No matter what type of dolls you collect, there is probably at least one special doll that you remember from your childhood. Perhaps it was the doll that got you started in collecting. Maybe it was an "untouchable" doll at a relative's house that you just stared at and wished that you owned. Most collectors have some especially memorable doll that is close to their hearts.
Unfortunately, a lot of us either loved those dolls so hard that they ended up looking a bit beat up or we may have gone through a phase where we thought we were simply too grown up for such "babyish" things. When one of my cousins visits, she will always stop to check out my dolls. For years she never failed to mention how much she regrets giving all of her dolls away when she went away to college. Actually, she sold them at a garage sale. She was quite a Barbie collector in the 1960s, and she realizes that beyond the memories, she also sold off some very collectible dolls at a pittance.
I have been telling my cousin for a few years that she could always start rebuilding her collection again. She has always put it off for one reason or another and eventually, I just put it out of my mind. She finally broke down and bought herself a Bubble Cut Barbie last month as a start to her collection. You wouldn't believe the excitement bubbling out of her as she showed it to me. It was just one doll, but it is lovely and it is a start to a new beginning of her collection.
Now, when she visits, she no longer looks sad or depressed about what she lost. She seems to have almost magically gotten over her previous mistake and she talks about what her next doll purchase will be. Now that she is older, she is sticking with Barbies but she is going the route of saving up, researching and buying the best that she can afford. It may take her a while to get back to what she once had, but I have little doubt that she'll get there and enjoy the trip the whole way through.
If you have been putting off or ignoring a collection for a while, there is no reason you can't start right in or get back into the action. Collecting dolls is a fun hobby whether you enjoy one particular type of doll or just the thrill of the hunt. Collecting now is easier than ever with dolls available right on your computer. Go browsing a bit and see if anything catches your eye. You might end up having a lot of fun!
Tonner dolls are very popular and well recognized for their beautiful styling and attention to detail.
Robert Tonner started out in the fashion industry and was well on his way to a fine career in the fashion and design field, but followed his interest in dolls to break off and start his own doll company. The dolls were so beautifully designed and so well received that Mr. Tonner was able grow his company and actually purchase the very well established and prestigious Effanbee Doll Company in 2002.
Robert Tonner has used his special talents for designing and sculpting dolls and their costumes to build a huge following and gain international fame for himself and the Tonner Doll Company. Tonner has partnered with large companies such as Miramax Films, Warner Bros., DC Comics and Marvel Comics in the past to design dolls based on their projects.
Robert Tonner dolls regularly show up on eBay and are quickly bid upon by collectors. The Tonner collection of dolls is huge and very diverse. Because Tonner has so many different associations and such a strong history in fashion dolls, you never know what will show up for auction. The only sure thing is that almost any Tonner doll will be popular and draw plenty of attention.
Many times, Tonner dolls with a very limited production end up getting a lot of attention on eBay regardless of their age. The "Hungry" Edward Twilight doll was recently auctioned off by a seller on eBay when I was checking out the category. Although it is a new doll, it was limited to 200. It had no problem picking up bids well before the end of the auction.
Another very popular limited edition doll by Tonner is the Queen of Hearts. Her hair actually changes color with a change in temperature. She sold out quickly in her original run and was recently a very popular find for eBay bidders.
There are also many dolls that slip through the auction process without a single bid. I guess that is part of the fun. If you are looking for a particular doll at the right time, you can really grab a bargain! There are also many dolls that get listed with buy it now prices as well. Whatever your interest is, it is definitely worth a look.
These dolls shown in the video are anything but vintage. They are new for 2009, but I thought some Tonner fans might still like it when I found it on YouTube.
You don't have to spend a ton of money on collecting dolls. There are, of course, different types of doll collectors, but unless your goal is to only purchase the most exclusive and/or rare dolls you can find, there is not any reason that you can't find a nice collectible doll for a price that keeps you within your budget.
It is really up to you how you are going to decide to spend your "doll money" to build your collection. Do you want to save up and get one really special doll, or do you prefer to buy more of the lower priced dolls? If you are going for the lower priced dolls, are you trying to get your hands on the ones that will gain value over time?
There are a lot of questions you could ask yourself as you build your collection, but I think it is really much more important that you enjoy the collecting experience.
If you have the patience, you can go out on your own in search of collectible dolls. This can be a bit of work though. It usually involves some leg work, contacting people you don't know and sometimes even digging and rummaging through estate merchandise. This method can be a challenge but the results can be rewarding. I'll write more about this in another post.
