Vermont Teddy Bear Factory — Attraction in Shelburne

Incredibly disappointed. Last week I went to visit the Vermont Teddy Bear company for the first time since I was a child. I had my best friend and my god daughter visiting and we were looking for something to fill our rainy days. I had already told my children (ages 4 and 6) that this was something special for their friend to remember Vermont by and that we did not need a bear or anything else since we live here. They were absolutely OK with that, we had already practiced this several times that week. Upon entering the “build your own bear” area we were prompted with a question from the young staff working there as to whether or not we lived in Vermont. My friend said no, and then I was questioned to which I of course said yes. They then followed by asking whether or not my children were 4, to which I said yes, because of course they are both 4. They then followed up by saying that 4-year old Vermont children can build a bear for free. Apparently I missed this piece of information, but of course my children were incredibly excited. An older staff member approached me and handed me the information with the website so that I could get the coupon for our free bears. While filling out the form the older staff asked if my children were twins, to which I replied no. They then followed with a confusing prompt asking about whether or not they were both 4, to which again I repeated yes, because of course I was thinking that if you are 6 you are at least 4. I said the boy is 6 and the girl is 4. The older staff member quickly corrected the situation and said my older child could not build the bear because he was in fact 6. Of course, he got very sad. Being the mom I quickly defended him and said we never built a bear at the age of 4, and if you remember that was during COVID. She repeatedly denied my request to which of course at this point my 6 year old was very sad. He is not a child who cries or screams, he just pushed into me with bright red eyes and disappointment. At some point another older staff member got involved to repeatedly tell us no, and at this point the younger staff member who was helping my goddaughter told me that she would buy my child the bear. I found that incredibly telling and very sweet. Of course it was not about purchasing the bear, at this point my son wanted nothing to do with the building of a bear.

In the end I purchased him some extravagant bear because I was heartbroken by his experience. As a child I remember thinking teddy bears made in Vermont were the coolest, I of course still have them. I frequently purchase the baby bear for presents. I always strive to support Vermont companies when possible, but after this experience I will make a point to never support their business again. I can not believe such a well known, profitable company would allow any child to be so heartbroken within their...

This place exceeded all expectations. We were a group of adults, no kids; I myself am a huge stuffed animal lover & I own a VT teddy bear, and while the rest of the group wasn't stuffed animal aficionados like me, EVERYONE LOVED this place. The tour was absolutely awesome! The tour guide wasn't rattling off the tour in a canned, bored way, she was really sweet and interested in what she was saying, fun, animated and nice. They show you the origins of Vermont teddy bear company, then they take you through the whole factory; ALL BEARS are made there, on-site (I believe 700 a day if I remember correctly) by people who live there. They show you all the different sections and how the bears are sewn and put together. They show you their bear hospital as well which is ADORABLE - I actually had to send my Vermont teddy bear to their bear hospital a couple years ago because I accidentally stepped on it and an arm fell off. It was really sweet because the bear came back not only repaired but with a little hospital tag on her wrist and a full medical report which is just adorable. The Bear hospital is so cute because they have donor parts and a triage board and a bear that's on a honey IV, it's just so freaking cuuuute!! (I've included pictures of the tour & bear hospital) Then there's their store which is amazing; it has lots of different sizes and colors of bears and outfits, as well as other stuff like pint glasses, mugs, keychains etc. They also have a hero bear which is when you buy one of them, they take another of the same teddy bear and give it to first responders to give to children in emergency situations. In fact one of the women that worked there is an EMT and has herself given these bears to kids and said it's wonderful. In our group we donated 3 of these bears to be given away. I highly highly recommend this wonderful place, for children or adults. Everyone that worked there was so nice, the place is of course very clean, and the grounds are in a pretty setting since it's in beautiful Vermont! They treat their employees really well, after they've been there for 10 years they get a little paw print on the ground, just like the Hollywood Walk of Fame which is totally adorable, and they donate space to the Make A Wish foundation upstairs from them. It's a company with really good business practices that treats their employees well, gives back to the community, and provides a bunch of jobs (as opposed to sending the teddy bears out to be made in another country). If I could give them more stars I would!! HIGHLY...

ETA: the company called and offered a replacement bear, citing miscommunication with customer service. I've updated my review to 4 stars, with thanks for that solution, but am also leaving the original as a caution to buyers. Messiness can be a little difficult to fix. ~ I'm leaving a review here because my actual product review was removed from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company's website. Please heed the 1-star reviews here before purchasing a bear.

I ordered a ($100+) custom bear and received a poor bear who had been handmade with his shoulders and his body / hips set at a 30-degree angle from each other, meaning he was perpetually crooked, and frankly kind of disturbing to hold. I contacted customer service, who pointed me to their Bear Hospital, stating that repairs can take 6-8 weeks (2 weeks for "intake", and up to 6 weeks for repairs).

After I provided photographic evidence, they did send me a free USPS shipping label by e-mail with lots of cutesy language about "We're sorry your bear isn't feeling well, but we think we can fix him!" There was zero acknowledgement of them having shipped me a defective product to begin with and no reassurance given that I had any reason to trust they would send me a non-crooked bear in return. Additionally, my understanding had been that the Bear Hospital is for if I damage a bear, and isn't intended for if the company itself sends out a faulty product.

I genuinely do not know how such a poor, defective bear made it out their door in the first place, nor why I should have to wait up to two months to receive the quality product that they advertise on their own website while they "fix" their own mistake.

Vermont Teddy Bear Company needs to slow down and focus on quality control. And in the event that something demonstrably goes wrong on the production end--like genuinely wrong in the process of making somebody's bear--they need to take better care of their customers. Yes, human error happens, which is understandable, but the customer shouldn't pay the literal and...