I love miniatures, but I also like to do things on a budget. I’m a huge fan of my own smartphone, so I decided that it might be time for my dolls to have one of their own (and I am planning on making a few more after this!). In no time, your dolls will be busy with texting, calling their best friends across the country and racking up phone charges by paying to move onto the new chapter of Candy Crush Saga.

Scissors are involved in this project – so please get an adult supervision if you’re a kid! BlytheLife is not responsible for any injuries or increased cell phone bills that may be a result of doing this project.

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What may be the most important aspect of the Blythe hobby? Actually having a Blythe doll.

I decided to do a little research (also known as searching on eBay for lowest non-inflated pricing). To make it the same across the board, I decided to include prices for brand new, in box dolls. Additionally, I decided not to focus on ADG Blythes. Here are the top 10 Neo/Takara Blythes that I came across at affordable prices. I’ve also included any notes that should be considered prior to buying them.

These prices do not include shipping, they are in $USD, are from BIN (Buy It Now) listings and I am not responsible for any transactions that you decide to take part in.

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1 & 2. Simply Guava ($99) and Simply Mango ($99)
The big thing to watch out for with the Simply Guava and Mango twins is that there are a lot of fakes floating around. Both are RBLs, came with cute Converse shoes that are quite collectible and small dogs (which don’t tend to be that collectible). Overall, Guava and Mango have been at low prices for a while now and the pricing hasn’t changed much since the influx of fake Guavas and Mangos into the market. But if you’re looking for a legitimate SG or SM, it pays to do your research first.

Photo of Tang (Simply Mango) by Johnathon/alain l’étranger.

3 & 4. Simply Vanilla ($110) and Simply Chocolate ($120)
Simply Vanilla and Chocolate are the FBL twins. Their stock isn’t typically desirable, but they look gorgeous when customized – which I noticed that quite a few have been customized. That said, SV and SC are both really cute as stock dolls (and not). As far as I know, there are no fakes floating around of SV and SC, but always be vigilant about what you’re buying. When in doubt, always ask someone else that you think might be more familiar about the dolls.

5. Lavender Hug – $120
An adorable FBL with light hair that reminds me a lot of Simply Lilac – but with rounded bangs. She has very adorable boots (that look like Blythe-sized Uggs, if you’re into those) and white fluffy ear warmers. So if you’re looking for a pretty cute doll and stock that’s usable, Lavender Hug fits the bill pretty well. I don’t think I’ve seen very many photos of her on Flickr, but if you’re looking for a doll to customize and get cute stock, LH would work well.

6. Nicky Lad – $130
Nicky Lad comes with cute stock. I see her getting customized quite a bit – but she comes with pink glasses, pink hiking boots, a cute shirt and shorts with a rain poncho. Yes, that’s all fantastic and cute. So cute stock, cute girl (with a set of special chips) – what else do you want in a Blythe?  I think $130 is good value for the quality of stock you end up with, and I don’t believe there were many complaints about NL’s quality – she’s an overall win!

7 & 8. Simply Love Me ($130) and Simply Delight ($130)
The two underrated Simply twins (both of the RBL face mold) – one has Aubrena/Aubrey-coloured hair (Simply Delight), the other has yellow-blonde hair (Simply Love Me). Both dolls come with long-sleeved A-line dresses, along with cute tights and useful boots that can be utilized with other outfits (black from Simply Delight and red from Simply Love Me). These two Simply dolls are another couple of dolls that don’t come up as often as they could. Given that they’re both RBLs, it’s likely that they get used for customizing quite a bit. Overall, I think they’re both pretty cute. Simply Delight is a good alternative if you do not have Adorable Aubrey or any of the Aubrey/Aubrena incarnations.

9. Bohemian Peace – $135
Still quite the looker, Bohemian Peace (RBL) with her long, dark red/auburn locks, she’s an older girl (if 2010 can be considered old), but still very affordable. She has lace tunic top that goes over her dress and the most adorable light blue ukulele. So not only does she come with cute stock, and she has very gorgeous hair, I adore the colour.

