Getting American Girl Dolls at a Great Price

My daughter became obsessed with American Girl in 2012, after seeing a conveniently placed advertisement in a Girl Scout events catalog.  We made a special (and long!) trip to an American Girl store for her birthday and she selected Caroline. Caroline was full price at $105 at the time, and as of right now they are $115 each, with Isabelle last year going up to $120!

Now, some girls love Barbie dolls, my girl loves American Girl.  As of the American Girl sale this morning, we have 15 of the full sized dolls, 3 mini-dolls, and 2 Biddy Babies in the house.  So, as you can imagine, I’ve developed a bit of a talent for finding the dolls at prices I can live with.  If you’re interested in my tips too, please keep reading!

1)  The most important thing you can do is be knowledgeable about the product.  The best way to do that is to browse through the American Girl website, and through fan pages or unboxing videos on YouTube to get a sense of all the different face molds, accessories, outfits, etc.  That is the only way to be certain that you don’t buy something from a stranger, then realize _____ part is missing. This does not just apply to used items either, because I’ve had small accessory pieces missing or broken when buying new from American Girl too (their customer service always replaced it, they are usually very good!).

Tons of moms are just now discovering American Girl with their daughters, and I keep seeing it happen over and over again where moms are getting scammed online or buying the wrong dolls off of eBay because they aren’t fully up to speed.  For example, I just saw a mother get very irate this morning because she thought she bought a Jess, but it was a Marisol doll in a Jess skirt.  She was claiming to have been scammed by the eBay seller, but pictures were provided and the person selling the doll may have had no clue what she had and took a guess.  Jess is Asian-American, Marisol is Hispanic-American, and the dolls look completely different, so any buyer who knew the product they were after would have caught that difference immediately.  So, if you are new to the scene, remember that there is ALWAYS another doll and ALWAYS another sale!  It might not be exactly what you want each time, but it’s best not to rush into anything for the sake of a “deal.”

2)  Set up a profile on AmericanGirl.com, even if you are not ready to order!  Make your account, have your computer save the login information, put in your shipping/billing address, and PUT A CREDIT CARD ON FILE!  I know lots of people hate having their cards on file, but trust me that it is valuable to do so.  When you check out, you will still have to input the security code from that card, so your kids or a hacker can’t place an order in your name anyways.

Why should you do this?  Because every few months (2-4 times a year) American Girl is featured on Jill’s Steals and Deals on the Today Show.  This morning they had the old style Kit, Caroline, Kaya, Rebecca, and Julie on sale – doll and an outfit – for $55 plus shipping/tax.  The deals sold out, as usual, within 15 minutes of going live.

Now, a big problem with these sales are that the stock is very, very limited (I personally disagree with them broadcasting it to millions of viewers to only have a small number of dolls for sale), and the American Girl shopping cart sucks!  It really does, and after years of customer complaints, they have not fixed their system.  Simply put, you can have an item in your cart, but that item can sell out while you are in the process of checking out – meaning it’s gone before you can submit and lock in your order.  The American Girl policy at that point is too-bad-so-sad, you missed out!  So, while having an account already set up may only save you a minute or two of typing, that is often the time difference between getting the sale doll and not getting it.  Most accessories and clothes, however, remain in stock for hours, so I do recommend adding a sale doll to your cart and checking out as fast as possible!  Do not add a sale doll to your cart then decide to shop for other items, or your doll will be gone!

3)  Restocks happen, but they aren’t guaranteed.  Sometimes American Girl dolls will show up on Zulily, sell out, then become available again.  With the Jill’s Steals and Deals offers there has consistently been an East Coast and West Coast inventory.  Meaning, if the offer is initially televised at 8am EST, and it sells out at 8:13am EST, get back to the website around 10:45am EST and keep refreshing the page through about noon. The majority of dolls do get restocked in that time frame. This happened after the first Today Show fiasco, where the dolls all sold out within minutes during the first run of the show, and the West Coast audience was completely teased with no hope of finding a doll.  American Girl has been fairly good about offering a second-run restock to help alleviate that complaint, but they still have very limited stock to offer.

If at any time the doll will add to your shopping cart, check out quickly!

Now, not every doll on sale will restock, because the Kit pictured above did not at all, but pay attention for clues on a restock possibility.  Usually, if there is a Jill sale, there are other accessories on sale too as part of the offer (beds, clothing, pets, books, etc), which means there is an entire page of Steals and Deals on the American Girl website.  If a doll will not add to your cart, but it is still visible on that main sale page, it is highly probable that a restock will occur for the West Coast audience.

Also remember, if the offer says one offer per customer, don’t try to be sly and order extras, or to check out 2 different times with the same item.  Customer service usually catches on that people at the same address are trying to get more dolls than they’re allowed, and they will cancel the repeat order.  I’ve also heard moms complain that their entire order was cancelled and they got none of the sale items.

