The Build-A-Bear andAnimal Crossing: New Horizonscollaboration was available for preorder for a short time today, but fans hoping to get their hands on the plushes should know it won’t be very easy.
The process included aPS5-style queue linethat takes up to hours for some, and the plushes sold out in less than an hour and a half from the time the purchasing windows opened. But don’t worry—more will be available “soon,” Build-A-Bear says.
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What Animal Crossing Characters Are Available For Purchase
Despite previous fan speculation that many belovedAnimal Crossingvillagers would be featured in the collaboration, the first round of the Build-A-Bear lineup unfortunatelyonly included Tom Nook and Isabelle, the mascots of the franchise. This is quite the disappointment to many fans, who felt that the collaboration was over-hyped in the last month to only include the excessively merchandised pair of NPCs.
That doesn’t mean thatvillagers and other NPCswon’t make their way onto the lineup ever. After all, Nintendo and Build-A-Bear were both quiet about the lineup prior to its official release this morning. In fact, one commenter theorized that the company plans to add more plushes later on just as they did with theMy Little Ponycollection, and Build-A-Bear responded with a winking emoji. But for now, players will have to settle for Tom and Isabelle, who each had two versions available for purchase.
How to Purchase the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Build-A-Bears
TheAnimal CrossingBuild-A-Bears went online earlier this morning, and they each started at $51. Both Tom Nook and Isabelle are wearing what’s called a “Summer Gift Bundle,” referring to theirNew Horizonsoutfits with theiconic Aloha print, and buyers can choose between either phrases orNew Horizonsofficial music. It’s expected that the clothing items can be swapped out with other Build-A-Bear fashion, as per usual. Additionally, Build-A-Bear has confirmed that the jingle bell in Isabelle’s hair is real.
But the most important thing to know about obtaining theIsabelle and Tom Nookplushes is that they’ll need to wait in a long PS5-like queue line, and they can only currently be pre-ordered online and are not yet available at Build-A-Bear stores. For many folks, including ones who waited since the line opened, the queue lasted hours before they drop into the shop itself, so make sure to have time set aside for the wait. Though the plushes sold out quickly today, they’ll be more rounds of purchases in the future, according to messages in the queue line. Additionally, the items listed on the Build-A-Bear website have a “Coming Back” icon in the corner of each image.
TheNew Horizonscollaboration with Build-A-Beartoday was only available in the U.K. and the United States, according to the link in Build-A-Bear’s tweet, but consumers in Canada reported successful purchases from the U.S. online store. It’s unclear if this will change for future rounds of purchases. Those who were in line after the line was closed were not allowed to pre-order any of the items.
One screenshot of the check-out window suggests that theAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsplushes will ship in about 8 days, saying this is how long it should take to build and ship them.
It’s unclear if there’s a limit to how many items can be purchased in one go, but either way, this event has likely attracted scalpers everywhere. Nintendo franchises are far from new when it comes to its merchandise getting scalped, but that doesn’t stop scalpers from ruining the fun and reselling the items at excessively marked-up prices, which will likely surface throughout the rest of the week.
