----- Original Message ----- From: Elizabeth biz000art@yahoo.com To: candichat@dolls.de Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 11:01 PM Subject: Re: Lunar/display question
See, this business of buying dolls for the "resale" was such a stoopid thing that got started in the mid 90s. I rue the day I learned this bad habit...
Welllll....I think it still IS a good idea, it is just that you need to hang on to them until they become 'vintage' (got somewhere to store them for a couple of decades?)
That seems to be ALL I'm able to do is hang onto all this stuff. I think it's a very, very good chance I'll hang onto the dolls well past when they're vintage. I expect they'll all be auctioned off in a huge estate sale when I'm old and decrepit.
Personally, I feel that as far as 11 1/2" dolls go...Candi and Charice (as well as some of the Alysa/Jade/Janay dolls) are so much more beautiful than Barbie, that they can't go anywhere but up! The amount made (in comparison to Barbie) is going to make them rarer as well. Additionally, even though the play-line dolls cost less, they have a chance of becoming worth money because they are just that: a playline and most girls WILL play with them--to death! Then the ones that didn't get played with will be rarer, in demand and worth a lot. But again...this will take a generation.
I wish I could believe what you believe. You certainly have a 50% chance of being right. The only reason I'm less than optimistic that the current Integrity playline dolls won't attract the same collector audience of a Barbie is that there is always ONE Barbie--all the others are variations of knock-offs. That's not meant to be derrogatory, it's just that if Barbie had come second to some other 11.5" fashion doll of the 60s, she too would be another knock-off. There's nothing wrong with the dolls NOT Barbie, but dolls become collectibles because they establish themselves as "classics." Dethroning a 30+ year-old classic is less than likely.
Having said all that, based on what I see at ebay and other Internet sales websites, there's no doubt that there is a growing following for the ensuing Jason Wu/Integrity affiliation of doll creations. I don't know if this association will turn out a classic doll, but I do think that what's possible is that one-of-a-kind artist dolls become accessible for many more collectors. With each Integrity doll with Jason's input that is manufactured, there is one more doll with his artistry that is put in the hands of doll lovers. A new appreciation for doll artistry is generated and a potential demand for artist-quality dolls is generated. However, it's a small market. I don't know if this small market can put into the minds of other collectors that these are classic dolls.
This is a very esoteric and subjective experience that I don't know can be mass produced to generate a die-hard following. Of course, only time will tell. In the meantime, lots of space in my house is being used for storage in the hopes the demand for these dolls will be generated. Regards, pat
Elizabeth
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