Archive for September, 2006
In this article we’re going to discuss where you can find your collectible doll that you’ve been hunting all over for if you’re a die hard collector.
With the craze of collecting dolls, the number of places that have popped up where you can actually find them have multiplied like rabbits over the years. Where it used to be that some dolls were close to impossible to find, now all you pretty much have to do is just turn around and you’ll find what you’re looking for.
The first place to find collectible dolls, believe it or not, is right at your local toy store. Places like Toys R Us and Kay-Bee Toys actually make it a point to stock dolls that are in great demand. You’re not going to find the old collectibles at these places but if a doll is new and sure to be a hit or is of a series that has been popular for a long time, like Barbie, you can be sure that the latest addition to this collection is going to be at one of these two stores. And sometimes your Ma and Pa store will carry some very rare dolls that you won’t find anywhere else. So make sure you check those out too.
Another place to find collectible dolls is at what they call a specialty store. There are many of these all over the place. Most of them usually specialize in collectible trading cards like Magic The Gathering, but some also stock some very old collectible dolls or at least know where to get them if you put in a special order, which you can do. Just expect to pay a bundle for something purchased from one of these stores. The markup on these items will make your head spin.
Then there’s the local newspaper. There are always people advertising dolls that they have for sale in them. Usually a paper will have a special section in the classifieds called collectibles. In this section you’ll find what the doll is and a phone number so you can call the person. Many specialty stores also advertise their weekly specials in this section in order to get you to come down to their establishment.
Finally, there is online. The Internet is a virtual paradise for collectibles. The main place that people seem to go to is Ebay. But you have to be very careful when trying to get a collectible doll from Ebay. Because this is an auction site you’re not guaranteed a fixed price. The bidding for each doll will usually start very small unless the owner of the doll sets the starting bid very high, especially if it is a very hot item. But with many people bidding on this item you could end up spending a fortune on a doll that is maybe worth half as much. So make sure you pick a price that you are not going to go above before you start your bidding.
Other sites like privately run web sites may be a little more reasonable. The price will be fixed and in most cases will actually be below book value. That is the lure of these sites. They make it seem like you’re getting a great deal, which you are if you’re a die hard collector and plan to resell the doll down the road.
Yes, there are many places to find the doll you want. Just make sure you don’t get taken to the cleaners in the process.
About the Author
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Collectible Dolls
September 27th, 2006
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Willie Wonka Bobble Head
From the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Collection. Willie Wonka Head Knocker. Officially Licensed Product from the remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Comes in a window box. Measures 9″ tall.
You can buy this bobble head on this site!
September 20th, 2006
This “Want to play Scarecrow?” village from Wizard of Oz will bring magic into your holiday and beyond. Made of porcelain and painstakingly painted by hand, this village is separated into three pieces including Dorothy’s house (complete with standing on top), Dorothy, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow, and an apple tree. Dorothy’s house measures 8.25 x 6 x 9.5 inches; Dorothy and the gang measures 5.5 x 3.75 x 4 inches; the apple tree measures 6 x 6 x 8 inches.
You can buy this great set at this site.
September 11th, 2006
Jango Fett was the fearsome bounty hunter that was cloned to make the army of the Republic. As a pawn of the Emperor, Jango tangled with his fair share of Jedi. This poly-resin Jango Fett mini bust stands 6.5 inches tall and comes with a hand-numbered certificate of authenticity. Edition size TBD.
You can buy it on this site!
September 4th, 2006
8 Dolls That Sell Well on eBay
From the beginning, eBay’s primary growth came from the collectibles market. There are two basic models for eBay sales:
1. Currently available consumers goods. This is a price- driven model, and although smart sellers can earn above- average prices, buyers are there looking for a bargain and price is the #1 consideration.
2. Other buyers are collectors, looking for one-of-a-kind unique items that they can’t locate elsewhere. Here, price isn’t as important as it is with consumer goods. The power of this market is obvious because, before eBay and the Internet, most collectors were confined to a local market.
Dolls have always been big sellers as eBay collectibles and eight of them are especially strong sellers:
1. The Cabbage Patch Kids began in 1978 and are never “sold”. They are ‘born’ at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia and proud parents pay an ‘adoption fee’. The Cabbage Patch Kids were one of the greatest toy phenomenons of the later 20th century. At one time, it was a common sight to see grown women shopping and lunching with their babies in hand. In restaurants, the Kids had their own chairs and were always appropriately dressed for the weather.
2. Precious Moments began in the early 1970s when creator Sam Butcher began drawing the endearing teardrop-eye children as gifts for family and friends. Today Sam’s Precious Moments artwork is among the most recognized in the world, and eBay prices reflect this popularity.
