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Billings not immune to Build-A-Bear craze

Posted at 3:08 PM, Jul 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-19 19:05:01-04

BILLINGS – Billings was not immune to Thursday’s Build-A-Bear craze.

Hundreds of people packed Rimrock Mall, some waiting several hours for a discount on the customizable bears.

Daron Olson, marketing director for Rimrock Mall, said they would continue to sell bears to those waiting in line until they sold out, but he could not guarantee that everyone already waiting in line would get one.

He estimated there were more than a thousand people in the line at 11:30 a.m.

It started when Build-A-Bear announced they would be hosting a ‘Pay Your Age Day’ at their stores worldwide. The concept was that a 4-year-old would receive a Build-A-Bear for only $4.

Thousands of people flocked to their local malls, waiting in massive lines around the country for the chance at a good bargain.

Build-A-Bear released a statement on Thursday morning saying that due to longer than expected lines, “local authorities are requiring us to limit the lines and crows due to safety concern.”

The statement went on to say they understood the disappointment and were working to address the situation.

The company also said “In response, we distributed vouchers to Guests, who were present in lines, to be redeemed for a future purchase. We are now making vouchers available to our Build-A-Bear Bonus Club members in the U.S. and Canada who log into their account by midnight on July 15, 2018. Vouchers related to this event will be honored through August 31, 2018. It is our sincere desire for all of our Guests to enjoy the best Build-A-Bear experience possible. As such, our goal with the voucher extension is to enable us to better flow traffic to the stores over the next several weeks to avoid long lines and wait times as much as possible. Therefore, we strongly encourage Guests to consider delaying their trip to Build-A-Bear, and we appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience in this matter.

Build-A-Bear Workshop takes seriously the privilege of providing our valued Guests with an opportunity to make a furry friend. It is with that spirit that we created our Pay Your Age Day event and the new, year-long Count Your Candles birthday program, where kids 14 and under can “pay their age” for our new Birthday Treat Bear during their birthday month. “

Reporting by Samantha Harrelson for MTN News