I look forward to hearing from you and allowing you to freely voice your opinions.

Thanks for the opportunity to vent some frustrations.

I have been a direct Ty dealer since 1996 and I must admit it has been

very good for our little shop.

We sell all BBs for $6.00, except Princess and retired ones. We tried

selling the retired ones at $6 and had secondary market dealers come in

and buy everything we had. We realized that our children customers and

collecting adult customers had probably already bought these that were

being retired, as we do not see them back in trying to buy the few

retired ones we might still have in stock when the retirement is

announced, so after this, the retired ones are $10.

Princess was created as a charity fund maker. We sell Princess for $25

and all proceeds (no cost is withheld) goes to our local program for

under privileged school children. A group of manages the program

ministers from the local churches and each child who is in need is given

a $50 voucher to be used in local businesses to purchase either clothing

or school supplies. This gives them a bit of self-esteem for that first

day of school, and hopefully a bit longer. To date, we have given this program over $4,000, which is just a drop in the bucket compared to what

they need. We did not feel we should send our donation overseas, but it

should be used in our local community.

As far as Ty as a company, I don't know exactly how I feel about their

way of treating the dealer. Our area is usually the last to receive the

new BBs. I never hear from my rep. When there is an announcement of

retirement or new design releases, I have to get the information from

the Ty website, just like the "public". We get no notices from Ty or

our rep. I sometimes feel like less than a stepchild. Shipments are so

sporadic that we have no control or comfort in knowing when or if we

will receive what we order. I've never done business with a company

that I feel so vulnerable to. I, too, believe Ty is wrong is telling the

public what our cost (to them) is. People think the $2.50 is the ONLY

cost we have. They never realize the cost of doing business.

Customers are another whole new ball game. They seem to believe they

can dictate when we put our shipments out and how many they can be

allowed to buy. We tried to take names and call and help out the

customers in the beginning, but that became totally out-of-hand. In

March we stopped taking names and as soon (June) as we filled the

requests on that list, be stopped calling people and holding BBs for

anyone. This is a sad situation when there are some grandparents out

there who are honestly wanting to get them for their grandchildren. A

few greedy people are ruining what should be a fun thing for a lot of

people. We tried holding them for customers with the understanding we

would only hold them 3 days. One "lady" did not come in for a week and

we put them out in stock and sold them. Needless to say, she was very

angry and we lost a customer there, but we really don't need those kind.

I could go on forever, as most dealers could, I'm sure. Again, I'll say

Ty has been good for our small shop and small town, but there are more

frustrations than most people realize.

Thank you,

Dear Janie,

I always read your articles and as many others on the Internet as I have time for. I read all I can about beanies so that I can answer questions as efficiently as I can for my customers. BUT, I constantly remind my customers and myself that they have to learn to draw the line between rumor and fact! It seems that some people believe ANYTHING they read on the Internet. I appreciate the writers that issue repeated reminders that these are rumors.

Many times I read "write -ins" that are one person's opinion, and yet they state it as a fact. Some say things in regards to retailers that they "know" and that they "know" are true of all retailers. Please remember that they don't "know" anything beyond their own experience. Some of their "know" comments are not true in my case, and I suspect not in many other retailers' cases also. One of the biggest rumors out there is that we all get a supply of peace, princess, Erin, the new ones, etc. every month. I know this is one retailer who sure doesn't.

One concern I have with the beanie baby craze is that the "passion" that is involved has created a critical attitude that comes across as a negative attitude. As a beanie collector myself and also a retailer, I don't like it that the world sees us this way. It may not sell as well, but I would like to see more constructive criticism and not so much cruel and harsh put downs of all areas of this business. As in most things in life, there are good people and bad people in every area and unfortunately the bad get most of the focus and everyone else is pictured the same. Let's not judge each other so harshly, if you have not been in their shoes, and I mean in their shoes, not similar ones, but theirs alone, then you can't understand all that they are dealing with. Everyone---Ty Inc., retailers, collectors, secondary market, Internet, magazines, etc. have an important part in the beanie world. I honestly appreciate all areas, but I also think all of us need to take an honest look at ourselves, make some corrections and improvements on our own. But we also need to listen to kind, constructive criticism and see if we can make this a better business that will continue for a long time.

