Counterfeit Beanie Babies

Counterfeiting can be a very serious offence.

 

Ty, Inc. stands to lose millions of dollars to organizations illegally marketing and counterfeiting Beanies. Counterfeiting is a lazy way of making money off of someone else's product. We must all ban together and stop the flow of counterfeit Beanies.
Ty has set up a hotline number for suspected counterfeits. If you feel you may have purchased a counterfeit Beanie, call the number at once.
1-888-317-5489
This article is being written to help you determine what counterfeiting is.

 

 

What is Counterfeiting???

Counterfeiting is a criminal offense! Many individuals and companies make an imitation of a trademarked product with the intent to defraud others into thinking it's a genuine item. The term counterfeiting is usually associated most frequently with money, paintings, manufactured parts and now Beanie Babies.

It may be unlawful to buy, import, obtain and process counterfeits. Counterfeit passing is just as serious. There is no defense in IGNORANCE! If a counterfeit piece can be spotted by the average collector and traced back to the source, be prepared to face the consequences. You must be able to prove without a doubt that you had no knowledge of passing off a counterfeit, or you could be held accountable.

 

Consumer tips on spotting Beanie FAKES

Don't be fooled into purchasing anything other than an Original Ty Beanie Baby!

  1. While inspecting your tags, look for the gold foil to have a smooth line encircling the tag. Make sure that the gold is not Ink!
  2. Become familiar with the different generation tag styles
  3. Compare the font size and style to identical Beanies
  4. Pricing - If the price appears to be out of the ordinary, research is strongly advised. Especially on those hard to find and first retired pieces.
  5. In some cases, the original tag color letters differ from fake tag colors. Watch for the reds and stars! Some fakes are appearing with faded orange colored letters on tush tags. The letters should be RED.                                                                                                                     
  6. Compare the inks and font styles to your Beanies with the same generation tags.                      
  7. Some fakes are showing up with misspelled words and extra spaces in the text                        
  8. Compare manufacture's codes, trademarks and or copyrights                                                 
  9. Compare tag size, some of the fakes that are showing up on the market (Teal and Violet Teddy's have smaller tags)                                                                                                      
  10. Know your source. Become familiar with their practices and ask for references. There is no such thing as a dumb question.                                                                                                
  11.   Face detail is VERY important. Most fakes can be spotted by knowing the right face size, expression and in some cases sewing pattern.                                                                          
  12.   Be extremely careful when ordering off of TV shows! These shows purchase strictly from the secondary market. Although most of the secondary market dealers are safe, a few have gotten fakes from China.

Ty's Beanies have character; their faces offer many expressions. Become familiar with these expressions and it will help to ensure you from being ripped off! Watch particular for changes in the nose, eyes and mouth. Other areas to watch for are the ribbons. Many fakes are showing up on the market with a ribbon, some of these Beanies were manufactured without a ribbon; Erin is a good example.

Most fakes have come from China and were shipped to Chicago O'Hare Airport. Fake Beanies have also been shipped to airports in Washington, DC Other locations where fake Beanies have been spotted by customs are as follows:
Virginia, Minnesota, Arizona and Illinois

Princess Errors - Will the REAL princess stand out!

In all four pictures, the real Princess is ALWAYS smaller.

Fake Princess

  1. Eyes are spread further apart
  2. Ears are larger
  3. Bigger head
  4. Overall body size is larger and fuller
  5. Rose appears to be lower on chest
  6. Ribbon is not silky smooth on both sides
  7. Ribbon is attached with royal blue thread, instead of purple thread.
  8. Steam color on rose is slightly lighter.
  9. Rose bud if slightly fuller with more stitching.
  10.   Gold trim on tag has small air bubbles. Ty's tags have a gold foil which is smooth encircling the tag.
  11. Font inside of tag appears to be slightly smaller
  12. Star appears to be rounder than the star on Ty's tags.
  13. Tush tag is a faded oranges color. Ty's letters are RED.
  14.   The white part of the tag is not a crisp white as on Ty's tush tags

 

A Compiled list of some of the FAKE Beanies showing up all over the country:

1. Bruno the dog
2. Chilly the polar bear
3. Chops the lamb
4. Erin the green bear
5. Flash the dolphin
6. Flutter the butterfly
7. Garcia the bear
8. Grunt the razorback
9. Humphrey the camel
10. Kiwi the toucan
11. Libearty the bear
12. Lizzy the lizard
13. Peanut the elephant
14. Peking the panda
15. Pinky the flamingo
16. Princess the purple bear
17. Maple the bear
18. Quackers the duck
19. Smoochy the frog
20. Spooky the ghost
21. Spot the dog (Version 1 without the spot)
22. Tabasco the bull
23. Teddy (Teal Old Face bear)
24. Teddy (Violet Old Face bear)
25. 1997 Teddy the bear
26. Trap the mouse

 

Help!! I suspect I have a FAKE Beanie. What do I do?

  1. Contact Ty, Inc. by calling 1-888-317-5489
  2. Contact your local Better Business Bureau
  3. Visit the following Internet sites for more Information

   The Fraud Information Center

Federal Trade Commission

If possible, it would be helpful to have the following information available

If you purchased a fake Beanie from a store, the following information would be helpful.

If you purchased a fake Beanie from a store, the following information would be helpful.

If you purchased a fake Beanie from a Beanie show, the following information would be pertinent.

 

Don't overreact!

Please let me assure you that NOT all Beanies are fake. Only report to the above authorities if you know or suspect a fake Beanie. Ty is desperately trying to cease the manufacturing of fake Beanies. I suggest we all ban together and support Ty in their efforts.
Imagine This - You have just purchased a RARE royal blue elephant! You debated for months, the price seemed ridiculous, but you finally gave in. Weeks later, you learned that your Beanie is Fake!!
You feel ripped off, deflated, and not to mention, you just lost $5,200.00.


Be informed, educate yourself, and don't let this happen to you.
Become a Fake Beanie Buster!
Help stop the crime and let them pay the time!

Thanks to Jennilee's Beanie Website where I got this info