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YOWIE INTRODUCTION
Yowies - An Introduction
New Collectors: All you need to know to get started, or refresh yourself on the
basics!
What is a Yowie?
A Yowie is a collectable plastic animal that is found in Cadbury chocolate Yowies.
Inside each Yowie chocolate egg is a plastic capsule which contains an unassembled
native animal of Australia or New Zealand, and an instruction/token/picture paper or
a random Yowie solid (Nap, Boof, Crag, Rumble, Ditty and Squish). They generally
sell for $1.59 or $4.50 for a 3 pack.
Yes, those Yowie animals you have sitting atop of your computer, window sill or
even in your fish tank (true story!) are collectable! In fact, if you've been collecting
since their inception (April/May 97), then some of your Yowies may be worth a few
dollars.
In short, there are three series of Yowies to this point. We're in the midst of Series
Three, and more series are planned for 1999 and beyond.
Series 1 - 50 animals & 6 Yowiemen (solids - Nap, Boof, Ditty, Crag, Rumble and
Squish)
Series 2 - 50 animals
Series 3 - 50 animals & 6 Grumkins (solids - Munch, Slob, Blob, Ooz, Spark and Chomp)
To print out checklists go here. You can then tick off what you already have.
Rule #1 of Collecting Yowies
For Yowies to be tradeable or sellable they must be in excellent condition & come
with complete papers. No token/instructions/picture- no collectable value! The only
exception to this rule is if you have rare variations, in which case you could sell
them for a lesser price or buy the same Yowie animal just for its papers. Do not cut off tokens!
How can I buy, sell or trade my Yowies?
Like most collecting, the guidelines are like this:
You can get the best value in trading and selling by doing business with friends or
private collectors. Using our prices as a guide you can conduct equal trades.
You can sell your Yowies to places like us (check out our wantlist, then email us),
but you will get normally half or less of the retail value. I'm sure you know the reason;
businesses have to make a profit to survive, and also to provide FREE Internet sites
like this one!
You can attend swap meets, collectable fairs or even advertise in the Trading
Post.
As you become more experienced in collecting Yowies you will become more creative
in how you buy, sell and trade.
I've got a thousand swaps - I don't know what to do with them!
The bad news is that many collectors are in the same boat! Perhaps give them
away to friends children or donate them to op shops. If you're determined to at
least get something for them then you may do worse than check out Yowie.com's
Buy Board where we pay cash for many Yowies (limited time only)!
I keep getting doubles - how do I know where to find the new series?
The trick is generally in the use-by dates, at the bottom of each Yowie, or printed
on the three-pack. Keep checking Hot Off the Press and we will advise you of the
dates to look for, so you can ignore old stock.
How do I keep my Yowies in mint condition?
For starters, don't throw them together loosely in a box. You will soon find paint chips off and they will lose their value. Keep them out of the sun! You could keep them in ziplock plastic bags (with their paper) or display them on your shelf or in a cabinet. You could keep the papers in plastic papers.
A Brief History
An excellent story on the Yowie Phenomenon was written by Everard Hunder and
published in the Melbourne Weekly. Click here to read it.
In late April, 1997, Cadbury Confectionary released a collectable set of Australian
and New Zealand native animals. The concept was developed by Geoff Pike who
formulated his idea in the late 80's and at one stage look set to sell his idea to
Steven Spielberg's studios in the USA. When this fell through he enlisted the help of
high profile friend Bryce Courtney (author of Power of One, Tandia, April Fool's day).
As one Cadbury executive commented "I can't imagine any person in Australia who
would say no to Bryce Courtney - and we certainly weren't going to be the
first."This wasn't the first time that Bryce and Geoff had worked together. They
developed the famous Louis the Fly commercial.
The last thing Cadbury anticipated was a huge collectible market dominated by
adults and Yowies swapping hands for up to $400 a piece. They were hoping for a
successful children's confectionary product - they got it and more! In the first six
months approximately 7 million Yowies were sold and in the seventh month an
amazing thing happened - 13 million Yowies were sold. The collectors had arrived!
Adults were buying these by the boxful and caseful - and a phenomenon was born.
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October
Memo Safeways in Geelong!
Series Five Use By Date
Yowie Collection Open!
Lost Kingdom Skulls
Will You Find A Golden Yowie?
Series Five & Series Four Update
September
Introducing the Yowie Collection
August
Is this for real?
Lost Kingdom Skulls
July
Quickies
Yowie.com updated!
June
New Yowie Figurines
Skulls named but no appearance your honour!
Skulls? Lost? Perhaps!
May
Next Ten in Lost Kingdom here
Invisible Speciality Skulls
Lost Kingdom Out!
Lost Kingdom Pics & Checklist
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