Second set of reviews on

BRING BEANIES BACK TO REALITY

To: <j81459@erols.com>

Subject: GREAT ARTICLE

Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 00:52:53 -0400

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 Parts of this message were removed because it contained names and concerns of other Beanie experts.

Janie,

 I just finished reading your article on Beanie Reality and it was GREAT!

*********************************************************

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*********************************************************

I just think it is disgusting how just because

something retires immediately it's price skyrockets. 

I remember back in Dec. when Seamore price was "valued" at around $60. Well

it took some work, but I finally found one for my daughter for $30 and to

us that was a lot of money for a silly little beanie but it was for

Christmas so I went ahead and bought it. Well just a few weeks later,

********* decides that Seamore is worth $160!!! How can something go up

that much in value. It was ridiculous. For awhile the price was even up to

$200. I asked my little girl if she would like to sell her Seamore and buy

a plane ticket to visit her big brother in another state. She said NO WAY.

Seamore is loveable and can be with me forever, but a plane trip will only

last a short time. Of course now you can see ads for Seamore for around

$120!

 Well just want to say thanks for telling the truth and nothing but the

truth. I wish others in the beanie world would come into reality and

realize that these are merely toys that they are snatching away from kids.

I am tired of adults saying that they aren't kids toys anymore and if kids

want them, then there are plenty of them...they can go without the HTF and

most sought after. Well I am sorry, my 2 daughters would love to have the

bears. When Erin came out one daughter who has always loved the color green

was so excited. Of course I had to break her heart and tell her she may

never get one because all the adults would buy them up at retail and resell

them and we couldn't afford one. Then we would even go into TY retailer

stores and they would be selling Erin as well as Princess for over $100.

Her heart sank even more.

 God bless you for your honesty and integrity. I really want to get your

book now! 

Pam

Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 19:46:23 -0400

From:

Reply-To:

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Article

I enjoyed your article about prices going down and being your own

pricing guide.

 I collect beanies for fun, and my father sometimes buys some for sale or

trade. **************************************************

************************But now I realize I don't need them as much, only

for brief updates.

 I have to agree about greediness. I was trying to start a club for

boycotting high prices, that'll help bring them down. But I only had 2

members. :( I am 13, and can never get a new beanie for the right

amount. And from a kid's point of view, it stinks! It really STINKS!

 Keep writing great articles!

 One Of Your Many #1 Fans,

Alissa

 From:

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 22:31:00 EDT

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Re: Bring Beanies Back to Reality

 Thanks and I am glad we have a voice out there that understands what the

average collector is going through. I believe someone needed to take a stand

to help keep this fun and exciting collectible going.

Thanks Josh

From:

Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 19:19:11 EDT

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: beanie articles

 Your beanie articles (bringing beanies back to reality) is very true. I wish

all beanies were affordable. Personally, I can't continue collecting because

it is too expensive. And in fear of the beanie market falling, I've been

pressured by other beanie collectors to sell them before I get caught with

them and out of money. I really love collecting beanies, and it's very fun,

but that is why I collect them--because they are worth something! And as a

last buy (since I'm selling all my others) I was looking to find a Glory, that

new cute bear. I wanted to keep it to remind my self how much fun it was! :)

But all offers I've seen are outrageous!! It makes me mad to see people sell

them so high when they are NEW releases, and aren't even officially out yet.

And I'm only 15, so my money is limited. And this means little kids can't get

them, either! Well thanks for taking your time to make your lovely,

informative page!

Thanks,

Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 10:25:11 -0400

From:

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Beanies

 Janie

 I have to agree with your latest article 100%. I think dealers, both

primary & secondary, are pricing themselves out of a job. I can

understand paying higher prices for older retired beanies, but I will

NOT support dealers who charge higher prices for currents.

 There is a primary dealer right up the street that I used to support

because he sold all currents for $ 7.00. However, he has gotten greedy.

When the last set of new beanies came out, he still charged $7 for the

other currents, but $ 20.00 for the new ones. That's when I quit going

to him.  

Interestingly enough, all the people that I saw in line at other stores,

who would go out to the car and change clothes so they could get more

than one of each, are now at the local flea market. Sure, they have

tons of the last wave of new ones, but they're stuck selling them for

$6.50 - $7.00. I laugh at the people who paid $ 25 for Stretch, when I

can now walk in and buy him for regular price. Sure I didn't get him

first, but WHO CARES. 

There are several stores in Cincinnati that still sell ALL beanies at

$6.00. Whether they are new or just retired or whatever. I was able to

get a Princess in January at one of these stores for regular price.

