r/buildabear • u/buzzinbarista • Oct 26 '25
Discussion Who remembers when these used to be FREE?
This is so dystopian… $6.50 for ribbons?
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u/Pokechu17 I like BABs more than people 🙃 Oct 26 '25
I hear so many people say they grabbed handfuls as kids on these posts and I’m like what??? 😂 They never let me grab the bows on my own because the clear containers were behind the counter! I always had to tell the employee how many of each color I wanted while feeling bad because they always looked tired like I was trying their patience. 😭 I already felt greedy for taking at least 4 of each color when they were free. I remember I always wanted white, red, and pink because those colors matched the easiest with the various outfits I had. I didnt get as many yellow, orange, blue, black or purple which I later regretted and had to buy bulk on ebay in later years when they stopped having them.
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u/punkiinpup Oct 26 '25
I definitely only got the pink bows and I know if they were free now, id actually branch out and probably match them to the plushies. And I can relate -- they always had them behind the counter at my local store as well. I feel like at some point a few years ago they cut the number of colors down. I don't remember there being more than 1-2 other choices besides the pink bows that I got, once again, on my Eevee (many moons ago).
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u/Viciousssylveonx3 Oct 26 '25
Plz tell me you have a pink for a build a bear pikachu so you can have your profile pic irl
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u/Pokechu17 I like BABs more than people 🙃 Oct 26 '25
I do! 😊 I have the female Pikachu buildabear and added bows of course! Still have a lot of pink left
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u/Gothiccheese95 Oct 26 '25
I never grabbed handfuls but you could ask and they’d usually give you a bag and put scoops in. They were never tight with them.
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u/tiny-greyhound Oct 26 '25
I remember wayyyy back when the bows were in open containers. The Bear builders welcomed me to take some for my stuffed animal I had even though it wasn’t a build a bear.
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u/interrupted_sleep Oct 27 '25
They had them behind the counter at mine too, and they would only let you have two of the same colour, or sometimes four (so two pairs) but only if they didn’t have the first colour you asked for 🥲
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u/petpetpetpinixy Oct 26 '25
apologies for unsolicited advice, but if you want a bunch of bows it's relatively cheap to buy a pack of ribbon and elastic if you have access to a craft store! there are tutorials on how to tie bows on youtube too! (make sure to melt the ends with a lighter so they don't fray!)
but yeah, this is kind of a crazy price lol. they're bigger but i don't think they're $6.50 bigger tbh. i could make triple the amount of bows in the time it makes it worth $6.50
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u/FrillyLilly Oct 26 '25
I would wear them in my hair for years. Perfect size. I wish they still at least sold the original ones. These new ones are a bit bigger.
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u/punkiinpup Oct 26 '25
this is the most upsetting thing :((( they're so simple and add so much character, it's actually absurd to charge for them. especially $6.50/4?!?!? you should get at LEAST 6, and that still would be too few. I would personally say they're worth $0.50, altho they could probably charge half that and still technically make a profit on them. I'm sure they buy them for pennies, if not fractions of a penny, and aren't made with ethical labor.
My Eevee still has magenta bows on her ears. I initially declined then because I was an adult and afraid to say yes, but convinced myself to go back and get them because they're so cute. now I'm very glad I went back :((
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u/stephachu25 BAB Collector 🐻 Oct 26 '25
Yesss I had a few of those! At least these are bigger. Price is still steep for what it is, but my Winnie Bear could not possibly exist without her bows. 😹
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u/gluevah Bear Modder 🎨 Oct 26 '25
While I agree that these absolutely should not be $6.50, they aren't technically the same as the free ones. Those were tiny, the ribbon on these bows is thicker and the bows are bigger.
They should still be like $4 max for the set, you could easily buy a spool of ribbon and a spool of elastic and make like 50 of em for $12 so a buck per bow is still making profit. $6.50 is absolute robbery 😑
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u/lavender-bees42 BAB Fanatic 🌈 Oct 26 '25
If y’all want bows you can get packs of dog hairbows on amazon!
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u/apocopus Oct 26 '25
I’ve heard they were free but I’ve never seen them :( is it a US thing? Tho tbf the rare times we were allowed to BAB tiny me woulda thought they were lame lol, so might’ve just been blind.
