The Webkinz, which have been available for over 3 years, are only now getting their due. With nation-wide publicity on several morning shows and parents' magazines in December of 2006, Webkinz are now officially a hit as evidenced by them getting their own category in eBay and getting publicity on the eBay home page. I won't go into the details of why the Webkinz are so popular or whether or not they'd be right for your child. For information on that, please see the official website at webkinz.com. I can tell you, though, that my daughter (age 6) loves her three pets and so do her cousins.

The purpose of this guide is to help you:

• Avoid overpaying for "soon to be retired" Webkinz
• Dangers of prepaying for "soon to be released", and
• How to spot potential counterfeits.

Retired vs. Soon to be Retired:

You can see the officially retired Webkinz for yourself in the official catalog found at webkinz.com. As of this writing they are:

• Cheeky Dog
• Cheeky Cat
• Gray & White Cat
• Unicorn

There are no officially retired Lil' Kinz.

The ones that Ganz (the makers of Webkinz) are no longer accepting orders on (and are therefore rumored to be retiring soon) are:

• Webkinz:
• Pegasus
• Horse
• St. Bernard
• Gold & White (Orange) Cat
• Basset Hound
• Lil Kinz:
• Black Bear
• Hippo
• Basset Hound
• St. Bernard

The Love Puppy and the Sherbet Bunny were also rumored to be retired as Ganz was not accepting any orders after their initial release, but as their website now lists these as being "Seasonal", it now looks like they will re-release them again next year.

Soon to Be Released:

Don't overpay for "Soon to be Released" pre-orders. Ganz has been so caught off guard by the sudden increase in demand they are not guaranteeing to anyone when a particular item will be shipped or received by their retailers. eBay's policy is to not allow preorders when the seller cannot guarantee that the order will be filled within 30 days. So if your seller doesn't actually have the item in hand at the time they list (or at least a tracking # from Ganz), they can't guarantee ful-fillment within that time frame. Don't bid or you'll end up over-paying for an item you may not receive for months.

Right now all Webkinz are in the "Hard to Find" category, but Webkinz that have recently been released in 2007 and even harder to find are:

• Webkinz:
• Black Lab
• Leopard
• Persian Cat
• Yorkie
• White Terrier
• Bull Dog
• Bull Frog
• Koala
• Dalmation
• Lil Kinz:
• Tree Frog
• Rabbit
• Panda
• Gorilla
• Pug

Webkinz that are expected to be released later this year but haven't started shipping as of April 2007:

• Webkinz:
• Clydesdale Horse (expected to start shipping in May)
• Black Cat (limited release for Halloween- expected to start shipping in August)
• Reindeer (limited release for Christmas- expected to start shipping in October)
• Lil Kinz:
• White Terrier (expected to start shipping in late May)

How to spot potential counterfeits:

In business, success breeds competition. There are several competing companies such as Ty and Russ that are developing web-based plush toys as well. The Ty Girlz have been released in Britain and are expected to be released in the US in May. Russ now has their interactive Shining Stars line out. This is the way competition is supposed to work: another company comes in and tries to make a better product to get more market share. Unfortunately, there are those that are simply counterfeiting the Ganz Webkinz or their tags.

One way to guard against buying a counterfeit is to bid only on items that have the actual picture of the item you are bidding on. Ganz does not allow use of their photos on eBay so if your potential seller is disregarding copyright and trademark laws in this regard, what other policies or laws may they be disregarding?

Also, know that Ganz attaches a unique code to each Webkinz using two short plastic tags that go through the plastic-encased tag through their leg and out the other side. There is also a blue ribbon that goes around the leg and through the plastic holder. If your tag is not attached in this way, it has likely been tampered with.  The code can only be used once and Ganz will not replace them. If you suspect your code has been used, the only way to find out is to register it. But if you are intending to collect Webkinz and not play with them on-line, that won't help you- you'll have to see about getting a refund or exchange from your seller.

Regarding the magic "W", the original Webkinz did not have the embroidered "W" (found on the foot or rump) and so they are rarer and tend to sell for more. It is not an indication of authenticity.

To checkout our current selection of Webkinz and accessories, click here.