These are the stores that I take all of my business to, including

non-beanie purchases.

 All of the beanies I buy are for my 14 year old daughter. And they are

not for investment. They are on shelves, on the floor, lugged around in

backpacks. And she only buys the ones she thinks look 'neat'. That's

the way beanies should be.

 Diane

Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 22:13:20 -0400

From:

Organization

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Bring Beanies Back to Reality

Jane,

 I just finished reading your article and I really enjoyed it. I feel

very much the way you do. It's getting a little out of hand. I found

myself in the middle of an argument at a MacDonalds during the Teenie

Beanie campaign. I couldn't believe how "adults" could act over a

little stuffed animal. I think the kids have a much better attitude

toward the whole thing.

 I just began collecting last fall because of my daughter-in-law. Now my

daughter has joined us and we have a ball calling each other with

"Beanie Alerts." We have decided that if it takes a while to collect

the new releases, so what. We have lots of "Beanie Runs" ahead of us.

If we got them all on the secondary market our fun would be over too

soon and we would probably go into "Beanie Withdrawal."

 You should try to get your article printed in ***********************

Everyone, especially the dealers, should read it. It's a great

wake up call.

From:

To: <j81459@erols.com>

Subject: Hurray For You!

Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 14:34:40 -0400

X-MSMail-Priority: Normal

I have said it before and I will say it again. You are a fantastic source

of information for what is going on in this hobby. We've been on vacation

so this was the first chance I got to read this article. I have to tell you

how wonderful I found it. You tell it like it is. Like you I too have been

outraged at some of the prices we have been seeing. Now we are seeing

ridiculous prices on Wise - $100, Rocket - $50 to $100, Fortune - $300 to

$350 and Glory - $350. The prices on Wise and Rocket are being fueled by

rumors of lawsuits. My husband and I are still shaking our heads. The sad

part is that people are paying these prices. You should see what a couple

of stores are charging for both the old Iggy and the new one. I just want

to scream sometimes. I have collected one thing or another since I was a

girl and I have seen crazes come and go, but I have never seen anything

like this and both my husband and I have to agree with you when you say

that these things can only hurt the hobby. We saw this happen with baseball

cards a few years ago and now some cards that were going for $50 to $100

are only worth cents. Many people got a bad taste in their mouths about

collecting when the bottom dropped in that hobby. Can you imagine what will

happen if the same thing happens with Beanie Babies?

 I can honestly tell you that since Jim and I started our little campaign to

not pay more then retail we have saved people a great deal of morning. I

still need Erin and Princess for my kids, mainly because we keep missing

shipments at our favorite stores, but many of our friends and fellow

collectors have been able to get them for either retail or very close to

it. And we have been thanked and even given a couple of things as "Thank

you" for saving them money. I wish I had been able to convince one of my

friends who would not believe me about the prices coming down. She spent

over $400 on two Princess Bears, last week she went to a BB show and they

were selling them for $35, she is very angry. Today we walked into a store

that had just sold their shipment for $20. I personally would feel a heck

of a lot better spending $40 than $400.

 It articles like yours that make me feel that our little group of BB

Collectors is right and justified in refusing to pay the outrageous prices.

I love BB and I have about 60 of my own. My kids have over 90 each. We are

your average middle class family and I can't afford to pay what some people

are asking. Thank you Janie for telling everyone how you feel. I know many

people, including the friend I mentioned above, respect you and listen to

your advice. You will help many many people with this article. Keep up all

the good work. You are one of the great people in this hobby and I wish

there were more like you. God Bless.

From

Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 16:23:23 -0400

Reply-To:

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Bring Beanies Back To Reality!!! Way To Go!!

 Dear Ms. Janie

 I'm sure you will not remember us, but we felt we had to write anyway.

This past Fall you gave a lecture at Belmount Elementary School, which

we attended. We were extremely impressed with your poise and gracious

gifts. Our children talked about you for over a week. They could not

believe how kind, friendly and Beanie educated you were. We purchased

your book but our son wanted your autograph all for himself. He had you

sign one of your bookmarks. Today that bookmark has been laminated and

is on his wall.

Something you said at the lecture really stuck into my mind. You

reminded all of us that you are no better than anyone else in the room.

You are a true collector and you have the same struggles we have. I

guess in a way, that made you more human than greedy, like most

experts. I can also remember you saying that you did not like to be

referred to as an expert. You felt you were very knowledgeable in

Beanies but admitted that you did not know everything. That again, made

you stand out form the rest of the crowd.

