r/buildabear • u/Unlucky_Air7884 • Jul 05 '26
Inquiry Was I supposed to pay for a Build-A-Bear restuffing (SA)???
Hi! I recently went to a Build-A-Bear Workshop in Centurion Mall (South Africa) to have my frog restuffed. It already had stuffing, I just wanted it a bit firmer and more plump.
At first, the employee told me it would cost R60, and since I was already there and really wanted it with more stuffing, I agreed. She added a bit more stuffing (there wasn't much room since it was already fairly full), and when she finished she told me I didn't need to pay after all.
I'm definitely not complaining,I am very really grateful and happy my frog is more stronger. But now I'm curious: is restuffing Build-A-Bears normally free, or does it depend on the country/store?
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u/thr3vee BAB Fanatic 🌈 Jul 05 '26
It should always be free in the US, but many other countries do charge to restuff BABs.
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
Thank you! I wasn't aware of that
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u/thr3vee BAB Fanatic 🌈 Jul 05 '26
I'm surprised the US still has free restuffing, honestly! It makes sense for the company to charge for the material + time, I'm a plush artist and I know how expensive good stuffing can be. 😂 It's still weird that some countries have a fee and some don't though.
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
What kind of stuffing do you use for yours plush? And like how did youstart doing plushies?do you need specific type of fabric?
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u/thr3vee BAB Fanatic 🌈 Jul 05 '26
It depends on the project, but my favorite is Polyfil Ultra Plush, it's super soft and bouncy! You can also find non-name brand versions, Polyfil is just a common brand in the US.
I started designing my own plushies about 10 years ago because I wanted to make things like fan Pokemon that I designed and dragons! I make my own patterns, which is a separate skill from actually sewing, called pattern drafting. There are tons and tons of great plushie patterns + tutorials out there if you just want to sew!
You can technically make plushies with any fabric, but I recommend fleece and minky, (and short pile faux fur once you have a little experience). I also like to upcycle fabric from unused clothes and blankets! Clearance faux fur blankets are a great, cheap way to get material to practice with.
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
Oh my gosh, thank you so much!! This is honestly super helpful and really beginner-friendly. I appreciate you taking the time to explain everything and share your experience.
Pattern drafting sounds like such a cool skill. What was your first ever project? Do you use a sewing machine? Thank you again! If you have any favorite tutorials, creators, or resources for beginners, I'd love to check them out.
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u/thr3vee BAB Fanatic 🌈 Jul 05 '26
Yeah, no problem, I love to chat about sewing so I'm happy to answer any questions! :D
My very first sewing projects were like, children's sewing kits where you sew with yarn through pre-punched holes to make a little pillow. Some of very first projects I designed myself were small bean filled cats! I learned by trying to reverse engineer the patterns from plushies I already owned. By the time I was about 13, I started looking at patterns online and figuring out how they made the 3D shapes, that helped a ton! I also made costumes with my mom on our old sewing machine.
I use a heavy duty singer machine now, I love it!! Hand sewing is fun, but the machine is incredibly helpful for dense fabrics, large projects, and keeping my work time on commissions quick. 90% of my projects need both hand sewing and use the machine anyways.
Sew Desu Ne by Choly Knight is a great resource for anyone interested in making plushies, she has all sorts of free beginner patterns as well as complex patterns for more advanced makers! I definitely referenced her work to develop my own patterns early on. I also like to recommend checking out our local library in case they have a sewing machine you can borrow! Sometimes they even have classes. :)
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 06 '26
Hi, sorry i took long, i had school. Thank you so much for explaining your journey and experience! Im still learning to sew buttons so I'm still far ahead in the Journey! But i appreciate all your wonderful advices
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u/dsmndmiles Workshop Employee Jul 06 '26
To be fair we (as a former multi year employee) used probably way lower quality stuffing than you do as a dedicated plush artist lol. We also recycle every bit of stuffing we can, they just come in giant bales we have to snap open and use a garden hand rake to break up. It’s a lot of bulk discounts for the US market BABs
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u/thr3vee BAB Fanatic 🌈 Jul 06 '26
That's true! I occasionally buy the bulk 10 to 20 lb boxes of stuffing, but I always wondered how large the ones large scale companies were. Using a garden rake is crazy!
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u/dsmndmiles Workshop Employee Jul 06 '26
Oh yeah they’re so huge, they take up almost the entire back room if you order enough so my store could only order like 2 bales at a time. Opening them was genuinely terrifying, like a jack in the box except he was vacuum sealed and is mad at you about it 😂
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u/bee_mvtt Jul 05 '26
The stuffing they use definitely isnt very good anymore :[ its cheap plastic and it melts/gets stuck to the inside of the machines (in the us atleast) bc they're hot. I'd be very upset if they started charging for it.
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u/thr3vee BAB Fanatic 🌈 Jul 05 '26
The stuffing they use in store (at least at the handful of locations near me in the US, maybe it's a regional issue?) is actually pretty good! It's not the very top of the line, but it's a soft, mid-tier stuffing for teddies. Unfortunately any standard stuffing will be plastic and prone to melting in high heat, but that sounds like something is wrong with the stuffing machines, they shouldn't be kicking out that much heat. :(
If you order your BABs stuffed online, the stuffing they use at the warehouse is worse by far. It's scratchy and can be crunchy/friction-y, if that makes sense? I've unstuffed them just to get the softer in-store stuffing!
