Atsushi from Japan

I have been given the pleasure of interviewing a very special couple. They are the owners of the bird@nd website from Japan. I have enjoyed chatting with them and learning about the popularity of Beanie Babies in their country.

* Please provide a bio on yourself.
Both my wife and I are Japanese and live in Japan.
We started this site called "Birdl@nd" in summer 1997. At that time our site was about cockatoos and Ry Cooder (my favorite musicians).
We have collected many goods about parrots and cockatoos. We went to the Parrot Jungle in Miami third times.
Then my wife bought Scoop and Rocket in January 1999. That was the day we started collecting Beanie Babies. Now we have over 150 Beanie Babies.(not so many)
I'm 36years old, my wife is 31years old, and we have no children.
We live with a cockatoo, a parrot and 6 cocktails between Osaka and Kobe.
I was in Gerogetown University language center in DC to study English.
We had Ewing in his 4th grade. Hoyas lost championship that year.
My favorite musicians are Ry Cooder, Joni Mitchell, Donny Hathaway, Eric Dolphy.

* Your site has provided an abundance of information for collectors of other countries. What inspired you to post the site and what goals if any, have you set for your site?
At first I wanted to post information about counterfeit Beanie Babies in Japanese. Then we began to collect more Beanie Babies and added more information on my site.
In August 1999 news about Ty Japan released in USA. (Though we already knew it in June.) So we made English pages to provide news from Japan.
Our goal is exchanging information with other countries and making a good relationship between our Japanese readers and English readers.
It is easier to make a good relationship, if both have same interest.

* Please describe your site and share its offerings. I am particular interested in your daily news and your Pen Pal section.
We have translated Beanie Babies news in other countries in Japanese, and have provided news from Japan for people in other countries.
We get many mails from people who live in Japan and can't read Japanese.
So we made retailer's list in both Japanese and English.
And also we made Pen Pal section, because we really want to produce a place where people in many countries can make good relationship.
They can trade and talk about Beanie Babies and other topics.
I will add a Pokemon cards section soon.

* Are you a collector and if so, which on of Ty's Beanies is your favorite?
My favorite is Pugsly, my wife's favorite is Rocket.

* Do you collect any of Ty's other lines?
We have some Teenie Beanie Babies and an Attic "Allura".

* When you first received information about the newspaper ad that was posted by Ty Japan looking for sales representatives, did you have any clue what a Beanie Baby was?
It was not on newspaper, but it was on a magazine for women who were looking for job.
I understood instantly that Beanie Babies would be sold in Japan.
I was very excited when our reader informed us about ad in June.
We and our readers talked a lot about it on our message board.

* I noticed that the price of a Beanie is 650 Yen and the price of a Pillow Pal is 1300 Yen, please calculate this into US money.
650yen is about $5 for a Beanie Babies.
1300yen is about $12 for a Pillow Pal.

* It's been reported that Ty started off with a slow start in Japan. What was in your opinion the main factor that sparked the interest in collectors?
At first Ty Japan has to make more retailers in Japan.
If people see and touch Beanie Babies, they are going to love them.
And word of mouth spreads quickly and strongly.
If media makes the boom of Beanie Babies, it grows faster.
But it declines faster, too.
So the main factor is how many people see and touch Beanie Babies.

* What is the overall reaction to Ty's latest announcement about all Beanie Babies retiring on December 31, 1999/ Will your country be affected?
Some newspapers and TV news took this topics.
However People don't know about Ty's latest announcement.
But most of my readers were very confused at that time.
Some were very upset because this would be Ty's marketing plot.
We are very anxious that we will be able to get them.
Because a selling system by Ty Japan is very different here.
As you know, Ty Japan sells many retired Beanie Babies in Japan.
They have not sold most of January release and all of spring release.Some sellers in second market will raise prices with this.

* Do you happen to know which generation tags are being sold in Japan?
Velvet and Flip have 4th generation hang tags.
And the other have 5th generation hang tags.
All of Peace have "Gosport" hang tags.
All of January release like Signature Bear have "Gosport" hang tags,
too.
They are completely same tags as USA. I think that Ty stocked those retired models for kick-start in
Japan.

* How popular are Beanies in Japan?
Before Beanie Babies were sold in Sony Plaza stores ( first retailers in Japan) they were not popular.
A magazine posted a poll about favorite characters among women (mostly age 20 to 40).
Beanie Babies were out of the best 200. (Greatful Dead Bear was the best 1998.)
But some TV shows and magazines introduced Beanie Babies recently.
Beanie Babies craze has just begun !

* Do you believe that Japan will now establish a secondary market for Ty Beanie Babies?
Yes.
A big market will be established in 2000 with Beanie Babies from USA market.

* Have their been any Beanie shows besides the trade show in Japan?
No.

* Are the Japanese people using the Internet to collect Beanies from other countries?
Yes.
Some buy from eBay, some buy from online shops in Japan and USA.

* What age group are the collectors of Beanie Babies in Japan?
Women age 20 - 40.

* Pokemon and Hello Kitty are popular in the United States and original came from Japan. Are these items still hot sellers in Japan and what is the latest news on these product lines?
Yes, Pokemon and Hello Kitty are still popular.
Hello Kitty was the best 2 on a poll I said before.
But it seems that Pokemon started to decline.
Pokemon funs were getting older from child to boy.
Pokemon became childlish for them.
They are going to buy another card game called " YU-GI-OH !".
And Furby is very popular in Japan, too.

* Please share customs and history of your country. If you have any interesting links to share about landmarks, please feel free to send them.
We Japanese are very shy people, especially with foreigners.
I hope that Beanie Babies will become a bridge between Japan and other countries with good relationship.

* Now that Ty has released pictures of the new releases, what do people in Japan think of them and do you anticipate them being big sellers?
My readers really love newbies.
And they are excited very much.
I am taking a poll now in Japan.
1999 Holiday Bear or Wallace will be No1.

* What are your hobbies and what attracted you to Beanies babies?
My hobby is playing a guitar. I play old blues like Freddy King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker.
My wife's hobbies are knitting sweaters and making stained glass.
We love cockatoos and collect many products of birds include stuffed toys.
That's why she bought our first Beanie Babies. And then we can't stop collecting them.
We are addicted.

*What do you believe the new Millenium will bring for Beanie Baby collectors all over the world?
It will be a tough year for Ty in USA.
Ty will make Beanie Babies retired quickly.
And Ty will sell them on online and introduce other brand-new products.
In Japan Beanie Babies will make a big boom, I believe.
A huge numbers of Beanie Babies will come to Japan from second market in USA.
Ty will introduce Japan Bear on a New Year's day, I guess.
At that time there will be some hundreds of retailers which sell Beanie Babies all over Japan.
Then Valentine Day comes. ( We love that day, very special for Japanese.)
Teenie Beanie Babies will be next.
It will be a tough year for Japanese in another meaning.

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Thank you for such an enlightening interview, I appreciate your honesty and in-depth answers.
I particular enjoy reading your responses and being educated about the Japanese Beanie market.
I will continue to visit your site for updates and encourage my readers to do the same.http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~fwih1189/newse.htm

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