Retirement (Beanie Babies)

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 (authorized Ty retailers and the secondary market), other rarer ones have proven more scarce, and have been highly sought by collectors. These are often sold for high prices.

During the time when they were popular (mostly in the late 1990s), 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 were retired.

There are several reasons a Beanie Baby may retire: a) The Beanie Baby has been around long enough, (e.g. Bronty) b) There may be an error in the Beanie Baby.(e.g. Peanut(royal blue version) c) it was a Limited or Special edition Beanie Baby, such as a BBOM(Beanie Baby Of The Month) (e.g. Holiday Teddies) d) There may be too many complaints about it for a specific reason. (e.g. Runner) and e) There may be a lawsuit or upcoming lawsuit on the Beanie Baby from a different company for copying the name or design.

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. This give consumers an alert on a "last chance" to buy a certain beanie Baby in stores.

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. At the end of the year, the public was given the opportunity to vote to determine if beanies should continue to be produced. 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. About 90% of voters voted for Beanie Babies to continue, and more beanies were introduced early in 2000.

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Wikipedia