Welcome to another beautiful Saturday everybody :) We have 174 readers this week, 4 up from last week :) Kat and I are still hoping to have 200 subscribers by the end of the year and at this rate we'll most likely accomplish it :) If you want to help, tell a friend to head to: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/thefurbypost and tell 'em to just click on the 'Subscribe to this list' link at the bottom and we'll be one member closer to our goal. Thanks in advance :) Table of Contents: 1) Statistics 2) News 3) Letter to the Editor 4) Special Notice 5) Mystic Fortress Updates 6) Furbish Word of the Issue 7) Fun Furby Facts 8) Closing 9) Unsub and Copyright Information Here's some current stats: Currently there are 1123 ebay auctions going on, 1945 on Yahoo!, and 114 on amazon.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And now...onto the News: -Furby Reaching Stride Worldwide in Year Two! Company Press Release VERNON HILLS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 1999--With talk of ``What will be the next Furby® for this holiday season'' swelling around toy stores, studio executive offices and newsrooms, it has become clear that nothing beats the real thing. Furby is leading the feature/interactive plush category, representing more than 50% of the unit and dollar volume, according to TRST (Toy Retail Sales Tracking Report). While imitators issue press releases touting first month sales of several thousand units, Furby's success continues to soar. According to a printed report from the NPD Group, the news bodes well for the Furby franchise. The NPD data ranks Furby fourth in a listing of the top 20 Licensed Toy properties by dollar share. This accomplishment comes at a time when the vast majority of Furby's sales to date are based on toy sales. The best is yet to come, according to Tiger's President, Roger Shiffman, ``The excitement around Furby Babies has just begun and stores are really beginning to fill their shelves with Furby party goods, tee shirts, pajamas and more. And worldwide, the picture is phenomenal.'' Shiffman knows of what he speaks. According to NPD, Furby is already the best selling toy this year in Japan, with two million units sold. In Japan, Furby is the only non-video game toy listed in Japan's top 10 selling toys. Germany is touting Furby as its no. 1 seller. Per the research organization, Furby has been the number one selling toy in these countries for the past six months. The happy, furry creature currently speaks seven languages: English, Italian, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, and, of course the universal language of ``Furbish®.'' According to David Medhurst, Managing Director for Tiger Europe, there is significant room for growth worldwide as the toy reaches the millenium. ``Throughout the U.K. and Japan, product continues to sell as soon as it reaches store shelves. As we move forward and begin to add more languages and build the brand with innovative extensions, the market will continue to expand.'' In the U.S., Furby Babies are the best selling toy in the FAO Schwarz Holiday Catalog, one of the most popular gift books in the country. As to why Furby has taken the world by storm, Shiffman responds, ``For a toy to gain the level of success that Furby has, you really need only look to one source, the kids. There has never been a toy, at any price, let alone the affordable Furby price, that provides the magic, the love and the fun. That's why as more and more try to duplicate Furby it becomes more clear that the kids voice will not be silenced. The challenge we look forward to every day is how to earn their respect by continuing to create toys that wow and light up young eyes.'' Could Shiffman be dropping a hint as to what's in the future for Furby? We know that before year end, the company will be introducing a Gizmo character to interact with Furby and Special Limited Editions: Holiday Furby and Millennium Furby. As for 2000, Shiffman is holding his cards, ``You'll have to wait until Toy Fair in February, but be sure that Furby will be well represented and may have a new _______.'' (Source: Quoted from company press release, from Yahoo News.) Full article here: http://www.mimitchi.com/html/furbn66.htm -Furby in the Thanksgiving Parade It's the last parade of the century and Furby will be making his appearence known! Starting at 9:00 a.m., November 25th, you'll travel back in time to take an exciting journey through the decades, from the costumes and choreography of the early 1900's to today's sizzling music and dance. Furby is listed to be appearing in the form of a Giant Helium Balloon. For details on the parade, times, channel, etc refer to this new article: http://www.mimitchi.com/html/furbn65.htm -Furby Homepage Furby.com has added it's latest website feature. You can make your own Furby website on their site. It's easy and it's fun, no need to know HTML. Choose from a variety