Why would you collect the yearly "Barbie" doll?

[Babywhite]

My SIL's kids get the special yearly Barbie doll each year. The are kept in the box and put away.

Why is she doing this? Are they worth a lot of $ down the road? (You can tell I know very little about Barbies... :))


TIA for your help

[KarenLud]

Not sure which ones you are talking about..but yes, they can be worth quite a bit down the road. My mom sells barbies for a living so I've been around it for a while...never made much sense to me...buy the doll and don't take it out to play with? But to collectors...this is what they enjoy. :shrug:

[egoldber]

It's just like collecting anything else. Why? Well...why not? :)

[maestramommy]

If you saw "40 Year old Virgin" remember how the main guy had all these action figures in their original boxes? They were worth a lot of money on ebay. I don't think that was literary license. It's like comic books in the original packages.

[s7714]

Will they be worth more? Yes. Enough to finance college or something like that? Probably not. From what I've seen most of the plastic holiday edition Barbies don't go up in price all that dramatically because they're so mass produced (even though they say they're "limited edition" they're not exactly hard to come by IYKWIM). The porcelain limited edition numbers OTOH seem to have more value further down the road, but of course they're harder to find and more expensive to begin with too.

I got into collecting Barbies at one point, but I took them out of the box and put them on display with no intention of ever reselling them. Just seemed like a waste of money otherwise, but obviously everyone's different in that regard.

[fortato]

I collect Pez dispensers. In the original packaging- BUT I also buy one for Jack to play with...because it keeps him from my MIP ones. And, they're only a buck.

Just a fun fact about me. Not totally relevant to the OP, and I'm not sure where I was going with it anyway. Ahhh...I'm starting the new year as a moron...the same way I ended the last one.

ETA: Ok, I remembered my original point... Collector's items are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them- it's a shame to see toys not get played with because someone hopes they are worth something down the road... Like Beanie Babies... how many of us have boxes of them, hoping that we would make a fortune on retired ones...only to have them be worth what we originally paid for them. Barbies are an exception... but I always played with my Barbies...

[WatchingThemGrow]

Where is that throw up emoticon??? I really struggle with this because I am the daughter of a collector(mom) and the stepdaughter of a collector (SM). Oh wait, my dad is a collector too. Mom has the Beanies AND the Barbies, SM has the Longabergers AND the Boyd's Bears. Dad has teeny tiny tractors staged, and maybe some are boxed. Oh, he has whole big tractors too in his suburban big city garage - and a few at the farm, that sit waiting to be glorified.

My thought at one point was that my mom and stepmom grew up in rather poor families, and that they probably didn't "have" all the things they wanted when they were little. And when they hit their late 40's and 50's, they had the disposable income to buy these things, especially since their homes were being vacated by children. NOW, they don't give a crap about the stuff, so they are just taking up valuable closet space. Well, my dad and SM have my brother's MASSIVE comic book and SuperHero collection stored in their house as well. He could seriously fill a room to the brim with that stuff. Pay for college? Nope, didn't liquidate it to pay for the first 9 years of his BA. Surely he won't sell it for the next 4 years of his part-time 2nd BA...

The only thing I want to collect is pictures and memories.

Fortato, did you stop by Chick-Fil-A for their new Pez dispenser filled with lemon-flavored candies? $1.99. I picked one up for my niece who thought it was cool I dressed up like a cow with her to get a free meal last year. Who wouldn't wear spots taped to your shirt to get a free meal??

PS: KarenLud, can you point me in a direction so that I can sell the Barbies? I've been given permission!!!! :)

[Melaine]

To motivate yourself each year to keep your resolutions, quit scarfing down the ice cream and bagels and finally achieve the perfect barbie figure?

[fortato]

Fortato, did you stop by Chick-Fil-A for their new Pez dispenser filled with lemon-flavored candies? $1.99. I picked one up for my niece who thought it was cool I dressed up like a cow with her to get a free meal last year. Who wouldn't wear spots taped to your shirt to get a free meal??

I didn't know that!!!! Thank you for the info!!!!!

[Corie]

Fortato, did you stop by Chick-Fil-A for their new Pez dispenser filled with lemon-flavored candies? $1.99. I picked one up for my niece who thought it was cool I dressed up like a cow with her to get a free meal last year. Who wouldn't wear spots taped to your shirt to get a free meal??


Boy, I sure do miss my Chick Fil-A!! That was one of the best
parts about Texas. :)

[Georgia]

I've been reading the American Girl posts thinking the same thing ;).

[KarenLud]

PS: KarenLud, can you point me in a direction so that I can sell the Barbies? I've been given permission!!!! :)

Your post made me LOL...I know exactly what you mean..the collections! Eeek! My mom sells on ebay and she actually has her own website. So I'd recommend doing some research on ebay to see what they are going for and then list away! Happy selling! Although I know right now might not be the most profitable time to sell..my mom has been having very slow sales. Imagine that..the economy goes to crap and people aren't buying Barbies! :banghead: oh the horror! :ROTFLMAO:

[WatchingThemGrow]

Your post made me LOL...I know exactly what you mean..the collections! Eeek! My mom sells on ebay and she actually has her own website. So I'd recommend doing some research on ebay to see what they are going for and then list away! Happy selling! Although I know right now might not be the most profitable time to sell..my mom has been having very slow sales. Imagine that..the economy goes to crap and people aren't buying Barbies! :banghead: oh the horror! :ROTFLMAO:

Ugh. I dread doing it, but I want to get those things gone. The only problem is that they're in a different state right now, and when we travel, we're pretty much carrying as much luggage as we can. Maybe next long visit to her house, I'll plan on listing them all on eBay the day we get there, then I'll be able to ship them out straight from her house. To think of the trouble she went to to get each of them... it will be 3x more trouble to get rid of them!

Thanks for the tips!

[KrisM]

Where is that throw up emoticon???

http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/2202_puking.gif

[WatchingThemGrow]

http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/2202_puking.gif
:bowdown: Where did you find it??? I'm grabbing it while I can! Thank you, thank you!

[KrisM]

:bowdown: Where did you find it??? I'm grabbing it while I can! Thank you, thank you!

Googled "throw up smiley".

[updacountry]

I purchase my daughter the Holiday Barbie every year because my DH purchases her the Hess truck every year! And no she has never seen them. We just buy them and I box them up with the others. Why???? Who the heck knows!

I know one thing it will be better than the bedpan collection I inherited when my father passed away. They make great planters and conversation pieces. I bet you didn't know that I have at least 10 different types!

So the Barbies and Hess trucks I'm sure my daughter will appreciate much more than the inherited bed pan collection she is going to get.

[Fairy]

I'm dying to try Chick Fil-A. None around here.

I'm a collector. We have a whole basement of high-end Star Trek. Duh. Some of it is worth serious money, some of it is worth squat. We don't care, we're not in it for the resale, we're in it for the joy of having it. However, I'll tell ya, there are some things we get two of so that one we can have mint, and one we can open and enjoy. There's not alot of rhyme or reason to the ones we choose for this, but the ornaments are a good example.

If collecting gives you joy, why not? Make sure that if you have an overabundance of stuff that you provide for where it's to go in your will or at least understood by loved ones.