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Bears by Ediewww.teddybearartists.co.uk. ?????
I just got a message sent from them, sent through one of my listings on Bear Pile, asking if I want to join their group - it is members only and you have to be invited to join so you can't really "see" anything until you do join. I'm not sure if they are in competition with Bear Pile - or if it is just one more place to show off your bears? They did say there is no membership fee. Anyway just thought I'd try to find out if anyone is using the site and what they think before I decide whether to join.
Hi Edie,
I got the same email so don't worry too much.
I was originally approached by them to join them in an eBay Group & I think, from what they put in the email, they're finding it too restrictive so have launched a kind of forum as well where you can showcase bears for sale etc? Although I'm in the eBay group, I haven't joined the other one as I spend too much time here on TT so I really can't manage another forum! I think they're based here in the UK but I think they're ok & nothing to be worried about.
Hope this helps you? 
Luv & Hugs,
Julia x
FenBeary FolkI should have come here, me too. I have just posted it onto Bearpile, its very naughty of them
I have been on the website and its seems ok with other artist already joined but I don't like the method
I also got one of these email's in fact I got 2! I've also checked it out and it all looks fine to me but who are these people and I must admit I was surprised that it was allowed to come through BearPile. I will give it some thought about joining and also see how the site progresses.
Hugs Lyn 
I got the email as well. It looks like this new site is being administered by Lanie ( LanieBears) , a fellow Teddy Talker, if I am not mistaken. I expect she would be happy to answer any concerns or questions .
I guess it's spam!
They're talking about it on bearpile too!
Not to be trusted. Take a look at the bearpile main page.
bingle bearsI received one as well. I got the same impression as Tammy that the site is run by Lanie of LanieBears. Maybe we should talk to her.
Jellybelly BearsMe too!! I wondered what it was about, and why they used Bear Pile as their mailing list 
Back Road BearsI checked this out earlier as I'd never heard of it... it is Lanie's site. Very nice too I might add.
I wouldn't appreciate the methods used to gain membership though.
Why not just post here on TT? What a great place to reach tons of artists AND collectors! (Maybe she did once upon a time and I missed it?) Or email artists individually. Takes a little extra effort and time (as all business ventures do) but would probably be appreciated a little more. So, for those of us who don't list on Bear Pile or eBay would we ever have heard about this site/opportunity if Edie hadn't mentioned it? Im off to go poke around the site a little more!
desertmountainbearI joined, I recognize others there too.
Joanne
Bubble Up Bears!I received an email too.
They didn't get my info from Bear Pile because I'm not a member of Bear Pile. I don't mind the email because I was on her mailing list.
I like the site and will be joining too.
Tickled Pink BearsI got the email & plan on joining. The site does look very nice.
Bears by EdieHow are you guys able to look at this web site without joining??? All I can see is the front page and can't go any further without signing in or registering - that's why I thought I would ask about it here first and see if I could find what any joiners thought of it.
Back Road BearsWell, you can't get any where by clicking on the links across the top but if you scroll down and look for "Newest Members" on the left near the bottom and click on one of their photos it'll get you in to that member's profile where you can then click on "Browse All Members" of which there are currently 46 as I post this. You'll able to see them all there.
Bubble Up Bears!I guess Edie I was already a member from before. I was able to navigate all over the site. I love the lay out and the whole concept of the site. It's user friendly for collectors like me. :)
I was never able to adjust to Bear Pile.
FenBeary FolkI am not sure whether to join or not. I do like the look of the site etc
BUT I was not asked to join but told that my membership had been approved.......................so I am a little confused as I have not joined anything, the message goes on to say I have 14 days to complete my profile details.................?????????????How when I have not joined
Did you all have a different message ???????? I think I would like an explanation of why I received that message, if it was an error then fine, mistakes do happen
I actually started the query on Bearpile as I was very worried
Furgotten BearsMy invitation must be lost in the post 
Darren
FenBeary FolkDarren, bless you.............................you did make me smile :hug: :hug:
Sorry you have not had an invite.....................I just wish the person would come clean and say Sorry I made a muck up, we are all human after all
YorkshireI was part of Lanies group when she was with Ebay and received her invitation yesterday. I signed up (very nice site). I will bookmark it with my TT site AND Bearpile - can't get enough of my fix, it keeps me going, drooling at piccies when I can't afford a bear!
