Question regarding Barbie Doll collectables....

[westernstargifts]

I may have the opportunity to sell about 80 Barbie Dolls dating from 1990. I haven't had any experience selling collectibles and have no idea what Barbie dolls are worth. Before I jump in with both feet, can anyone give me some advice whether or not this is worth pursuing? I know I could spend hours researching it on eBay, etc. but would appreciate some input before investing all that time.

Thanks.

Judy

[zarzuella]

You could try this site; detailed info on collectibility

http://www.barbiecollector.com/collecting/


Ann
.

[westernstargifts]

Hi Ann,

I t looks like a great place to start. Thank you very much for the link.

Judy

[jakeeangel]

Hi Judy,

Be careful with Barbies. The market has dropped on them. The earlier link posted is a Mattel link where everything is *super*. Except at their outlet stores where the prices drop every other week.

Take a look at some of my Barbie listings. On the back of the boxes is a label that lists the approximate number made. Silver label, gold label etc. Pink box Barbies are the run of the mill Barbie doll sold at Walmart, Toys R Us etc. Some are wanted and hard to find but most are a dime a dozen.

Which ones are they? The made a lot of collector ones in the 90's and I bought most of them. LOL *sigh* dum, I know. But a lot don't sell for near what I paid for them. If you don't pay much for them it might be worthwhile.

I find that some Barbie collectors are a PITA though. They don't want ANY scratches on any part of the box and if something happens inside the packing box during shipment they demand a refund. sheesh Not all are bad but some sales just aren't worth it if you know what I mean. I've turned down a few sales based on the questions I've received.

My hubby thinks I'm silly until I read him the question and then he agrees. lol

Hi,

I'm interested in XYZ and I need for you to describe to me every flaw in the box because I notice that there's a white line in the upper right quadrant of the box. Also the celophane on the bottom near the label it appears to be pushed in. And do you have more than one because if you do I don't want the doll with missing lashes because dolls made in this era have missing lashes.

Thank you

:O

BBL!

I respond and to them and answer their question but I also suggest that if they're that picky and concerned with flaws that they do their purchasing in person. I'm a collector too and while you have every right to be concerned about box condition I can't guarantee that the box will meet your standards. It may be perfectly acceptable when I pack it but some damage could occur during shipping. I'd rather you not be unhappy with your purchase and I wish you luck in finding the doll at a location where you can see her in person to choose the one that meets your specifications.

A dear friend of mine runs a site called My Favorite Doll. I can't post a link here but Google it.

[westernstargifts]

HI Jakeeangel,

Thanks for the information. I looked at some of your listings and you write great descriptions!

I haven't talked to this lady myself yet. My husband ran into her at the hockey game Friday night and they discussed it briefly. She told him she just wants to get rid of them because they take up too much space. Obviously she is getting tired of them. She is supposed to get back to us in a week or two so I thought I would do a little research in the meantime. I will keep the market decrease and label color in mind and perhaps get her to give me list of them. If she wants to sell them cheap I may go for it but if I see dollar signs in her eyes I will back off. I've run into that scenario before with another person who had never sold anything on eBay.

"I'm interested in XYZ and I need for you to describe to me every flaw in the box because I notice that there's a white line in the upper right quadrant of the box. Also the celophane on the bottom near the label it appears to be pushed in. And do you have more than one because if you do I don't want the doll with missing lashes because dolls made in this era have missing lashes."

Oh my! Maybe I should sell them under a different id so my DRS's don't get dinged for "shine on box in photo is missing in the item I received. The fingerprint in the center lower right side of the upper left quadrant was not in the photo".;-)

I have bookmarked your friend's site and will be checking that out too.

Many thanks for your help,

Judy

[femmefan1946]

Since this would be a new field for you, a new ID does sound appropriate.

[jakeeangel]

Hi Judy,

You're very welcome. Thanks for the nice compliment. 🙂

If you can, get a list because that would be best so you know where you stand. I'm guessing that she'd want to do all or none rather than have you pick and choose?

