Newspaper Page Text
OCTOBER 1, 1998
8B
Beanie Baby mania continues in the CSRA: Ty’s toys still collected.
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Four of the very popular Beanie Babies, pictured (L-R):
Whisper, Fortune, Valentino and Curly.
By Lillian Wan
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
Many critics have negatively
commented from time to time
that the adorable stuffed ani
mals known as Ty’s Beanie Ba
bies could not possibly continue
for long on their upward trend.
For the past year, the only nega
tive news have been the lack of
Beanies to meet the demand by
the public.
Since 1997, popularity had
grown for the toys to the point
where older pieces that were
retired or had their production
stopped at a certain number has
risen up in value to over $2,000
each. Magazines have been pub
lished based on Beanies and re
lated plush toys as the only topic.
Beanie Baby conventions have
also been held as well as contests
involving Beanies. The latest
new trend is for sports teams to
set up giveaways of Beanies as a
promotional gimmick tolure new
fans for various sports, or at
least to boost ticket sales for
particular games. The latest
nearest-to-the-Augusta-area
Beanie-giveaway game was the
September 2nd game in Atlanta
with Beanies given to a limited
number of lucky kids 14 years
46 Years! l 3
"..and still going strong!" — Bob Williams
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Tire mileage ratings from 40,000 to 80,000 miles
SBR 44,000 Miles BC
P155/80R13 23.99
P165/80R13 26.89
P175/80R13 28.39
PlB5/80R13 28.99
PlB5/75R14 29.99
P195/75R14 30.99
P205/75R14 32.99
P205/75R15 33.99
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P215/75R15 35.99 !
P225/75R15 37.99
P235/75R15 38.99
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P165/80R13 31.95
P175/80R13 33.50
PlB5/80R13 3465
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P205/75R14 37.95
P205/75R15 39.95
P215/75R14 42.95
P215/75R15 40.95
P225/75R15 42.95
P235/75R15 44.95
: QUESTA
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185/70R14 39.95
195/70R14 40.95
205/70R14 42.50
205/70R15 43.95
215/70R14 44.95
215/70R15 45.95
225/70R15 48.95
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OPEN: Mon.-Fri. 8:30-5:30 & Sat. 9-IPM
We accept Master Card, VISA & American Express 738'3374
old and under. The thrill of the
hunt for free or nearest-to-the
intended $5 cost for Beanies con
tinues to thrive.
Beginning in mid September,
there has been new excitement
for Beanie fans. Normally Ty’s
policy intends for all Beanies to
be sold directly to the public for
about $5 each. (See Ty’s website
at www.ty.com for more details).
Many Beanies of the rarer vari
ety, such as the Bears, the re
tired Beaniés, and some of the
newest Beanies before they be
come more available, are all usu
ally sold at slightly to hugely
higher prices, up to several hun
dred dollars apiece. (See infor
mation in the “Beanie Baby
Mania” article in the July 30,
1998 issue of Augusta Focus,
page 10A.) Beanies were also
retired in batches three to four
times a year. Beginning mid
September, Ty surprisingly
started retiring one to three
Beanies per day sporadically.
Beanie shoppers stampeded
stores for these Beanies while
they were still available at “cur
rent” prices between $4.95 and
$7.99 each. People with com
puter access checked the Ty In
ternet site frequently for new
retirements. Hunters were sent
WHITE
LETTERS
CHALLENGER
80,000 Miles
175/70/Rl3 39.95
185/70/Rl3 41.10
195/70/Rl3 42.98
195/70/Rl4 45.23
205/60/Rl3 46.43
205/70/Rl4 47.48
215/60/Rl4 50.99
215/65/Rls 54.38
215/70/Rl4 49.99
215/70/Rls 51.19
225/60/Rl4 53.65
225/70/Rl4 52.24
225/7C/Rls 53.91
235/60/Rl4 56.53
235/60/Rls 57.8's
235/70/Rls 55.22
24£/60/Rl4 58.99
245/60/Rls 60.92
255/60/Rls 62.75
255/70/Rls 60.73
275/60/Rls 68.71
rT-railblazerTruck Tlres_-|
235/75R15..............57.88
| 30/950R15........7033 |
31/1050R15.......73.26
| 3211150R15......87.47 |
33/1250R15.......90.95
|35/1250R5....122.99 |
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QUESTA 45 - 50,000 Miles
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QUESTA 45 - 50,000 Miles
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155/Rl3 295
165/Rl3 2851
165/Rls U 9
175/70R13 30.95
185/70R13 3195
175/70R14 3595
185/70R14 U 5
195/70R14 %95
205/70R14 3895
205/70R15 4495
QUESTA CHALLENGER
50 - 80,000 Miles
175/50R13 6195
175/65R14 3750
185/60R13 a 4
185/60R14 4195
185/65R14 3095
185/65R15 4350
195/50R15 5899
195/60R 14 4595
195/60R15 4799
195/65R 14 4550
195/65R15 4650
205/50R15 6133
205/55R15 62.52
205/55R16 e
205/60R14 4844
205/60R15 49.3
205/65R15 4495
215/50R13 56.95
215/60R15 5199
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225/50R15 65.76
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225/55R16 8099
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235/55R16 99.44
245/50R16 8395
255/50R16 11095
265/50R15 7395
205/50R15 7995
FREE ROTATION|
ALL IN 30 MiN. OR LESS
out with portable phones to re
port on the status of available
Beanies at known stores. Phone
trees were set up for contact
between friends on the latest
news. But there is only so much
time, gas money, and expenses
to spend in trying to track down
bargains. Per many people who
are frequent buyers of Beanies,
one of the best stores locally in
providing Beanies to the public
at fair Ty-intended prices or clos
est to them, and also have a
majority of salespeople with pa
tience and good public relations
skills in handling overly-eager
Beanie buyers, has been the
World of Science in Augusta
Mall. Retired Beanies have been
sold for only $6.99 apiece. The
store has just begun a new and
helpful service in signing up
Beanie buyers to a call list on the
first day of the month only in
order for them to be notified
when a new shipment of Bean
ies are due to arrive for that
month. Next signup date is Oc
tober Ist. Call World of Science
at (706) 737-5320 that Thurs
day. The Augusta State Univer
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FOOD LION N WIS e , TG
& £ R g U.S.O.A.