4)  Set up eBay alerts, and be specific!  If you make an alert for “American Girl,” you will get pretty much harassed with notifications.  If you want an Addy doll, set up an alert that says “American Girl Addy doll.”  If you want a specific outfit, you can make an alert that says “American Girl Gymnastics Outfit,” or whatever you want.  But, remember, eBay is often full of resellers who scalp toys (ie, they buy all the $55 Kit’s they can get their hands on, using 100 different relative’s addresses, then they resell them for $80-$1,000 each).  So the more you are willing to wait and shop around, the better your odds of finding a reasonably priced doll being offered by someone who isn’t scalping, but just trying to clean house.

5)  Craigstlist, Facebook, and other community resell pages are your friend!  Most people flock to eBay and they forget to check their local ads!  I actually found a Craigslist posting for 3 American Girl dolls that were in a second hand baby store.  I would have never known, or even attempted to look in that store, if I had not seen their posting online.  Unfortunately, the manager had a good sense of what the dolls were worth and priced them at $100 each, which wasn’t a super deal, but I did end up getting Kailey, the 2003 Girl of the Year (or Girl of Today, as it used to be).

6)  It doesn’t hurt to make some phone calls!  If you have any stores near you that accept donations for reselling purposes, chances are you have missed some great American Girl finds.  I constantly get American Girl books out of these kinds of places, and I pay about $0.25-1.00 for them, compared to the $7 retail price.  Every blue moon you’ll also come across a doll that way too.  Making calls might give you a heads up if anything is available – although don’t solely rely on calls, because the employees may not know what American Girl products look like compared to the Walmart dolls or anything else.  You can also talk to a manager and ask to be called if any dolls or a large amount of outfits come in.  Now, most Goodwill’s and larger second hand stores won’t do this because they have no system to handle it, but it’s worth trying with the smaller mom-and-pop stores that may be able to offer a more personable service to their clientele.

7)  Do not shop during Xmas and plan waaaaaay ahead for birthdays!  Not giving yourself a long time to shop around is the quickest death sentence to a good deal, and I have to admit that I flat out hate all the moms who come online and start whining “I need this very specific doll for $30 by the end of the week or else my daughter’s entire life is ruined and I’m a failure as a mother!”  Well, you’re certainly a failure as a planner!  I will buy things 12-18 months in advance and never think twice about stashing it in the attic or closet.  You should buy when you see an excellent deal on a new doll, or you find a bargain bin doll that is under $50.  Loads of people are willing to sell new and used dolls for $70-1,000, but that doesn’t mean the doll is worth that much.

Case in point, I got a Julie in today’s sale for $55.  Several times I had thought about buying her used around the $80 range – with no clothes!  Boy am I glad I didn’t!  Similarly, my parents bought Isabelle during my daughter’s dance recital.  They paid $120 in June and on December 10th there was a Jill’s Steals and Deals offer for Isabelle, her accessories, and her kitten plushie for $65 (around $160 full retail)!  There is always a deal coming, so don’t be quick to throw your money at a doll, especially one that is not part of a limited edition.  Yes, Girls of the Year are limited in terms of how long they are available, but they are not numbered in terms of 1 of 10,000 – there is no released information on the edition size, so millions of them could have been manufactured.

8)  Did anything just change?  While you keep current on what American Girl has to offer, take note of any big changes.  Is it rumored that a doll is going to be archived soon?  If so, American Girl may be having a mega-sale on their stock pile of that doll soon.

Today’s Jill’s Steals and Deals offer only existed for Caroline, Kit, Kaya, Rebecca, and Julie because BeForever was recently introduced into the line.  BeForever has offered reprinted books and new outfits for the dolls, meaning that the older styles on sale for $55 today were all over stock dolls that could not be sold on the website any longer.  Prior to this blow out deal, many of the older books were priced at $3 on the American Girl website (which, I prefer the old books due to the pictures!).  So remember, like every other business, American Girl makes too much too!

9)  Don’t get overly invested in one doll.  If you decided that your child can’t live without Kanani, be prepared to pay around $300 for her, as she was one of their most popular dolls and is no longer in production.  In fact, I highly recommend to stay away from most of the Girl of the Year dolls – don’t even show the older ones to your kids!  They are only available for one year, and once January 1st hits, you can never buy that doll in stores again – which makes the price of the used ones sky rocket.  If you happen to find one for a good price, by all means grab it, but don’t subject yourself to getting your child invested in owning them.

At best, have your kids make a priority list of dolls.  For example, let them look at the website and write down that their first pick would be Kit, their second pick would be Grave, their third pick Kaya, and on and on.  That way, you get a nice spectrum to search for.

