and interviews Peggy Gallagher!
At the end of every newsletter
there is a notice posted asking collectors to get involved and
share their ideas, news, articles and more.
Dawn contacted me and asked if I would be interested in her writing
an article. I quickly relied and said I would welcome an article
on any collectible subject.
Dawn chose to interview Peggy Gallagher.
Beanie Authentication - An Interview with Peggy Gallagher
Have you ever wondered if your Beanies are the real thing? Did you even know that there are Beanies out there that are counterfeit? I admit that I have only recently been exposed to this problem and I have been collecting for three years! I bought a Libearty and Garcia from what I thought was a reputable person from eBay. When I received them, something just didn't look right, so I wondered, how do I find out if these are the real deal? That is when I read Ms. Janie's newsletter and first saw Peggy Gallagher's name. I went to her web site (http://www.beaniephenomenom.com) and filled out the Beanie authentication form and sent them on there merry way to her. Within one day, I had my answer. They were both fakes. I did eventually get my money back on these, and a sorry story from the seller who admitted that they bought Beanies at swap meets and had no idea if they were genuine or not, since they did not know that much about Beanies.
After my experience, I decided to do a little research on the subject. I contacted Peggy Gallagher and she graciously agreed to do an interview with me. I learned a lot, and I hope that with sharing this with you, that it prevents someone else from making the same mistake that I did.
First, a little background on Peggy. She was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up with 5 brothers and 2 sisters in Muncie, Indiana. Her father was a medical doctor and her mom "is the best caretaker and friend to all her kids". She graduated from college in 3 years and earned a BS degree in Elementary Education. She began teaching when she was 20 years old, teaching the "slow reading group". According to Peggy, she had "the love, patience and determination to help these low self-esteem children succeed and feel good about themselves". She taught first and second grades at Frank Hammond Public School in Munster, Indiana for many years. She later became a member of the Chicago Board of Trade in Chicago, Illinois.
During her early Beanie Baby hunting days, she worked as a paralegal for her husband, a criminal trial lawyer in Chicago. She also helped other private attorneys by filing appearances and motions in court. She admitted that she "would help lawyers, court reporters, county sheriffs, Clerks, and yes, even judges find the Beanie(s) they needed!".
In May of 1996, she was the first person to mail thousands of monthly-retired secondary market price lists across the country. In early 1997, she wrote and self-published the very first book on Beanie Babies. The publication was retired in 9 months after it sold 77,000 copies. She also wrote the first Beanie Baby article for Rosie Wells' collector magazine, as well as was a writer for Mary Beth's Bean Bag World. Peggy has appeared on NBC's The Today Show, and spent almost 2 years on Chicago's #1 WGN Radio with The Steve and Johnnie Show. She has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and numerous other newspapers.
She has her own Beanie collection and started collecting them in the spring of 1996. Now on to the interview. The following are the questions that I asked her and her answers.
Q: What made you interested
in doing beanie authentication?
A: I became interested in protecting the collectability of a superior
product and protect innocent collectors from spending thousands
of dollars buying counterfeit Ty Beanie Babies.
Q: How did you get started
doing this?
A: This initially began when a couple from California bought counterfeit
Ty old face colored Teddy Bears at a shopping mall in California.
This was in February 1997. Later in 1997, Sara Nelson (www.Beaniemom.com), advised a woman in Michigan to contact
me regarding a suspect spotless Spot. I brought 4 authentic Spots
for she and her husband to compare. She had spent over $1,500.00
for a counterfeit Spotless Spot!
Q: Did you have any doubts
or concerns about starting this business?
A: I was on a mission to preserve the collectability and to protect
innocent collectors. I have met and maintained some wonderful
Beanie friendships from all over the world. I remember the first
time I met Janie Daniels in Myrtle Beach. I was so excited to
meet another old time Beanie friend that I almost knocked her
down on the floor! I had many doubts and concerns, when approached
by many sponsors to finance my authentication business. Our business
will never be financially sponsored by secondary market dealers.
This very important decision and dedication to the collector has
probably been the key to our #1 authentication status and success.
Our service is the only authentication service on eBay, Ms. Janie,
Smartcollecting, and Ty Trade.
Q: How long have you been
doing this?
A: I have actually been authenticating Beanies since February
1997. It became very expensive with phone calls and mailing Beanies
back. In July of 1997 we began charging an authentication and
return postage fee. We registered our website domain: www.beaniephenomenon.com
on November 11, 1997. Later Jacqueline Greenwood of www.smartcollecting.com talked me into getting an easier domain
name. We included the website domain: www.peggyg.com because people had a hard time spelling phenomenon!
Jacqueline also designed the Peggy Gallagher authentication logo
located in the toy section on eBay! We are very proud and honored
that our website has permission by Ty, Inc. to use the trademark
and copyright property of Ty depicted on our website.
Q: Is this your full-time
job?
A: Yes, this is a full-time job! I spend over 12 hours a day with
this business and answer over 200 emails a day!
Q: How would you describe
the services that you offer?
A: Our services were the first authentication service and the
longest existing service. We spend a lot of time, money, and extensive
research perfecting and protecting our integrity and innocent
collectors from greedy "illegal people". Our large certificate
of authenticity is expensive and a heavy weight special paper
used primarily by the banking industry. It is archival safe, acid
free and will not yellow for over 100 years! The printing process
is elaborate because of ink color, the gold metallic, and the
preprinted numbering. All designed to prevent the "illegal
people" from altering the certificate. The newer interior
smaller certificate is a very specialized paper used by museums.
The paper was highly recommended, with regard to our Beanie Baby
authentication service, by a chemist from the Smithsonian Institute.
