The following questions were asked and the information below is their comments.

Many would suggest that this hobby has faltered and gone by the way side. It is very obvious that the market has changed and collector's attitudes have changed as well. In order to get a total grasp on what is happening on the Internet, please answer the following questions.
Please describe the attitude of your viewers and give your opinion of the current market--how has Ty's August 31st announcement impacted your site if any--and last but not least, is interest up or down?
Example - more positive or negative comments being shared by viewers. Collectors totally confused and ready to give up, etc.
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Initially the days before and just after the August 31st announcement, site traffic was at an all time high. Now that the announcement is over, I find the majority of collectors have established a "wait and see" policy. Newer collectors appear to be unsure whether to continue with their new hobby but established collectors are continuing with their collections as they have done in the past. Collectors do not appear to be expecting any additional announcements from Ty until year-end and therefore news has been slow. The buy/sell/trade boards continue to remain active, which indicates to me collectors are still trying to complete their collections. I think it would help reassure collectors if Ty would release some clues on what the future holds for the Beanie Baby line.
Beaniemom - http://www.beaniemom.com
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The announcement on August 31st by Ty gave the company what they wanted and that was publicity, in huge amounts. Everyone from Paul Harvey to Peter Jennings was reporting on the demise of Beanie Babies. It also caused increased buying of Ty products in some areas. It was a massive media blitz that continued for several days and then just like all news stories it quickly became old news.

At best the announcement was a short term shot in the arm for Ty but was the publicity worth the other effects that it has caused? It raised awareness of Beanie Babies to the 'outside' world but how did it effect the people who actually buy the products that Ty sells?

The announcement resulted in letters to our site that mainly expressed shock, anger or betrayal. Readers were shocked that Ty would retire all Beanie Babies at the end of the year. Some did not know what they were going to do since collecting Beanie Babies had become such a big part of their lives. They would either move on to another collectible or stop buying beanbag toys completely.
Others viewed the announcement as a relief and were looking forward to getting their lives back in order since they would not have to hunt Beanies much longer.

The letters of anger and betrayal came from collectors that could not believe that after supporting Ty and his products for as long as they have that he would just pull the plug on them. This was the thanks that they got for being loyal? Other collectors were angry saying that this was the last straw. They were tired of the games that Ty continues to play and that even if this was not the end of Beanie Babies they would not be back after the first of the year.

There were very few letters, if any, that expressed excitement over all Beanie Babies being retired.

The thing that concerns us most, as collectors ourselves, is that Ty has provided the notion that Beanie Babies will end and has done nothing to make anyone think otherwise. Also Ty may not realize it but lots of collectors do not have the Internet and have no reason to disbelieve the stories they have heard or read about. With December 31st over two months away, (four months since the announcement was made) these collectors are being given lot of time to come to terms with the end of Beanie Babies. That will just make it that easier for them to walk away from the hobby when Ty finally reveals that Beanies will continue in the year 2000. This also applies to those collectors that do have the Internet that still believe that December 31st is the end.

Randy, who collects comic books, says this is almost along the same lines of learning that a favorite comic title has been cancelled. There is shock and anger at first that the publisher would do such a thing. Then there is acceptance as you face the inevitable and move on to either another title or something else.

The announcement on August 31st resulted in the busiest day we have ever had on our site since we began it in June of 1998. Since then readership is down compared to what it was before the announcement. Email is down. And news stories about Beanie Babies are down as well. (Everyone preparing for the end
perhaps?)

Readers may have noticed that we have started giving more coverage to other beanbag products. The main reason being as we look to update our site with news stories each day we have found ourselves looking elsewhere for them because the stories about Beanie Babies are just not there most days.
Reporting on other collectibles helps keeps the news page fresh for our readers.

We don't mean to paint a gloomy picture here. Regardless of what happens in this hobby, Beanie Babies will continue. It is an outstanding product. It is extremely well made and it is very affordable. Those three things alone will ensure it's survival. We will continue buying them regardless of what Ty does and we are sure there are many others that feel the same way we do.

Randy and Theresa from Beanieholics
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/4116/

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It seems that my viewers for my website have been very frustrated with the market. Most people are asking me to start making a Pokemon page also, since Pokemon is more 'popular' than Beanies.
In my opinion I think that ever since Ty made this announcement the market has gotten better. Ty Warner is a marketing genius. If his market is going down he always has some ways to make it go up again. First its the Clubby Buddies, and now its the Retirement of all the Beanies, and then its the announcement of 10 wonderfully made Beanies! The Beanies are looking better and so is Ty inc.

