Last month, long-standing manufacturer of animal sex toys Furrystyle was about to give up. To the rescue came former exclusive European distributor YiffyToys, who purchased the manufacturing molds, inherited the name, and took on the tasks of not only continuing production but also introducing new models. Now the move is complete (NSFW, large files).

A piece of Skyrim fan-art by Blotch sold for $5500 at Further Confusion 2012's art show last weekend. [sibe/reddit]

The mixed-media work depicts a battle between a leopard-like Khajiit and a non-morphic dragon. [dA, FA]

Videl, the winning bidder, was enthusiastic about his purchase:

It was totally worth it! Love the work of Blotch and love Skyrim!!

The most expensive furry art show piece sold to date is Goldenwolf's "Eyes of the Night", which was auctioned for $10,000 at Further Confusion 2004.

Update (29 Jan): Videl says he was bidding on behalf of his roommates as well as himself.

Looking to stock up on presents for the holidays? Several furry retailers are participating in 'Cyber Monday', including Rabbit Valley (15% off $100 or more, in-stock only, to Dec. 1, code 'Cyber2011'), FurPlanet (15% off everything, 'FOXES') and FetishZone (NSFW; up to 50% off).

Bad Dragon had (NSFW) 40% off black, medium-firm toys for Black Friday, but sold out; a 10% global discount remains in effect for the next ten hours. [scottbob3/reddit]

The original Hugh T. Manatee, a regular member of the Funday PawPet Show cast, is up for auction.

Funds will be used to purchase new equipment for Poinkcast, HughTube and video archive digitization.

Update: The auction raised $102.50, just 43% of the winning bid for Poink T. Ferret in June 2007.

Puppeteer JR explained the sale [tip: BabsBunny]:

A few weeks ago, I started thinking, I'd love to have a YouTube channel focusing on stuff I've done and Hugh and Poink; [...] So, I created HughTube. [...] I decided I really wanted to build this up, film stuff with Poink and Hugh that hasn't been seen anywhere, and really build up the PoinkCast brand. I put together a list of stuff I'd need, and realized that if I did it all out of pocket it was going to take a while. So I posted it on FA and asked for donations.

Four months ago, Amazon.com was selling the out-of-print first edition of "Best in Show: Fifteen Years of Outstanding Furry Fiction" for $348.33. Now it's $477.82 (+ $3.49 shipping). Is anyone really paying these prices? (Retitled second edition Furry! is still in print for $11.11)

In the hopes of garnering more revenue for its ever-expanding site, Fur Affinity has turned to VigLink, a tool which helps sites earn commission from online stores. Unfortunately for staff, its use violated the site's own terms of service, leading to cries of foul play once discovered.

Fur Affinity has now apologized for the unannounced roll-out, and updated their ToS to notify users. But what was all the fuss about?

Amazon.com lists the price for a used copy of out-of-print short-story anthology "Best in Show: Fifteen Years of Outstanding Furry Fiction" as $348.33 – plus $3.99 shipping.

"Best in Show" won two Ursa Major awards for 2003, for Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work and Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration.

Ed: The anthology was reprinted without interior illustrations as "Furry!: The World's Best Anthropomorphic Fiction", currently available for a far more reasonable $6.09.

Fifty artists have banded together, offering gifts in kind to organizations aiding victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. [tip: Banrai]

Their work is to benefit Direct Relief International, Doctors Without Borders and the Japanese Red Cross, and is being sold via group auctions organized by Quaylak and JakeJynx.

The first auction was launched last night and ends Monday. The second began a few hours ago. Three more are to be posted in subsequent days. Artists wishing to join in can do so until Friday.

Update (11 Apr): The third, fourth and fifth auctions have been posted.

FurBuy has proposed changes to their paid membership system, introduced last November.

The proposals include a 'feral' membership level for those with annual auction turnover between $500 and $2000, and the ability to pay for just a 3- or 6-month term.

Outfoxed.net, a furry commission facilitation website, launched in open beta this Friday.

The site currently hosts single-price commissions with a variable number of slots. Adult commissions are not allowed. Payment is made through the artist's PayPal account.

Developers of rabbit-based beat-em-up Lugaru HD are battling to get an unauthorized copy removed from the Apple App Store.

iCoder is offering the OS X game for just $1.99. The official verison sells for $9.99. [iDuck/Slashdot]

Gaming blog Kotaku reports that Apple are "looking into what happened", and also hosts a quote from iCoder saying that they "have every legal right to market and sell the software".

The game's code was released under the GPL last May while developers focussed on their new game, Overgrowth; however, for-profit distribution of the game's assets was not authorized. The legality of GPL-licensed code for such apps is also in doubt.

Update (12 Feb): Lugaru HD is now the only version available on the Apple App Store. Wolfire are giving out valid serials to all iCoder purchasers.

One of our own greatly really needs our help.

SportyPup, a fur from Macon, Georgia, needs surgery due to a bad valve in his heart. This condition is called Valvular Heart Disease, and if not treated will cause heart failure. The surgery will cost $40,000, but he needs $16,500 up front, just to be able to have it.

The longer Sporty has to wait for the surgery, the greater the risk is of heart failure. The hope is to have enough to be able to have the surgery later this month in Asheville, North Carolina, but only if the doctor sees that the amount needed will come in quickly after.

Sporty will be 31 in March. Besides being a furry and occasional fursuiter, he is also a father of a 3 1/2-year-old boy named Koda.

FWA's IT staff have been hard at work restructuring its registration system, myFWA.com. This new system allows users to register once, and pay at any time for not only convention registrations, but other services and products found at FWA, including items in the con store.

Local dining and convention schedules are also to be available by the start of the convention.