I wanted to share some recent photos that I took at a recent meet – just sharing some happy today.

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Everybody loves a deal, especially when it comes to the pricey, non-essential purchases like Blythe. What are some of my best tips when it comes to being a savvy doll shopper? Here are a few to keep in mind when it comes to dolly shopping – especially when you’re looking at listings on forums or Facebook groups:

Window shop. Like when it comes to non-dolly purchases, it’s always a good idea to have a price range in mind for certain items. For instance, Kenners have such a huge price range – I’ve seen everything from $500 to $1500. Different hair colours, condition of the body, and clear/fused chips make all the difference when it comes to price. This also goes for stock dolls, light customs and completely overhauled dolls by certain artists. Window shop first – get a feel for the doll. If a doll by Customizer A only goes for around $600-700, why on earth would you jump on a listing that says $900?

How much is that dolly in the window?
Image from sxc.hu user sloopjohnb

Don’t be afraid to negotiate a price. If you think a doll is a bit overpriced, and you’d be willing to pay a slightly lower price – just ask! The worst that the seller can say is no. And even then, you’re not out any money. Negotiate. Ask if they can include the shipping in the cost, ask how much they’re willing to sell the doll for without that fancy outfit she has on. It doesn’t hurt to ask. But if you are putting in a lower offer for a doll, maybe sure that it is a) fair and b) something that you can afford. There’s no point in asking for a doll be discounted to $500 if you can only afford $350.

Layaway. Be smart about layaways, and work out some terms that both of you can deal with. Have everything in writing, and save those emails! Screenshot them, save them, file them away. If the seller says it’s a non-refundable deposit, ask about the subsequent payments, ask if it’s refundable within a certain time frame (e.g. is it refundable within 24-72 hours?). If you’re not familiar with the seller, ask if they’ve done layaways before and if they have any positive transactions that you could ask the other buyers questions about. Layaways are typically used for pricier dolls – don’t be afraid to ask questions and to protect yourself. Also, keep to a payment schedule that you can realistically follow, and communicate with the seller if something comes up! If you need an extension on a payment date, let them know early, and give them a realistic date that you will be able to make a payment.

Know when to walk away. Sometimes a deal seems too good to be true for a reason. Sometimes a buyer is just too much hassle to work with. Never be afraid to walk around from a transaction before money passes hands – you aren’t obligated to follow through. If something odd seems to come up, take it as a red flag. Be polite, don’t burn any bridges that you may need in the future, and let the seller know that you are no longer interested. You don’t need to give a reason for it, but you can if you want to. Knowing when to walk away also means being okay with letting that doll go – and also remembering that she (or he) wasn’t yours to begin with. A lot of people do become emotionally attached to dolls, and that’s okay, but remember that until that doll arrives in your hot little hands, she is still not yours. Be okay with that, and walk away.

If you missed The Deal of A Lifetime, remember that another doll will always come up. There will be other rare stock dolls, cute customs, and bait dolls for custom available. It is never the end of the world to miss a doll that’s gone up for sale. If it doesn’t work out this time around, there will be other dolls. Save the money you didn’t spend this time and wait for the next time that an opportunity comes a-knocking. And if it’s a custom doll, it doesn’t hurt to ask to be kept in mind in case the owner ever decides to put the doll up for sale again!

For all those savvy shoppers out there – share your shopping tip gems!

Occasionally I see posts online about how people feel that $X is too much for a Blythe doll when just a few years ago, the norm was $Y. Are customized Blythes really that expensive nowadays? I decided to do some investigating! I went onto the popular Facebook group, Dolly Adoption, and decided to add up the prices (without shipping) for the first 30 dolls that I saw being listed and calculate the average. To make it fair, I only looked at customized Blythes – no Middies, no Icy dolls, no dolls that were being listed as “factory” or “TBL”. If the price was marked down, I use the lower price as it clearly wasn’t selling at the higher price. I converted all prices to USD, when needed.

