Fashion Dolls
Buy and sell fashion dolls in Guatemala.
A fashion doll is bought to be dressed, and her clothes decide most of what she is worth. Barbie and her friends, Bratz with feet that pop off at the ankle and the Disney princesses in their film gowns are traded new in the box and pre-owned, and so are the cars and houses built for them. In Guatemala much of the used supply arrives by the pound, sorted out of American paca sacks of mixed toys, which is why a bare doll is easy to find and a complete one is not. The original outfit, the right shoes and a box nobody opened are what hold a doll’s price up.
Barbie, Bratz and a princess in her film gown:
they share a shelf but not a wardrobe. Barbie is the scale everything else is measured against, with lines running from the basic Fashionistas to boxed collector dolls never meant to be played with. Bratz are shorter and top-heavy, with oversized heads, heavy make-up and feet that pull off at the ankle, because on a Bratz the shoe is the foot. Disney princess dolls such as Elsa, Ariel and Moana sit close to Barbie’s size. Mattel made them for years, lost the licence to Hasbro and then won it back, so two Cinderellas bought a few years apart can have different faces, bodies and boxes. A child who would rather feed a doll than dress her is better served by the baby dolls.
Bratz feet, Made to Move joints and borrowed gowns:
matter most when the doll you are buying for is already at home. Barbie shoes are useless on a Bratz, and a Bratz who has lost her feet needs another pair of Bratz feet, not shoes. Princess gowns mostly pass between Barbie and the Disney dolls in both directions, which makes a mixed bag of dresses worth more than it looks. Joints are the other divide. A basic Barbie turns at the neck, shoulders and hips and little else, while a Made to Move body bends at the knees, elbows and wrists and will sit, kneel and hold a pose.
Paca dolls by the pound and the Dreamhouse:
sit at opposite ends of the price scale. Loose Barbies pulled from paca toy sacks change hands in lots at around Q20 a doll, because there are so many of them and most have lost their clothes. Barbie’s biggest houses, the Dreamhouse with its lift, pool and dozens of tiny pieces of furniture, cost around Q2,500 to Q3,000 new. Second-hand, the value is in the furniture rather than the walls: empty shells are easy to come by, the kitchen, the beds and the tiny dishes are not, and a house without them sells as a shell however clean it is.
Dye stains, frizz and copied Elsas on a used fashion doll:
tell you whether she is worth fixing. Dark or red clothes left on for months can bleed into the vinyl and leave a stain in the shape of the outfit, and that colour is hard to lift. Frizz looks worse than it is: a dip in hot water and a slow comb lays most factory hair flat again, though nothing brings back hair that was cut or burnt with a straightener. Copies give themselves away in the hand. They are lighter, the plastic is harder, the joints wobble so the doll will not stand straight, and the hands are often a different material from the arms; Elsas and Cinderellas are among the most copied. On Bratz from a lot, turn the feet over. First-edition dolls have solid soles and came in a box with a matte logo, while the anniversary reissues have holes underneath and a holographic logo, and a collector will pay for the difference.
Sorting a toy sack into complete dolls:
is worth the hour before you list, whether the sack came from a paca or from your daughter’s room. Split the dolls by maker, put each one back with the clothes and feet that belong to her, and list the complete ones on their own: a Barbie in her original outfit or a Bratz with matching feet and bag finds a buyer faster than a bag of bare dolls. Photograph each doll front and back, plus any stain and the hair up close. For a playset, lay every piece beside the box so it can be counted, and say whether the lights work on fresh batteries. A dream house decides what vehicle the buyer turns up in, so tell the family driving over from Salamá whether it is assembled and whether it comes apart for the trip.