Hi Pat
I would say that doll collecting is pretty popular in Australia, but IMO I think it is more those porcelain type dolls as we have a few magazines that feature these dolls. There is an Australian Barbie Club which I recently joined so Barbie and other doll collecting is popular as well but as to availability....well that's another story! LOL. We get some of the playline Barbies and FA's but not all, and mostly just plain old blonde Barbie and maybe redheads and brunettes but AA or other exotic ones are pretty non-existent - though this year they did actually stock Palm Beach Lea and Midge and that's a first. You can get them at stores like Kmart, TRU, Target and Big W. Some of these larger stores such as Kmart may stock some collectible Barbies but overall, they are extremely slow to even bother providing new dolls and FA's so usually, you gotta rely on getting them elsewhere.
Even Australian dealers don't have much by way of playline Barbies but you can get collectibles from them though sometimes it is cheaper to get them direct from overseas. I don't know of any dealer in Australia who sells Candi and one does sell Tyler...but generally these other dolls we have to get from overseas. We pretty much have to rely in pics only when you wanna buy a doll, which is why I like it when I can get to see actual pics of a doll from someone who has got one, cos particularly in Barbie's case they often differ from the promo pics.
I've got a new addiction now though....Bratz dolls! LOL. I bought 2 yesterday - Jade and Sasha and I gotta get more! LOL
Lunar
===== http://members.tripod.com/lunarwolfess
http://www.sold.com.au - SOLD.com.au - Find yourself a bargain!