Thursday, June 14, 2012

A Real Mixed Bag -- June thrift store dolls

Local thrifts weren't offering dolls I wanted over the last couple weeks so there hasn't been anything to report here. That changed when I went to Value Village yesterday and found a slew of new bagged dolls to look through. They finally cleaned out the dolls nobody wanted (true junk) and brought in at least three dozen fresh faces. Hurray!


Thrift store prices can be all over the map. If processed on a different day these bags could've been $4 or $5, it depends what the pricer on duty thinks the dolls are worth. I was happy to see each bag marked $3, that works out to 6 dolls for $9, or $1.50 each. Sometimes they put as many as 5 or 6 dolls in a single bag, which I wish they wouldn't do. Usually I only want 1 or 2 of the dolls and bundling so many together pushes the price up.

Note: I combed their hair but didn't do much else to make the dolls look better for this photo shoot. Most of the time I give thrift dolls a bath and wash their hair (because they really need it), but these dolls will have to wait for spa day. Fortunately they were in pretty good condition right out of the bag.

BAG #1: Mystery Doll and Alexis Liv

I spotted Alexis from several feet away and knew right away I'd buy her after checking the reasonable price, but her tag-a-long partner has truly enchanted me. She was nude in the bag so she borrowed another Liv Alexis outfit and I put her hair in ponytails for the photo shoot. Alexis's little bag was a surprise, the accessories are usually missing from thrift store dolls. It's an extra good buy when their shoes are included too!

Mystery Doll and Alexis
Mystery Doll has no visible company name, just (c) 2011 and Made in China. I have no clue where she came from, other than China. Her body is not the hollow lightweight plastic found on many clones from China, it's actually very nice. Photos don't do her justice, she is so pretty in person.


Normally a doll with no identifiable markings is a clone and the quality is lacking, so this no-name doll is not typical. Do you recognize her?


BAG #2: My Scene Nolee and Bratz

Mortal enemies! Sharing the same bag!
This bag included My Scene Shopping Spree Nolee from 2004 and a Bratz doll. I don't hate Bratz but I can't be bothered to identify this particular doll, I don't care that much. Her clothes fit Monster High dolls so that helped justify buying this bag. I put it back on the peg but went back a few minutes later to retrieve it and don't regret changing my mind. ( (I actually bought the first wave Bratz when they were released in 2001, plus the first Bratz boys, but soon decided it was a doll line I didn't need to keep up with.)

Monster High Operetta will look great in that Bratz skirt
My Scene dolls have a secret: there are Barbie size feet hiding in those oversize shoes. So you have a choice, let them wear big My Scene shoes or put Barbie shoes on their dainty Barbie feet.

According to Wikipedia the My Scene line ended in 2010. I bought the first wave in 2002 and have added 2-3 other My Scene dolls thanks to thrifts. They aren't too easy to find at thrifts around here, if there's a huge pile of dolls I might find just one, and there's no guarantee she'll be in good condition.

Mystery Doll from Bag #1 looks like Nolee's sweet innocent younger sister


BAG #3: Barbie and Jenny clone


Forget the Barbie. Ugh, I greatly dislike this facemold (more Mackie please) but the facepaint is subtle and not too bad, it can look a lot worse. This bag was purchased just for the Jenny clone. She's amazing. I have a soft spot for clones, especially vintage Barbie clones, so I'll often buy one if they actually look good. Jenny isn't vintage Barbie but I couldn't pass up her clone. In a nutshell, Jenny is the Japanese Barbie. You can read more about Jenny on Wikipedia if you're unfamiliar with her story.

This clone has a super cheap plastic body but her head is decent quality, thankfully they didn't use the same lightweight plastic for her head. The facemold looks like a direct copy of an official Jenny doll.

Clone in the middle!
Here you can see the Jenny clone in the middle of two real Jenny dolls -- which were purchased NRFB online many years ago, NOT at thrift store prices. Jenny Clone will look fantastic with a new body and outfit.

Well this felt like a pretty good haul, I won't complain if there's another long dry spell ahead. Thanks for stopping by!