Who buys collector dolls?
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Mass-produced collector dolls are only purchased by people who like the look of that particular doll. Rare dolls are purchased by collectors
Those who buy collector dolls are ones who are interested in the dolls being posted.
It could be for themselves, as a gift, replacement of a doll one had, could be for any reason for a buyer. :)
If you are trying to sell porcelain dolls to make money then it is probably a lost cause as dolls are so plentiful that most (very nice 'collector' dolls) sell for under $15 and may take months to sell even at that price.
eBay is considered the largest doll selling site in the world and if you just look for porcelain dolls you will find a very large selection (all dolls are considered as 'collectible').
www.ebay.com/
People buy dolls for all sorts of reasons but rarely are willing to pay very much money.. Just like yard sales - they want a bargain...
Dolls from their past..
Memories...
Gifts (not too often anymore)..
Display in home or business...
Daughters/granddaughters/nieces but not many girls are interested in dolls anymore and this reason - in the past - was the biggest buyers..
Collectors: usually only interested in a 'real' collectible doll and these are very rare in today's market.. Generally very vintage or antique.
Thrift stores usually have difficulty selling dolls for $10-$25.
If you are looking to sell your dolls you can check eBay and Google for the brand and any other ID information (name / size) to see if your dolls are listed for sale. Asking prices are no indication of value as only a sold item shows what someone is willing to pay. You can place a watch on any doll to see if it sells.
eBay has a link to check sold items (check links on left side of screen) to see if any of your dolls have sold in recent months.
Local sites like Craigslist also have dolls for sale and usually there is no shipping involved and prices can be changed at any time.
If no one has answered your question to your satisfaction. please post back with a more detailed question and we will try again. You can also include a picture of your doll if you want someone to help you with a particular doll.
There are some people who still buy the general "collector" dolls, but in probably 90% of the sales--the buyer is only willing to pay under $10 for a doll, sometimes as low as $1-2 dollars. It is very sad.
To illustrate how sad the market is at the moment, when I went eBay and typed in the term "collector doll" in the active auction search engine, there were 24,441 results. Then when I went to the completed/sold it goes down to 8,992 which means 15,499 were UNSOLD (if I am doing the math that is 63% unsold).
That said. there are still old, rare and unusual dolls out there that people will buy and pay big bucks for. I have sold them myself, so I know that there is still a market for turn of the century German dolls for example, and some early 20th century American made boys and girl dolls--there are some Barbies that are worth a lot of money in the right setting.
The tall porcelain dolls made from 1980 on that were marketed as "collectible" are the ones that have the least value. Talk about a marketing campaign that should be open for a class auction law suit...but I am sure that ship has long since sailed.
Can I ask why you are asking? If you have a large lot of them, you would be best to find a consignment store who would take them and give you a percent of sale (if you can find one who would take them).
The other thing I suggest to people is to find a local children's charity and donate the dolls to children in need and take the tax credit (if you are permitted to do so). Often that is the best way to give a doll with very little financial value, a whole lot of emotional value for a child who never had a dolly of his or her own.
Thanks for your question! Post back with more info if you need help valuing a specific doll.
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