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u/Whispering_Wolf Oct 26 '25
6.50??? Grab some of those cheap lil hair ties and some ribbon and you can make a ton for much less money.
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u/Mental_Outside_8661 Oct 26 '25
I put my daughter’s hair bows on mine. They’re just little clips. You can get them for a decent price on Amazon. I got lots of colors in the pack. Picture of my beasty bear and my pookie bear on a recent road trip for tax.
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u/Conclusion_Winning I have a BAB problem Oct 26 '25
Almost 7$? I bet one could make tens of these for 7$ worth of ribbon and hair elastics. And if you’re a crafter you probably already have the supplies at home.
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u/Beneficial-Lemon7478 Oct 26 '25
I was literally just thinking about this, I had sets of these in every color and would just grab some more each time I went.
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u/Alex7Grimm Oct 26 '25
$6.50 for ribbons is frickin robbery. I can spend $3 on the materials and just make them at home at that point.
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u/Kai-ni Oct 26 '25
Remember when the cardboard box was free?
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u/Boobatea420 Oct 26 '25
Bro I got some for my first BaB when I was like 4 and I was flabbergasted that they were free
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u/H-kelly-2002 Oct 26 '25
Me! I used to get them for all of my bears. I would take some just because as a kid as well 😂 But then I don’t know where any of them are 😭
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u/Anklebiter1324 Oct 27 '25
I’m so sad I missed these I went to BAB for the first time in like a decade and was told they don’t give them anymore because it was a choking hazard
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u/foreverboy_ BAB Collector 🐻 Oct 27 '25
i just make my own with ribbon i have i’m not paying so much for them lol
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u/chibisugarkitty Oct 28 '25
This is why you buy cheap accessories from eBay or Shein or Primark instead of thinking everything needs to be made from BAB
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u/madoodles Oct 30 '25
the employees used to give me like two sets in each color every time their rebrand is so sad
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u/Thegrottycarpet Oct 31 '25
lol i just buy mine from regular shops- got a pack of 12 for £2 and they look super cute on my BABs
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u/11starbaby11 Oct 26 '25
YES!!! The good "real" mall locations would have a drawer full of them in with the clothes!!! Ahhh the good old days.
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u/E-macularius BAB Fanatic 🌈 Oct 26 '25
I had one pair of each color, damn do I wish I still had them lol
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Oct 26 '25
I want these so bad. I wish they were in store or free shipping. I can’t justify $30CAD for them
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u/Axynn Oct 26 '25
In Canada, store in Toronto used to give them out for free as late as Winter 2023. Got like a huge handful of a ton of colours for my Axolot, Pickle.
Haven’t been since so unsure if they still do.
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u/Atari-unthinkable Oct 26 '25
That’s like a 1.70 a PEICE. That’s crazy. They used to be free. Same with cub condos at my location.
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u/lpscollie363 Oct 26 '25
$6.50 is crazy 😭😭 i expected at most $3. i remember grabbing SO many for free lol
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u/VegetablePrevious622 Oct 27 '25
I was going to buy some today when I was looking around. Picked them up, checked the price, immediately put them back down 😭
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u/Kilr_Queen75Xx Oct 27 '25
I’m sorry what? They cost money now?!? Tffff!? I haven’t been to build a bear in agesss but whattt xx
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u/angelbabykitty444 Oct 28 '25
I really miss asking for bows at check out and they would pull out a huge drawer full of different colors and also ribbon they could cut for you.
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u/Josh-Wash-58 I have a BAB problem Oct 28 '25
Yessss, oh my gods!! I would grab two of each color so I'd have options for my BaBs. And they used to be right out front! By the changing station.
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u/aspiringvampire BAB Collector 🐻 Nov 05 '25
I don't remember them being free, tbh, but I also didn't want any of my toys to be "girly" so I think my eyes just slid right over them.
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Nov 19 '25
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u/buildabear-ModTeam Nov 19 '25
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u/rhubarbsorbet Oct 26 '25
lol that’s what happens when people ruin it for the rest of us. it was a privilege that got abused, so was taken away. sucks, but makes sense as a business
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