The paper actually absorbs pollutants in the environment and absorbs
gas emitted from the PVC pellets. Beanies must be able to breathe
and not sealed with old stale air in the display case. We have
a small air hole in the case and the special paper helps aid in
the longevity and preservation of the authentic Beanie. For security
purposes, the case is bonded shut with a new clear acrylic bonding
on the exterior of the case so it does not diminish the effectiveness
of the preservation paper enclosed with the Beanie. Our insurance
prohibits customers anywhere around our collections and customer's
Beanies sent in to be authenticated. When each package arrives,
it is opened and all contents are immediately put in a large clear
plastic zip lock bag. I am the only person who examines the Beanie(s).
The employees are never left alone with any of the Beanies. Each
order is processed one at a time so there is no way any Beanie
can be confused with another order. Our turn around time is usually
within 2 business days. Everyone is emailed immediately with the
UPS tracking number and the results of the authentication process.
The Beanie(s) will either be immediately placed in a zip lock
baggie or enclosed in the case. We use a tape lint remover on
all the authentic Beanies.
Q: Of all of the products
that you authenticate, which one do you receive the most of?
A: Righty, Lefty, Libearty, Britannia, all the Ty bears, Radar,
Sakura, Sting, Seamore, Buckingham, Unity, Maple, Coral, Bubbles,
and Nipponia.
Q: Can you give me a break
down in percentages of the amount of each different Ty product
that you authenticate?
A: Beanie Baby: Libearty, Lefty, Righty, all Ty bears - 75%, Sting,
Radar, Seamore, Coral, and Bubbles - 15%, and the remaining 10%
would be for every other Beanie design.
Beanie Buddy: 40% for wingless Quakers Buddy, 30% for Twigs Buddy,
Sakura Buddy and Buckingham Buddy, 20% for the original Black
Batty, and 10% for others.
Attic Treasures and Plush: 10% of various designs.
Beanie Bopper and Kids: 10%.
Q: How many Beanies would
you estimate that you authenticate per week?
A: Approximately 150 Ty product submissions are sent in per week.
Q: What do you look for
to determine if a Beanie is authentic, what is the process that
you use?
A: A comparison of 1 or more authentic Ty Beanie's side by side
with every Beanie submission. Examination of the Ty heart tag
and the tush tag with a high powered magnified lens. The examination
area has over 1000 watts of light!
Q: At this point, what is
the number one Beanie that is sent to you for authentication?
A: Libearty, Lefty, Righty, Sakura, and Britannia.
Q: Of all of the beanies
that you authenticate, what percentage would you estimate to be
fakes?
A: At the present time, the estimation would be approximately
20%.
Q: As of late, what Beanie
have you seen to be producing the most fakes?
A: Libearty, Sakura, Garcia, Peace, and Britannia. Also there
are counterfeit Indonesia Ty Beanie Babies that are rapidly appearing
in the USA. (There are many Beanie designs that were never even
made in Indonesia.)
Q: Can you explain why this
might be happening?
A: The international interest in the Beanie Baby collecting world.
Q: Would you say that the
secondary market plays a significant role in the number of counterfeits
that are now being seen? Why?
A: Yes! The Ty product has maintained their #1 status in the toy
industry. There will always be a demand for the quality and irresistibility
of the cute little critters! Ty products will historically always
be the #1 collectable.
Q: Which Beanie is the most
difficult to authenticate? Why?
A: All of them! The counterfeit versions are always changing.
There are authentic Beanies with the counterfeit tags, and authentic
tags put on counterfeit Beanies. Some of the old Beanies are valuable
without mint tags. Original price tags are fun and add to nostalgia
of the Beanie. I remember in 1996, buying 20 Chilly and Peking
from the Lajolla Zoo in San Diego. The price tag was $5.99. I
told all the buyers I would never reduce the price because of
the price tag. Believe me, these Beanies were next to impossible
and hard to find! Old tagless Beanies are just as fine and dandy
as long as they are authentic! I have seen counterfeit wingless
Quakers with authentic winged Quakers beak and webbed feet. There
is a lot of plastic surgery performed on Beanies! I have seen
1st and 2nd generation Attic Treasure heart tags mysteriously
laser printed and changed to Beanie tags. There are many authentic
1st and 2nd generation tush tags hand sewn into counterfeit Beanies.
Some of the illegal people are amazing!
Q: Are there any Beanies
that you cannot authenticate?
A: I authenticate every Ty Beanie Baby. If I have any doubts to
the authenticity or the counterfeit status, I return the Beanie
with the fee refunded.
Q: Are there any particular
things that you would advise people to look for when purchasing
Beanies regarding the authenticity?
A: When buying from the auction sites: Always ask for the picture.
If you are planning on purchasing a Beanie over $200.00, ask the
seller if they would not mind sending the Beanie to me first prior
to buying the Beanie. If they become squeamish then buy from someone
else! Check the numerous websites and read about the counterfeit
tell tale signs! Don't be afraid to ask questions about the Beanie.
Also check the www.traderlist.com for different feedback and alias
names used by the illegal sellers of Beanie Babies.
Q: Describe your average
customer.
A: My biggest clientele is by adults, both male and female.
Q: How much on average do
you charge for your services?
A: $12.00 per Beanie, plus UPS shipping.
~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~~*~*~*~**~~*~
Thanks Dawn for an enlightening interview and a special thanks to Peggy for taking the time to answer Dawns questions.
I can tell you from past experience that interviews can be rather difficult because you always strive to ask questions that have not been asked before. I think Dawn did a wonderful job and sincerely appreciate her efforts!