Some numbers for you all:

• The lowest price was $125, the highest was $1275
• The average was $599.50
• The mode (value that showed up most frequently) was $300 (at 3 times in 30 listings)
• Only two listings were at or above $1000
• Half of the listings were below $500

Obviously there are varying factors for what makes a customized doll worth it’s value. Was the base doll used expensive to begin with (customized anniversary dolls, I’m looking at you!)? Was the hair rerooted? What was it rerooted with? How extensive is the carving and make-up? Is there art on the eyelids? Is there a non-stock body? What is the doll’s theme? Is this reflected in the charms? What kind of eyechips does she have? Are they handpainted? And, the most important question of all, who customized her? Because the name means a lot – much like how a luxury sedan costs more than the run-of-the-mill minivan, the artist behind the doll adds value to the doll while an unknown customizer won’t fetch as high of a price. As customizers become more skilled, they should charge more for their work, much like how if you have more relevant education under your belt, your employer should, in theory, be upping your salary. But what a customizer charges and what the market will pay are two very different things – hence the reason why some dolls stick around for quite a while, waiting for someone to snatch them up.

What is the most, or the least, you’ve ever paid for a customized Blythe doll?

My goal for doll meets usually includes the following:

• Bring dolls that haven’t been to a meet recently,
• Change the dolls so that they’re no longer wearing the same thing that they have for months, and
• Ask what dolls people are interested in seeing of mine (and hopefully make an effort to bring them to the meet)

What actually happens is usually something different. I bring the dolls that had a wardrobe change most recently, which may or may not be a doll that I took to the last meet, who may or may not be a doll that someone is interested in. Oh, and if I manage to actually put shoes onto a doll, I consider that to be a major win. And I never, ever remember to bring stands. The day I remember to bring stands, you’ll know I had way too much time to prepare for a meet that I a) actually remembered stands and b) actually packed stands in with the dolls.

The girls tend to travel in their carrier bags. I have a few at this point, plus a Middie-sized one for Kitty Brighton (no Petite-sized bags yet though!). Some dolls have their own bag (Sophie and Eden Mouse) with I have two others that are more for general use amongst the girls. Unlike Sophie and Eden, they don’t mind sharing (often). The carrier bags are great as it helps keep them more ‘contained’ within my bag, and the shoes can’t go flying off their feet, as they are likely to do.

I try to dress my dolls in meet-appropriate outfits, especially if the meets themselves have a ‘theme’ to go on. For instance, I will be attending tea with my dolls and some lovely local doll hobbyists this weekend. So my dolls will dress accordingly to fit in with the overarching theme that is high tea. I may even put shoes on them (but that hasn’t been confirmed just yet…). Hopefully it won’t be until Sunday morning that I decide to pick who’s going to the meet though, because that would just be awful (and I’ll just end up grabbing whoever’s dressed!).

Hello, my adoring fans! It’s time for a little love from me, Sophie! Did you miss me? I bet you did!

I thought I’d share some dolly secrets with you all, yes dolly secrets. It’s secrets that we, the Blythes, have from you, the humans. And don’t worry, my plastic-fans! You and I both know that the humans will just brush this off because there’s no way that their sweet, innocent little Blythes would ever do anything wrong.

Secret the First: We know your log-in information. For everything. Yes, this includes your email (so we know when you ‘won’ that eBay auction for a new sister) and your Paypal account. Did you not think it odd that several new lots of shoes arrived in the mail? You probably chalked it up to late-night bidding and drinking a wee bit too much… Don’t worry, it could have been that as well. *coughcough*

Secret the Second: When we say that we’re pleased about having a new sister, we’re likely lying. And if we say we’re not lying, we’re definitely lying. Nobody is ever happy about a new sibling. Just ask your own children if they relish the idea of sharing all their toys and clothes with a younger version of themselves. And when we get older? Definitely not. I have sisters who think my shoe closet is fair game. My shoe closet. No, nobody is ever happy. I don’t mind them, I suppose, but I’d be an only doll if I had the choice! Except for maybe Kindred, everydoll needs a sidekick.

Secret the Third: … I think I’ve said enough for now! I may be inclined to share more later! Teehee!

Sophie is a mostly stock Cappuccino Chat that came to live with me in June 2009. She loves shoes, new clothes, playing with her hair, fashion, magazines full of fluff and shopping. She aspires to be a model and would like to model for some of the ‘great’ dolly fashion houses one day.