This past month the first issue was published and of course, as the incurable collector I am, I subscribed to it. My reaction -- a bit too cutsey. Although it did have some hard facts about Ty's toys and pictures of the April/May releases, it was more about spotlighting beanie collectors and funny/silly pictures.

I did like the Buyers Guide in the magazine. Beanie Babies are alphabetically listed, with a chart showing years of issue, tag generations and value estimates. An additional four pages was devoted to hang and tush tags. But I am curious as to whether these features will be in each magazine, as they take up a full 16 pages out of a very skimpy 65 page issue.

In this day and age, any published magazine has several strikes against it. If there is real news, it's already been around the world within a few hours of being released. Anything in print is usually "old news" by the time it is published. Published magazines have to come up with something that can't be found on the Internet or, at the very least, enhance online resources. Ty has been very successful at what they do in the toy world and hopefully they will find their way to making this a successful publication for their many collectors.

Bottom Line
If I found this magazine on the newstand, there is no way I would have paid $5. for the issue.

I also question the contest in the magazine -- the way to win is to be the first to respond-- but that's another whole pet peeve of mine!

The best source of information on Beanie Babies is free. It's Ms. Janie's email newsletter that comes out daily and sometimes even more often than that!