The retirement of Beanie Babies became a critical part of the history of the Ty toys.
In the early-mid 1990s, the retirement of Beanie Babies helped catapult them into some of the hottest collectibles of the decade.
Collectors would eagerly await the next "Newsflash" on the Ty website for the most recent retirement. In the early days, when Ty would retire a Beanie Baby, it would usually drive the price of that particular one up on the secondary market.
Since 2000, the values of Beanie Babies have dropped significantly, and the retirement announcements are not quite as newsworthy. In fact, most Beanie Babies are retired shortly after being produced, and the prices today are modest compared to the frenzy in the 1990s.
These were the typical retirement announcements made on the Ty Website.