This page contains excerpts from newspapers, magazine, and internet-published stories supporting “Dr.” B. Neebascher’s predictions of the eminent demise of BEANIES. If you find other articles, please call them to our attention via e-mail to the good “Doctor.”
BEANIE FAD DYING? Well, call me Nostradamus, but, I told ya so... Thankfully, my book (now available in the stores and via amazon.com) tells folks not only how to retire their own Beanies (in some hilariously inappropriate ways), and gives them over sixty socially and ecologically responsible alternative uses for their (soon-to-be-worthless) Beanie collections. Below you will find articles supporting my predictions.

---“Dr.” B. Neebascher, October, 1998
©Better Business Bureau Report 7/9/98:
Beanie Babies May Make Cute Toys,
But are They a Good Investment?
During McDonald’s recent promotion of twelve special miniature Beanie Babies, Beanie mania reached an all-time high. Consumers formed cell-phone networks so they could find out which Beanies were available at various McDonald’s restaurants. Mini-riots broke out as consumers scrambled to get their Beanies before the restaurants ran out. Harried McDonald’s employees fended off verbal assaults from consumers who wanted a different Beanie than the one they were offering. Many consumers told the store to keep the food -- they just wanted the Beanie Babies.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is concerned that consumers may be collecting the Beanies as a get-rich-quick investment scheme. Consumers may be hoping that the set of twelve Beanies from the McDonald’s promotion will become valuable once the promotion is over. The BBB is warning consumers that the market for Beanie Babies is speculative. Consumers planning to sell the Beanies on the Internet should acquaint themselves with online sales practices before they begin marketing their Beanies. Collectors should realize that while the Beanies may sell for a lot today, the bottom could drop out of the Beanie market at any time. The bureau offers the following tips to collectors thinking of investing in Beanie Babies:

Be realistic in setting your investment objectives. Be absolutely clear in your mind about the decisions you make when it comes to deciding how to spend your money.
Risk no more than you can afford to lose. If you choose to buy Beanies, do so because you love the animal beanbags, not because you hope to get rich by selling them some day. That way, if you never make a dime you won’t be disappointed.
Remember that there is no such thing as risk-free investing.
If you’re buying on the Internet, ask for and verify the physical location of the seller.
Ask to verify the authenticity of the Beanies before you pay for them.
For your protection, pay with a credit card rather than cash, check or money order. (continues)

©Newsday 9/30/98:
THE BEANIE BABY BUBBLE may be about to burst.
Harry L. Rinker is sure of it. So sure he has this to say in his "Official Guide to Collectibles" (House of Collectibles, $19.95): "A general feeling has developed that prices have reached the ridiculous level. Many Beanie Babies advertised in the hundreds of dollars are going unsold . . The market is flooded with Beanie Baby price guides . . . A few years from now, their only value will be the ability to look nostalgically back on the craze and think `if only I had sold then.' "
Rinker is president of Rinker Enterprises, an information service for dealers and collectors.
The Wall Street Journal also joined the chorus with a report that said, "There are signs that Beanie Babies may be headed for a steep price decline," citing the Princess Diana memorial bear, which went from
$75 in May to $45 in a recent Internet offering.
Pessimistic, but not so apocalyptic as Rinker: "The ship is sinking. If you have Beanie Babies, unload them. Sell them anywhere. On the Net, at garage sales. There's a three-month window of escape. After that, buy a crying towel."

©StarTribune (Minneapolis) 10/6/98:
FAD FADING?
Time has come
“We’re selling the ones we have on shelves, but after that, we’re done,” said Shirlee Clein, owner of the S. Clein novelty store in St. Louis Park. “I think there’s still a secondary market, but the retail fad is over. Like all other fads, its timie has come.”
Many industry insiders marvel at how Ty Inc., the Illinois company that has produced Beanies since 1994, has managed to continue the Beanie craze for as long as it has. But some Twin Cities merchants wondered if Ty didn’t kill the stuffed golden calf with its marketing methods.
The company, trying to meet impossible demands, rarely filled orders on time or let local stores know when orders might arrive, frustrating store managers and customers alike...
When the Beanies arrived, store owners were surprised to find an overabundance of particular models. Ty may have oversaturated the market...
Rinker, the author and collectibles researcher in Emmaus, PA, told Newsday that on recent weekend trips to antique malls in North Carolina and Ohio, the number of Beanie stalls was “down 50 to 70 percent.”
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