Dolls are a toy that every little girl around the world enjoys playing with. Looking back I probably owned more than a few but the only one I actually have now is my mom's doll from when she was a girl. My grandmother special ordered this doll and had her hair cut and put on the doll so the old doll has human hair. It has a cloth body, composition face, hands and feet and blinking eyes that no longer blink right. The poor old doll was never properly taken care of and I don't have the heart to get rid of it.
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While I don't have a kinship with old dolls I seem to have a fondness for doll, girl & lady figurines. Growing up all the girls in the neighborhood were the only girls in their family that was full of boys. We on the other hand had three girls and only one boy. It seemed like all the girls in the neighborhood got everything a girl might want and we got to look on enviously. I remember when the girl across the street got a birthday girl figurine, I wanted one so bad. I may have never gotten one as a child but I own three now. This is the thing about collecting dolls, most doll collectors I know are women that had a thing for dolls growing up and it has continued into their adulthood.
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While I'm not a doll collector, I owned a flea market and antique store and I always tried to have variety in the store so I did try to study them. While many doll collectors will collect one specific type of doll there are general doll collectors that will collect any type of doll. They look for quality, originality, rarity, popularity and desirability. Is the painted face done artistically? Does the face have good coloring? Is the hair or wig intact and groomed properly? Does the doll have the original clothing on? Does the doll have all the body parts? Is the condition of the body good? Is the overall look appealing? These are some of the questions that you must ask yourself when trying to price dolls.
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One of the most important parts of the dolls body is the face. Composition dolls should not have cracks, peeling, streaking or crazing. Plastic dolls should not have any streaking to them. All dolls should have a smooth finish, the condition of the doll will be one of the major factor in pricing a doll.
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It is important that dolls be original, many times heads and bodies are exchanged to make a more appealing doll and never switched back. Even though this doll looks good because the parts are not all original it will devalue the doll.
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Rarity and popularity are another two factors that play an important part in pricing dolls. While many dolls were made by the thousands there are some rare ones that only produced a limited number. Antique German and French bisque dolls have a high value and if the doll has a doll makers mark, initials or name it will increase the value tremendously.
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Rarity, popularity & desirability can take a doll to a higher pricing level. Shirley Temple Dolls, Mrs. Beasley Dolls, Early Barbie Dolls and Chatty Cathy Dolls were made popular by different media in our society. Popular television shows, movies, early commercial dolls from the 50's & 60 help make the value of these are usually quite high if the condition is good.
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Doll identification and price guides are available in both the library and book stores. Ebay is another good source to do your research before pricing a doll. When it comes to dolls consider research mandatory, some of these dolls are worth thousands of dollars.
Check out my eBay Store: http://stores.ebay.com/Madison-Place-Flea-Market
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