Y ’.- B} ,?’ 2. oz R
& ‘1 . \ ~ Boneless Bee
R : : .
Jetre kN W #\y " London Broil or ™
Goldenßipe W W @& =
Chiquita c
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.gy’!% Lb.
—_— Price Without MVP Card 49¢
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10 Pack - 6.75 Oz.
Al Flavors
Hi-C Drinks
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Price Without MVP Card 2/$5.00
-
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24 Single
or 12 Double Rolls
Charmin
Bathroom Tissue
Most Stores
OPEN 24 HOURS
sity Bookstore still has the best
local price for current Beanies at
$4.95 each. The Audubon Na
ture Store at Augusta Mall sells
current and new Beanies for $6
each. At their recent September
26th sale, bears Fortune, Peace,
Valentino and Curly were sold
for $lO each.
This reporter also accidentally
discovered some Beanie-selling
places while covering recent
events in Atlanta. The W.H.
Smith store in the Merchandise
Mart sells retired Beanies for
the same price as their regular
Beanies, at $7.99 each. Beanies
found included the winged
Quackers the duck, Gracie the
swan, Stripes the tiger, Bones
the dog, and Hoppity the pink
rabbit. A brief survey of Atlanta
residents yielded the informa
tion that Beanies were plentiful
for sale at roadside table setups.
A problem was that the prices
were often high enough that it
was not worth the convenience
ofbuying the Beanies, plus, there
was no way to confirm that such
second hand merchandise sold
from the roadside would always
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.. ISUGAR|
Granulat
Food Lion
Sugar
2P3
BT
Price Without MVP Card $1.89 Each
g~ R
uperMOLst
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S N
18 Oz. Assorted
Betty Crocker
Cake Mixes
Price Without MVP Card $1.09
1216 Oz. Assorted
Betty Crocker @3lo’
Frostings
! " price Without MVP Card 1.2 |
Y ° All Stores Accept
) 1
Eflfict- B & X 1
We reserve the right to : N,»VUS. CARDS
limit quantities. b
be legitimate purchases of real
instead of fake Beanies. Ty's
website does note that Beanies
would not be safe for purchase
from non-legitimate store deal
ers authorized to sell Beanies
direct from Ty to the general
public.
Watch the Augusta Focus for
0 »’. . ‘
Close-up view of Fortune and Valentino. Note how Fortune’s
hang tag is placed within a plastic tag protector.
Photos by Lillian Wan
Top Round Roast %
Value Pack - 5 Lbs. Or More 31 39
Lb.
Beef Patties Reg. $lB9
DELI-BAKERY
| Buy One, Get One |
FREE!
9 QOunce Asst.
Donut Holes
Regular $1.99
>
W
39 Ounce o __/
Folgers e
Automatic
Drip Coffee
4"
BOMNUS
BV,
Price Without MVP Card $6.89
™ TIME SAVER °
ML B 2 | SE MEAL CENTER
P, MEALS
B—viwt IN A HURRY
B ‘qf""‘:*:fi‘\ ',-\’:f FOR PEOPLE
AMrBEEL IN A HURRY
e & Meal ideas and all the key
2R . Y, ingredients you need to make a
P AP H great home cooked meal in
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-
news of the upcoming fall Senior
Friends Beanie Baby fair. And
while popularity of the Beanies
remain high and constant for
pursuing any Beanies beyond
the current ones —the Bears,
the retireds, the newer ones —
remember the adage: buyer be
ware.
Healthy Choice
Turkey Breast or
Va. Baked Ham
$ h @9
BONUS
BUY,
b Lb.
Price Without MVP Card $5.99
“Potato
5560 z - [ e \
ASSO“Cd QT “x"i'fn |
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Lays Chips
MYP C
BONUS
Price Without MVP Card $1.49