How has Ty's August 31st announcement impacted your site if any: The first day when Ty announced his big announcement I recieved over 100 e-mails telling me so. It has impacted my site greatly. Ever since that announcement came, more people visited my site. Because some of the rumored beanies and buddies that I had posted really came true! I don't know how my site is going to be if Ty ends the Beanies. I guess I will just have to go to other bean bag toys'

Is interest up or down?: I will tell you the truth. I work for a store that has a Ty account. Last year when we had new Beanies we had over 50 people outside our doors waiting to get just one. Then when 1999 rolled around we didn't have much lines. We would have people come in and buy them, it's just not as quickly. Then when Ty announced the last batch lines came again. More people want these Beanies just in case it really is the end....

Joe Cooper
The Daily Bean
http://dailybean.com
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Ms. Janie,

Prior to Ty's August 31st announcement, the beanie market had been obviously struggling. Collectors had lost interest in Beanie Babies and had moved on to other hot toys such as Pokémon. After Ty's August 31st announcement, I noticed an increase in hits on many of the beanie sites, including mine. People were interested in what Ty's big announcement was all about. With the help of the media, I think Ty regained some collectors by saying that "all Beanie Babies will be retired as of December 31, 1999." Beanie Babies have risen to become the #7 most searched for word on the internet according to The Lycos 50. That definitely shows that collectors are still interested.
Although I do not think there are as many collectors out there who bought beanies at one time, there is still a market.

I have received mixed comments from visitors regarding Ty's announcement. Some believe Ty has revived the interest in his products while others believe he is "selling out."

Whatever happens, Beanie Babies will always be remembered for being one of the hottest toys in the 90's.
Devin http://www.beanie411.com

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Most of my viewers seem a little fed up and annoyed with Ty at present, they are starting to desert towards other Bean Bag collectibles like Disney for example. The number one complaint is they feel Ty is playing games with them with his little cryptic messages, they are also very upset that stores never seem to have new beanies in stock yet people on auctions seem to have them in advance.

The biggest complaint I have is towards Hallmark stores, I have several complaints a week with this one. I cannot remember the last time I had a positive comment sent to me about Ty, even the trans-shiping statement had several negative comments stating, "its about time", "why didn't he do it sooner", "it is his own fault this has happened, he has brought it on himself", were a few of the comments I received.

Interest is down, I have less viewers a day yet still manage the same position in the top40 and 50 so this suggests it is across the board. I have also had many e-mails saying they hope it is the end as they feel there is too much pressure to go out and buy New Beanies and that this causes further stress as the shops are like battle fields when New Beanies arrive.

Regards
Richard
www.beaniewonderland.com
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Since the BBBClub non-profit site, we fall into a different category than most of the sites that have items for sale. Interest for Beanies in general has fallen off dramatically on our end. Looking over some of the user input areas of the site, the one thing that really sticks out is the number of folks that seem to be selling, if not outright trying to "dump" their entire collection. Prices have plummeted, and takers are few and far between if they can be found at all. It's obvious that some of the top heavier hitting auction sites still seem to have reasonable traffic, but looking over the numbers for the rest of the sites it becomes apparent that interest is down considerably from a few months ago.

The August 31st announcement was the last big "Hoorah" of visitors, but that's to be expected when major announcements are made. It seems that the imminent retiring of the entire current line on New Years has not done a lot to improve interest. Diehard, true-in-the-wool collectors are still hard at it trying to make complete collections, but that number is decreasing steadily as the months go on. Those folks that take time to write do not seem to be impressed with the complete line retirement...... the thought of shelling out mucho dinero for an entire new lineup has caused many to throw in the towel, especially when they aren't able to "cash in" their current collection at the inflated prices we've seen in the past.

From our end, it looks like the TY line will still have a profitable future in the Bean Bag market, there will still be plenty of collectors around, Beanie sites WILL continue to draw traffic, but the level of consumer participation is on the wane. None of this is unexpected, as we have all seen the different fads come and go.........and Beanies have been one of the biggest, longest lasting, publicized fads seen in recent years. Locally, the shelves are well stocked and slow to move compared to what retailers are used to in the past - the maddened hordes are gone. That's not to say they aren't making a profit on Beanies - it's simply dropped to a lower volume level.

