Dolly Buying in Tough Economic Times

October 18th, 2008
by noddyfry

I haven’t blogged in ages (actually I think I’ve only ever blogged once), so pardon my first blog being blatant plagiarism!!

I received a great dolly article recently titled ‘Ten ways to Collect dolls in a Down Economy’:

http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollcollectingresources/tp/collectingandeconomy.htm

I had a good read and decided to share some tips mentioned. Not sure if there will be ten, so let’s not count.

· Stop looking forward, start looking in!!! Love what you have! With Blythe, I HAVE to see them in front of me at all times. If I find myself getting over how they look, I re-do the WHOLE display. Sometimes I add furniture, sometimes I prefer to be minimalist because dusting the tiny tables gives me the shits. Recently I have devoted an entire expedit square to displaying my lovely dolly clothes – it’s so much better than having them stuffed in a box and it never fails to be admired even by the most non dolly person ( the ladies go ga-ga over the cute little dresses).

· Accessorise, accessorise, accessorise!! Can’t afford a doll? By her a pair of shoes or a new dress instead. I’ve gotten to the point where a new item for my dolly is more exciting than a new dolly altogether. Or, even CHEAPER, remix ur dolly’s wardrobe and try new crazy combinations. Another idea I might try that I’ve seen others do – dress ur doll like a scene or character from a movie. You don’t need to have the perfect accessories, see below pic; it took several looks for people to realise she wasn’t working on a kitchen bench LOL.

· Handy man!! Most of us have a crappy doll we keep MEANING to get to. Now’s a great time! I bought a $2 Barbie once just so I could wash her hair, it was a calming process and I thoroughly enjoyed it (NB: barbie hair different than Blythe hair, I still SUCK at doing Blythe hair).

· Cheaper dolls? I actually don’t agree with this idea, buts lots of people love it. Buy something cheaper to tide you over – instead of a Blythe, buy a pink box barbie for example. HOWEVER, this is dangerous as you can end up with a whole heap of crap you don’t really want . I’ve been there, done that, donated to charity.

· Garage sales!! I never have the time, but the idea seems so romantic to me!!! Another good option is the small local fetes and markets. Heed my above warning tho – crap is tempting!!

· Swap! The infamous swap –always a great idea!

· Strict Policies! Since getting married to an anti-doll nazi, my buying habits have been curbed. Instead of buying whatever I want by using the evil credit card, I have to think each purchase through. So I developed a simple rule; all dollies must be purchased with money gained from selling other dollies. I railed aboot it at first, but its actually turned into a great little system. I spent my early 20’s buying everything and anything I fancied on ebay. The result: boxes and boxes of random toys shoved in cupboards and the garage that never saw the light of day. I’ve spent the last year slowly decreasing my collection, its been painful but rewarding. Now I think purchases through before hitting that damn BIN button at 3AM in the morning (and trust me, I’ve been thinking of Milky Way Sugar for months).

SO, thats it!!!! Common sense but helpful tips to get us through these tough dolly times!