Photo of Eudora (Orange and Spice) by Johnathon/alain l’étranger.

10. Orange and Spice – $135
Cheerfully called “Spicy Orange” by a dear Flickr friend, O&S isn’t very popular in the world of Blythe. Yet another RBL, she has a special pair of dark blue chips that go well with the blue eyeshadow that she has. She’s one of the dolls that I’m hoping to get very soon, as I love her in photos (her and Ambrosial, but that doll isn’t on this list).

As people living in the 21st century, many of us have smartphones (myself included). While I’m still waiting for my hover-car and teleporter, I am quite fond of some of the apps on my phone – which led me to decide to showcase my top five favourite apps that makes keeping editing photos, uploading photos and keeping in touch with dolly people all around the world that much easier.

I don’t have an iPhone (or other Apple products) so I can’t comment on the pros and cons of the apps found on iTunes. Most (if not all) of these apps mentioned below should have an iTunes equivalent that may or may not be exactly the same. All of these apps can be found over at the Google Play store (bonus, they’re all free)

Flickr

Pros: It has some filters for your photos, you can add photos to sets and set up the tags on your pictures. You can leave comments, add your friends’ photos as your favourites.

Cons: It’s a stripped down version of Flickr (very close to what the mobile version of the Flickr website looks like) and doesn’t allow access to groups (so no discussions or anything like that). And if you can access Flickr mail with it, I haven’t figured out a way just yet.

Photo Editor by Aviary

Pros: Aviary is a bit like a mini-Photoshop. You can do a lot more than add filters – you can crop your images, enhance colours and there are many different packs from Aviary that you can download as well (‘stickers’, frames, effects). I love how much that you can do with the basic Photo Editor app though, you don’t need the additional packs to do some great changes to your photos.

Cons: I find that Aviary is slow at times. If you want to make the most of the app, you do need to download extra features separately. Additionally, not all of the extra features are free (but most are minimally priced so it shouldn’t break the bank).

Pixlr-o-matic and Pixlr Express

Pros: I love both of these apps so much. Pixlr-o-matic has a lot of fantastic effects/filters, as well as borders, to choose from. You can download additional ones, but they’re contained within the apps so you don’t need to download anything outside of the app. For Pixlr Express, which is much like a mini-Photoshop as well, you can easily crop, auto-correct colours and overlay your photos with a lot of effects.

Cons: It can take quite a while to load all the filters, but that’s the price to pay of editing photos on the go. I think both apps pair together well, but it’s still two apps instead of one (bonus though: both are available via the Pixlr website so you can photo edit with them on the computer too).

Instagram

Pros: It’s like Flickr, but less about filters for groups. There’s a bit of a community feel, there are some filters and small amount of editing capability to Instagram. You can make your entire account private and add only people you know if you so choose to do so.

Cons: You can’t selectively make photos private. I find it difficult to go back to look at photos that I’ve commented on before (that weren’t mine). There‘s a small amount of photo editing options, but that’s not the main point to it. There’s no way to edit comments or to delete comments (as far as I know), which can lead to problems if you have an ‘open’ account and random people leave rude or spam comments.

Twitter

Pros: Everyone’s favourite app in 140 characters or less! Yes, a lot of dolly people are on Twitter and it’s a fantastic way of keeping in touch with people or popping up a question here or there that you don’t think really needs its own thread on. If you haven’t already, you can follow me/the blog @blythelifecom

Cons: A lot of people are on it. And when you put a lot of people in a small space, it’s hard to control what happens. But if you keep a level head, you can definitely avoid any drama. The great thing is that you can block people, set your account to private and be selective about who can or cannot read your tweets – but if you ever set yourself as public (even briefly), all that goes away.

