|
The Ups and Downs of the Barbie
Doll Market?
There are collectible Barbie dolls
clubs, conventions, magazines, newsletters and Internet sites
all devoted solely to sharing the love and fascination of
Barbie. Today, the dolls are sold in more than
140 countries around the world and have become a staple in the
American household.
Through the 70s and most of the 80s,
play line Barbie and vintage Barbies were popular, as well as foreign Barbies. In
1986, the first porcelain Barbie was produced. This is said by
some to mark the beginning of modern collectible Barbie dolls,
however, most collectors believe that collectible Barbie dolls
really took the market in 1988 with the introduction of the
Happy Holiday series.
Few of the first Happy Holidays
Barbies were produced, but became popular with many collectors
looking for something new. The market for collectible Barbie
dolls continued to increase as it became popular for adults to
purchase Barbie dolls for the sole purpose of collecting with
no intention of the dolls being used as toys. Mattel began to
introduce new special edition and limited edition Barbies that follow the fashions and trends of teenagers,
while at the same time appealing to the adult market by
sporting fashions from designers such as Bob Mackie and Vera
Wang.
The 1994 release of the 35th
anniversary - vintage reproduction collectible Barbie dolls
brought many new collectors. From this point on, modern any collectible Barbie
was in high demand and began to be
considered a "good investment." Collectors had
closets full of Barbies with the hopes of putting their kids
through college.
The more modern collectibles market actually began to wane after auction sites such as eBay
created a very "liquid" market by making and most
dolls started to sell for less than retail on the secondary
market. Even avid Barbie collectors began to lose interest in
their once treasured dolls.
Advisory groups were formed and
Barbie doll collectors were brought in to complete marketing
questionnaires. Mattel began to focus again on the quality of
the dolls, they started to manufacture new doll series and
improved the play line dolls. High fashion Barbies
increased interest even more and Barbie began to regain her
prominence in the collectible markets.
Barbie continues to fill the hearts
of collectors around the world with her perfectly shaped body
and array of fashionable designs, and as always, she looks
perfectly stunning!
No one could argue the fact that vintage Barbies are holding their own as one of the hottest areas of toy collecting on today's market. Barbie was first introduced in 1959, and since
then her face has changed three times. Her hair has been restyled over and over, she's been blond and brunette, and it's varied in length from above her shoulders to the tips of her toe She's worn
high fashion designer clothing and pedal pushers. She's been everything from an astronaut to a veterinarian,
and no matter what her changing lifestyle required, MatteI (her 'maker') has
provided it for her.
Though even Barbie items from recent years are bought and sold with fervor, those made before 1970 are the most sought: after. You'll need to do lots of studying and comparisons to learn to distinguish one Barbie from another, but it will payoff in terms of making wise investments. There are several books
available; we recommend them all: The Wonder of Barbie and The Worid of Barbie Dolls by Paris and Susan
Manos.
|