LOL Most of my buyers are great but there's the odd one that you say - yikes! and BBL. Marg is a very nice lady. She sells vintage and new Barbies and has greatly expanded her line. You can get a general idea of which dolls may be worth a few bucks and which ones not so much. I'm sure you're aware though that her site would be like comparing retail to eBay so don't expect those numbers but it'll at least give you some inclination of what's what.

I hope it works out well for you!

[westernstargifts]

If you can, get a list because that would be best so you know where you stand. I'm guessing that she'd want to do all or none rather than have you pick and choose?

You are right, I don't think she would want me to pick and choose. I would want the list so I can research what they might be worth and how much I should pay for them. Hopefully she doesn't want me to do all the work and just take a commission because I won't do it that way. I also won't sell something unless I have it in my possession.

I'm not over enthusiastic about buying them at this point. I don't have a lot of extra time and I have other products that I am considering that require much less work.

By the way, Ken & Barbie live right behind us!...:^O

Judy

[westernstargifts]

Jakeeangel,

The lady called the other day and asked if she could bring about 24 of the dolls over to start with. OMG...I had no idea the boxes are so BIG. I don't know where I am going to put them all. She also brought some collectible plates which I was not expecting.

I sure hope the market for them picks up or I'll have to build onto my house!

Judy

[jakeeangel]

Hi Judy!

Very cool and yes the boxes are big. What have you got? Bob Mackies? Do you by chance have the Gold Jubiliee Barbie? I bought those retail for me and they were a pretty penny let me tell you!! 😮

The Gold Jubiliee was $500 Canadian. If I remember correctly, they only made 250 for the 'international' market, that means us non-US folks. LOL I can't remember how many the US got. The Mackie's, depending on which one you got, were anywhere from $250 - $500 too. The Bride is a great one to have, I absolutely adore the Masquerade Bob Mackie Barbie and there's one that the name escapes me right now but she's green. Just gorgeous! I have all the Mackie's and the Gold Jubilee. OMG my credit card was in flames back then!! LOL

The boxes are pretty darn big and certainly so compared to the pink box Barbies. If you have the brown shipping boxes, keep those because collectors LOVE having the shipping box.

Are the all NRFB - Never Removed From Box or have they been displayed? ooh ooh ooh! Does she have any from the 1994 35th Anniversary celebration at Walt Disney World? I have the catalogue somewhere here and some of those dolls are HUGE money!! Do a Google search on the dolls from that event.

I'd love to know what you've got. I'm excited for you and I hope you have some HTF dolls and you do awesome with them. :-x

Feel free to email me.

Debbi

[femmefan1946]

jakee

Get DH to hose you down, sistergirl! We can feel the heat from here!:-x

[westernstargifts]

jakee

Get DH to hose you down, sistergirl! We can feel the heat from here!:-x

:^O

Now she's got me excited too!! Fortunately I don't have to pay for the dolls unless I sell them so my credit card is safe for now.

Jakeeangel....I sent you a message through eBay earlier. So far it looks very promising!

[momoftwingles2]

Hi Debbi and Judy,

My mother was an antique and doll collector and after she died in 1992 my dad continued on as he was always there helping! When my Dad died he had two rooms full of Barbies, Madamn Alexander dolls,Star Trek & Star War items, US silver dollars from back in the 1800's until gosh...who knows when and so much more.

Two of my brothers stole everything...cleaned out the house. Just recently we found what they had done with it all...they took it to an eBay store in Virginia Beach, Virginia near where Dad lived.

Amongst the items sold there were the following and all were NRFB:
Empress Bride Barbie Bob Mackie with shipper box....sold on eBay for $349.00
A second of the same sold for $329.00
4 Collector Barbies - Walt Disney Wedding Cinderella sold for a total of $43.00

Mind you...the fees deducted from their sales by the eBay company were so high that these two brothers didn't end up with very much when all was said and done. (That's the price one pays for being a thief and a druggie.)

Needless to say...Judy...IF you have some of these kinds of Barbie dolls to sell....you have a mint there!