I received an email earlier this month about if it was possible still to purchase a Kenner Blythe for a “good price”. That got me thinking about it again. Before Takara, before This is Blythe happened – Kenners could be purchased on eBay for pretty decent prices (think <$50 shipped). Nobody knew the value in the vintage dolls because there wasn’t a following, there wasn’t a bunch of people on the internet looking at photos of the vintage dolls, chatting about her on forums and there certainly wasn’t show featuring Littlest Pet Shop animals with a character with Blythe. Before that, Blythe was a blip in the history of toys because she didn’t last very long. One year, mass production, heavily discounted when she wasn’t loved.

Kenner prices tend to range for $600 to very, very high prices (well over $1000USD). But the price range depends on so much. The hair colour (and rooting style – wispy, chunky, side part or centre part), condition of the body – cracks? knees bend?, condition of the face (blush is a big one!). Whether or not the doll comes with any original clothing doesn’t really seem to be an issue with Blythe because most collectors play with their dolls – they’re not the type of doll that gets left behind glass cabinets staring vacantly into space. That said, there are stock dolls (anniversary dolls, older models of BL dolls like Parco, Goldie or Kozy) and custom dolls that go for more than a Kenner. A lot of people have noticed this. BLs were not mass produced like Kenner Blythe was. In theory, there are still more Kenners in existence then there will ever be of stock Parco, Goldie and Kozy combined. But that’s not what this post is about – it’s supposed to be of the possibility of finding a vintage 1972 Kenner Blythe doll for a good price. That really depends on what your budget is and what kind of flaws you’re willing to deal with.

For example, when I decided that I would get a sidepart redheaded Kenner, I gave myself an ultimate limit. I had X amount of dollars that I would be willing to spend on the elusive Kenner for my doll family. This included any money that I would have to put towards shipping costs. So with this hard limit, I went on a search.

I posted a WTB (want to buy) thread on Blythe Kingdom stating what I was looking for and asked people to get back to me with how much they were looking for. This was both good and bad. Good in the sense that I got responses from people with dolls to sell, but bad because some of the dolls were out of my price range by hundreds of dollars. One incident involved a member of the forum asking if I’d be interested in purchasing her Kenner Blythe that she had put up onto eBay and in the 3 minutes that it took for her to send the email, me to read it and to go to the link – the doll had been sold. I was let down because the photos of the doll was gorgeous and I would have bought her. Then I turned my search to eBay. I know some people don’t like using eBay, that a lot of people end up charging absurd amounts for shipping and they don’t take the best photos ever, so here are some of the things that I considered on my search:

• If you aren’t familiar with the pricing of the Kenner Blythe that you have in mind, “Watch” the auctions. Watching the auctions allows you to have a record of auctions and you can see what they doll looked like and how much they went for. Comparing auctions of similar dolls is a great way to see how the price range is for the type of Kenner you want.
• I’ve noticed that there are trends to Kenner sales. If you don’t mind a doll that’s missing legs, has a crack across her bum and has yellowed plastic – those tend to be less expensive. If you want a minty-mint Kenner, you will have to pay for more her unless someone sets a Buy It Now price that’s fairly low and you happen upon it. Additionally, listings that end on school nights tend to be a little bit higher (likely because people are less likely to go out and they have time to be on the computer) while those that end on weekend nights (so Friday or Saturday night) tend to go for a wee bit less. But your mileage may vary on this one.
• Take a look at the photos. Are they blurry? Is there something questionable about it? Never fear asking an eBay seller for more photos of the item that they’re auctioning. It’s in their best interest to supply good quality photos. Some things that they should include photos of include the back of the doll (with the Kenner copyright information), any cracks in the body, and all of the eye chips (if the doll still has the string or the owner knows to hand roll them).
• Don’t necessarily shy away from auctions run by people with less than 100% feedback. Always look at the feedback to see why they had a negative or neutral feedback. Sometimes it can be explained if you look at the comments by either the buyer or seller.
• Don’t be afraid of flaws. There are people in the community who restore Kenners for a fee, but there are also people in the community who are willing to share tips and tricks on doing minor restoration things on your own. For instance, I shared on this blog about doing a Takara leg transplant, fixing a pelvic crack and about securing loose hair plugs. There are always people willing to share information. Flaws that you can fix yourself could save you big bucks if you’re willing to take on a little waif in need of love
• It’s okay to lose auctions. There will be another Kenner, and that other one will be the right one for you. Set yourself a hard limit and stick to it. Overspending is no good for you (or your wallet, or your sanity) and it can make you feel guilty over how much you ended up spending on your Kenner – you don’t deserve that and neither should those feelings be attributed to your new-to-you vintage doll.

