posted on June 23, 2001 11:08:41 PM
Good Evening! I wondered if any of you would mind sharing your opinion on something with me? I have acquired a large doll collection and must find homes for them all. There are perhaps 300 in all, a huge range, mostly vintage and antique dolls. From your collective experience...should I wait until fall to begin on this collection? Do doll collectors pretty much buy all year round or is there a "season" when you seem to get more looking and bidding going on? I would appreciate any input at all! Thanks
posted on June 24, 2001 04:24:59 AM
Advice to search completed auctions is right on. I believe the market is pretty much year round. If you find in your searches some lower values, there is a market for groups of dolls, such as a couple of nice ones in a category with 1 or 2 more as-is (well described). If you try to keep your final value over 25-35$, you'll save a lot of time. On the better dolls, you need extensive pix, dressed, undressed, back, sides, feet, head closeup, etc. If you will look at ebay-id 'lyndajay' listings, you'll see about the best possible presentation of fine dolls. And she gets results. (Lynda is not us, just a fine person and ebayer).
posted on June 24, 2001 06:02:30 AM
Depends on the type of doll. I just unloaded a lot of dolls, and found that the porcelain ones did not sell as well as they did last winter. The Barbie's and other Vintage Fashion dolls did very well, and I was quite pleased.
All in all, I think I only couldn't get rid of 3-4 of them, but some of the prices on the porcelain dolls were a bit low. Maybe because lots of people give them as Christmas gifts.
posted on June 24, 2001 11:19:06 AM
Thank you both for your tips. I have been busy reading, researching and photographing. I did notice that the higher end dolls were photographed bare and clothed. It is quite a challenge with some of these dolls! Some have their cloths sewn on and some are just so brittle...Yi! Just trying to find marks is daunting sometimes, I know where to look, it is just getting the clothing off is hard! At any rate, I'm off to visit the auctions recommended to look at the photos there. Thank you again!
posted on June 28, 2001 09:04:46 PM
I've stopped my sales for the summer - too many people on vacation! But I agree that the better dolls will sell well pretty much all year round, particularly if they're antique/vintage. If you get stuck identifying a doll, you may want to try posting a picture on the ebay doll chat board! mary