Susan

[westernstargifts]

Hi Susan,

What a waste that the dolls your mother lovingly collected over the years should end up being stolen by her sons for drugs and so little of the value returned to the family! I am sure your parents would have been appalled.

I have only had a quick look through the boxes....4 very large totes, a very large cardboard box and quite a few loose boxes all of which are presently located in my living room. We have been going through boxes of stuff that we used to sell as well as household items that we no longer want. Some have gone to the Thrift Shop and others to a local auction house. I still have more to send there. I was hoping to make room to move in my house and now these big boxes will fill up the spaces again...lol. At least I know I can make some money from them.

I did see one Bob Mackie doll and there may be more. Most of the dolls are in the original boxes and cartons. The owner did not keep track of how much she paid for them. The price is on the odd one. There is a 30th anniversary Ken doll for which she remembers paying $200.

The good news is that she is not looking to make a huge profit on them...she only wants to get rid of them as she has recently moved into an apartment and had the dolls in storage.

She also sent me, unexpectedly, several collectible plates with hockey legends, including Gretzy. They are all in what looks like oak frames. My hubbie was even excited when he saw the names.

Among the dolls are some Ashton Drake. She has tons more of them at home. DH heard from a mutual friend that this lady's house was stuffed with collectibles so she may have more collections that she will want to sell as well.

Hopefully it will pay enough to buy us a bigger house in which to put everything! And hopefully DH doesn't decide that he wants to keep all of the hockey plates.....;-)

Judy

[femmefan1946]

You may do best by allowing DH to keep the plates. They fall into the category of "last buyer'.

This may also be true of the Ashton Drake dolls.

Basically items that are designed as collectibles, like plates, are produced until there are no more collectors looking for them. All the sales are made by the manufacturer and the price includes shipping and lots of advertising.

There is a very small secondary market for them.

Barbie does seem to be an exception, perhaps because she was so popular with little girls from the get go. Come to think of it , it has been decades since I heard little girls talking about playing dolls. They all "play Barbies".

[westernstargifts]

You may do best by allowing DH to keep the plates. They fall into the category of "last buyer'.

This may also be true of the Ashton Drake dolls.

Basically items that are designed as collectibles, like plates, are produced until there are no more collectors looking for them. All the sales are made by the manufacturer and the price includes shipping and lots of advertising.

There is a very small secondary market for them.

Barbie does seem to be an exception, perhaps because she was so popular with little girls from the get go. Come to think of it , it has been decades since I heard little girls talking about playing dolls. They all "play Barbies".

Hmmm, food for thought. I realize the limited editions will be more desirable than the mass produced ones.....supply and demand. Luckily the owner isn't expecting to make a lot of money on them so I will just take what I can get for them. If they don't sell I may suggest that she just take them to an auction house. That would likely be a good way to sell a large quantity of collectibles because their advertising would be geared to the collectors. Then again, I hear that the auction houses aren't doing so well these days either.

I never owned a Barbie doll. My younger sister had some and that is the first I remember hearing about them. When I was little I couldn't wait for the Sears Christmas catalogue to arrive. They always listed all of the dolls at the front of the book...I wonder why?...;-). The first one I remember having was a Betsy Wetsy. I don't have the doll anymore but I do have the little glass baby bottle with a rubber nipple. I would still have the doll but my sister threw it down the stairs and broke its head...lol.

[momoftwingles2]

Hi Judy,

The *family* saw nothing from everything that was stolen. And, believe me....my father's home was a collector's heaven here on earth.

I know that they still have lots in my brother's 3 car garage from Mom and Dad's as the US federal agent that lives next door has seen it recently.

What they did take to this eBay store in Virginia Beach...sold for over $13,000 US...nothing near what it was worth. However, they got their just desserts because they only received 52% of the sales price. The rest went to the store!

My oldest daughter still has my first Barbie doll which is in mint condition. She was an original from the first year that Barbies hit the market. Ken is there as well.

Our twins, when they were a younger, and Emi always preferred Bratz over Barbie.

I know you'll do well! Be sure to keep your commission!

Susan