Midsommar Bear Merch Goes For a High Price

News

By RC Staff

05 April 2023

After breaking into the mainstream with Hereditary, director Ari Aster would go on to tackle a far more terrifying subject: Sweden. 2019’s Midsommar was a horror movie shot entirely during the daytime and drew considerable critical and consumer praise. Both films were produced as a partnership with A24, which had been rapidly building a reputation for producing outsider films with popular appeal. Following Midsommar’s success, A24 announced an official piece of commemorative merchandise: The Bear in a Cage. The toys sold out rapidly and now resell for several times what they retailed for.

What is the Midsommar Bear in a Cage?

Well, it’s a Bear. In a Cage. Made from stained pinewood, it is a hand-painted resin bear in a cage. Each Bear is unique, with a garland of flowers around its neck. First announced on July 9th, 2019, A24 produced a short commercial to go with the release, which you should really watch:

Pre-orders would open the next day for $32 each, and sold out quick. Like 20 seconds quick. While many of these orders were likely by fans, A24 was vocal on Twitter about cracking down on botting. In fact, they canceled a sizable portion of orders after the initial drop, citing “suspicious activity.”

Originally, July 10 was supposed to see two pre-order waves, but following the rapid sellout and suspicions of botting, A24 canceled the 6 PM restock. Also, they earmarked 75 Bears for the initial batch, but how many orders they canceled is unclear.

It is interesting how far A24 went to stop resellers from getting their hands on the bears. Following the initial release, A24 monitored eBay for Bear in a Cage listings. If they judged these resellers made them (a $500 price was a reseller’s tip-off), they would track the order and cancel it, along with a snarky email informing them why.

So, from the jump, it was clear that A24 would be hostile to resellers. Two days later, they issued a second restock of the bear, this time for $42. It is unclear what the stock for the July 12 release was, but it was likely 75 + however many orders they cancelled from the first batch.

This batch also sold out fast, and A24 drew some criticism from fans for the sudden sale. However, unlike the initial release, which came before an announcement, the July 12 restock came by surprise. While it might have been an attempt to disrupt botters and reward the most loyal fans, it provided an excellent opportunity for resellers employing monitors to watch for a restock.

Did the Midsommar Bear merch resell?

Yup. Despite A24’s best efforts to foil resellers, these were pretty much guaranteed to flip. With such limited production and intense demand, buyers could expect to resell their toys several times over what they paid.

Because #bots don’t get #bears https://t.co/CB7WFlJPVY

— A24 (@A24) July 11, 2019

Initially, the Bear in a Cage toys were reselling for around $500, a number that pissed off A24 and fans alike. They went through considerable effort to cancel these orders, but by the 12th, eBay was full of listings for this amount.

While a few fans bit the bullet and paid resellers, most were unwilling to meet the $500 mark. Over time prices began to drop. By 2023, these toys are now reselling for around $200. Considering a retail price of $32 or $42, that is an excellent ROI.

Is there any other A24 merch that resells?

A24 has been on a bit of a hot streak with their merchandise. However, the Bear in a Cage is not their only success; they have recorded several other sellouts. While part of this is likely the limited production, it also speaks to the dedication of their fanbase, who are willing to shell out serious cash for a collectible.

Take these “Hot Dog Finger Gloves“, produced for the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All At Once. For $36, you get your very own set of latex gloves that give you hot dog fingers, a reference to a scene in the film. These were released on April 12, 2022, with no quantity limits, and resellers feasted.

Tripling your money is never a bad deal, and it appears hot dog gloves are a great way to do it. A24 continues to create clever pieces of merchandise to tie in with their films, and fans will always want a piece.

It’s ironic that A24 is so hostile to resellers, considering they are the ones manufacturing conditions for reselling to be successful. If A24 produced merchandise in larger batches and restocked their most popular offerings, resellers would not profit from their merch.

Instead, they produce limited runs of heavily hyped items. They release these products on short notice, frequently giving a heads-up the day before and then providing a sales link out of the blue. This strategy makes it hard for organic consumers to keep up, but experienced resellers utilizing monitors and bots have little trouble buying stock.

The truth is, A24 doesn’t give a shit about resellers and couldn’t care less who buys their products as long as they sell out. It comes down to quick, hyped sales, despite what they might say on Twitter and whose orders they canceled. For A24, a buck is a buck, and resellers are one more reason to buy it while you can.

In fact, the resellers over in RC salute you A24. Keep doing what you’re doing, because it’s making us money.