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.
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.
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.
[1] At the end of the year, the public was given the opportunity to vote to determine if beanies should continue to be produced.
[6] As the poem in the hang tag read "All good things come to an end, it's been fun for everyone, peace and hope are never gone, love you all and say, so long," this served to reinforce the belief that Beanie Babies may permanently cease to be produced.
After Beanie Babies were not discontinued, a white bear with silver stars called "The Beginning" was introduced.
Ty2K the bear was named as a pun on the commonly used term Y2K that was often heard during the days approaching the turn on millennium.
Tabasco is one of the first post-Spring 1996 beanies to be prematurely retired, when its replacement, Snort, was introduced to take its place.
Unlike Dotty and Snort the Beanie Babies, no design change accompanied his introduction.
It was retired one year after its release, apparently due to complaints about the late Shari Lewis' popular puppet, Lamb Chop.