Ty Warner has made some mistakes, who hasn't. I have talked to my rep many times and made suggestions, they do realize that some changes need to be made. I really hope we never see another beanie that causes as many problems as princess did. Hopefully he learned a lot from that ordeal and we will see improvements. Erin was a little better handled, I hope the new ones now will even be better. There are many problems working with Ty that make it more difficult and costly than it may look to the customers. Hopefully he is working to make things better in the future, but I can only guess at the problems he is facing, and how long it takes to made positive changes. But, I also commend him for all the wonderful things he has done right. As a small rural town retailer, I can tell you that he has been fairer to me than about any other big company I have worked with. Usually as soon as a company becomes popular they weed out the small stores by setting huge minimum orders. Other companies have told me that I am not worth the paper work. That has deprived my customers from having many products even available in our area. He evidently is such a private person that he does not choose to defend himself, but many times I think there would be a satisfactory explanation of why he tried things. So they didn't work out, he obviously listens to the collectors and will try something else the next time. I don't think he intentionally sets out to be a problem like some people suggest. I don't know anyone who knows him personally, but he seems to have a good heart. He seems to learn from experience, and makes appropriate changes. I look forward to seeing more improvements with experience and time. This company is fairly new compared to most out there. I especially admire Ty for not raising the prices on their products, we all know they could of very easily. And the quality is still fantastic!! In my opinion, those two facts, price and quality, should be enough to let us be patient with other problems and give him time to correct some problems.

Retailers I think are still in shock as to what beanie babies are doing. They have been good for my business, but there are days I wish I had never heard of them. Again the "passion" connected with these has brought out the best and the worst in customers. I have honestly made many new friends and customers but also lost a few. I have many fantastic customers, both adults and children that are very considerate, patient, and willing to wait their turn to get their beanies. I partly stay in the business of beanies for them. It is fun to help them with their collections. But some collectors would only be "happy" if they found a store with no other customers in it, 36 of every style of beanie in stock, no limits, $4.99 each, and immediately after making purchases and walking out the door find out that half of them had just been retired and are now worth $ 40.00 each. That is what causes the passion that I deal with every day. There are days that I feel that I can't do anything right, and that no one is happy with my decisions about selling them. Most days they are fun and rewarding to work with. But the bottom line is that I alone have to pay that bill when it is due and I have many customers to be as fair as possible to. So I have to make the hard decisions, knowing that I will still have customers that will be upset with me.

I respect the policy Ty has set about pricing. But I must admit that it is difficult when I see beanies go out the door for around the $5.00 and later my customers tell me they sold them for $ 50.00 at the flea market. They don't even recognize the double standard they support, it isn't ok for me to mark up the price, but it is fine for them to do it. Another example: Three of my customers came in, two of them looking for the Princess bear, they were all knocking people that were asking high prices for Princess. Later that day the one that already had one called to say that she had an extra Princess that she wanted to sell, and could I help put her in touch with someone who would pay her the secondary market price. I told her no. Her two friends each had to wait until I got more in the following month. She thought it only fair that I had to sell them one for $5.00, but she let me know that she sure wasn't going to let hers go that cheap.

It is such fun to share the joy of seeing a child find the beanie they have been looking for. That is the best part about selling beanies. But I also admire the parents that are teaching their children some of life's tough lessons in connection with their beanie collecting. For instance, I really don't believe that a child has to have every beanie. And that when the price is more than they can afford, then they just might not ever be able to have that particular one. But in the mean time, teaching patience, as they continue looking for it at an affordable price. I see a lot of children that I think would be better off if their parents would use this opportunity to teach patience and that you can't have everything in life.

I still think an answer to many of the problems with beanies is in the control of the collectors themselves. Patience is that control. I as a retailer would handle the stress of this business better if I had more collectors that told me they had the patience to wait for even my third or fourth months order before having to have their beanies. Eventually I always have extras, but some of my customers have already gone somewhere else because they had to have them immediately and I can only get a few.

I've been a TY dealer for 3 years. We sell all of our Beanie Babies for

$5.00, regular, new and retired.

We've had to call our mall security when our customers pushed and shoved

one another. We've had customers yell and scream at us when they missed what

they were looking for.

I appreciate Ty and what they must go through. Yes, I get frustrated, but

I'm thankful they keep putting new ones out and retiring some. It must be

hard for them, too.

