Pay-Your-Age Build-A-Bear Promotion Shut Down At Freehold Mall

FREEHOLD, NJ — Parents with children who headed to Freehold Raceway Mall hoping to get in on the Build-A-Bear "Pay Your Age" event were faced with long lines on Thursday that, for some, meant not getting in the door.

With stores across the country overwhelmed by the response to the special sale event, the company announced it was not allowing anymore customers to get in line as of 11 a.m.

"Urgent Alert: Lines Closed for Pay Your Age Day Event." the company posted on its Facebook page. "Per local authorities, we cannot accept additional Guests at our locations due to crowds and safety concerns. We have closed lines in our U.S. and Canada stores. We understand some Guests are disappointed and we will reach out directly as soon as possible."

The lines started even before the mall opened and by 10 a.m. was up to a three-hour wait, according to Amanda Delisky of Brick, who went to the Freehold location.

"Friends who are thinking of tackling the Build-A-Bear sale, don't," she wrote on Facebook. "We got there a half hour before it opened and the line is literally wrapped around half the mall, twice."

Parents were attracted to the sales because the bears and stuffed animals at the store normally sell for $20 to $40 apiece, with specialities starting at higher prices, before adding extras such as a voice recording and outfits.

Delisky said she didn't stay because of the length of the line.

"Turned right around and went home. I have a 7-year-old, 3-year-old, and almost 2-year-old. They wouldn't have lasted very long at all if we waited," she said.

Courtney Hansen of West Windsor said she and her husband arrived at Freehold Raceway Mall at 8:20 a.m. with their 5-month-old daughter.

"I had gone onto Build-a-Bear's website to make sure I had everything I needed and there was a new announcement that stores would be opening at 9 a.m. to help accommodate everyone," she wrote in an email to Patch. The line was short when they arrived "but within 20 minutes the line wrapped from in front of Build-A-Bear, all the way down to Primark, and back around the center of the mall again, across the way (in front of Aerie)." She said the security guard told them there were more than 300 people in line at that point.

Hansen said the store employees were very friendly, handing out stickers and talking to the kids, and inside was organized with lines for filling bears and for paying and she said there were lots of choices for stuffed animals.

"We left the store about 9:50 a.m. (the longest part of the wait was waiting to pay the $1!) and when we got outside the store, it was a bit nutty. They had closed off all the ropes and security was standing in front of it," Hansen said. She said initially people were told the lines would reopen at 2 p.m., so people formed a new line but mall security ended up ushering people away.

When the 11 a.m. announcement came that the lines had been completely closed, Hansen said there were angry adults and upset children.

"We encountered a few mean parents," she said, "some who said it was wasted on our young daughter (they saw our shopping bags)." The event was first come, first serve, Build-A-Bear said when it announced the promotion.

"I'm sure we had a more positive experience than others," Hansen said. "I had friends at other malls who said it was disastrous."

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Photo by Amanda Delisky, published with permission