their customers that Ty is not shipping and can't be trusted,
then they inform them that they had to purchase their Beanies
from other stores, and once they get their Ty shipments, the price
will go from $19.95 AND $29.95 for currents, back to $6.99 I know
for a FACT that this retailer is LYING. I have talked with his
UPS man who confirms that the store receives Ty shipments on a
regular basis. I have even witnessed his stock room which contained
many Ty boxes in it. In my opinion, it's retailers like this one
giving Ty a bad name. Unfortunately, there are many others just
like him. We teach our children to say no to drugs, we should
convince ourselves to JUST SAY NO to greedy retailers.
What do you think about Ty's generous offer
to donate profits of Princess to her Memorial Fund?
All profits of Ty from this collectible will be donated
to the DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES MEMORIAL FUND.
Princess will be available in December 1997 at finer stores everywhere.
I think Ty is very generous, not many companies would do something
like this.
Personally, I feel skeptical - until I see that Princess is being
shipped in sufficient quantities, or unless Ty makes Princess
directly available to customers. My feeling is Ty is just using
this as publicity stunt.
I think Ty has made a very nice gesture but it won't stand up
unless he ships them to stores who will not rip off the public
and do something to keep Princess away from the secondary market.
I think stores should limit Princess to one per family.
I think Ty's offer will get lost in the feeding frenzy, the secondary
market will not donate their profits.
I think store owners getting caught selling boxes of Beanies to
secondary markets should lose their right to sell Beanies period.
I think it is by far the best and most compassionate thing Ty
has ever done. I applaud them on their generosity and hope it
continues.
Ty's offer should not be considered generous unless they back
up what they say by making enough of Princess to go around.
Janies' opinion.
I personally feel that the Ty company has heard mixed views on
this issue. I do not look at this offer of generosity as a publicity
stunt or feeding frenzy to promote the secondary market. I do
feel that Ty must control their retailers by implementing and
enforcing stricter policies. If I were Ty, I would have my sales
force canvassing local retailers nation wide to insure that they
are not exploiting his product. If retailers are found to be guilty,
Ty must address the issue immediately. Once Ty's product is sold
to the secondary market, the Ty company does not benefit the profits,
but they do stand a good chance of losing customers if they don't
put a stop to this at once. Collectors are frustrated and want
their Beanies.
Do you think Ty should mass produce Princess
world wide, should there be a limit on quantities shipped to retailers,
and should the price remain the same as current Beanies?
The # 1 answer is no surprise. Ty should mass market Princess
and there should not be any limit on shipments. The price issue
was a little controversial.
Princess is in honor of Diana Memorial Fund. She should not be
a rare Beanie. I feel that the price should remain the same. Most
stores don't charge the proper price to begin with.
Princess should be shipped every two weeks to retailers, the price
should remain the same, there should be no limit to customers,
the more Ty makes and sells the more money goes to the fund.
I do not think that Ty should mass produce Princess. If she is
limited she is more special. I would be willing to pay up to $20.00
for her.
If I go to a Beanie swap meet selling Princess on the secondary
market, I will leave. I think these shows are great but I also
feel that they too rip the public off. Do you think that the reason
Ty does not advertise is because they don't have to? They have
thousands of people doing it for them. Why not take care of these
people by giving them what they want? Princess, regular price,
in huge quantities.
I think Ty should limit production to 1,000,000 only. Sell wholesale
for $97.50, letting the Ty retailer get the normal $2.50 profit.
Janies' opinion
I feel that if Ty wants to support Princess Diana's charities,
they must keep Princess abundant and affordable for collectors
to obtain her. I also feel that Ty should increase her shipping
potential to 50 per retailer each month, instead of 36. Ty should
realize that Maple and Peace are current, but for many collectors
they are overpriced and unobtainable. Don't let this happen to
Princess! Diana was the peoples choice. Let Princess be the collector's
choice.
Do you think Ty should offer guidelines
to retailers regarding Princess? What should those guidelines
be?
Guidelines should be - NO hiding or holding Beanies. Be fair to
all. Don't sell to people who you suspect are selling on the secondary
market.