My family and I have followed your articles and press releases in our

area. We are still very impressed with you and just had to tell you how

we felt.

We recently read your interview on ctoys.com. "That's the Ms. Janie we

know and love" "Down home, honest and hard working".

Your article on Bring Beanies Back To Reality, was one of your best

ever. We also enjoyed your Secondary Market article. All of your

articles have a warm feeling to them, they allow collectors to relate to

someone who is a real person with real feelings. Your articles are well

researched and have helped us tremendously in our Beanie collecting.

We have ventured onto other sites and read other topics, NONE compare

to the honesty and integrity, which your articles offer. Many other

articles we read, all say the same thing. We have even noticed that a

few writers have even taken your ideas and rewritten them to suit their

purposes. Knowing you Ms. Janie, you probably don't even care!

We hope that you will visit our school again this Fall. You made a lot

of children as well as adults very happy. Ms. Janie, you're number one

in our book. I would say, just remember us when you get to the top, BUT

I know in my heart that you will never forget any of your fans.

You are truly, one of a kind!!

From:

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 10:51:07 EDT

To: j81459@EROLS.COM

Subject: Re: thanks for your article

 Thank you for answering my e-mail.

 One more thought, I know that you have made this point clearly many

times......

 If people would only be patient and stop buying current beanies at high prices

it would keep the prices down on the hard to finds! I believe that most of the

people who buy at high prices for fear of never being able to get the beanie

at a lower price are the NEW collectors! Ask me, I used to do it too! Then I

got ahold of myself and quit PANICKING about it and started finding those

Beanies for reasonable prices.

Even the retireds can be found at lower prices if we were PATIENT! LOL!

Feel free to use my comments. Thanks again,

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 13:33:30 -0500

From:

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: 6/14 article

 WOW! GREAT WORK! I very much enjoyed reading your article addressing

several beanie issues. I must admit... I agree with you totally.

I was appalled at what that writer wrote to you about the working for

free and all. I think it is horrible for a person to think such a thing

much less, telling you too! I applaud you for what you are doing! Not

Only do I think you are a good person for doing it for free and spending

you hard earned money and time to get it done but you also show the

"fruits of the spirit" which sadly, that person knows nothing about.

 Please keep up the good work, for all of us!

 Your fellow collector,

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 17:22:11 +0000

From:

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Your article

Hi Janie,

Just finished reading your article , it was very nice, but

unfortunately, meaningless. I have been involved in the World of

Collectibles long before the first Beanie was ever produced. The price

for an item is what people will pay for it, that simple. As long as

people will pay outrageous prices for Beanies, someone will sell it at

that price. When people stop paying, the price will go down. As far as

people being incensed over Beanie crime, they need to see that to a

criminal, a beanie is just like a TV, VCR, etc. If money could be gotten

from its theif, they'll steal it!! It doesn't take a brain surgeon to

figure it out

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 07:35:53 -0500

From

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Bring beanies back to reality

Janie,

 No real question here, just a note of support. My daughter, and my son

in some cases, love running around trying to find those beanies they

don't have yet. My daughter especially wants to get those older ones

that retired before she knew what beanies were! I myself would welcome

a little market correction just to get prices down where we could afford

to pick up some of those. And she wants to continue collecting these

things, for years, probably. I think that this is one of those things

that if parents and kids got together on, it could be a family sport.

We like running around together!! And now that I am trying to get

trading beanies together to get older ones, all of a sudden I have a ton

of the darn things everywhere, and I have a hard time parting with

them--this from a 37 year old man! Anyway, keep up the good work, it

doesn't happen often enough that kids and adults get together on

something that is non-violent AND collectible.

 Thanks

From:

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 19:11:39 EDT

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Kudos to you and to my retailer

 Dear Ms. Janie,

Thank you for stressing the importance of children and their

feelings. Thank you for caring about this wonderful product. Thank you for

allowing us all a reality check.

Having said that, I must brag about my retailer,( Call her Frank. I

can't use her name . I don't want to get her into trouble.), in the

Indianapolis area who upon being knocked to the ground for some Erin Bears,

took the full box of Erin, Valentino and Curly to her stock room. She then

proceeded to call any child aged twelve and under into the stock room and

allowed them to have first crack at these treasures.

This brought applause from those of us who had become appalled by

these maniacs. How dare they act in such a manner in front of these kids! The

kids see these as play things. It is only when the adults turn this into a

crazed search for the big buck that we lose sight. Let the children play! Let

the collectors collect, but, PLEASE, those of you who are out for blood, don't

ruin it for the kids.

