This was once part of my office.
This was my shipping area
I used to store supplies and stock in here.
Dolls in the 'Front Room'
Dolls in the 'Showroom'
Some of these dolls are beautiful, like this Bebe Jumeau bride heirloom doll from Franklin Heirloom Dolls.
Carolyn's Miniatures
Let's Start Something Small!
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The Doll Diaries
It was a dark and stormy night...well, actually, no, it was a beautifully sunny Friday afternoon here in Southern California. I was working at my miniatures store when a gentleman entered and asked if I knew anything about dolls. I told him that the only dolls I had were 1:12 scale dolls. No, he told me, that's not what he was talking about, and he proceeded to tell me the following story:
His name is Jim, and about two and a half years prior, his wife had passed away. Shortly after that he received a letter from a storage unit company informing him that if he did not make the payment on his storage unit, he would lose it. He contacted them to say he did not have a storage unit. Well, his wife did, apparently. When he looked in the unit, it was completely full of new, unopened porcelain dolls. Nearly 200 of them. He had known nothing about them. Apparently, like many people she either loved dolls or was purchasing them (with his money) in hopes of a good investment later down the line.
Having to do something, he made contact with a dealer at an antiques mall in a very small town near here. She agreed to try to sell them for him. He rented a Ryder truck and moved the dolls to her warehouse. Two and a half years later, she had sold two of them. Not only was he not very happy about this, but she now wanted the dolls removed within 2 days. Unfortunately now he was in poor health, having to go in for lengthy pulmonary therapy daily. He was not physically able to move the dolls. There had been a doll show here in Ramona a couple weeks before, so I gave him some phone numbers.
Coming Home - October 30, 2010
That night I told the story to my husband (Dan) and we decided we would like to help the man out. I called him the next day and made arrangements to pick up the dolls from the warehouse where they had been sitting for 2 1/2 years. I made no promises, but just said I would do the best I could. We met the woman at the mall on Sunday and Dan and I loaded my Explorer and his truck FULL of these dusty boxes. There was barely room for us to drive!
We have a spare room that Dan had built next to the garage at our house (he can do anything!), so we put up shelving and stacked the boxes. I've spent many, many (did I say many?) hours since then researching online, organizing the boxes, photographing the dolls, etc. My mom, bless her heart, even ordered me three books on collectable dolls. Of course, not one of them says anything about any of the dolls I have! Luckily there are many great sites online that have valuable information.
I have to tell you, my first reaction when I started opening the endless dusty boxes of dolls was, "I hate dolls." But now I am actually learning an appreciation for them. I went from knowing absolutely nothing to honestly, quite a bit in just 6 short weeks.
On one of my 'I hate dolls' days, I walked in the front door after a long day and Dan was watching something on TV, where there was a whole line of dolls in a store aisle waving and talking. He just looked at me and laughed.
EBay - November 7-14, 2010
My first attempt to sell the dolls was, of course, on eBay. I kind of felt taboo about taking the dolls out of their boxes for pictures, those things are really packaged well! Styrofoam forms, tissue paper tearing from age, wire ties, bubble wrap on the hands and feet, hair nets, sealed accessory bags and boxes - I felt like I was destroying their value. So I downloaded stock pictures wherever I could find them. I don't really use eBay very much, but I listed 25 dolls to test the waters. I put low first bids on most of them ($10-$15) with a realistic, but below market, Buy It Now price. The owner really wants to sell the dolls as quickly as he can. I didn't know that the Buy It Now disappears after a bid is placed. Well, I sold 19 of the 25 dolls I listed, but only for about an average of $20 each! That wasn't such a good idea. I did pay for one myself that I gave to one of my wonderful customers, Emma. After deducting 9% for eBay and another 2.9% for PayPal, I sent Jim a pitiful check and promised to try something else.
(I did try selling something of my own at this time also, but that turned into a nightmare. EBay Customer Service got involved, the buyer had to return the item at her own expense and then gave me a negative feedback. Of course I had left a positive feedback for her before the transaction was complete - NEVER DO THAT!)
