Duffy Travels – A Duffy the Disney Bear Fansite

May 3rd, 2011 | Posted by Jen

I think that’s one of the main things I hear (besides Duffy being similar to Build a Bear which is addressed in the FAQ) when it comes to Duffy–is he too expensive? Why is he “so pricey”? With the troubling economy here in the US, it’s definitely something to think about–but sometimes, regardless of funds, that doesn’t mean something is expensive. For example, a game that usually goes for 50 dollars is suddenly having a 50% off sale. 25 dollars for a new, full story game, is an incredibly good price. But, if you don’t have the money or just can’t afford it right now, 25 dollars, is, yes, expensive.

I think the other issue is people are comparing it to Build-a-Bear, where Bears can be as cheap as 10 dollars. What people aren’t taking in is that they’re usually a few inches smaller too. And some Build-a-Bear’s are as expensive as 25 dollars. Sometimes even more. The bears also go, regardless of size, 30-50 dollars, if not more, when they come with outfits.

Duffy goes for roughly 25-30 dollars when 17 inches. When with an outfit, it is usually a smaller version (12 inches) and goes for 25-30 as well. Outfits go for 15-25 dollars. In general, not much more than a Build a Bear overall.

And the thing is, which I think is one of the biggest things people are overlooking:
1. This is -Disney World-. Everything is pretty expensive in Disney World. I love Disney, I really do, but you’re paying that much for tickets, a lot of money for food, and heck, even hoodies are 50-60+ dollars sometimes. So, for a teddy bear, the mark-up, compared to some of Disney’s things is really not that bad.
2. Duffy sells for roughly 3,800 Yen. That is equal to about 46 dollars. Yep, the price of Duffy + an outfit here.
3. Not only that, outfits in Japan usually go for roughly 3,000 yen or so, which is equal to about 37 dollars. Yeah, almost twice the price of an outfit here.

Considering all of all that, is Duffy really that expensive? To be honest, no. Yes, they do make cheaper outfits here and the Japanese outfits have tons of detail (which is why they are so much pricier), but in the end, I think the price they decided to pick for Duffy was pretty good. I’d like to hope they can make detailed outfits like the ones in Japan one day at not too much of price-up, simply due to all the money issues right now.

At the very least, I do hope Duffy sticks around this time–as I’d hate for him to go away again.