Welcome to Maxx Family Life: Kids Stuff
Barbie Doll Marge Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
Limited Edition Barbies: Pain and Pleasure for Collectors
from: Maxx Family Life: Kid's StuffNothing is truer than the fact that a limited edition Barbie is to Barbie collectors what a rare bottle of wine is to a wine collector -- a wonderful find! After all, limited editions Barbies are the lifeblood that pulses through the veins of the Barbie collectors. Sure, there are many collectors who may collect vintage dolls, and others who specialize in themed collections, such as holiday themes or “evening at the show” themes.
However, many collectors love to have limited edition Barbie since it promises to be a rarity some day -- usually sooner rather than later. Though the number of available dolls isn't being daily reduced simply because dolls are being ravaged by time, but rather because just a limited number were produced after which the producers literally throw away the mold.
However, all isn't well on the collecting front. In fact, to some collectors these limited edition Barbies are a pain rather than a pleasure. They bemoan the fact that at times they wontt be able to purchase the dolls they want when they want them, and then have to wait for other collectors to sell their dolls -- often at inflated prices. These types of collectors usually care little about “NRFB” (never removed from box) and similar designations, but instead enjoy posing their dolls and displaying them in their homes. Beginning collectors may also fall into this category, and may actually feel somewhat put off at not being able to obtain the dolls of their choice when they're first joining the ranks of the serious collectors.
Granted, both sides make a lot of sense, however, if you're a serious Barbie collector, you should ask yourself: do I want to collect dolls for the sake of collecting and personally displaying them, or am I collecting with one eye on the possibility that my investments will increase in value? Sure, if you're happy to just occassionaly add beautiful dolls to your collection, and you don't mind paying whatever price is required for them, then it won't matter to you if a doll is a limited edition Barbie or simply a regular doll still in production and probably will continue to be so for a while.
Similarly, you'll have to understand that the beautiful doll you just bought is probably going to decline in value rather than increase because so many are available, and -- like so many other items -- supply and demand will remain even, and perhaps fall in the favor of the supply rather than the demand side of the equation.
What it comes down to is that there are two different kinds of collectors: those who hope their collections increases in value and who choose their pieces for this possibility, and those who simply collect for aesthetics and don't really care if their collection increases or decreases in value.
While Mattel does tries to cater to each type of collector, when a casual collector can't obtain a limited doll she wants, it doesn't help to remember all the other dolls she's able to purchase without any problem. Thus, it's a foregone conclusion that limited edition Barbies are a pain as well as a pleasure to collectors -- yet they're here to stay, and hopefully Mattel’s willingness to cater to both kinds of collectors will alleviate some of the pain.
Barbie Doll Marge News