Your Guide to Collecting

I have been buying dolls since I was 10 (yes, I bought a MIB collection with my birthday money...)  I have been buying and selling on eBay since 1998.  I'm no expert, but I have learned a thing or two along the way! :)

Regular Dolls:

If you can buy a complete doll for a good price, do it.  If you can get minty pieces out of lots or just here and there... buy them up.  This is what I did and I finally perfected perfect dolls for almost nothing.  Regular dolls clothes and shoes aren't very hard to find, so eventually you'll get the piece you're looking for.

Party Pleasers:

Buy them complete!  Don't buy incomplete dolls hoping to one day get their shoes or hats.  These don't come along for sale seperately very often.  When they do, you'll pay more.  I bought a Mint Tulip without shoes because I was tired of not having her!  I never found her shoes seperately, so I sold her and bought one complete.

Berrykins:

Definitely buy these complete.  If you think it is hard to find Party Pleaser pieces seperately, it is almost impossible to find Berrykin stuff seperately.  Check out my shoe guide though, because a lot of their shoes are the same as Party Pleasers.  I bought my SSC Berrykin because she had perfect hair... now I'm waiting to find a pair of SSC Party Pleaser shoes for her (because they are identical.)  So, that's no big deal, but good luck trying to find Orange Blossom's or Peach Blush's.

Blow Kiss:

I haven't bought any good Blowkiss dolls in all my time collecting.  I have found them at yardsales and flea markets, and their "kisses" are musty and the cloth body is gross.  I am somewhat scared of buying them out of box!  Absolutely buy these complete, and MIB/NRFB it at all possible.

Mini Houses:

These tend to be in crappy condition out of box.  I have had some, and I sold them... because they were pretty well played with.  There are tons of pieces that got lost easily.  So, if you can, buy them in their box and complete.  If not, find an auction for a MIP set of accessories, and then wait for a really good house.  Ask the seller about decals and yellowing.

Berry Happy Home:

This is a really big purchase, and there are a lot of things that can be wrong.  The plastic is brittle, and it yellows.  A lot of pieces can be cracked, so just ask these questions before buying.  The creme de la creme is a MIB/NRFB house.  They are worth anywhere from $500 to $1000.  They came furnished and unfurnished, but don't worry about that right away.  There are always tons of auctions on eBay for the furniture.  Only a couple sets are hard to find, along with the green bowl and the towels (that I'm still missing!)