Collecting dolls either antique or modern is one of the most popular hobbies for females today. Adult women collect valuable antique dolls, special edition Barbie dolls, or a host of other collectible genres. They frequent online auctions such as eBay, to keep an eye out for the dolls they want for their collections. Other sources are antique dealers and antique shows.
Young girls are usually more interested in modern dolls such as Barbie or Bratz or many other presently made lines. Generally these can be had for a few dollars and up depending on the particuilar doll and where it is purchased. Fairly common late model Barbies show up frequently in all kinds of places such as thrift stores, garage sales and online. Sometimes they can be found in bulk lots costing a dollar or less per doll.
Antique dolls can be very expensive bisque dolls from the 19th century, which generally run from fifty up to several thousand dollars, or can in fact be much lower cost collectibles such as composition, cloth or early plastic dolls which may only cost from a dollar or two up to several hundred dollars. People tend to collect what they can afford to buy. If money is no object then expensive bisque dollas are a good investment. If funds are somewhat more limited then the lower priced bisque dolls can be purchased for around one hundred dollars and up. With less funds to invest it is much better to collect interesting composition or cloth dolls which may run from just a few dollars and up.
Examples of bisque dolls are Bru dolls, which usually sell for figures in the thousands, or Armand Marseille which is more likely to be in the hundreds of dollars. The reason for the difference in values is scarcity and quality. Bru dolls were made in relatively small numbers and are of top quality. Armand Marseille dolls were made in large numbers, and are generally of good but lesser quality than the Bru. Modern reproductions of antique bisque dolls are readily available, and some are beautiful and of high quality. Their investment value is however another story as they are unlikely to increase in value as the true antiques do.
Special edition Barbie dolls are manufactured in limited numbers in order to retain value. To be of collector interest these must be in mint condition and in the original packaging. This generally applies to all modern collector dolls. Once removed from the packaging they are worth only a fraction of the original value. As a matter of interest here, it is certainly a fact that any old toy which is in its original packaging and in good condition, will be worth a great deal more than the same toy with no box. Collectors will pay a premium price for MIB items of any kind. MIB is a term you will come across which is used to describe toys or any other collectibles which are Mint In Box.
The following information is quoted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doll
During the 19th century dolls' heads were often made of porcelain and combined with a body of leather, cloth, wood, or composite materials, like papier-mâché or composition, a mix of pulp, sawdust, glue and similar materials.[18][19] With the advent of polymer and plastic materials in the 20th century, doll making largely shifted to these materials. The low cost, ease of manufacture and durability of plastic materials meant new types of dolls could be mass produced at a lower price. The earliest materials were rubber and celluloid. From the mid-20th century soft vinyl became the dominant material, in particular for childrens dolls.[20][21] Beginning in the 20th century, both porcelain and plastic dolls are made directly for the adult collectors market. Synthetic resins like polyurethane resemble porcelain in texture and are used for collectible dolls.
Collectors make a distinction between china dolls, made of glazed porcelain, and bisque dolls, made of unglazed bisque porcelain. A typical antique china doll has a white glazed porcelain head with painted molded hair and a body made of cloth or leather. The name comes from china being used to refer to the material porcelain. They were mass produced in Germany, peaking in popularity between 1840 and 1890, and selling in the millions.[22][23][24] Parian dolls were also made in Germany, from around 1860 to 1880. They are made of white porcelain similar to china dolls but the head is not dipped in glaze and has a matte finish.[25] Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish. They had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900 with French and German dolls. Antique German and French bisque dolls from the 19th century were often made as children's playthings, but contemporary bisque dolls are predominantly made directly for the collectors market.[24][18][26]
Up through the middle of the 19th century, European dolls were predominantly made to represent grown-ups. Child-like dolls and the later ubiquitous baby doll did not appear until around 1850.[24][27] But by the late century baby and child-like dolls had overtaken the market.[24] Realistic, lifelike wax dolls were popular in Victorian England.[28]:
18.^ a b An Introduction to Bisque Dolls - About.com: http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollprofiles/p/bisquedolls.htm?rd=1
19.^ Glossary of Doll Collecting Terms - Composition - About.com: http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollcollectingglossary/g/composition.htm?rd=1
20.^ Fraser 1973, pp. 81–83 Fraser, Antonia (1973). Dolls. Octopus books. ISBN 0706400569.
21.^ Vinyl Dolls - An Introduction to Vinyl Dolls - About.com: http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollprofiles/p/vinyldolls.htm
22.^ Coleman, Dorothy S., Elizabeth A., and Evelyn Jk. (1968), "China Head Dolls", The Collector's Encyclopaedia of Dolls Volume One, London: Robert Hale, pp. 118–134, ISBN 0709055986
23.^ An Introduction to China Dolls - About.com: http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollprofiles/p/chinadolls.htm?rd=1
24.^ a b c d A Brief History of Antique Dolls, Part II - About.com: http://collectdolls.about.com/library/weekly/aa033199.htm?rd=1
25.^ Krombholz, Mary Groham, German Parian Dolls, 2006, Reverie Publishing, pg. 7
26.^ Christopher, Catherine (1971). The complete book of doll making and collecting. Dover Publications. pp. 187–190. ISBN 0486220664.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doll
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