Estate Sale - December 11& 12, 2010
I thought my next option would be selling the dolls to people who could actually see and appreciate how well made and detailed they are. I decided I would have an estate sale in my store where I could put the dolls on display. By now, I have spent many, many more hours researching and have gotten names, values, pictures, (original costs - choke), of the dolls. I arrange tor two ads to be placed in the San Diego Union-Tribune, one a week before the sale and one the weekend of it. My niece suggests I put a listing on Craigslist, so I do that also. I make up flyers, send out emails to my store mailing list, and post the sale and some of the dolls on my website. I moved all the doll boxes to my store over several days time, moved some of my houses into storage and moved my shipping and workshop area to make room for all the dolls. Dan and I make up a big A-frame sign for the front of the store and Dan ties balloons to it.
I sold one doll. Even though I got more than $20 for it, I didn't make enough to pay for the ads.
EBid.net - December 15, 2010
Jim told me about another online auction site that I should try. He had heard it advertised on the Glenn Beck show but couldn't remember the name. I checked Glenn Beck's website, couldn't find it, but realized how much he reminded me of my ex-husband. I left the site pronto and used Google to find it.
I joined eBid.net, with a lifetime membership for the cost of one of my newspaper ads. After that everything is free. A lot cheaper than eBay! I even opened an eBid store. I am testing the waters here, but I listed a few of the dolls. So we'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, I promised a couple customers I would keep the dolls here for a while. It's kind of crowded. I feel like a couple hundred someones are watching me with their life-like glass eyes.
January 15, 2011
Well, here it is, a month later and I have not gotten one bid on eBid.net. I just don't think it is that well known of an auction site yet. However, I did list a few of them again on eBay a little over a week ago with reasonable prices and I've had success! I hope Jim will be happy.
I've done some research on doll shows and thought I'd give that route a try. I spoke with a very nice woman recently who coordinates the Crossroads doll shows. There is a show at the Al Bahr Shrine this weekend, but it was sold out so couldn't do that one. She mentioned one in Roseville (Sacramento) next month. At first I was against it, but she told me that doll collectors also frequently do miniatures. So after talking it over with Dan, we decided to do it. I'll take miniatures as well as the dolls, and we'll get to see our kids and grandkids while we're up there. Since it will be at the Placer County Fairgrounds and there is RV parking, we'll load ALL the dolls up in the RV. Dan suggested I make a catalog with pictures of the dolls and I've done that. We can display miniatures and a few of the dolls at the show, as well as the catalog. If someone is interested in a doll, Dan can go get it from the RV for them to see. It totally sounds like a disaster in the making, doesn't it? My poor 15 year old son will be going with us, I don't think he's going to like it very much.
The show will be Saturday, February 19, 2011 from 9:00am to 3:00pm at the Placer County Fairgrounds, 800 All America City Blvd in Roseville, CA. It's official title is the Crossroads Dolls and Teddy Bear Show and Sale.
If anyone is interested in seeing the catalog, just email me and I'll send it to you. If you find you're interested in any of the dolls, you can email or call me and I can ship them to you.
His name is Jim, and about two and a half years prior, his wife had passed away. Shortly after that he received a letter from a storage unit company informing him that if he did not make the payment on his storage unit, he would lose it. He contacted them to say he did not have a storage unit. Well, his wife did, apparently. When he looked in the unit, it was completely full of new, unopened porcelain dolls. Nearly 200 of them. He had known nothing about them. Apparently, like many people she either loved dolls or was purchasing them (with his money) in hopes of a good investment later down the line.
Having to do something, he made contact with a dealer at an antiques mall in a very small town near here. She agreed to try to sell them for him. He rented a Ryder truck and moved the dolls to her warehouse. Two and a half years later, she had sold two of them. Not only was he not very happy about this, but she now wanted the dolls removed within 2 days. Unfortunately now he was in poor health, having to go in for lengthy pulmonary therapy daily. He was not physically able to move the dolls. There had been a doll show here in Ramona a couple weeks before, so I gave him some phone numbers.
Coming Home - October 30, 2010
That night I told the story to my husband (Dan) and we decided we would like to help the man out. I called him the next day and made arrangements to pick up the dolls from the warehouse where they had been sitting for 2 1/2 years. I made no promises, but just said I would do the best I could. We met the woman at the mall on Sunday and Dan and I loaded my Explorer and his truck FULL of these dusty boxes. There was barely room for us to drive!
We have a spare room that Dan had built next to the garage at our house (he can do anything!), so we put up shelving and stacked the boxes. I've spent many, many (did I say many?) hours since then researching online, organizing the boxes, photographing the dolls, etc. My mom, bless her heart, even ordered me three books on collectable dolls. Of course, not one of them says anything about any of the dolls I have! Luckily there are many great sites online that have valuable information.