Would guidelines be legal? Where is the free enterprise in such
guidelines? It would be nice if Ty said all retailers MUST adhere
to certain guidelines or become the recipient of the wrath of
Ty. I think Ty is too small to police the guidelines. It might
be nice if Princess was shipped with a letter of suggested retail
practices, but I don't see how Ty could enforce compliance.
Other than maintaining constant retail pricing, I haven't a suggestion.
Ty should offer guidelines on all current Beanies, not just Princess.
There should be a limit of $7.00 per Beanie and if they violate
it … cut the greedy jerks off!!! There are plenty of honest
new ones to take their place and plenty of honest retailers who
would love to get more and see that the real collectors and children
get their Beanies!!
Yes, Ty should offer guidelines. Retailers should not be able
to sell off their stock to the secondary market.
Janies' opinion.
I personally understand how difficult it would be for Ty to enforce
guidelines, although I believe they are very much needed. I answer
questions and supply Beanie information world wide, and know of
many stores which Ty needs to address. If Ty ever needs help with
keeping retailers in line, I'd like to offer my services. I want
to ensure that Beanies are obtained by Children and true Beanie
collectors. I would suggest for Ty to send faxes to all of their
retailers with specific guidelines for Princess. I'd also remind
them that Ty does not encourage inflating Beanie prices. Ty needs
to set an example. If the word spreads that Ty is watching, maybe
retailers won't be so greedy.
How often do you access a Beanie websites
for information? Do you find these sites to be informative?
I visit Beanie web sites everyday.
I'm usually at Beanie websites everyday. I have been trying to
find information on one Beanie. I have found a lot of helpful
information on these sites. Most Beanie sites are informative
and wonderful.
Several times daily.
I visit many sites daily. Ty's site is great for new releases
and retireds.
I access Beanie sites 1 to 4 times a week. Some are more informative
than others.
I access Ty and other sites daily for updates and news. I love
the juicy gossip and informative news.
I usually check beanie sites once a day. I'm addicted.
I access many sites but my favorites are Beanie Philies, BB World
News, BBBClub, Beanie Mom and Ty. I love the short stories and
all the new information being offered. Keep up the good work!
I access the websites a few times a week for fun and information.
The tall tales keep my interest.
I access the sites several times a day. This is how I keep track
of current market value for fair trades with friends and how I
get the hard to find Beanies.
I used to visit the sites once a day, now I only go once a week.
The secondary market has turned my stomach inside out. Many sites
are for profit only, they really could care less about supplying
information, some have even had run-in's with Ty.
Janie's opinion.
As a reporter it's my job to keep up with all the latest and greatest
news. I find all sites to be very informative. I also appreciate
the time it takes these site owners to update their pages. The
cost factor can be significant in many cases. I visit Beanie sites
on a daily basis, sometimes four and five times a day. My bookmarks
are full of Beanie sites, auctions, pages of clubs, personal Beanie
pages and other Beanie related material.
Many collectors have different views as
to the shelf life of Beanies. In your opinion, are Beanies still
holding their popularity?
In Virginia lines are still 3 hours long unless you are aware
of offbeat places.
I feel that Beanies may be sliding a bit due to the secondary
market. I will continue to buy as long as I can find them for
reasonable prices.
Beanies are a little bit too popular for me. I wish there weren't
as many Beanie collectors, then I might be able to find some.
I hope Beanies never die, I've got too much time and money invested.
I don't think that Beanies are quite as exciting as they use to
be, but looking at collectors and the secondary market makes me
believe they are still hanging tough.
I think Beanies will die out after Christmas due to greedy retailers
and the secondary market.
I've kind of lost interest, but when I find a real rare one, I
feel like I just won the lottery.
I think to some extent the craze has died off except for the retired
and new releases. To continue success Ty must stop producing the
older Beanies & increase production of the new releases. Hope
this will happen soon.
Janies' opinion.
I would like to think that Beanies will continue till the end
of time. Realistically, I know that's not going to happen. I feel
that Beanies are still going strong with only a slight decline
of interest. Many collectors are frustrated but still continue
to collect. I would like for Ty to get more involved with their
retailers, get to know the dishonest retailer and put a stop to
their practices. If Ty can control their market more efficiently,
Beanies will out live us all.
God Bless,
Ms. Janie