If you want to hunt for sale dolls, you have to be ready and willing to take whatever becomes available.  Do not fixate on finding that one specific doll.  The more flexible you are, the easier your quest will be.

10)  Can you fix the doll?  A doll with a lot of marks, nail polish, cut hair, bad eyes, or a number of other issues may cross your path for a very low price.  Did you realize that you can rewig a doll, tighten the strings, remove many marks with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and even send the doll to the hospital to get new arms, legs, or a head?  If the price is low enough, there are worthwhile and cost effect ways to fix the doll and put her in very good condition again!

11)  We had a great comment suggesting networking, which is a fabulous idea too!  Anyone with older daughters may have American Girl dolls just sitting around.  It doesn’t hurt to ask around and let people be aware that you are looking!  You never know what you’ll find before you ask.

But, having many, many over-zealous aunts myself, please keep in mind that these dolls were always very expensive, and an owner may want to save their doll as a keepsake, or for their own children someday, so do not get overly attached to the idea of getting an older doll from a friend or relative.  If someone does not seem interested or ready to sell, do not push them or get angry with them.  Also don’t expect to get dolls for free, and do not even suggest it!  While American Girl is a doll powerhouse right now, they weren’t always that way, and the older dolls and retired outfits are, and will always be, worth a lot more than the items released after Matel purchased American Girl (they mass produce to an extreme, meaning there are more items, less rarity, and less collectible value overall in new dolls/items).

Plus, I have to admit, I was one of the older cousins in my family, and, growing up, if the younger ones wanted something that I had been told I had “outgrown,” I was expected to hand it over, or else a family fight would break out over how I was being spoiled and selfish.  It’s really a no-fun situation to be put in, and I still have resentment over the issue (more over feeling taken advantage of and bullied than over the actual items lost).  So, with that in mind, be respectful of others at all times!  Don’t pounce, pry, or demand anything from American Girl doll owners, don’t give them your sob stories or talk about your financial issues to guilt them, because, after all, this is 100% a luxury item that your daughter does not have to own to survive.  At the end of the day, if you cannot afford a $120 doll, then maybe your child doesn’t need one.

Those are my basic tips.  I hope you all have a happy hunting experience, and please feel free to comment any of your awesome finds!

Moms, Stop Trying to Sell Me Stuff…

I want to take a moment to get really honest here.  I would like to see my relatives, go on a play date, and/or meet someone new at the park without having them trying to sell me stuff that I don’t want or need.  I mean, really, I don’t need $400 in cheaply made canvas bags, or body wraps that don’t work, every time we see another human being.  And, whether you are selling with your kids to raise funds for their school, or trying to generate a personal income, people hitting me up for money are getting way too out of control.

I have been on the other end of end of network marketing sells with multiple companies, so I get how it works, and for anyone deciding if they should sign up as a representative to anything, let me give you some of the facts I’ve learned about network marketing:

• These companies do not limit how many people are able to sell in an area.  Think Girl Scout Cookies – they let every Girl Scout sell them because that makes Girl Scouts the most money possible.  But, if a girl is struggling to make her quote to get a prize, or earn enough money for a trip, Girl Scouts, the multimillion dollar corporation, could care less and will tell you to try harder next year to reach your goals.  Every one of these network marketing companies are the same way, they make huge profits from the starter kits, and they don’t care about you over their profits, so they will not limit how many reps can sign up.  They in fact seek to flood the market, and if you don’t make your quota every month you’ll often lose rank/earnings. 
• The market is finite – not everyone and their brother will buy make-up or an endless supply of scented wax – so that means every rep who gets a sell ultimately takes a sell away from you.  Think of it as your customers being fish and you are a hunter.  You have a pond with 20 fish in it, and there are 40 people trying to catch a fish for dinner.  Only half of you will get a meal (if people don’t snag multiple fish), then the fish have all been used up, so there won’t be any other food available for a long time.  That is network marketing in a nutshell – it’s survival of the fittest in a system of limited resources.
• Because anyone can sign up to sell, and markets are constantly over-saturated with representatives, that tends to mean everyone already has a close friend or relative who sells your products already.  It is considered bad form to ask someone to purchase items from you if you already know that they have a representative, and some companies will penalize you for doing so.  Even so, some people will be very cut throat and do anything to make a sell – even sell people items for less than retail, just so they get the customer and you don’t. 
• The companies try to convince you that they aren’t a pyramid scheme, yet, the only way to make more money and to move up in the company is to get other people to sign up and sell under you – then they have to do the same.  These places argue that all businesses are a pyramid structure, but, if I go from a bagger to a manager at Krogers, I do not have to meet a sales quota, and they pay me for my time there whether I make my goals or not.  Further, I do not have to get people to pay money to purchase special starter kits to work under me.
• No one wants the stuff!  Even if you are enchanted with the brand and truly, truly believe in it, that doesn’t make the brand any more magical to other people.  For example, my friend started selling toddler toys for a network marketing company.  She kept inviting me to come to parties and begging me to order, and I tried to tell her that my kids were way too old for that stuff.  She was so desperate to make her sales quota that she kept harassing me to buy baby toys, trying to justify to me how my kids can like them anyways, until I had to block her online from contacting me again.
• Everyone cannot make a million dollars a year selling things from home, in fact, 99% of people make nothing after a few weeks.  Here’s how it’s always worked for me – you become a representative, you show off your goods to everyone under the sun and your friends and family make their one-time obligatory purchase (if you’re lucky).  But, what happens after you’ve hit up all your friends and family and no one else is buying?  After all, no one is going to buy a new set of cookware from you every month.  Well, then you get desperate and start begging people to host parties for you, so that you can pressure their friends and family to buy from you.  You have to start harassing people in the parks or at the checkout lines, and you’ll leave thousands of fliers around the county, and, after five months or so, you will be making nothing.
• It’s a money pit!  While you’re desperately trying to make your quota, the company and those above you will recommend that you buy tons of product to demonstrate and/or sell on the spot.  They claim that people are so much more likely to buy something if it’s right there in front of them, but that also means that you, as the rep, are taking a huge financial leap of faith that will likely not pay off for you.  “You have to spend money to make money” is a phrase that network marketing companies feed on to keep you trapped into buying their products and believing their own hype.

