I was recently contacted by a collector who purchased a Humphrey Beanie Baby off of ebay, she asked if I could help her get rid of her uneasy feeling about this purchase.

I informed Donna that I would be willing to view her scans but that I could not be 100% sure in advising her on Humphrey.

I do not consider myself a counterfeit expert nor would I ever want that title. There are just to many variables, errors, versions, generations, etc. etc. for me to remember or be held accountable for.

After viewing Donna's photo's I did something I have never done before. I e-mailed Donna my phone number and asked her to call me. There were many things that concerned me about her Humphrey and I wanted to ensure that she understood what I was trying to point out.

The truth about Humphrey;
Humphrey is a dark tan or carmel color. He has black eyes and thread nostrils. He has one hump and a knotted tail.
He was introduced in 1994 and retired in 1995
Check out the photo of Humphrey on Ty's retired Beanie baby list - HERE

The color is way too light and the legs appear to be overstuffed.

There is no (,) after the period in TY INC, there is no space between the "3" and "AND". The (l) in Oakbrook IL is wrong. There is also NO (.) periods after P.V.C. like there should be.
Please view the photos on Beaniemoms at the following link - HERE


The hangtags are of a third generation tag. The (c) copyright symbol is way too dark. The tag also has ink smudges on the first copyright symbol and in the Ty UK. address, not typical of Ty.
On the swing tag, the dots over the U in Nurnberg is not placed correctly. They should be placed above the (u). The (TM) is also missing in The Beanie Babies Collection on the inside of the tag.

The CE is missing on this tag. CE stands for Conformite Europeene. This marks indicates that the product meets the European markets requirements for health, safety and environment and consumer protection.


Humphrey on his left and right sides for you to view.

Humphrey's tail should be knotted at the very end. Donna has also informed me that the thread showing on Humphrey is pink, it should be white.

I wrote to Donna after our phone conversation and asked a few questions that I thought may help other collectors.

I was able to ascertain that Humphrey was purchased off of e-bay from a seller in North Carolina.

Donna had some suspicions once viewing her Humphrey and asked the seller to have it authenticated. The seller did not respond for two days and claimed she did not recognize Donna's e-mail address.

Ms. Janie - What advise would you offer other collectors about counterfeits?

Donna - Please don't bid, buy or touch item unless you know it is genuine, authenticated, or they are willing to get authenticated.

Ms. Janie -How has this transaction affected the way you view Beanies as a collectible?

Donna - It has affected me to know and research all I can about Ty beanies before I venture further.

Ms. Janie
What if anything will you do differently in the future before purchasing products online?

Donna - Know the item, ask questions, ask to have them send it to be authenticated before I pay, ESCROW..or Guarantee.

Closing comments from Donna - I went to ebay saw him up for bids, I put in $100 to start cause her exact words were this the actual humphrey you are bidding on. And by my stupidity after I did that I started more research and asking questions and before you knew it I had it Then I started to get the run around from her and smart emails. The picture on ebay don't even look like the one I received, honest.. Well I guess she will eat good for a little while.

Thank You very much and I hope what I send you helps someone else thanks Donna