It was a great marketing idea, set aside a day for customers to come in and get one plush toy, and call it Pay Your Age Day. There were a couple of requirements, mainly that the adult needed to sign up online for their Bonus Club. Anyone who signed up could come in and get bears for their children/grandchildren for the child's age. They were even letting adults get them, and capped the amount owed on the bear at $29. This was just for the bear, accessories not included.

What was great in strategy and forethought, was not all that great in the execution of the event. According to the Build-a-Bear events website, all lines in the United States have closed. There were concerns about safety, especially with the crowds lined up, hours earlier than opening, in order to get one of the bears so cheap. I saw the lines, all over my social media feed, and I am glad I didn't try to get to MOA, or Apache Mall, to try to get one of the bears.

We will be watching to see if Build-a-Bear will try to have another day similar to this one, or how they are going to try to salvage the day for those who were not able to get the bears they were hoping for, and at the price they were hoping for. It looks like it was total chaos, even worse than Black Friday sales in some parts of the nation. Just look at the lines at the MOA, I saw that they went all the way around the rotunda and through Nickelodeon Universe. Unreal, for a stuffed animal. Build-a-Bear released the following statement:

"The response to our Pay Your Age Day event has been overwhelming and unprecedented in our 21-year history, and the safety of our guests and associates is our top priority. The crowds have greatly exceeded our expectations," it read.

How long would you be willing to wait in line fora desired item?

Teddy Bear
iStock
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