I can even understand the secondary dealers who buy them at $5. and then

sell at $7. or $8. They aren't gouging the customers, anyway.

The two things that upset me most are dealers who sell at the secondary

market prices (Ty asks us to stick with the $5.00 price.),and the secondary

dealers who come in and try to buy everything new or retired from us and then

turn around and sell them at flea markets and Beanie shows a few days later

for exorbitant prices. They get mad if we limit how many they can get, they

get mad if we require a regular purchase to be able to purchase retired or

rare, they get mad if they think we don't have enough of the new ones in, and

they even grab other shoppers in our mall and ask them to come in to buy out

our supply of new ones for them and then our regular customers don't ever get

a chance to purchase the new ones.

We even had one of our "notorious" resellers do a TV interview telling how

much he makes on the secondary market by selling for 5 - 10 times and more

what he pays, oftentimes the same day. That's my pet peeve. Thanks for

listening!

PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE MY E-MAIL ADDRESS OR MY STORE-A SMALL SHOP ON THE

WEST COAST. (I do not want hate mail for this message or my customers to recognize me.)

We have been a Ty account for quite awhile, but just within the last 6

months have sold beanies. At first no one knew we were selling

Beanies...soon word got around and we have built up a local customer

base. People that have never been in our store before are now coming in

to buy beanies. Sometimes they buy other things or at least comment on

the other items and maybe come back later to purchase them.

On the downside-there have been a few sour grapes. They accuse you of

lying, holding back and "back- dooring". When you only get 12 Erins, 12

Princess and everyone wants one, what can you do? At first we kept a

list and people got mad about that. We tried drawing names and they got

mad about that, too. Then we put bears (Peace, Princess, Curly &

Valentino) out on the shelves, limit one per family. The customers sent

in everyone they knew so they could hoard the beanies. One man sent in

all his co-workers and I know he ended up with the whole basket,

including several Princess. Then he bragged another day that he had 9

of each bear!! People would come in see no bears and turn around and

leave. Needless to say, we started putting out beanie grab bags: one

beanie in each bag-24 grab bags to a box. We put in bears, currents,

new releases, May retireds and each time the box sold out we put in the

same ratio so everyone had a chance of getting something they wanted.

We sold the grab bags for the same price that a beanie normally sells

for and they were allowed one grab bag a day per per person. We did not

let them feel the bags as we told them that feeling the bags could

crease the tags. We also told people that they were taking a chance and

may get a common beanie. (When we get enough new ones and bears, then

we will discontinue the grab bags.) This also discourages the secondary

dealers! So many people were happy, no lines, no lists and still the

chance to get something new or a bear at the beginning of the day, as

well as at the end of the day. A few were not happy, but so far more

were happy than mad. This also helps to sell some of the currents, too.

As a retailer we have to protect our selves so we can continue to get

the new ones. If the old ones do not sell, we cannot afford to get the

new ones and when you are buying several thousand dollars of product you

have to be real careful with your money. Our accounts with Ty always

have to be paid in full.

Finally, if you turn Ty dealers in for unfair practices, you could be

cutting off your supplier. If a small town looses it's Ty dealer then

you will be forced to go to a bigger city and fight with all those

people for Ty products. Not only would you loose out, but others would

too. Please be sure about what you say to Ty, innocent people could be

affected.

Please do not use my e-mail address with this response:

I have been a Ty retailer for a year and a half now, and all of my REGULAR

customers are absolutely wonderful! The problem occurs when a beanie

collector that I've never seen before, walks into my store and demands to

know when I get my shipments (we don't know! How many times do these

people have to hear it?) and want beanies held for them. They get mad when

you tell them that we cannot hold beanies for people, especially since we've

been in business for 10 years and have a long list of good customers that we

WILL hold beanies for. In our area, Central Illinois, there are at least 12

Ty dealers within a 2 mile radius. They act as if we are the only place in town

that has beanies! What is so amazing to me is the fact that I only see some

customers when new beanies have been announced. Then, all of the sudden,

I am their best friend, and could I please hold them 6 each of the new ones?

I even had a man throw a fit yesterday because I charged him tax! Guess he

thought he was at a flea market.

