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I am not a doll expert; I only know what I played with in the 1970's and the things that I've researched. However, you don't have to be an expert to make a great profit on dolls and doll stuff - you just need a keen eye and a little bit of knowledge. Everyone knows that older Barbie sell and that the first Barbie can bring big bucks, however, Barbie is not the only gal in town, and many people donate dolls to thrift stores without knowing the value.
Right now some of the dolls from the 80's are hot! Did you know that Mattel made a doll called My Child?It is said that it was made to compete with Coleco's Cabbage Patch Kids. Because CPK was so popular, these dolls never really took off, however, they do get donated to thrift stores and can bring some big bucks. My friends over at Care and Share Thrift Shoppe have one listed right now:
A few years ago I bought a small suitcase full of doll clothes along with 2 vintage Ideal Crissy and Velvet dolls. I assumed that all of the clothing went with those dolls but not all of it was marked. I immediately sold the dolls and the clothing that was tagged Ideal. What I was left with was a pile of untagged clothing and shoes; one pair of shoes had Timpson Fine Shoes stamped on the bottom, which was the only thing I had to use to begin my research.
As it turns out, the remainder of the dolls clothing and accessories were from a vintage Sasha doll. Jackpot! Two weeks ago I finally sold the Timpson Fine Shoes, doll shoes, for $150. I sold the other 2 pairs of unmarked shoes for $50 each. In total I earned $336 (plus shipping) on 3 pairs of shoes and 3 outfits.
Here are the shoes, keep your eyes open for this style of doll shoe:
Here's my listing for these Sasha Shoes!
I could go on and on about dolls and I will blog about them more in the future. For now, here are some of my favorite dolls that I've found pretty easily. They are not the porcelain "display" type dolls, but dolls that kids play or played with:
- Topper Dawn Dolls
- Kiddles
- Ideal Crissy and friends
- Madeline
- Hugga Bunch
- American Girl
- Older Character Dolls
- Barbie and friends, of course!
Check the back of the neck of a doll to see if has a brand name stamped on it. I love to find Kenner, Ideal, and even Mattel when looking at dolls. There are lots of names out there, but I'm just touching on the ones that I'm familiar with. If you want a more complete doll history, I have found some great books on doll collecting at my local library.
Doll clothing is very popular. Most people know that vintage doll clothes are good sellers, but so are today's doll clothes. You can find modern Barbie clothing in lots at yard sales and thrift stores. A 235-piece lot of modern Barbie clothing, shoes and accessories just sold for $138. You can find boxed lots for $1 or $2 at yard sales. Again it's not just Barbie, look for clothing that has the doll's name or brand on it. I've done well with putting Cabbage Patch Kid clothing together in a lot.
American Girl dolls are sold on Craigslist a lot. Although you might think that everyone know that they are valuable, there are still some people that live under a rock aren't aware. Last summer I bought an American Girl Just Like Me doll at a yard sale for $2. Sold her for $97!
I love to sell doll furniture, but we'll talk about that another time. I'll just leave you with one other doll and that's the Kenner Blythe doll (caution, she's scary looking IMO). Check out the completed items on her and other Kenner dolls.
Happy selling,
Jackie
Great post! Thanks for sharing this information. I have 2 of the My Child Dolls in the attic! Of course they belong to my oldest daughter, I'll have to ask her if she is attached to them, I'm thinking NOT, because they are still here!
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