Vintage Barbie Doll
Most people will choose to simply purchase the dolls they want to collect. You can find a lot of great dolls for between $100 - $400 dollars. Sure, this can be pricey, but if you are willing to cut out some other frivolous spending, you may be surprised at how quickly you can save up $100.
One quick tip for those collectors who are working on a budget is to talk to any friends you might have who enjoy frequenting garage sales or estate sales. Take them out to lunch to get their attention and then tell them about the kinds of dolls you collect. Ask them if they would be willing to keep an eye open for you when they hit their sales. I do go to a lot of these sales, and I've been surprised at some of the old and rare items I've found at them. To improve your odds even more, have your friend specifically ask if they are selling what you collect. Many times people having a yard sale will only put out newer things because they think (mistakenly) that no one would want their old stuff. Hey, asking doesn't cost a dime!
Anyone can collect dolls. It isn't just for little girls and old women anymore. Although there are certainly a lot of females with a strong interest in doll collecting, now that it has grown into a business of sorts, men are also becoming more heavily involved in the collecting of dolls.
There is a common image of doll collecting being more of a feminine hobby. Surely this is because it is a lot more common for little girls to openly play with dolls than it is for boys. Little girls playing with their Barbie dolls is something you expect to see, and do see often. Many parents would even discourage their young sons from "playing dolls" unless the toy was an "action figure" molded into shapes designed to maime and destroy. Left to their own devices, many little boys enjoy playing with any doll they come across because they just like pretending and using their imaginations. Most times, boys seem to outgrow the doll phase but it really is not a bad thing if they develop an appreciation for collecting them.
As I mentioned above, the collecting of dolls has become a serious business for some people. Buying and selling dolls can be quite lucrative if you know what you are doing. I'm sure that many people selling dolls on eBay are men. Most likely they have not been holding on to some cherished doll since childhood. They probably purchased it at a yard sale or auction and have decided to make it available for collectors more interested in the dolls themselves than in making a profit for them.
There are many men who now lament the loss of their prized GI Joe collections that may have been lost to abuse and damage or, in many cases, given away by parents to younger relatives or friends of the family. They look now on eBay and see how much their collections would have been worth and just moan, thinking of possibly thousands of dollars worth of collectible figures that were simply given away back in the days before eBay made everyone aware of the collectibles market.
Collecting dolls is not necessarily the same as playing with dolls. Actually, many doll collectors would never dream of letting their dolls get into the hands of a child who would use them to start acting out an adventure that could damage or de-value the doll. Dolls are collected and often displayed in ways that show them off, but keep them protected as much as possible. The types of dolls being preserved may be different, but the demographics of doll collecting reaches across the gender lines.
People collect all kinds of dolls. Vintage dolls are some of the most collectible.
Some collectors get some help starting out when they are little when relatives and family friends start buying them some type of collectible dolls. Other people get into collecting as they get older and are able to appreciate the beauty and detail of some particular type of doll. Still others, just like to play with dolls and things go from there.There isn't any right or wrong way to go about starting your collection. Sure, there are choices you can make to make your collection more focused or more valuable, but you should always remember that collecting vintage dolls or any type of doll should be enjoyable for you before anything else.
Just as there are different ways that people get started in collecting dolls, there are different ways to go about building your collection once you are old enough to get the dolls on your own. If you enjoy collecting some type of doll that is currently popular, you can keep up to date on all of the news related to new dolls being released. Most popular dolls will have some type of website devoted to collecting them or sharing the latest news. If you are looking for vintage dolls for sale, you can go out and do a lot of legwork searching estate sales and the like, but one of the best places to check is eBay. The site has changed the ways dolls are collected and traded. Now you can see thousands of vintage dolls with just one click! You will find that there are many knowledgeable collectors dealing directly on the site and your selection will be quite large and varied. In contrast, dealing directly with a doll shop will almost certainly end with you paying the highest price that the shop's owner feels they can get. This isn't meant to discourage anyone from purchasing from doll shops. Anyone who has decided to sell and deal with dolls for their livelihood no doubt has a deep connection to this type of collecting. I am simply saying that you are more likely to find a lower price on a quality collectible slipping through to you on eBay.
That is the other great part about checking out eBay for vintage dolls. There are so many sellers, that buyers can often walk away with a steal. Many inexperienced sellers do not do a very good job of listing their items or they assume it will bid up high and start them with very low opening bids. Some of these get very expensive, but a surprising number slip through the cracks at very low prices. You just have to keep your eyes open for them
It is a little bit sad to think of how many vintage dolls were the victim cleaning purges as children grew up over the years. Kids deciding that they are too grown up for dolls and Mom's purging clutter after giving the last warning about a messy room have no doubt sentenced thousands of old dolls to an eternity spent buried in landfills.