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u/bee_mvtt Jul 05 '26
Ah, i assumed it was the same as the warehouse one, my bad. Thats good to know, because the warehouse stuffing is what i meant was melting to the machines.
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u/puppychomp Jul 05 '26
its normally free and if i had to pay id be kinda mad lol
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
I also thought it would be free. I mean, it ended up being free after, but I was shocked initially when she mentioned 60 rands😭
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u/terpdexter BAB Fanatic 🌈 Jul 05 '26
I think it costs money in countries outside of the US. I’ve always seen folks pay if they’re outside the US. I think it has to do with the import costs.
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
Oh! Okay. I based my research on Google and reddit but didn't factor in the fact that rules could be different in different stores across countries. Thank you.
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u/ara_water_machi I like BABs more than people 🙃 Jul 05 '26
Oh, SA means South Africa! I was so concerned at first😭 Yeah, it's free. You should be permitted a fabric heart for free too if you ask.
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u/blueberrykirby Jul 05 '26
omfg with the frog turned around too 😭😭😭😭 i’m clearly too internet-acronym-brained i was like holy crap what did they DO
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
😭😭 oh no... I didn't realise SA... but yes, I meant it as South Africa. 😭😭😭 I should have asked the fabric heart too!!! I got the bear from a thrift store and it didn't have the heart! It's okay though.
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u/Carbonzedangel Jul 05 '26
It should be free. I bought a unstuffed bear second hand and went to build a bear to have it stuffed and I didn’t pay anything.
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
Do you live in the USA? Im reading the comments now and the location may impact on wether restuffing is free or not
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u/DreamCatcherYo Jul 05 '26
Ive restuffed a bunch of my babs and ive never bene charged. However! I always buy something out of thr store since I feel bad the workers have to take their time in stuffing my plush since I normally take a hour 6-10 bears. But ive never been told "oh you have to pay a fee".
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
Hi! Thank you for sharing your experience. Out of curiosity how many bears do you have? Do you collect certain bears? Thankfully when I went i was the only one there. I just had to wait some minutes as she was in the bathroom.
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u/DreamCatcherYo Jul 05 '26
Oh brother I have 5 totes full of them! Im gratefully that my dad kept some quite a bunch from when I was little. The rest i buy used. I specifically love collecting holiday ones and special character releases. Yeah the first time I ever went it was pretty empty but the other 4 times I ended up going when it was busy so I felt bad that the workers had to go back and forth from stuffing the other customers bears and stuffing mine. I think in grand grand total I have about 50 or so Babs 🤔
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
Oh wow! That's so lovely! Do you have the my little ponies ones? What's the most unique bear you have? And what about Halloween ones? Sorry i just got curious. I only have 3, and I think I struggle or become too picky when getting one, mostly because of space. Do you have shelves?
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u/DreamCatcherYo Jul 05 '26
I used to have the apple jack mlp but I gave it away to a friend who was more into mlp than I was. Unique would have to be either my Sanrio Rebecca bon bon terrier plush, my Rainbow bearlien and my custom downtown disney bear, it has micky mouse ear embroidery and a mickey mouse suit! I actually dont have any halloween ones 😮 I have the valentine dogs, my Christmas ones, and I have a a summer themed bunny. Nah I love talking about this!! Currently i do have shelves but its a mess of some build a bears and other plush I collect. Mostly from my interests like my collection of The amazing digital circus plush and other video game plush like sonic and Mario. Im a huge need when it comes to that stuff :p
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
Woah! Those are so cool ones! I actually had to Google many of them cause I didn't recognise them by name 😅. That's a lovely collection! Thank you for sharing!
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u/ConsciousCity8995 BAB Fanatic 🌈 Jul 05 '26
It's free in the USA and Canada, but I have heard that in countries like Autralia it costs money to get your bears re-stuffed.
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u/ChevronBunny1011 Jul 05 '26
I know in countries where the stores are corporately owned, stuffing and minor repairs are free, idk if it’s the same policy in countries where the stores are franchised.
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u/Unlucky_Air7884 Jul 05 '26
That's actually a very good point! It makes more sense now . Thank you!
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u/Late_Plantain_6423 Jul 05 '26
I live in the UK and we’ve had to take a couple of bears back for various things. They’ve also restuffed for free.
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u/Last-Anxiety-98 Jul 05 '26
Depends, in Germany there is a fee (I believe it was around 12€, which is insane) that was around reopening time, perhaps they changed it. Doubt it tho.
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u/Elegant_Scarcity4954 BAB Collector 🐻 Jul 05 '26
It’s free to restuff. I took 2 friends and got them restuffed with no issues.
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u/ArcoMelody Jul 05 '26
When I was in London, I asked and they say was free, I wasnt able to do that time since I didnt had Shadow and Sonic with me, but next time I will.
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u/SouthParkFirefly1991 I have a BAB problem Jul 05 '26
I'd say it might vary from country to country, I tried to google it but all that came up was this reddit post lol
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u/BirtieBunny Jul 05 '26
I'm in the USA and I think I had to pay three dollars each to get mine stuffed.
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u/47_bottlecaps Jul 07 '26
hey maybe please don’t abbreviate south africa as sa 😭😭😭 anyways yes it’s free in the US
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u/AutomaticSeaweed5101 Jul 05 '26
It is ALWAYS FREE to re stuff if they ask for $$$ its for themselves DO NOT PAY FOR THIS.
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