''Mary Beth's Bean Bag World'', originally ''Mary Beth's Beanie World'', was an American monthly

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

dedicated to

Beanie Babies Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. The toys are stuffed with plastic pellets ("beans") rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, mo ...

and competing

plush toys A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be cal ...

. The magazine's founder, Mary Beth Sobolewski,http://www.usaweekend.com/98_issues/981129/981129talk.html developed the magazine into a top seller, known for featuring articles and a

secondary market The secondary market, also called the aftermarket and follow on public offering, is the financial market in which previously issued financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold. The initial sale of the s ...

price list for Beanie Babies and similar products during the height of their popularity. The headquarters was in

Bannockburn, Illinois Bannockburn is a village in West Deerfield and Vernon townships in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,013. The village is generally considered part of the Chicago area's North Shore region. The Fri ...

. The first issue of ''Mary Beth's Bean Bag World'' went on sale in October 1997 and had a circulation of 177,000. It was originally planned as a one-time publication, but based on its success, the publisher decided to produce it quarterly. The second issue sold 444,045 copies. By the time it was one of the top sellers at

newsstands A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand (American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

, the magazine was being released monthly. The magazine's publisher, H & S Media, eventually filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. The final issue was published in August 2001.

References

External links

Mary Beth's Magazine Listing
1997 establishments in Illinois 2001 disestablishments in Illinois Beanie Babies Defunct magazines published in the United States Hobby magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1997 Magazines disestablished in 2001 Magazines published in Illinois Monthly magazines published in the United States {{hobby-mag-stub