Having never accurately predicted ANYTHING correctly in the past 3 years from Beanies to Stocks to the Weather, there's no point in making a prediction.........we're just looking at the numbers & interest levels, then telling you what we see.
It seems the best bet is to wait until the first of the year to see what TY is going to do, and in the meanwhile.......... get ready for fall, the Holidays and life as usual! :) Best to all Beanie collectors from the _entire staff_ of the BBBCLUB

Ever forward,
BBBClub.com
http://www.bbbclub.com
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Hi Janie,

Most of our readers have been excited about the new beanies. I would say most are more patient and are willing to wait till the secondary market prices come down or try to luck up and find them in Ty stores.

The first few weeks after the announcement we where swamped with customers both on the internet and locally in our store. Collectors were ordering all beanies (new ones, old retireds (Rex, Lefty, etc..) and common beanies (snort, crunch etc..)

The initial reaction was wow I need to get these beanies now!!
Things have cooled down over the past few weeks but still are above sales levels of pre-announcement state.. Sales have been way above average over the past month.

We really did not have that many negative comments. People were concerned about beanies ending. Most just enjoyed the suspense of this type of announcement. I can say on a personal note I have been very frustrated with Ty lately. The position with the Blue face Spangles was crazy. Ann Nickels emailed and wanted to know my source from where we got the Blue face. Ty just could not admit that they indeed did ship some out.

Most of our collectors feel the same way we do. Excited about the announcement of all beanies being retired. Nervous and apprehensive about the future of beanies. I think the secondary market would become very unstable almost overnight if Ty announces that beanies are done.

We have had a few emails from people wanting to sell their collections but most are just holding on and waiting to hear more from Ty.

Tony
The ToyBox
http://www.the-toybox.com/news.htm#Beanie Babies

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Hi Ms. Janie,

Honestly? I'm getting a lot of e-mails asking my feelings on the subject--with many returned comments (some positive, some negative). Most investors are actually worried, more than anything, that their "investment" is going down the toilet. Therefore, they are trying to dump what they can now.

However, most COLLECTORS are feeling both scared and excited about the whole thing. They are scared that they are not going to be able to complete their collections before everything retires at the end of the year. With only two months to go, I can honestly say that I sympathize--I'm having a problem getting the ones I want, too. However, they are excited about what is to come. It has been an amazing thing to receive e-mails from collectors, rather than investors, because of their optimism. They feel as I do: Ty didn't say that this was the end of the line, he just said that everything would retire. BIG DIFFERENCE.

It's almost funny, too, how much of a difference there are between the e-mails from the true collectors, rather than the investors. Most e-mails I get from investors are something to the tune of "I'm trying to dump my collection now, how would be the best way to do it?" and "WHY is Ty doing this to me? I've tried to be loyal, but he's pulling the rug out from underneath me! Doesn't he understand what he's doing?" (That last one from someone that had earlier written in asking if she should dump now, taking the hit, or if she should wait it out--I told her to wait it out, but she responded that their Beanie market has crashed, and that this is hurting her financially). To these kinds of people, I just simply say "I'm sorry, but I've warned you and warned you--DON'T invest in something like this! Invest in something a little more stable, like the stock market. Collectibles will NEVER be something to invest in, unless you are doing it for the pure enjoyment of having something unique! Only pay what you are willing to pay, no more! And don't EVER expect to pay your kids' college with Beanies. It just doesn't work that way. Too many people have tried and lost BIG TIME!

In my opinion, I do applaud Mr.. Warner for what he's doing. He's separating the "sheep from the goats" so to speak. I understand that the 2ndary market helps boost the product, but I honestly don't feel sorry for someone who has put their life savings into this, expecting to make a quick buck off of someone else's product! To me, it's high time that the people who have been gouging the collector's turn around to be gouged back!

Unfortunately, this will only happen until the end of the year. You can imagine that, with the rumored BIG ANNOUNCEMENT Mr.. Warner will be making on January 1, 2000, will put the fire back into the hobby, and Beanie values will skyrocket! Therefore, I advise true collectors to get what they want now at a cheap price, because prices will more than likely soar once Mr.. Warner releases a new set of Beanies!

As for the total impact on the site, hits are up some days, but down others.
The peaks and valleys are much higher and much lower than they've ever been before. I guess you can read whatever you want into that, as I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet.

