Mary Beth's Bean Bag World Monthly

...for me, well, I get Mary Beth’s Bean Bag World Monthly. But that’s an unnecessarily long name, so let’s call it MBBBWM from now on, okay?

There are pros and cons to this magazine – the main argument for buying it is that, if you are a beanie fan, it’s the only one you are likely to find in the local newsagents. The main argument against it is that each issue costs a hefty £3.95 – and you don’t ...
...150 pages in it though.

So what do you get for your money? Well, invariably, a beautifully presented publication with lots of colour photos, a lovely glossy feel to it and a gorgeous cover. Non beanie fans might wonder how I can lavish such praise on a magazine which is, let’s face it, about cuddly toys I should have grown out of two decades ago – but I collect all the TY ranges (beanies, Attics, buddies, classics, teenies ... more

Our newsagent likes us. Every month, we go there to spend some £20 buying our regular magazines. My son gets Thunderbirds, my elder daughters get Sabrina’s Secrets, my five year old gets the Tweenies magazines and my partner gets Doctor Who Magazine. As for me, well, I get Mary Beth’s Bean Bag World Monthly. But that’s an unnecessarily long name, so let’s call it MBBBWM from now on, okay?

There are pros and cons to this magazine – the main argument for buying it is that, if you are a beanie fan, it’s the only one you are likely to find in the local newsagents. The main argument against it is that each issue costs a hefty £3.95 – and you don’t even get a free gift for that! There are almost 150 pages in it though.

So what do you get for your money? Well, invariably, a beautifully presented publication with lots of colour photos, a lovely glossy feel to it and a gorgeous cover. Non beanie fans might wonder how I can lavish such praise on a magazine which is, let’s face it, about cuddly toys I should have grown out of two decades ago – but I collect all the TY ranges (beanies, Attics, buddies, classics, teenies and Kids), so to me, this is perfect – well, almost.

Each month’s issues contains some sixty pages, which are pretty much repeated each time. This is an invaluable resource occasionally, as it contains a complete pictorial documentation of each beanie, past and present, along with its current worth. This is followed by pages of tag analysis and price guides on the other ranges. But it changes less often than the magazine comes out – with TY introducing new beanies every couple of months or so – and then it takes a while for the magazine to update its lists, so it can become an irritating waste of those pages.

MBBBWM also seems to have a problem knowing who its target audience is. If it is aimed at children, they will surely find some of the more in-depth articles rather tedious and will probably not care how much their beanies are worth, as they won’t be planning to sell their collection. If it is aimed at adults, why are there pages of kids’ drawings, letters and stories? As it is, I read the magazine and so do my kids, with none of us completely satisfied. Perhaps publishing two separate versions would be better?

Other regular features of MBBBWM include beanie birthdays, posters, a competition and plenty of adverts – although thankfully all beanie related! Although it is very much centred on the TY ranges, it also covers other beanies such as celebrity bears, Holy Bears, Disney and McDonald’s promotions, all of which are highly collectible.

I receive this every month, but only because I’m a sad completist who can happily goo over pics of new bears, just the same way I ooh and ahh over my friend’s baby. But I would suggest you just buy it every three months or so, by which time the endless lists will have changed significantly enough to warrant you shelling out almost £4 for it.

So, if you find an old TY beanie baby in your child’s toybox, take a look at this magazine and see if it is worth selling. You might discover Fuzz in the bathroom (it’s a bear), Zip in the dirty washing (it’s a cat) or even Spunky in the bedroom (it’s a dog)!! But if you find a #1 Bear, I want a percentage – it’s worth over £4000!
 

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