Retirement (Beanie Baby)

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The retirement of a Beanie Baby or a product from any line of Ty Inc., the manufacturer of Beanie Babies and other lines of collectibles, is its withdrawal from production. This has occurred in varying amounts of time following its introduction, depending on Ty's goals for that particular item. Some Beanie Babies have remained in production for several years following their introduction. Others have been retired just days after being introduced. Occasionally, beanies that have been introduced for a single purpose have been retired on the day they have been distributed. More rarely, some beanies have had their production canceled prior to their shipment to retailers, but following their announcement to the public, thereby never becoming available.

When a Beanie Baby is retired, it is no longer produced by Ty, though if Ty has some remaining in its stock, these may be shipped to retailers. While some Beanies were produced abundantly, thereby making them readily available in stores and on the secondary market are even in the stores of authorized Ty retailers have sold them out, other rarer beanies have proven more scarce, and have been highly sought by collectors. These are often sold for high prices.

Contents 1 Impact on value 2 Process 3 Public vote of 1999 3.1 The End 3.2 Ty2K 3.3 Others 4 Forced retirements 4.1 Roary the lion 5 References

[edit] Impact on value

During the time when they were popular, when a Beanie Baby was retired, it resulted in the collectible's value rising, a rush by the public to purchase those remaining of the item from a place of retail, and increased sale prices on the second-hand market.

Since the popularity of Beanie Babies has declined in the 2000s, their retirement has not dramatically increased their value on the secondary market, and many authorized Ty retailers continue to carry Beanie Babies that have been retired.

[edit] Process

Retirements have typically been announced on Ty's website via a newsflash. The newsflashes have generally announced that a beanie baby or a list thereof has just retired or is soon to retire. While some retirements have been officially announced several weeks in advance or otherwise anticipated by the public, others have come with no warning.

[edit] Public vote of 1999

The most significant mass retirement of all came late in 1999, when Ty announced that at the end of the year, all Beanie Babies would retire. This kept the public wondering whether or not more beanie babies would be introduced ^[1]. At the end of the year, the public was given the opportunity to vote to determine if beanies should continue to be produced ^[2]. There was a 50¢ fee to vote in order to prevent multiple votes by one person. Proceeds were donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation ^[3][4]. About 90% of voters voted for Beanie Babies to continue, and more beanies were introduced early in 2000.

Late in 1999, following the complete retirement announcement, ten beanies were introduced that the public largely believed would be the final beanies. A few were named in honor of the seasonal occasions. But in particular, one of them was named "The End," which helped reinforce the public's belief that beanies may really end^[5]. The beanies introduced at this time included:

[edit] The End

One of the ten final beanies of 1999 was a black bear called "The End." It was this one in particular that gave the impression that beanies would be permanently discontinued. As the poem in the hang tag read "All good things come to an end, it's been fun for everyone, peace and hope are never gone, love you all and say, so long," this served to reinforce the belief that Beanie Babies may permanently cease to be produced.

The final Teenie Beanie in the 2000 series was a miniature version of The End.

After Beanie Babies were not discontinued, a white bear with silver stars called "The Beginning" was introduced.

[edit] Ty2K

Ty2K the bear was named as a pun on the commonly used term Y2K that was often heard during the days approaching the turn on millennium. The beanie had a design of several colors of confetti on a white background, and was referred to as the "confetti bear."

In early 2000, a Beanie Buddy version of Ty2K was introduced, but it only had three colors of confetti. The Ty2K buddy retired quickly, and was considered by collectors to be rare.

[edit] Others

Some of the others introduced for a brief period in the final months of 1999 included:

• Chipper the chipmunk
• Scaly the lizard
• Honks the goose

[edit] Forced retirements

Some beanie babies were forced into their retirement earlier than Ty had planned for various reasons, including legal orders.

[edit] Roary the lion

Roary the lion was the first Beanie Baby lion made by Ty. It was produced from May 1997 through December 1998. Shortly before Roary retired, a federal judge ruled that its named violated the rights of the Imperial Toy Corporation, which produced a similar plush lion named Roarie, and therefore, its production must stop. ^[6]

[edit] References