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anyone collect Vermont Teddy Bears?


shamrockgirl18

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I found one recently at the Goodwill outlet store (my new fav place). He is definitely high-quality and his tag is clearly marked "Vermont Teddy Bear Factory made in shelburne, VT" but his eyes aren't the trademark ones that say Born in Vermont around the outside.

I am thinking that maybe he's from the early 80's (when the company began) and maybe they didn't start using the trademark eyes until later. I wrote a nice email to the company inquiring about this- and the response I got was very disappointing. Basically it was a run-on sentence that said "It was probably made in the 80s we dont have any more info on this sorry".

Wouldn't you think that the company itself would have information on the history of the company?! 

It's not like a life or death situation obviously, but I've had much better customer service from Blimpy's sub shop, which is basically a step down from Subway, and those subs cost like $4, so you'd think that a company that sells $80 teddy bears would have better customer service.

Anyways, does anyone else have any information to share on Vermont Teddy Bears?

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I don't collect the bears but I'd be so curious to see what you find out. I did manage to dig this up though which might help a little? :

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company was created in 1981 when 30 year old John Sortino began sewing a cloth teddy on his wife's sewing machine for his newborn son. Later bears were machine washable, had movable arms and legs (jointed) and were cuddly and safe for children. They had "personality"! John was determined there should be American Made Teddy Bears after seeing the plush animals his son had that were made overseas! He sold 50 bears in 1981 and 200 bears in 1982. It wasn't until 1990, when he pioneered the "Bear-Gram", advertised via radio personalities live on air during their shows, that sales really took off for Vermont, with 91% of its orders coming in via telephone on the "Gift Line".

Does your bear have jointed arms and legs?

 

 

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2 minutes ago, kokomo said:

I don't collect the bears but I'd be so curious to see what you find out. I did manage to dig this up though which might help a little? :

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company was created in 1981 when 30 year old John Sortino began sewing a cloth teddy on his wife's sewing machine for his newborn son. Later bears were machine washable, had movable arms and legs (jointed) and were cuddly and safe for children. They had "personality"! John was determined there should be American Made Teddy Bears after seeing the plush animals his son had that were made overseas! He sold 50 bears in 1981 and 200 bears in 1982. It wasn't until 1990, when he pioneered the "Bear-Gram", advertised via radio personalities live on air during their shows, that sales really took off for Vermont, with 91% of its orders coming in via telephone on the "Gift Line".

Does your bear have jointed arms and legs?

 

 

Yup, he does. His paw pads are also the suede material that the VT Teddy Bear Co uses, and he has the tag on his rear,  it's just the issue about his eyes. It's really annoying that the company itself wasn't helpful.

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