The world could end tomorrow, the market could crash and what

you would be left with is what TY Inc. designed in the first place....a

huggable, cuddly plaything that lights up the faces of children and adults

alike.

Thank you, Ms. Janie and, thank you to my retailer for seeing

this for what it is.

Well Janie, you did it again. Your article today was fantastic. I hope a LOT of people read it. I read through it rather fast, tonight I plan to read it in more carefully.

I admire you courage, you are willing to state the facts as you see them and fortunately you have the talent and reputation to get them printed where they will be noticed and read. I am sure some people don't like what you said, but it is good for us all to face some of the facts, no matter what area of this business we are a part of.

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 01:22:48 EDT

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Response to your article

 I just quickly read your article and discovered it produced a lot of the same

emotions in me, too many to address right now.

 The main one that struck me was about the people in this hobby for a racket

and trying to make a fast buck off of true Beanie enthusiasts.

From:

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 01:24:43 EDT

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Re: Bring Beanies Back To Reality

X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by mail1.erols.com id BAA15226

 Not only was I angry, I was also very hurt!

 What's wrong with trying to be a good person? Why does everybody have to

always look at the money issues? I'll agree it cost me money and time to write

and research articles. It would be nice to get paid for what I do, BUT the

bottom line is, I enjoy it and who knows, maybe one day I'll be discovered! In

my book, honesty and hard work always pays off in the end.

Janie Daniels

Janie,

 I loved it!!!! This last paragraph is what set you apart from the majority of

the people who are involved in this hobby today!!! Even if your name hadn't

been at the end of that I would have known without a doubt that your

writing!!!! You're truly one of a kind and I hope I have the opportunity to

meet you in person one of these days. You need to come to one of the shows

here in Texas one of these days. I NEVER go to Houston but they do have huge

BB show and I would make an exception if you were to be at one of them!!! LOL

Keep up the good work and never let anyone talk you out of your ideals!!!

 Debbi

From:

Organization: To: j81459@erols.com

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 0:55:38 GMT-6

Subject: article

X-Confirm-Reading-To:

X-pmrqc: 1

Priority: normal

Hi!

 I just finished reading your "Bring Beanies Back to Reality" article. What

a refreshing take on this whole craze. I have been collecting with my kids

for a very short time - since last October - and we have loved every minute

of it. We have however witnessed some sub-human behavior by grown adults

that have made me almost reconsider our hobby. I want my kids to have

something that they love to do but will not sacrifice the honest, kind and

moral behavior we as parents have worked so hard to instill in them. Some

of the "adult" collectors I have run in to at stores are a true

embarrassment! I have been able to find most of my beanies at retail price

but have had to pay some secondary market prices as I live in a small town

that doesn't get beanies frequently. I have also traded. The majority of

people I have dealt with are wonderful. I actually have a few good "cyber

friends" that I talk to all the time and one I actually met!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I thought your article was

wonderful, precise and right on the mark. We need to keep our eyes on what

beanies are - a great toy for our kids and ourselves to enjoy - not a get

rich scheme.

 Thanks for all you do. I love your homepage - check it everyday!

From:

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 18:12:45 EDT

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Bring Beanies Back to Reality

Just got done reading your WONDERFUL article on the ctoys site. Hurray!!!!!!!

Finally someone speaks out on the problems with prices and you have put

confidence back into the collectors. A+ A+ A+ Great Job!!!!

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 20:21:28 -0500

From:

Reply-To:

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: "Bring Beanies Back" Article

Dear Ms. Janie,

This was the best article by far that you have written. I couldn't

agree with you more! You said everything I have been feeling about

beanie collecting for the last six months. My six year old son just

last weekend finally added Princess to his collection. His name was

drawn from a box full of names and he purchased her for $4.99. It took

him seven months to get this bear!

In the meantime, we've started collecting Disney beanies because of the

frustration in collecting Ty beanies. At least with Disney beanies they

cost $6.00 and you don't have to worry about being over charged.

I was trying to come up with a way that Ty could do a survey asking

their collectors which stores they purchased beanies at that sold them

in the $5-$7 range. Then ask which stores sold bears and hard to finds

for $25 and up. Ty could them take that information and send only 12

bears to the stores that were greedy and trying to make a huge profit

and take the other 24 bears and put that amount with the 36 they

normally send in a package and send 60 bears to the stores that sell

them for $5-$7. That rewards the retailer and collectors and they

wouldn't have to tell anyone they were doing this.