Personally, though, I've looked around, and it's a buyer's market--with the exception of the latest and greatest Beanies. I was recently in one store that has a dinosaur trio that I'm drooling over. 6 months ago, it was $3000. A couple of weeks ago, it was down to $1800. Perfect tags, perfect everything. Seamore was down from $200 to $85. Digger was down from $160 to $80. Although I can't afford these Beanies (even though I want them), I'm very happy for collectors everywhere! I'm especially happy for those who take advantage of these deals and get the benefit of having something they've dreamed of owning, but have never been able to afford before! It gives me great joy to see the people who have tried to make a buck off of Mr.. Warner start to tremble! LOL! I know that's wrong, but you asked! ;)

Love ya!
Jason P. Jack

Beaniemonium!
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Cottage/2062/
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The attitude of visitors, and indeed people in general, has changed since the August 31st announcement.
Firstly over the couple of weeks following the announcement we had people ask - "Is it true, is Ty going to stop making Beanies", almost a case of people hoping it was not true and seeing if we could make it better. But the case was, we were just as much in the dark as they were and it was a case of giving our own personal opinions.

Up until the new releases hit the shops peoples attitudes changed, people were looking at other collectibles, mainly Disney, in fact some of these changed allegiance there and then. Other Bean bags to benefit from this seemed to be Holy Bears and Celebrity Bears. But a number of people chose to carry on and the demand for older retireds rose, along with their prices on the secondary market, the first few Beanie fairs after announcement showed with increased attendance.

Then the new bears hit the stores, sparking a whole new rush to gain what could be the last of the range, shops selling out shortly after the deliveries, prices of the Beanies on auctions and at Beanie fairs rising and people prepared to pay it. And that is how it has continued to the present time, but notably people are not going for the older currents, but more for the 1998 retired Beanies and these seem to be selling really well on the secondary market. A few stores have even cashed in on the idea, pushing the fact that they could be the last set of Beanies, in fact some even no longer have the Millenium countdown, but the days to "Total reTYrement"

One noticeable change has been demand for Teenie Beanies, which have reappeared in UK McDonalds - demand seems to have completely dropped off there and hardly gets a mention.

Some opinions we have gathered over the last few weeks are :-
"We are fed up with the games Ty are playing"
"I'm going to collect these last few and even if he continues then it is doubtful that I will"
"Why would he kill the goose that laid the golden egg"
"If he discontinues the Beanie line then I am likely to collect Buddies instead"

People still ask in Beanie stores - what do you think will happen when he stops making them, so much so I'm sure store owners feel like putting up their own notice in the shops saying what they feel so as now to answer the question one more time.

So I suppose its time to give our opinion of what will happen in January, yes the current set of Beanies will be retired, but they will be brought back in some sort of guise, maybe the "bean-es" that have been mentioned so many times over the internet. Why would they have just set up large warehouses in the UK, taken trouble to convert the website to multi-lingual, send out their lawyers to close sites ? In fact as
mentioned earlier, "Kill the goose that laid the golden egg" - they won't do it. So we expect a new range to come about in January, but we think they have damaged some of their reputation since August, building up this frenzy for the newbies at the moment - stoking up the business for the secondary market which they have always claimed they wanted to prevent. At the end of all this they could find a lot of people have gone to new bean bags or Pokemon, possibly losing a number of long term collectors.

News has now gone quiet on the August announcement and websites gone back to normal, perhaps with a reduced numbers of visitors, are we now looking at the calm before the storm ? Which brings out that old, well used Beanie cliche, Only time and Ty can tell............

Regards,
David & Christian
http://www.beanies-uk.com
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We have far more ads on our trading boards than I have seen in awhile and site traffic is up. We even have several members selling current and retired beanies for less than 5.00 each, which is a first. I think the interest is definitely up, but members seem to be clearing out doubles and making room in their homes for what is to come in 2000.

Example - more positive or negative comments being shared by viewers. Collectors totally confused and ready to give up, etc.

I recently did a poll on my site and the results showed that most collectors would not sell off their collections, but patiently await for the anticipated 2000 line. ( The only negative feedback I have seen is the result of lawsuit action by Ty against various websites and companies, particularly Holy Bears.) Some people were initially upset when the retirement announcement was initially made, but as time has passed, the general consensus is that a new line is coming and everyone is starting to get excited now!

Thanks :) Fm (Anne)
http://www.funkymommy.com/
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Janie,

I haven't seen first-hand much that would indicate people are losing interest. I have had fewer hits to my site from this past announcement than the previous one. But there's still plenty of interest. Where I'm noticing the difference is in the prices people are willing to pay for Beanies I'd like to sell. And it's understandable that prices are down if people are interpreting the 8/31 announcement as meaning "the end is coming" (of Beanies) and so they're getting rid of as much as they can, thinking that prices will be even worse next year.

Allan - http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Tower/6914
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