What Can Affect A Doll’s Value? On the doll forums that I belong to one of the most common questions after “What doll is this?” is “How much is it worth?” When people ask me that I usually tell them that if they are looking at selling a doll the best way to decide how to price it is to look at sales of identical dolls, not the sale price but the price that the doll actually sold for. If you have antique dolls that you suspect might be valuable an even better course of action might be to have them professionally appraised by a dealer who specialises in that type of doll. Here are some of the th ..read more

Introduction to Making Dolls Clothes Thrifty doll collectors are often faced with dressing dolls that they have bought because their original outfits are gone or the clothes that they are wearing are damaged or just don’t suit them. Collectors of vintage dolls may want to find vintage clothing and there is quite a lot available online although vintage fashion doll outfits can be very expensive. However, if you just want something pretty for your doll to wear and you knit, crochet or sew it might be time to try making your own or at least persuading a crafty friend or relative to make some for ..read more

What type of hair does my fashion doll have? Fashion dolls such as Barbie, Monster High, Integrity etc have rooted synthetic hair. The main types of hair in use are nylon, saran and kanekalon. Knowing more about these hair types is useful in identifying, restoring and restyling your dolls. Mattel uses both kanekalon and saran hair on Barbie dolls. Generally, kanekalon is used on playline dolls and saran on the collectible dolls however this is not a hard and fast rule so it is helpful to be able to tell the difference between the two. Made to Move Island Princess Mikelman Charice Florida Vaca ..read more

“Why did my doll’s eyes turn pink?” is a common question on doll forums. The problem began in the 1990s when doll owners started to notice that their blue, brown and hazel-eyed dolls eyes were changing colour. Initially, people thought that it was because the dolls had been exposed to sunlight or fluorescent lighting which had faded them. However, later on it became apparent that it was also happening to dolls that had not been displayed. Pink Eyes, Purple Eyes and Grey Eyes It appeared that dolls with blue eyes would turn grey while brown or hazel-eyed dolls would end up with pink eyes or pur ..read more

What makes creepy dolls creepy? You will see many listings for haunted dolls or creepy dolls online but what makes them creepy? Is there really anything wrong with them? I know that a lot of people are creeped out by dolls. They find the fixed gaze of a doll disturbing . Antique dolls in particular can look strange to young people. Shirley Temple doll photo by V Jensen The fear of dolls does have a proper name, pediophobia. It is classified under the broader fear of humanoid figures (automatonophobia) and related to pupaphobia, a fear of puppets.  There is a very interesting art ..read more

What Are Doll Marks? One of the most useful methods of identifying dolls is by the manufacturer’s marks on their heads or bodies. Of course, not all dolls have doll marks. Some vintage dolls may have been sold with a paper swing tag with the name of the company that made them or it may just have been on the packaging. In many cases, cheap dolls may have been sold in a plastic “baggie” with no markings at all. You need to look elsewhere for clues about these dolls. I have many dolls in my collection that are simply marked “made in Hong Kong” as there were many, many doll factories there in the ..read more

> These tips are primarily for people who have dolls to sell but are not doll collectors. You may have inherited some vintage dolls or are selling them for a friend or relative but you don’t know anything about them. Or if you buy and sell as a hobby or a business you may sometimes buy a batch of dolls to resell. Here are some suggestions on how to make your dolls more attractive to buyers. Researching dolls People who are selling dolls often mistakenly think that they have a vintage doll when they don’t. See my post “Not All 1966 Barbie Dolls Are Rare” for some advice on how to identify Ba ..read more

> If you have more than a few dolls you really ought to think about keeping some kind of record of them. I wrote this post last year for my original doll blog and have adapted it slightly. Composition Ideal Shirley Temple. Photo by V Jensen Why Keep a Record? Well, there are several reasons why keeping a record of your collection is a good idea. Insurance: If you have a large collection of valuable dolls you may wish to list them separately on your home contents policy. Theft: If your dolls are stolen a clear description of them may help you recover them. Replacement: It wil ..read more

> When you buy dolls on the second-hand market you often find yourself dealing with dirt, stains, tangled hair and various other issues. Most of these problems can be easily remedied using items that you probably already have at home. Some common household items I use are dishwashing liquid, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), vinegar, shampoo, conditioner, fabric softener, acne cream, hair gel, salt and lemon juice. My preferred tools are old toothbrushes, microfibre cloths, cotton buds, a soft scrubbing cloth, wide-toothed and fine-toothed combs, scissors, rubber bands, and hair clips. Som ..read more

> I see this often when I’m browsing eBay. “Vintage 1966 Barbie”. If you do a search using those words I can almost guarantee that none of the dolls listed will be from 1966 and very few of them will be vintage. Screenshot of “vintage 1966” Barbie dolls on eBay What many sellers don’t realise or don’t care to tell you is that the dates on Barbie dolls refer to the date that that particular head or body sculpt was made. It is important that as a collector you learn to identify dolls or you will find yourself paying a lot of money for dolls that are not that old or rare. Below is a 1964 Swirl ..read more