Short of finding a Kenner Blythe doll at your local thrift store or in the attic, you’re unlikely to find one for less than $600 – unless you’re super lucky. Doing research on what you’re going to buy before you buy it is important – I don’t know many people who impulse buy Kenners. Be aware of pricing trends, see if anyone in the community is selling one first! Those in the doll community are more likely to know what kind of things to disclose (like cracks, missing hair plugs) compared to someone who happened to come across a Kenner and is now selling it on eBay for a quick buck.

Good luck on your search for your Kenner!

As a full-time student who’s been in post-secondary for what seems to be forever, my number one financial priority has been my education for the last five years, and it’ll be my number one financial priority for the next three. Tuition and assorted other ‘necessary’ student fees come before textbooks, but textbook money comes before Blythe (unfortunately). I thought I’d come up with a few of my tips as a student while in the woefully expensive world of Blythe.

Photo by sxc.hu user lusi.

If I cannot afford to pay for something outright, I don’t buy it.
Blythe is not worth carrying an outstanding balance on my credit card. Blythe is also not worth running my savings account low when I have other (slightly more important) things to pay for and fund. Now that I’ve said that, I have put a Blythe (or two, or three) on my credit card before, but I always make sure that I can 100% pay off my credit card bill and that I can afford to do that so I don’t incur any interest. 20% interest? No thanks!

If I don’t use it, need it or even remember that I had it – I can sell it or just part with it.
I will go through my dolls’ things periodically to see what I can part with. Sometimes I come up with a bunch of things that I haven’t seen (or remember I had!) for months. If that’s the case, and I no longer feel like I need to still own it, I’ll sell it. I sell things both on forums and also at local Blythe meets. I’ve also done trades to get things that I’d prefer to have and I’ve given away oodles of Barbie clothing for little kids who’ll appreciate them a lot.

If I want something, I’ll see if a trade is okay.
Bartering is a great tool to use in the Blythe world. Always be polite and ask if they’re willing to do an equal trade for something. Keep in mind that you will need to pay shipping, but it does work out cheaper than sending something to someone and then using that money to buy something else. It’s also faster, and no need for money to change hands.

Photo by sxc.hu user shadowkill.

If I wasn’t about to get it when it wasn’t marked down, I probably shouldn’t get it.
Sometimes you can find fantastic deals in the sundries section on Blythe Kingdom and This is Blythe. The most important thing to think about is if you really want it. If it’s a super cute top, and it’s mark down to $7 from $10, but I wouldn’t have gotten it at $10, do I really want it? The thing is, if I really wanted it, I probably would have jumped at the $10 price. Because it’s marked down to $7, am I now more attracted to the object because it’s lower in price or because I just really want it? It’s a good thing to keep in mind when shopping for non-Blythe items as well. That pair of jeans is super cute, but is it cute on you because it’s 50% off or because you genuinely like it for it?

If it takes time away from school, it’s a sign to stop.
I slow down on the amount of time I spend doing Blythe things when school rolls around. Blythe is always going to be there. Unfortunately, my courses aren’t going to slow down for me just because I decided to spend an evening looking at dolly photos instead of studying. A great way to keep on task is to allow yourself X number of minutes per day (or week) to do hobby things. If I study for 2 hours, I’ll give myself a 15 minute break for Flickr. It’s a lot cheaper to give up some dolly time than it is to repeat (and repay!) for a course.

What are some of your tips for staying on budget in the Blythe hobby?