Fortunately for collectors though, some people get pretty serious about their doll collecting from the minute they receive their very first one. There are many very well preserved vintage dolls floating around in collections right now all around the world. No doubt there are also probably an amazing number of great old dolls stored away in attics and other storage spaces as well.
If you are a collector of vintage dolls or dolls in general, you have surely realized that not all dolls hold the same value as collectibles. That doesn't mean that they don't have value to the boy or girl who has grown attached to them, just that the collectible market doesn't appreciate them quite as much as their owner does.
For the most part, better quality dolls are going to hold their value better than cheap ones. If you are starting a collection now, or working on building up a collection of either modern or vintage dolls, you might want to keep this in mind.
If you are trying to determine the value of a particular doll that you currently own, there are some basic doll collecting guidelines, but it would be wise to get yourself a price guide and do a little research. In general, the less that you can tell the doll was played with, the better. It should be clean with perfect hair and paint work on the face. If you can provide all of the original packaging and accessories, all the better. Of course it is understood by most doll collectors that a doll's first purpose is to be a toy. Hence, finding perfectly preserved specimens of any doll is pretty rare unless the doll was purchased and immediately stored for purposes of becoming an investment piece.
This site will bring you information about and listings for many different types of collectible dolls. The original intent was to only feature vintage dolls for sale, but after some consideration, more modern and contemporary dolls will be featured as well since they will likely be the collectibles that are sought after in the future.
As this site grows, some of the the featured types of dolls to look for will include cloth dolls, wood dolls, porcelain dolls,composition dolls papier-mache dolls, vinyl dolls, metal dolls, bisque dolls, and hard plastic dolls. The intent is for this site to grow and never be totally "done" because there will always be something new to talk about regarding vintage, antique and modern collectible dolls!
Exploring the entire history of dolls is quite an endeavor. To be honest, most people looking for antique dolls or vintage dolls for sale are not all that interested in the entire history of collectible dolls. Most are just looking for information related to the particular doll they enjoy collecting. Some may not even want to read about doll history at all. They just want to find and buy the dolls they need to complete or build their collections.
There are some people who enjoy collecting almost any doll that catches their eye, but many focus in on one specific doll maker or brand. Of course there is some natural crossover in interests. A person who collects vintage Mattel dolls will certainly have an interest in a vintage Barbie doll and all of her accessories if they happen to come across a good deal. Someone who collects vintage bride dolls, might collect across brand names as well, since this is a popular theme produced by many doll makers. It follows that this person might also have a collection that includes everything from porcelain dolls to cloth dolls.
Whatever your interest may be, I hope you will enjoy this site and share comments if you have any stories related to your own collecting. Whether you like old dolls or new ones, I hope you will find something you like here.
People collect all sorts of things. Take a look in eBay's collectibles category some time and you might be surprised at some of the things you will find. One of the enduring favorites however, is the collectible doll.
Doll collecting has grown into one of the largest hobbies around today. Estimates vary, but it is generally accepted that collecting dolls is one of the top five collecting hobbies around. People collect dolls for a variety of reasons. Many people start collecting dolls when they're young either because they are given collectible dolls as gifts or because they just develop in interest on their own.
Although you can spend a lot of money on this hobby, you don't really have to in order to enjoy it. The amount of money you'll end up investing depends a lot on what kind of dolls you are actually collecting. Some people are very happy collecting dolls that remind them of their childhood without any regard to its perceived collectible value. Other people see collecting dolls as a way of making money or investing their money. There are quite a few people that started out as casual collectors and then went on to well paying doll related careers. Some people start as collectors and then move on to design dolls and doll clothing, others act as consultants for other collectors and some stay involved by actually reselling collectible dolls for themselves or other people.
If you are just getting into doll collecting you may want to pick one particular type to start with rather than purchasing "one of everything." One big reason for this is that you can quickly drop a ton of money on collectible dolls if you do not have a focus on any certain type of doll. You can always go back and build your collection later if you decide you like one kind of doll more than another. If you are a shrewd buyer, you might even make some money as you do this.
Purchasing a guide to collectible dolls might be a wise investment as you start your adventures in doll collecting. Even if you do not intend to sell any of your dolls, a quality guide can help you to avoid getting scammed as you purchase dolls and build your collection. Doing a little bit of research can save you a lot of money in the long run.
US $76.00
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