Just wondering an approximate value of my 40 inch Betty Jane Carter musical doll is? She is an excellent condition no marks or tears or stains. It appears to be fully intact with shoes, purse, hat, etc.
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Dolls, in general, are no longer on very many people's wanted list and this makes them low value and slow to sell.
As a general rule the larger dolls - over 28" - sell for more money but that does not mean they are faster to sell.
Sellers will list dolls, books and other items for sale and leave them listed for months to several years; many will never sell.
Betty Jane Carter dolls by Goebel by Bette Ball are plentiful, even the larger 30" to 42" and there seems to be a musical series in all sizes so the musical element does not enhance the value.
You show your doll as 40" - made in 1992 and with only 500 made that does bring up the value.
I did find your exact doll but it is on WorthPoint and this site only has information that the seller has listed with no sold price available. Still, you can read what this seller wrote about this doll:
www.worthpoint.com/
There is no way to value a doll unless you can find one (or even a similar doll) that has sold (the same way appraisers find values) as asking prices are just a price that a seller would like to receive for their item. The item may sell for their asking price but until it is sold that price does not represent value of the item.
You can list your doll starting at a higher price (even $300) with all offers considered plus shipping and see how it goes. If you receive no offers you may have to lower the price. How long you wait is up to you.
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Sorry, but the seller of this doll wrote that his doll is ABOUT 40 inches in size www.worthpoint.com/
I saw a doll for sale on ebay.com worth $575, but the size is 36 inches, unfortunately there is no photo with a stamp on the back of the neck, so I can't find out how many dolls there were in this collection. Sorry, but I don't think the seller was wrong with the size by as much as 6 inches. It seems to me that this is a significant difference. Therefore, I think that this is a different collection and, accordingly, a different price.
And there is on sale another doll for $300, but the size is not specified, collection of 1987 www.ebay.com/
Could you please provide a link to the price you wrote?
I'm sorry but I think there may be a misunderstanding about what I wrote in my answer as I did not give reference to any particular doll other than the one on WorthPoint that is the same doll as her doll.
I believe there is only 2 inches difference between 40" and 42" and it's entirely possible that her doll is 42" as it is difficult to always measure a doll's height especially when you may not know how important it could be when selling dolls.
You may be entirely correct about what the seller mentions about the name of the series but I do not always see that as a selling point and have not found any other reference to the name - but I only did a cursory search as most sellers do not show very much information in their titles and checking each one would be too time consuming.
Hopefully you have found a 42" doll in this series that has a sold price.
A sold price would provide a genuine value as it would show what price 'someone' was willing to pay for one of these dolls - even if it was not a recent sale.
Your answers always seem thorough and bring out information that can only be found by serious searching.
I feel sure your answers are always appreciated.
Yes, it's probably really difficult to determine the exact size of the doll.
Lovely gal! She does appear to be fully intact and have her purse and hat, which is good.
There has been a lot of info given by the other commenters and the bottom line is a doll's value is what someone will pay for her. Dolls are just not in demand at the moment and have not been for several years now. It is truly a BUYERS market. I tell my seller friends to hold to them for 10 more year, maybe 15 and the values MAY come back. The challenge is these were mass produced and even the limited edition versions were made in the thousands which did not improve their value as we who sold them when they were new were told they would.
In looking at the solds on eBay, while I was not able to find an exact dress and face match, however, in trending (something as a life long reseller I do) I can tell you that the toddler/tall dolls are only selling for slightly more than than the small dolls.
Small dolls sell for $15 and under and tall sell for $16-30. Sell, not asking. People can ask what they want. Selling is all that matters.
Every now and then a tall doll will go for more, but when I see them going for very high values, I think they are part of the money laundering schemes that are the bane of eBay's existence. That said, there is always the one off that someone wants to replace a cherished doll and have money and are willing to pay crazy high prices for it and it is a legit sale. It happens. I have a story about a towel that I had just that experience I could share that crazy stuff does happen in the resale world, but it is rare.
That said, if you want to try for more, I suggest you list her at $300 and take best offer, which could be as low someone trying to get her for a steal at $1.00. With the best offer feature, you can decline low ball offers and take somewhere in the middle. This way you will have the comfort level of trying to get the most for her, but being realistic about the ACTUAL value (which is what someone will pay).
Shipping is going to be a huge challenge with her, so you may want to consider a local selling strategy starting her high and taking best offer.
When you sell her you can describe her as Victorian, mention both the doll maker and the designer, her condition and you can call her tall or toddler.
Post back how your sale goes! Thanks for sharing!
Now there are a lot of Betty Jane Carter dolls on sale. But your doll is one of the expensive. You have a 42'' doll, as I found a doll with the same mark on the back of the neck as yours: www.worthpoint.com/
The price of you Betty Jane Carter Rare 42" Musical Doll Designed by Bette Ball is about $285 www.ebay.com/
You have a doll with number 146, here are other dolls similar to yours: with number 74 www.worthpoint.com/
Most have the name Anne and they play "Waltz Of Flowers".
This one is asking $285. www.ebay.com/
Most of the dolls are 17 inches. Yours will be more money because it is much larger.
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