We, the staff of Webkinz Insider, are saddened to announce the departure of our very own founder, Justin. His decision to leave was announced this morning and we were asked to pass on his regrets and appreciation to all the members here. He has asked us to post this statement:
"I have been doing research into Virtual Pets online for quite some time. As part of my research, I have been purchasing other animals to gain access to other sites to see what they have to offer. Recently I purchased a Shining Stars blue dragon, which I named Contessa. As I bonded with my new pet I realized that I have an obligation to pursue all things related to Shining Stars and could no longer devote my time to Webkinz. As much as I regret leaving WI, I look forward to the new online community that Contessa will bring. I appreciate all of you and the staff in particular. To my staff, I will be sending each of you your very own Shining Star in hopes that you will join Contessa and I. Good luck and take care!"
We wish Justin and Contessa the best of luck as they pursue their new adventure.
On his departure, Justin made the decision to sell the Webkinz Insider to Blue Dress, LLC, a small company based in Connecticut that manufactures tie-dyed shirts for plush toy owners. The site, which has over 80,000 members and is averaging about a bazillion hits per month, was sold for a figure exceeding one BILLLLLLLION dollars!
Masteryoda is the only member of the staff that will be staying with the new ownership and is currently accepting applications for administrator and moderator positions. Click here to read the requirements to become an admin or mod!
UPDATE: This news has been corrected by Ganz. There have been no Pet of the Month policy changes and the missing loot bags are possibly due to a bug!We have breaking news emerging from our forum about the Pet of the Month. A user from our forum, skysierra, has reported and the staff here at Webkinz Insider has confirmed that Ganz has changed their policy on Pet of the Month adoptions.
This new rule is especially important to those who trade for Pet of the Month items! It is rather confusing, so I'll use an example to illustrate the rule:
Let's say that today you have adopted 4 Pet of the Month pets over the past few months. In addition, you have also traded for 3 other Pet of the Month items that you really liked. So, you have adopted 4 Pet of the Month Webkinz, but have 7 Pet of the Month items, right? Ganz's new policy will not award you any Pet of the Month items until your Pet of the Month adoptions equals the number of Pet of the Month items in your account! In this situation, you would have to activate #5, #6, #7 and get no Pet of the Month items until you activate an 8th Pet of the Month!
One of our staff members has spoken with Customer Support at Webkinz and confirmed the new policy. For those that have already adopted and were not aware of the policy, there is a one time exception on an account to replace the item that you did not receive with the adoption.
For those that have traded for Pet of the Month items, we suggest that you KinzPost any "extra" items to a secondary account before adopting a new Pet of the Month on the main account.
For those that haven't visited Webkinz.Com, it looks like Ganz is going all out for the third anniversary of Webkinz World! In years past, it's been a celebration with a few free gifts, but retailers haven't really been officially involved.
This year, things are different. Ganz has many of their retailers participating with activities, contests and promotions! According to Webkinz.Com, starting April 25th, if you are one of the first 500 customers to visit one of the retailers that are officially listed as participants, you will get a free Webkinz with a purchase of $10 or more.
Check and see if your local store is participating and have a look at what events they have planned on their calendar!
We're also sure that they have something in store in Webkinz World for those of you who don't have a participating retailer in your area!
The new Kinzstyle items are now arriving in stores, and two lucky WI members were among the first people to activate the new clothing items. The first photo of the new Kinzstyle hoody is courtesy of coemaf, and the remaining photos of the basketball outfit, bunched sleeve blouse and skirt, candy tanktop and blue stripe pants, cupcake tee and light denim skirt, lilac sparkle party dress, warm up set hoody and pants, Webkinz pink hoody, pink poodle top and pants and the gathered top and lime pants are all courtesy of lucky lolo7777777. Thanks to both of them for sharing their fantastic finds!
WebkinzInsider.Com is not an official site of, sponsored by, nor affiliated with Ganz, Inc, Webkinz, or Lil'Kinz and all character names, logos, and images are trademarks owned by Ganz, Inc.