I thought I'd mention my idea to you incase you might somehow improve on

it and pass it on to Ty. People love surveys and Ty could put it on

their website and everyone would respond. Of course they'd have to ask

other questions so no one would suspect what they were up to.

Just a thought! Anything to help get our hobby back!

Thanks again for the great article. You made me feel much better after

I read it.

X-Originating-IP:

From:

To: j81459@erols.com

Cc

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 18:58:26 PDT

Janie,

You have really stirred the pot of bb lovers and advisories

apparently! I'm unfamiliar with your book and articles (I want to read

them). In late March I was introduced to the bb's after months of

resisting them. I vaguely remember my daughter asking for them at

McDs-but they were sold out. In our hometown prices jump to $40 for say

"Weenie" or "Christopher" in the same stores that sold them for $6. You

know the demand is not that instant!! Thank you for reading this and I

look forward to a response.

[Image]

From:

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 23:45:27 EDT

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: Bring Beanies Back to Reality

Interesting article however I was disappointed you didn't talk more about the

lunacy of things like Fortune preselling on eBay for $535...even the rest of

the new ones being presold all over the Internet for $20 and way over that.

People just can't stand waiting so they artificially inflate the prices by

paying exorbitant prices and scaring everyone else. It's like the run on the

banks during the depression. In order to have a secondary market, there have

to be customers...and they are out there enmass! Erin is a great

example...over $200 when she first came out...now down to $50 and

falling...with many people now getting Erin for normal prices.

The bottom line on the business with the new ones is that it is a great

gimmick for Ty...put them out in limited supply so people are nuts over

getting them...this drags on til the system is milked and then they start

being available. There is no way you will ever convince me that Ty, with all

his millions and resources, cannot supply the demand. He deliberately does not

meet the demand and creates the environment for this insanity. It is brilliant

marketing! But if he really cared about the kids he would do one or two at a

time in GREAT supply til everyone had theirs and then supply the next few.

Yup...it would probably significantly slow the Beanie Craze...but ah

well...the only ones who would suffer are the secondary market folks. He'd

still be making his millions and those who love beanies would get them at

reasonable prices.

From:

To: "'j81459@erols.com'" <j81459@erols.com>

Subject: Beanies Back to Reality

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 14:21:50 -0600

Return-Receipt-To:

Janie, Your article was right on!! I keep telling a fellow collector

that if TY produced excessive quantities of each and every Beanie, the

end-consumers still pay by decreased retired value. He sides with the

retailers. And when you see auctions for bags of Beanies unopened, you

know who is selling them. So it makes it much harder to collect them.

With several bears and the owl coming out now, guess what, forget buying

them cause they will be underhanded with these as well. It's not that

they are hard to find, they just never make it to the shelf to buy. I

just wish that people could open their hearts and minds to become better

human beings with real ethics and morals when they read something like

this. The world won't improve until we improve as individuals.

I had to decide to sell my collection as it is out of hand and it is

no longer fun. And I don't see any point in being reminded of small and

heartless people can be. It does make me feel better to read articles

by others that feel the same way. Thanks

From

To: <j81459@erols.com>

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 09:16:41 -0400

X-MSMail-Priority: Normal

Thank you for writing the article. We are a Ty Beanie Dealer and I agree

with what you are saying. We have made a commitment to sell all our

Beanies for $5.00 dollars. This past week all other stores in our area

sold the Erin and Princess for much more. Our customers even ask us why we

are only selling them for $5.00. All we can say is because that is the

price Beanie Babies are in our shop. We have had several occasions of

other stores calling and reporting us for not having a shop when we have a

larger shop and more space devoted to Ty than any shop in the area. We are

not trying to take anyone's customers away but just be fair about pricing.

We do not discuss other stores with customers. Ty needs to address stores

who are simply in the business to be greedy.

From:

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 11:18:03 EDT

To: j81459@erols.com

Subject: thanks for your article

Janie,

 Just read your article on your thoughts about rumors etc...

 It was really touching. It was so good to hear someone say the things that you

said about the hobby.

 I am a secondary dealer (flea market) and I can honestly say that I feel the

same way that you do about collecting beanies. I buy currents at a local

store, stand in line like everyone else and pay $5.50 + tax. I sell them at my

flea market space for $6.50.

By the time I pay the 6% commission and my space rent, I break even. But I sell

other items that help pay the space rent. The point is that I LOVE helping

people find those hard to finds and getting them for a fair price! I have done

one beanie show and traded Princess for a few beanies that were newly retired

and a little worn. It wasn't a "profitable" deal but I loved the smile on the

little girls face!

Thanks for saying that there are some honest secondary people out here!