of cute Furby pictures, backgrounds, and write what you want to appear on the page. You need to be a member of TTF (it's free to sign up if you aren't a member) to make your own homepage on Furby.com. -Furby Wallpaper In the News section of Furby.com they mention that soon Furby Wallpaper will be avabilable for download, so you can have a picture of your favorite Furby on your desktop! This doesn't seem to be on the website yet, but I'd keep checking back within the next couple of weeks. -Furby Postcards Furby.com has improved their postcard service, adding animated cards and new pictures to choose from. You can even write your own msgs now and select what language you want your postcard to be sent in! Unlike the old system, you can always preview your postcard before sending it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Letters to the Editor: Nothing this issue, but if you have a question you'd like posted send it along to MAILTO:"capngo@earthlink.net" and we'll have it answered as soon as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Notice: We have another survey for the readers over at: http://www.onelist.com/surveys/thefurbypost I'd appreciate it if ya take some time to fill it out, and it'll change with every issue and it'll really help me decide what areas need to have the most time spent on them :) The results showed that 74% of those who voted read the horoscopes and thought they were a good idea, and a total of 94.1% just thought they were a good idea over all, thanks to all the people that voted :) Also, the next issue will have a list of online Furby and Furby related sellers to make holiday Furby shopping easier for all the readers :) if you have a seller in mind go ahead and send information to: MAILTO:capngo@earthlink.net Thanks in advance :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mystic Fortress updates: -Online Poll The online Furby Poll has been updated and we'd love to hear your responses to it. It only takes two clicks to complete, so if you'd be so kind as to fill it out, the URL is: http://www.mimitchi.com/html/fpoll.htm -News Update Added 6 new news articles in the News section. Some of them are covered in this issue. For the news index go here: http://www.mimitchi.com/html/fnlinks.htm -Top 50 Sites Vote Do you enjoy Electronic Furby website? Vote for me as a Top 50 Website! How do you do this? Go to http://www.mimitchi.com/ or http://www.mimitchi.com/html/furby.htm and click on the text link toward the top that reads "Click here to Vote for this site as a "Search4Free" Top 50 page!" Or go here: http://www.search4free.com/cgi-bin/hyperseek/vote.cgi?ID=941600349 A new browser will take you to the current catagory listings where my site is in the voting list for Entertainment. On the left side of the page is the contents, if you click on "Top 50 Sites" you will see where I am placed in the top 50! Thank you for all the support, it makes the whole ride worthwhile! -Kat ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Furbish Word of the Issue: -Furbish Word of this Issue "Way-Loh" it means sleep in Furbish. This word is often misheard. It was often heard to be 'bueno', thus came along the rumor of the spanish easter egg. The spanish easter egg doesn't exist, but there is a all spanish/furbish speaking Furby available! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -Fun Furby Facts To help increase compliance with the HbA1c test for Diabetes Patients, particularly among children, the company has worked with Tiger Electronics, Ltd./Hasbro, Inc. to create a ``doctor'' finger puppet based on Furby(TM), one of the world's best selling toys. Children are typically affected with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, the disease's more severe form. Through an exclusive agreement with Tiger Electronics, Ltd./Hasbro, Inc., all diabetes patients will receive a Furby(TM) finger puppet when they purchase a BioSafe HbA1c test kit. In addition, those who comply with the recommended number of four tests a year will receive a complimentary electronic Furby(TM) toy. To read the full article go here: http://www.mimitchi.com/html/furbn69.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's it for this time :) Hope everyone enjoyed it. As always if there are any questions, comments, or suggestions I'd love to hear them so send them along to: MAILTO:"capngo@earthlink.net" And I'll get back to you as soon as possible :) Also, remember to send in Furby stories and Furby page links and I'll be happy to put them up here with credit :) Kat, Head of Research Brendan, Editor in Chief of The Furby Post
Written and composed by Brendan Quinn. The rights to all artwork and creative information included on this particular page and all pages related to The Furby Post are reserved by Brendan Quinn. Furby, Furbish, and all related is ®, TM,& ©Tiger Electronics, LTD. USA.
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