3. Madame Alexander dolls were created in 1923. These beloved dolls range from Charlie Brown to babies and children to elegant dressed women to glamorous and famous women like Greta Garbo and Judy Garland. With all the varieties of costumes, a single doll can be a 1920s flapper as easily as a member of the court of Louis XIV.
4. Lee Middleton dolls, according to legend, are so real in appearance that grown men sent for a rescue squad to save “the baby” from a locked car! Mistaken identity is supposedly a frequent occurrence and the dolls have been counted as “passengers” on airplanes and rescued from store countertops to prevent the ‘baby’ from falling. As one happy owner says, “These dolls are so lifelike it’s uncanny.”
5. American Girl dolls are loved by millions of little girls (and grown ups, too!) They are not only from different times and places, but are ethnically diverse: Felicity from colonial Virginia; Josephina from the 1830’s in New Mexico; Kirsten is “a pioneer girl of strength and spirit growing up in Minnesota in 1854″; Addy is alive in the 186o’s, having escaped from slavery with her mother; Samantha is “a bright Victorian girl living with her wealthy grandmother in 1904″; Kit is growing up in 193os, during America’s Great Depression; Molly lives in the 1940’s while her dad is away at war; Kaya is a Nez Perce Indian living in the northwest.
6. Hasbro dolls are one of the products of the gigantic Hasbro company, who claim to have been making toys for eight generations, including famous games like Monopoly, Scrabble and Clue.
7. Bratz dolls, unlike older dolls like Madame Alexander and Cabbage Patch Kids, have no long history as favorite toys or collectibles. Nevertheless, their price has astonished eBay sellers and the Bratz collection was one of the ’super hits’ of the 2003 holiday season and sales have been strong ever since.
8. And, no surprise, Barbie is the best-selling doll on eBay. Since Mattel has recently announced that Ken and Barbie will no longer be an “item”, dolls from the ‘good old days’ when the name “Barbie” was rarely heard without ‘Ken’, will inevitably become more valuable.
Anyone who loves and understands the doll market, can do very well selling dolls on eBay. They’ve been strong sellers for the 10 years eBay has been in existence and are almost certain to remain popular for years to come.
About the Author
Learn how to sell on eBay with 16 hours of online instruction taught by a 10 year eBay veteran. Own an eBay business instead of an eBay hobby. http://www.auction-genius-course.com
September 4th, 2006
One could say the story of the Beanie Babies begins seven years before the first beanies, even see the light of day. In 1986 the company Ty Inc is established in Illinois in the USA. The founder is a man named Ty Warner and one can believe he was a man on a mission. The story has it that the beanie baby father was already a high powered toy sales man after working for another toy company, Dakin, for several years.
The Ty Inc company releases a few different collections before the beanie babies enter the scene in the year of 1993. Nothing would be the same again for the marketing genius of Ty Warner. The legend speaks of the Original Nine, a famous group of beanies that are forever enshrined in the history of toys and collectibles. They were Legs the Frog, Flash the Dolphin, Patti the Platypus, Spot the Dog, Patti the Platypus, Chocolate the Moose, Pinchers the Lobster, Splash the Whale and Cubbie the Bear (originally named Brownie the Bear). They are all first shown to the world at the New York Toy Fair of that year.
In the following two years the Beanie Babies go from a local Chicago thing to being a nationwide talk of the town. Ty continues his strategy of selling only directly to small gift and collectible stores. This is later seen as an important part of create the enormous myth around these lovely little creatures. So called experts expect forecast that the Christmas of 1995 will be beginning of the end for the Beanie Babies, but the following year proves the utterly wrong and nothing could be further from the truth.
In the year of 1996 sales grow tenfold! Stores are screaming for more beanie babies and Ty is working hard to keep up with the demand. The legend has it that he even has to lease large airplanes to get all the beanies out to the stores in time for the Easter rush. Ty continues to tightly control the whole business and the website ty.com is launched creating a place in cyberspace where Beanie Baby trades can take place. Here also for the first time one can actually follow the retiring of the different characters, another part that contributes to the big craze around these toys.
The rest as they say, is history. Sales surpass 250 million dollars in 1996, Ty is interviewed in People Magazine and Forbes Magazine. Beanies Babies become one of the the largest crazes in toy history and with the step from just mouth-to-mouth into traditional advertising in 1996 they become unstoppable across the globe.
About the Author
Kari Eriksson is an infopreneur and takes great interest in the Beanie Babies. He runs his site http://www.beaniebabiesdirectory.com where you can find articles, links and useful resources in regards to Beanie Babies.
September 4th, 2006
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