 

For group fundraisers (cookies, popcorn, wrapping paper, flower bulbs, etc), I have the following points to make:

• You should speak to people before sending your child to sell them something.  It’s good for the kids to ask and try to sell to people on their own, but you can still talk with those people privately first and ask them if it’s okay for your child to try and sell to them.  A lot of people are in a tough economical situation and they don’t need to feel bad because they can’t afford to buy over-priced chocolates and popcorn.
• Remember that people who have children don’t need to purchase things from your kids.  Even if my kids are not selling, if I wanted any of the fundraiser items, I would have signed them up and bought from them.
• Don’t forget that fundraisers are endless.  Once one ends another one starts up, so don’t get irritated if people won’t buy form you or your child, because you can’t even go through a check out line without getting hit up to donate money these days.  No one can support everyone!
• You should make yourself very aware of where the money goes before you start selling.  So many dojos and dance studios and teams will do these restaurant fundraisers, but then you have no idea how that money is being used, or if it’s staying with the team or going into the owner’s pocket.  Our ballet school has had dozens of fundraisers, yet their ceiling-to-floor mirror is still cracked and they have had no new equipment to show for all those supporters.  School’s are the same way too, they are always doing fundraisers, but never once have I seen or head about anything that was “bought with funds from ____ fundraiser!” or seen any changes/improvements done within the school with that money.  We also had a Girl Scout leader who sold cheap bags in network marketing, and she swore that she would give 50% of her profits to the troop.  Yet, low and behold, there was never a deposit put into the scouting bank account. 
• For smaller scale fundraisers (“I’m raffling off a cake that I baked,” “I’m selling oranges out of my truck,” or “I’m holding my own virtual 5k!”) most people will not be interested in supporting the cause because it’s not credible.  It depends heavily on the scenario and the venue, but going door-to-door or having Facebook events for this type of fundraiser usually results in an epic failure.  And, yes, all of my scenarios above have happened to me.  I did have a random little girl and her mother knock on my door and tell me that I needed to buy raffle tickets for their homemade cake, and they got very angry when I declined.  It seems like a con to get quick money from people.  I can buy a cake in the store for less than $5, and I don’t know you to know if you’d put rat poison or nails inside the thing if I did win it.  Same was true with the oranges – I can safely buy them from the store, or pay you the same price to get them out of a truck that might not pass any health or sanitation standards.  Not to mention, who raises oranges in the desert?  Are they stolen?  Did a store throw them out because they’re going bad?  Hmm, can’t imagine why I would turn that down…
• For the larger scale fundraisers, more often than not, the corporations take the bulk of the money and the kids selling it actually raise very little in comparison.  For example, to keep picking on Girl Scouts, troops get $0.30 to $0.60 per box of cookies on average, yet their campaign materials tell you that 70%+ of the sale goes to help girls.  Now, camps are closing down all over, girls have to pay out-of-pocket for everything (and it’s all pretty expensive!), and free services are severely limited in scouting, yet the single highest paid salary in Girl Scouts (according to the BBB) is over $800,000 a year!  I’ve found a few like Girl Scouts that I do not support any longer because I do not agree with how the fundraising money is divided up.  I believe if I’m doing the work and finding the customers, than I should get the bulk of the profits for my cause, and, with some digging, you may find out that you do not agree with some of the fundraisers that you are also participating in.