How to Place a Sell Price For Your Dolls

Thinking of selling off your Monster High, Ever After High and other dolls? Here are a few things to consider when setting a price for your dolls, based on my experiences as a buyer and a seller. There is a delicate balance between pricing too low that you haven’t realised the true value of the doll (i.e. you’ve ripped yourself off) or being overpriced that the market keeps overlooking your offers. I believe in fair market pricing so that buyers are able to purchase, and ensuring that the quality of the goods reflect a good price.

Availability Are the dolls you're selling still available in shops, still in production or have they stopped making them? Did they make these in limited quantities or are they special editions? Are they only available at certain events like the San Diego Comic Con? Basically the more available and easily obtainable they are, the lower you would have to price them than the places that stock them to be able to compete. If the dolls are no longer manufactured and/or distributed, good indicators for sell price is to check online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon.

Generally, the longer the doll has been out of production, the higher a price you can charge - one example of this is Monster High Wave 1 original characters versus Wave 2 releases. However, there are other factors that affect your bottom line price so prices on these marketplaces should be used as a guide only. Just because someone on eBay is selling an out-of-box Winx Club doll for $90AUD it does not mean people will buy that particular doll at that price.

These gorgeous Monster High ladies are very hard to find and cost a good penny even second hand!

Popularity Do the dolls have TV shows or movies that are still popular? Do they have a large fan base? A great indicator is to search out official Facebook pages or Instagram hashtags related to them to see the number of followers. If their shows and movies are having lots of airplay, or if new seasons or movies are getting released this is also a good sign of popularity. Popular dolls are highly sought after which means you can charge a premium; however how high a premium you charge is weighted heavily on the condition of the doll. Condition The condition of the doll and its packaging are the largest factors that affect price. For dolls Brand New In Box (BNIB), if the box has damage, creases, tears and discolouration that affects aesthetics and preservation, this affects value. Once the doll has been taken out of its packaging, this hugely decreases the value by 20-30%.

For used and out-of-box dolls - if the doll’s hair, face, makeup, body parts, outfits, are damaged, scratched or marked in any way, this affects the doll's value. If the doll is missing body parts, shoes, outfits and on-doll accessories (such as earrings) this also greatly affects the price you can charge. If the doll is missing external accessories (i.e. accessories not on the doll such as pets) this would have a smaller bearing on price compared to damaged or missing on-doll parts.

It's amazing what a little cosmetic touch can do. Here's some Before and After shots of Briar Beauty and Mal having their hair de-tangled and restyled. Which ones would you pay more for?

Budget Basic vs Deluxe dolls

Budget Basic dolls tend to have fewer accessories, details and features (for example, articulation), and doll parts, outfits and accessories may be made of cheaper materials. When pricing Budget Basic dolls, their price should generally be lower than their Deluxe counterpart - some examples of this include Basic Bratzillaz versus Deluxe Articulated Bratzillaz with acrylic eyes; and Basic Project Mc2 dolls with limited articulation and outfit pieces versus highly articulated Deluxe dolls with layered outfits.

Which Winx Club doll would command a higher price?

Design Features Some franchises like the Winx Club have been made by a few toy manufacturers such as Mattel, Jakks-Pacific, Smoby and Witty Toys. Each manufacturer had a different design, standards in clothing, levels of articulation and materials of construction for the dolls. The pictures below compare a Jakks-Pacific (left) and Smoby (right) Believix Stella face, clothing and wings. In terms of design, in my opinion the Jakks-Pacific doll appears higher quality, has better aesthetics and, its wing design is more robust and has a fluttering feature compared to the Smoby wings. Purely from a design perspective I would price a Jakks-Pacific doll higher than a Smoby doll if they are in similar condition; though realistically there are other factors to be considered as well.

Timing

Timing could involve a time in the market when supply could exceed demand or demand exceed supply; in which case prices could be set lower or higher respectively. Timing could also involve how quickly you need to sell your items - the quicker you need to sell, the lower you would have to set your price.

Most of the time I find that price setting involves making realistic, educated guesses based on market activity, which can sometimes involve much trial and error. If no one is buying or inquiring it could be that the price set is too high. Adjust the price then monitor the interest, and if still doesn’t generate interest then keep adjusting until it does. It may be worth noting though that the market has its quiet periods so don’t be too hasty in dropping the price too low too soon, and drop only a bit at a time.

Well, I hope these tips help you get a good sale! Good Luck!