❥︎ My reasons for no longer supporting Build-a-Bear
Hello darlings! This is something that’s been bothering me quite a bit lately, and I want to talk about it as I transition further away from Build-A-Bear content to Jellycats, PuffPals and other plushies. I, for a very long time ran a B-a-B frog account on Instagram which I found to be pretty successful until I got too busy to manage it in my time. It has now since been converted into a general plush account. I grew up with this company, and I’m disappointed in what’s come of it. With that said, let’s go into the specifics.
(PLEASE NOTE I AM ONLY TOUCHING ON THE THINGS I’VE SEEN AS A LONG-TERM FOLLOWER ON THEIR INSTAGRAM)
1.) The NFTs
I’m sure a lot of you may know, but in-case you don’t, a few months ago Build-a-Bear released an NFT to their official Instagram featuring their bear with Swarovski crystals. The original post, to my knowledge, has since been deleted, however they have not addressed it. (Either for promotion or an apology)
I won’t personally explain to you why NFTs are bad specifically, but assuming by the time you read this you know. I’m unwilling to support anyone who promotes them, especially a company which I can just as easily stop giving money to. But what’s more disappointing to me, even though this whole thing is a complete mess, is the fact they’re so unwilling to admit wrong-doing or acknowledge their fanbase, when a lot of us grew up with them.
I’ve also noticed they’re posting a lot more frequently, more frequently than I’ve ever seen them post. Whether or not this is a tactic to get their followers to forget about what’s happened I can’t say, but it does make me uneasy.
To be honest, the behavior aside from the NFTs doesn’t surprise me. At the end of the day they’re still a corporation and have gotten more and more money hungry. It’s just gross that a children’s company of all things has gotten this low.
2.) The quality of the plushies & products
To date, I currently have 5 plushies from B-a-B. The Longhorn, the Spring Frog, The Pink Spring Frog, the frog from their summer 2021 cubscription box, and the orange sherbet Baskin Robins bear from at least a decade ago.
The overall quality of their plushies is fine. $20-$30 for a 16 in. plush is relatively cheap admittedly compared to other companies. (Not counting their franchise plushies like Pokemon and Animal Crossing) However, that said, I think they could still be better. The plushies’ hair is pretty easy to pull out I’ve found, unlike Jellycats’ who’s fur is known for being sturdy. This is a minor nitpick and I wouldn’t bring it out, except for the fact that my orange bear, that again, is from at least a full decade ago and more, hasn’t had any hair pulling despite being quite the old bear.
I’m a biggie on plush quality, so while yes, this is a bit of a nitpick, I’d still rather spend my money on other plushies that I trust to be of the highest quality.
Not even just the plushies though, the items in the cubscription box as well weren’t... great?? A lot of you may say that it’s a cheap box so I can’t complain- but guys it’s still not good even by that. The bento box is cute and practical, but the ink comes off easily and it doesn’t say not dishwasher safe anywhere to my knowledge. The frog, like I said earlier, has fur that sheds all the time. The bag broke within a month?? And I didn’t even use it that much. They also sent me a shirt in the wrong size so you know what- whatever. TToTT
3.) The shops/service
So no- before you say anything, the service isn’t bad. I’ve never had an issue with any employee personally. But the shops themselves always seem to be out-of-stock of something, and have very few selections. Meanwhile- they keep releasing online exclusive items after online exclusive items while the stores just kind of look sad. An on top of that, the so-called “ online exclusive items” aren’t even online exclusive! My local B-a-B had the longhorn which was promoted as an online exclusive item, and plenty of them have the frogs, so what’s the deal?
And it isn’t like they’ve said not all stores carry them. If there were items only a few stores sold and they said so, then I’d have no problem. It just feels so contradictive and a gamble to what you’ll get going into the store.
I’ve also noticed that the way they sew plushies closed doesn’t work. My spring frog’s and longhorn’s seam both came a loose and I’ve had to take them to get redone, as I don’t sew especially well. Sure, not everyone can sew well fine, but you work in a plush store specifically branded to have a plush half-made in stores, you should be trained a little harder. (Especially with rougher kids playing with them! Mine, from a gentle teenager, still came undone)
I think that could be fixed entirely by going back to the velcro like they had with the older bears. Especially around the holidays and busier times when there might be a line to get a bear.
