BlytheLife.com opened in July 2010 and is a blog and resource hub for all things Blythe!
QOTW: Thoughts on New Release Prices?
Written on April 20, 2015 at 12:00 pm by MichelleFiled under: Question of the Week
Back in the day way back when, Kenner Blythe dolls were $6-7 (regular price). Can you imagine picking up at a Kenner Blythe doll at that price now? That’s the dream though, isn’t it?
When Takara got into the game with the BLs, the majority of the BLs were ¥8,400 (~$70USD today). Parco, who has the luck of being the first BL produced by Takara, was priced at ¥10,290, or approximately at ~$86USD today. Fast forward over 14 years later and Les Jeunette (the May 2015 release) is ¥14,900 (~$125USD) while the 2015 anniversary Neo Blythe doll (Dauphine Dream) is ¥24,900 (~$209USD).
Given the issues that people have had with quality control, it does draw my interest to know how you feel about today’s release prices. Despite the surplus of fakes on the market, there will still always be collectors who want to own and purchase official releases, or have customs produced with official releases. If you consider the cost of an official regular release at approximately $125, it doesn’t actually seem that far off from the original BLs. Why? Because you have to factor in inflation and the changes of the economy. While you could have bought a BL for ~$70USD then, the majority of them go for 4-5 times that amount. When you consider that, $125 doesn’t seem like that bad of a price for a brand new doll today. I may also think this because the majority of my Blythe collection were NRFB and many of them were not at $125 (unfortunately).
How do you feel about the new release prices? Do you think that they are worth it?
I only recently got into dolls, so $125 seems normal or even relatively low for an official release Blythe. I wish this hobby had entered my life sooner, as I get envious of the price tags of a few years ago.
I agree that today’s prices reflect the current economy, they don’t go up just because someone says so. Dolls are an expensive hobby. Then again, there are many hobbies that cost a lot of money and people are willing to pay. Blythe is pricey compared to a regular Barbie you buy at the supermarket. On the other hand, $125 is really cheap next to those resin ball-jointed dolls that cost hundreds of dollars. In my case, if there’s a doll that I really really like and want, then the price tag isn’t much of an issue. Of course, it has to be original and brand new. In the end I think it comes to how much you’re wiling to spend and what you consider to be cheap or pricey according to your experience.
Blythe prices always leave me with sticker shock and a real lack of understanding as to how people can possibly ever acquire huuuuge collections, but that is partially what makes them special and valuable, moreso than something like Ever After High dolls which I’ve gotten anywhere from $10-20. However, I do think it’s kind of ridiculous that prices are so high when the dolls come with so many quality issues. You could expect that from a $15 doll you get from Target, but sometimes those have less issues than these $100-200 dolls. That’s what makes the high price tag kind of outrageous to me sometimes.
I would readily pay several hundreds for a custom doll (If i had a budget), but I think Takara dolls are overpriced. I’ve bought a factory doll (or maybe she’s even a fake) months ago and she looks just as pretty as my original Nicky Lad (I’m not the Blythe expert). But after all It’s the market that defines the prices …