Hugs Ali
p.s. this is the letter I received today - it could answer some of your questions:
Hi Everyone, We must say thank you for all the best wishes its been very appreciated. Myself and Lanie are so pleased you have decided to join us here. If the site pleases everyone and continues to grow we will nurture it. If it fails well we can at least say we really did try our very best. I will add after thirty years in the teddy bear industry Lanies ideas sure can stir up a brew... For those who received an invitation from bearpile im sorry if it may have offended anyone. We wont be commenting on there personally. Its just not our scene. Lanie has unfortunately had dealings with one or two on there before, I hasten to add they were not even invited...lol
We thought it easier and quicker to contact everyone from one place Bear pile being a good place of contact. We chose this as an easy option of letting everyone know our good news. I just believed we were amongst fellow artistsand friends who were like minded and would love the opportunity to join and showcase their bears with fellow artists at no cost whatsoever. I'm sorry but we would never get upset by a fellow worker contacting us about something to do with the bear business we all belong too. Instead we would be grateful they took the time to let us know. however we now know not everyone will agree..
Teddy Bear Artists and Friends has been set up as a nice place for bear artists and collectors to gather. It has been designed professionally and has its own forum and is already starting to buzz with activity as you already know.
Working in this industry myself and Lanie both understand how expensive and difficult it is to advertise and it’s taken us both ages to design a site everyone can enjoy. We have made the site free simply because we have many good friendsand customers in this industry and thought it would be a nice gesture to give something back to them and the Teddy bear community at large. We get a lot of traffic through our own personal websites weekly , and we expect you all to benefit from this. Let’s be realistic how often does everyone get the chance to showcase themselves for free, we both thought it was a great idea and have worked day and night to pull it off.
We are not forcing anyone to join. We are not touting for business as some have said, we really don’t need it… My business is already doing very well thank you … We were just extending a hand of friendship… Unfortunately as always there are some who would like to chop it off…lol…
Now big apologies for any mass e-mailings that may have happened today...lol We are still trying to get used to how this system works. When someone joins, it send mail not just to the new member but everyone on the list who has not completed a profile yet... There is nothing I can do to change this. And we have had many wonderful artists and collectors join today.
I sincerley hope everyone is happy with the way things are. If you have any problems or input please just get in touch with us.We are putting as much time as we can into this but please be aware it may sometimes take us time to do things as we both work full time too. We would be really happy if you could help and tell your fellow bear artists and collectors about the site. It would really help this site grow into one huge secure community.
Warm regards to all of you... Darren
Furgotten BearsI personaly do not find it a laughing mater (lol) when third parties information is extracted from forums,websites and guestbooks. I think sending unsolicited emails (spam) to people is touting for business be it free or otherwise. A different approach surely would have been better and saved an awful lot of time and frustration.
I do not understand why they are not comming out in the open onto the forums themselves. I do know that one forum administrator has asked them to stop, so surely the open approach would have been better.
Darren
FenBeary FolkAs I started this on Bearpile, I have felt obliged to reply to the above letter, as I would not want anyone to misconstrue my intentions or what exactly happened, in my case
p.s. this is the letter I received today - it could answer some of your questions:
Hi Everyone, We must say thank you for all the best wishes its been very appreciated. Myself and Lanie are so pleased you have decided to join us here. If the site pleases everyone and continues to grow we will nurture it. If it fails well we can at least say we really did try our very best. I will add after thirty years in the teddy bear industry Lanies ideas sure can stir up a brew... For those who received an invitation from bearpile im sorry if it may have offended anyone. We wont be commenting on there personally. Its just not our scene. Lanie has unfortunately had dealings with one or two on there before, I hasten to add they were not even invited...lol
I did not receive an invite and I would not have been offended if asked
We thought it easier and quicker to contact everyone from one place Bear pile being a good place of contact. We chose this as an easy option of letting everyone know our good news. I just believed we were amongst fellow artistsand friends who were like minded and would love the opportunity to join and showcase their bears with fellow artists at no cost whatsoever. I'm sorry but we would never get upset by a fellow worker contacting us about something to do with the bear business we all belong too. Instead we would be grateful they took the time to let us know. however we now know not everyone will agree..Nor would I have been concerned if the email had explained itself and who it was. Although I would have questioned whether it was morally right to use another's mailing list
Teddy Bear Artists and Friends has been set up as a nice place for bear artists and collectors to gather. It has been designed professionally and has its own forum and is already starting to buzz with activity as you already know.
Working in this industry myself and Lanie both understand how expensive and difficult it is to advertise and it’s taken us both ages to design a site everyone can enjoy. We have made the site free simply because we have many good friendsand customers in this industry and thought it would be a nice gesture to give something back to them and the Teddy bear community at large. We get a lot of traffic through our own personal websites weekly , and we expect you all to benefit from this. Let’s be realistic how often does everyone get the chance to showcase themselves for free, we both thought it was a great idea and have worked day and night to pull it off.
