Selling Dolls

I am located in Northern California near Modesto  CA.  I have contacts and have been helping people sell dolls in the Central Valley and San Francisco Bay area for many years.  Click the button to show the locations where I sell dolls. See Map

In general I prefer to sell for customers local to my area of operations.  I feel it is important to meet face to face when reviewing the dolls to be sold.  It also allows the owners to see the dolls in the shops where they are for sale. 

I am able to help you sell your doll collection. I will take your dolls on consignment and sell them through my shops and in the doll shows where I sell.  I charge 22% of the final selling price for the dolls. This may sound like a lot but it is important to consider what I do not charge you.  There are no charges for credit card fees, online fees, or shop space rental fees.  All of these are covered by my fee.  In addition there are no selling costs to you unless I sell your doll. If the doll does not sell or you decide to take them back there are no selling fees. 

If dolls need major repairs to improve their salability I will perform these repairs and will need to charge you for the repairs.  This is appropriate because you receive the benefit of the repairs through a higher selling price or a more valuable displayable doll if you take the doll back.

My goal in selling your collection is to help you receive a fair market retail price for your dolls and to help insure they go to new home where they will be appreciated and treasured. Selling in this manner may take time. I will evaluate each doll and place them in the shops and shows where they have the best potential to sell. If you need to sell a collection quickly I may be able to work with other dealers I know and sell major parts of the collection at a wholesale price. 

As part of the evaluation of the doll I will assess the salability of the doll at the price you want to get for it.  If the sales and profit potential of the doll is low I reserve the right to not accept the doll on consignment.  In this case I can often suggest other ways you may be able to dispose of the doll

While I do purchase items on Ebay I do not sell dolls there.

The Selling Process

I will take your dolls and appraise them and do any cleaning needed to make them more sellable. If the dolls need major repairs to make them sellable I can do them but the cost of the repairs will need to be paid by the seller.

Based on the appraisal I will work with you to come up with an inventory list for the collection showing each doll with its condition and expected selling price.  (see notes on selling price below)

I will provide to the seller a copy of the inventory list including the description and recommended selling price for each doll. I will provide a monthly report showing the dolls sold and the selling price, costs and net returned to the seller.

I have several shops where I can place the dolls.  Each shop has a slightly different customer base so I try to place the dolls in the shop where they most likely to sell.  I also will periodically rotate dolls between the different shops to be sure they get the widest possible viewing.  I will also evaluate the dolls to see which ones would benefit from being sold through my on line site. 

When it comes time for a doll show where I am selling I will take dolls best suited to the shows from the cases in the shops and will carefully pack them and present them on my tables at the doll show.  (see my shows page for examples of dolls at the shows) I typically have three tables at most shows but I can usually get more tables if I have a larger selection of appropriate dolls to sell.  I try remove the dolls from the shop cases 1-2 days before the show and try to return them to the cases the day after the show.  This minimizes the time the dolls are not available for sale in my shops.

The Selling Price

The selling price for a doll can be a fickle thing.  If you buy a doll new it's price instantly depreciates (just like a new car).  Just saying that I paid $x.xx for it does not mean others will pay this price because it is now used.  With time a doll will become a classic and be more collectible.  A lot of factors affect the future value of the doll.  How many were made, how many were saved, the condition of your doll.  Many late century designer dolls and commemorative boxed Barbie are suffering in price because of these factors.  Most of the dolls were bought by collectors who saved the box and put the doll in a display case and never played with it.  As such most of the dolls made are still available in immaculate condition.

 For all the dolls I accept for consignment I need to make sure the price reflects what people are paying for dolls of this type today.  Unfortunately this may be less than you originally paid for the doll.