Which leads me to another area. The flea markets. I'm all for making a

living, and alot of people are trying to do just that. What really irritates me is

that people will pay $20-$25 each for the new releases, but I'm not supposed to

sell mine for more than $5? Customers come into the store all the time and tell me

that they've spent outrageous amounts on the new ones and then gripe if a

retailer is selling them for $10.00. Makes no sense to me! I've always sold

the newbies for $5.50 and even put out the retireds for the same amount, with a

limit on each. My Princess and Erins have been $25.00 each when I have them and

so far, not one complaint. I try to do what is fair and right, but in the

end, I have to do what is good for me. Lord only knows, no matter what I decided, there

will always be someone who will not like it!

All in all, I have to say that I've met and made alot of good friends by

selling beanies.

We've actually been able to pay off some bills and put away some money in our

savings account for a long deserved vacation! (We haven't had one for over 2

years.)

I just wish that the customers that are mean and nasty would be more

Understanding or quit collecting altogether if they are so unhappy! Thanks for listening to

my side of the story!

Things with Beanie Babies have gotten really wild. I am a florist/gift

shop in a rural tourist area. I have sold Beanie Babies since December 1996. I started selling

my Beanies for $5.25 and have since raised the price to $6.00. This was due to freight

charges and the time and hassle on Beanie mania. I should also mention that I sell the Ty plush

line and have started carrying the Attic Treasures line.

Let's start on the big retirement. Since we sell our Beanies for $6.00

of course the day of the big retirement we had people beating down the

doors trying to buy all they could so they could make an extra buck. The

Beanies had been in my store for almost 10 days.

Since we are a floral shop and had a big funeral we stopped selling Beanies

for the day. There were many upset customers

who felt we should sell Beanie Babies. But Beanie Babies are not our

primary income but that does not matter to the greedy people. The next day was a nightmare.

People were lined up at the door way before we opened our regular customer who wanted

Other items in our store could not even get in. Why are people so greedy? When you

receive something new the word goes out even if you limit the amount they can purchase

people always bring other people to purchase for them. Then you see the people and

the Beanies at a garage sale for outrages amounts. I have tried to put a stop to this

by not selling to these people.

 The second thing is the wonderful Beanie Baby Membership Club that the retailers were going

to profit on. The retailer is not making that much profit on these

items. Now that the marketing company is doing mail orders and not going through the retailers

on their special beanies (They told us that they would be going through the retailers.) Why

should I sell their product when they are making money on the kits and making my money on the

beanie and money on shipping and handling. Yes, they are within Ty's pricing but add the

shipping on and you have a $9.99 Beanie. I have tried to keep my prices within reason and I do

try to recoup some of the freight charges but if I could sell all my Beanies for $9.99 just

think of the profit I would be making. Plus this company did not give promotion items away you

had to purchase them. So the marketing company is making even more money.

 When Ty announced the new Beanies on May 30th the next day the new ones

where showing up in newspapers, on the internet and other places for sale. How can these

people get them before the retailers? Today is July 1st and I could order more Beanies today

but I still have not received any new Beanies that were on my June order. But the local gas

station has 15 Glory Bears for $100.00 each. Where are these secondary market people getting

these? I am a honest retail who runs drawings for the Princess Bear and Erin. I give

everyone one chance to sign up and we draw equal amounts from the kids (14 and under) jar

and from the adult jars. We then let these people purchase ERIN and PRINCESS FOR $6.00.

 When I ask Ty's customer service where my new Beanie Babies are this

they say they are waiting for product to become available. Since these people are in

Texas and Ty Inc is in Illinois they have no information on shipping. Customer service then

transfers you to the escalation but they tell you the same exact thing. Why does Ty call

this the escalation desk they can do nothing but fax information to Ty. Well, guess what, I

probably have more names to fax a letter to Ty than the wonderful customer service desk. So

where are my NEW 14 BEANIE BABIES?

 Beanie Babies are kids toys that many kids do play with but the greed

has out weighted the pleasure of selling this wonderful items. Just think of all the money I

could have made if I had sold my Beanie Babies on the secondary market! I could

have retired at the age of 39!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I

am still here selling Beanie Babies for $6.00. (Am I crazy?)

 In closing I would like to challenge Ty Warner to come and spend one

week in my store to see what abuse the retailers take about Beanie Babies. I think he would

be surprised at what goes on.