Factory codes

Vendor Codes

Many Furby-related products manufactured between 1998 and 2002 — including the 1998 Furbys, Furby Buddies, Furby Babies, and Shelbys — include a code printed on the plastic battery cover or fabric tag. These are commonly called "factory codes" by Furby fans, but they are more accurately described by Hasbro as vendor codes.

Some later Furby products from the 2000s and Furbys post 2010s follow a newer alphanumeric format that includes both vendor and factory identifiers.

Vendor vs. Factory

Vendor

A vendor is the company contracted by Hasbro or Tiger Electronics to oversee production. Vendors may own or manage multiple factories, or subcontract manufacturing. In some cases, a vendor can also be a factory itself. For example, Jetta (vendor code JT) is not only a vendor but also operates as a factory. This means the same company is both responsible for sourcing and manufacturing the Furbys.

Factory

A factory is the physical location where the Furbys are produced. One vendor may use several factories, and different vendors can share the same factory site.

Example

An example of a vendor using multiple factories can be seen here: Hasbro Third-Party List, where the vendor "Wah Shing Toys Co. Ltd." (WT) uses 3 different factories:

• Everviet Toys Company Ltd
• Everwin Toys (Dongguan) Co., Ltd
• Wah Fai Toys (Yunan) Co., Ltd

Code Types

Two-letter vendor codes

Used on earlier 1998–2000 Furbys. These appear alone (e.g., WT, JT) on the battery cover or tag and identify the vendor directly.

C###X codes (Vendor + Factory format)

Introduced in later production runs. The first part (e.g., C022) refers to the vendor, while the final letter (e.g., A) represents the specific factory or subcontractor used.

Examples:

• JT = Jetta (older vendor code)
• C022A = Jetta (vendor code C022), Factory A
• EL = Early Light (vendor code)
• C031B = Early Light, Factory B

Known Vendor Codes

• WT – Wah Shing Toys
• JT – Jetta
• EL – Early Light
• GE – Unknown
• RL – Unknown
• C-001C – Herald Toys (used on Interactive E.T.)
• C061A – Unknown (used on Interactive Yoda)

It's possible that more vendor codes exist due to geographic distribution, with different vendors assigned to different countries.

RT and GL Vendor codes

Some have suggested the existence of an "RT" vendor, although this is believed to be a misprint found on certain RL Furbys.
Similarly, "GL" codes have been found on GE vendor Furbys (Mostly on the Royal Furby), these are also thought to be misprints.
These anomalies could hint at vendor name changes, which might explain why these two vendors are harder to identify, though nothing has been confirmed.
Another possibility is that these vendors have three-word names, and the second letter was mistakenly used in the code instead of the last.
For example, Wah Shing Toys could have used "WS" rather than the expected WT.

In Serial Numbers

Furbys have serial numbers like C022A1234B, often printed on box stickers or inside the battery compartment. The breakdown is:

• C022 → Vendor (e.g. Jetta)
• A → Factory
• 123 → Day of year (001–365)
• 4 → Last digit of the year (e.g. 1998 = 8)

Earlier Furbys sometimes used a format like JT1234A, embedding the vendor directly in the prefix.

Serial Prefix Table

Vendor Name	Serial Prefix	Legacy Code	Internal Vendor Code
Wah Shing Toys	C015	WT	ZC-015
Jetta	C022	JT	ZC-022
Early Light	C031	EL	ZC-031
Unknown	C041	GE	ZC-041
Unknown	C276	RL	ZC-276
Herald Toys	C001	—	ZC-001
Unknown	C061	—	ZC-061

The C at the beginning of a vendor code indicates that the vendor is based in China.
Similarly, vendors with a code starting with ZV are based in Vietnam. For example, ZV-2976B found on other Hasbro products, corresponds to GFT Group Limited, located in Vietnam.

Vendor Known Factory letters

Each vendor has its own internal code for factories.
For example, C022A is the code for the vendor Jetta using factory A.
Factory A under Jetta will likely be a completely different facility than factory A under Wah Shing Toys (C015A).