I would have thought it was a great idea had I had the opportunity to join and been given information about your new venture
We are not forcing anyone to join. We are not touting for business as some have said, we really don’t need it… My business is already doing very well thank you … We were just extending a hand of friendship… Unfortunately as always there are some who would like to chop it off…lol…
]I am sure you are not forcing people to join but my concerns were genuine. Also I am not one of those that would wish a business ill
Now big apologies for any mass e-mailings that may have happened today...lol We are still trying to get used to how this system works. When someone joins, it send mail not just to the new member but everyone on the list who has not completed a profile yet... There is nothing I can do to change this. And we have had many wonderful artists and collectors join today.
BUT I have not joined, so how can I receive an email asking me to fill in my profile. Webs allows you to individually send an email request for profile completion
I sincerley hope everyone is happy with the way things are. If you have any problems or input please just get in touch with us.We are putting as much time as we can into this but please be aware it may sometimes take us time to do things as we both work full time too. We would be really happy if you could help and tell your fellow bear artists and collectors about the site. It would really help this site grow into one huge secure community.
Warm regards to all of you... Darren
Here is a copy of the content of the email I recieved
FRAUD ALERT: There is some credit card / paypal fraud going on from Nigeria and other places with orders. Be extremely careful so you are not taken by a scam. When in doubt, ask for cash only or insist on seeing Ebay and/or other feedback ratings. Also consider using a reputable escrow service such as www.xxxxxxx.com to protect yourself. Sell & buy at your own risk using Bear Pile.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your membership has been approved.
You should now be able to log in and fill in the basic profile questions that allow you to belong to the site. YOUR MAIN PROFILE CAN BE FILLED IN LATER.
Check all messages including your spam folder in case you have missed any emails.
Then send us a jpeg photograph that best represents your teddy bears. Or we can source one ourselves...
* ONE SIMPLE REQUEST* We understand everyone is busy so we give you 14 days to fully complete filling in your profiles adding profile pictures etc...
You don't have to write epics but something is more interesting than nothing... If you are an artist tell us about you and your bears, if you collect or just love bears tell us about it...
Any member that has not filled in their profile fully and complete after 14 days of being on this site will be removed. This is not done out of spite but simply because we have put a lot of work into providing this site for everyone to enjoy, and we want it to remain interesting and pleasant for everyone to browse and look at... We strongly feel looking at blank profiles is not interesting. If you don't agree with this simple request please don't join.... Remember if you need help to do this please ask...
Ginger - Adoption Fee: £75.00 (GBP) / $113.60 USD (approximate)<br>
by FenBeary Folk 17 inches
This is Ginger, a saggy loveable bear
He is about 17 inches tall
He is one of a kind
He is made from a warm ginger semi sparse mohair, with ultrasuede paw and foot pads. He is 5 way cotter pin jointed with black boot button eyes and an aged embroidered nose. He has been aged and scissor sculpted to give a care worn appearance. He is filled with hypo-allergic stuffing, pellets and steel shot to give a nice weighty, saggy feel.
Thanks for taking a peak
As you can see, no name, no website or who it is
I hope that by reading this you will understand my concern and why I asked the questions I did.
Please note, to date I have had NO personal communication at all
The Wild ThingsI also get a mail and I was afraid that it isn't serious. Its a littlebit strange to use the bearpile members as a mailing list.
Susan
Terries BearsI received an invitation as well, but like Edie, I couldn't figure out how to have a look around without joining so I basically dismissed it. So now that I know how, and know that it is Lanie's site, I will have to go back and check it out.
Back Road BearsI do think it's a very well formatted, visually appealing, easy to navigate site and those who become members will certainly enjoy surfing there.
Darren, my invite seems to be lost too! 
I'm not keen on "invitation only" type sites in the bear community... very cliquey! I missed the part about it being invitation only.
Yes, why not get on the forums Lanie participates on? Maybe because they want to only invite the people they want as members? Not put out an open invitation.
With so many other teddy bear sites out there I'm sure there's a place for everyone! There's so many that I have a hard time keeping up. 
I too received all those messages and I signed in, because it's good to have more possibilitys to show our bears to a huge crowd of bear-lovers ..... I guess we are much to afraid of everything to receive something like spam or fraud ...... this is a very nice site and I will say thank you to Lanie who is doing such a great job as well as Dave from bearpile who is doing a fantastic job over the years since I'm a member of bearpile - thank you to such lovely people giving me the chance to make my bears get out into the world.
have so many beary hugs from my Austrian Bear-Studio