The letter identifies a specific production site used by that vendor. For example, factory A for Jetta could relate to one of Jetta's major factories in Guangzhou, China. However, unless officially confirmed, the exact physical factory linked to each letter remains unknown.

Below is a list of known vendor codes and the factory letters that have been observed on Furby products:

Vendor Name	Vendor Code	Known Factory Letters
Wah Shing Toys Co. Ltd. (WT)	C015	A, B, C
Jetta Co., Ltd. (JT)	C022	A, B, E, G
Early Light Industrial Co., Ltd. (EL)	C031	B, G
Unknown Vendor (GE)	C041	A
Unknown Vendor (RL)	C276	A
Herald Toys	C001	C
Unknown Vendor (Yoda)	C061	A

JT Remark

A Jetta logo on the internals of a Furby Connect.

A Jetta logo on the circuit board of a 2023 Furby.

The vendor JT (Jetta), known internally as C022, is responsible for manufacturing many Furbys across different generations (1998, 2005, 2012, Boom, Connect, and 2023). Jetta-made Furbys are sometimes thought to have lower build quality, and collectors have noted mechanical or electrical issues more often with JT units.

JT-Exclusive Special Editions

These special editions have only been found with JT codes:^{[original research]}

• Kid Cuisine Furby
• Jester Furby
• Tropical Furby

Date Codes

Main article: Date codes

The serial numbers often include a manufacturing date:

• First 3 digits = Day of the year (001–365)
• Last digit = Year (e.g., 8 = 1998, 9 = 1999)

Example: A code like C022A3658 indicates December 31, 1998.

Newer models (from 2005 onward) reverse this to YDDD* format:

• 6229 = 2016, Day 229 (August 16)

Discrepancies have been noted between box and Furby serials, likely due to manufacturing vs. packaging delays.

Vendor Distribution in Different Countries

Some vendors also supplied Furbys to different countries. As a result, certain vendors, such as Early Light (EL), are rarer in the United States but more common in regions like the United Kingdom. This geographic distribution means collectors in some areas might encounter different vendors more frequently than others. For example, Early Light codes might be considered rare or uncommon in the USA, but in the UK, they were more widely used.

Known Vendor-Factory Relationships

Some vendors, like Wah Shing Toys (WT), worked with multiple factories, including some that were also used by Early Light (EL). This explains why Furbys with WT codes sometimes share parts with those with EL codes.

Gallery

The battery compartment cover of an early (not the 2001 re-release) Wolf, showing the RL factory code.

GE factory code on a 1998 Furby generation 3 Gorilla Furby

GE factory code on a Spanish Gorilla Furby tag

WT factory code on a 1998 Furby special edition Patriotic Furby

WT factory code on a Patriotic Furby tag

RL factory code on a 1998 Furby generation 3 Snow Leopard Furby

RL factory code on a Snow Leopard tag

A Triangles Furby Boom's battery compartment cover, showing the code C022G (corresponding to the JT factory)

The green sticker on a Turtle 1998's box. The prefix C022 corresponds to the JT factory.

A Lamb Furby showing the rare EL factory code.

A C031B factory code on the serial number sticker of an EL Lamb Furby.

The battery compartment cover of a 2005 Furby, showing the C015C (WT) code.

The tag of a 2005 Furby Baby, showing a C015C (WT) code.

The battery cover of a 2005 Furby showing a C022B (JT) code.

A Mint Green Furby Baby with the C041A (GE) code.

A C015A (WT) code on a Fresh New Look Witch's Cat Furby.

A purple 2023 Furby showing a C022G (JT) code

The bottom of a Italian Church Mouse Furby’s box, that displays the code C022 (which is the JT factory code)

E.T. With the code C-001C (Herald)

Yoda with the code C061 (Unknown Vendor)

Early Model GE Sticker GE2868A

Early Model RL Sticker RL0249A

Vendor Code Research Notes

Notes and talk on vendors codes can be found here