I have to tell you, my first reaction when I started opening the endless dusty boxes of dolls was, "I hate dolls." But now I am actually learning an appreciation for them. I went from knowing absolutely nothing to honestly, quite a bit in just 6 short weeks.
On one of my 'I hate dolls' days, I walked in the front door after a long day and Dan was watching something on TV, where there was a whole line of dolls in a store aisle waving and talking. He just looked at me and laughed.
EBay - November 7-14, 2010
My first attempt to sell the dolls was, of course, on eBay. I kind of felt taboo about taking the dolls out of their boxes for pictures, those things are really packaged well! Styrofoam forms, tissue paper tearing from age, wire ties, bubble wrap on the hands and feet, hair nets, sealed accessory bags and boxes - I felt like I was destroying their value. So I downloaded stock pictures wherever I could find them. I don't really use eBay very much, but I listed 25 dolls to test the waters. I put low first bids on most of them ($10-$15) with a realistic, but below market, Buy It Now price. The owner really wants to sell the dolls as quickly as he can. I didn't know that the Buy It Now disappears after a bid is placed. Well, I sold 19 of the 25 dolls I listed, but only for about an average of $20 each! That wasn't such a good idea. I did pay for one myself that I gave to one of my wonderful customers, Emma. After deducting 9% for eBay and another 2.9% for PayPal, I sent Jim a pitiful check and promised to try something else.
(I did try selling something of my own at this time also, but that turned into a nightmare. EBay Customer Service got involved, the buyer had to return the item at her own expense and then gave me a negative feedback. Of course I had left a positive feedback for her before the transaction was complete - NEVER DO THAT!)
Estate Sale - December 11& 12, 2010
I thought my next option would be selling the dolls to people who could actually see and appreciate how well made and detailed they are. I decided I would have an estate sale in my store where I could put the dolls on display. By now, I have spent many, many more hours researching and have gotten names, values, pictures, (original costs - choke), of the dolls. I arrange tor two ads to be placed in the San Diego Union-Tribune, one a week before the sale and one the weekend of it. My niece suggests I put a listing on Craigslist, so I do that also. I make up flyers, send out emails to my store mailing list, and post the sale and some of the dolls on my website. I moved all the doll boxes to my store over several days time, moved some of my houses into storage and moved my shipping and workshop area to make room for all the dolls. Dan and I make up a big A-frame sign for the front of the store and Dan ties balloons to it.
I sold one doll. Even though I got more than $20 for it, I didn't make enough to pay for the ads.
EBid.net - December 15, 2010
Jim told me about another online auction site that I should try. He had heard it advertised on the Glenn Beck show but couldn't remember the name. I checked Glenn Beck's website, couldn't find it, but realized how much he reminded me of my ex-husband. I left the site pronto and used Google to find it.
I joined eBid.net, with a lifetime membership for the cost of one of my newspaper ads. After that everything is free. A lot cheaper than eBay! I even opened an eBid store. I am testing the waters here, but I listed a few of the dolls. So we'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, I promised a couple customers I would keep the dolls here for a while. It's kind of crowded. I feel like a couple hundred someones are watching me with their life-like glass eyes.
January 15, 2011
Well, here it is, a month later and I have not gotten one bid on eBid.net. I just don't think it is that well known of an auction site yet. However, I did list a few of them again on eBay a little over a week ago with reasonable prices and I've had success! I hope Jim will be happy.
I've done some research on doll shows and thought I'd give that route a try. I spoke with a very nice woman recently who coordinates the Crossroads doll shows. There is a show at the Al Bahr Shrine this weekend, but it was sold out so couldn't do that one. She mentioned one in Roseville (Sacramento) next month. At first I was against it, but she told me that doll collectors also frequently do miniatures. So after talking it over with Dan, we decided to do it. I'll take miniatures as well as the dolls, and we'll get to see our kids and grandkids while we're up there. Since it will be at the Placer County Fairgrounds and there is RV parking, we'll load ALL the dolls up in the RV. Dan suggested I make a catalog with pictures of the dolls and I've done that. We can display miniatures and a few of the dolls at the show, as well as the catalog. If someone is interested in a doll, Dan can go get it from the RV for them to see. It totally sounds like a disaster in the making, doesn't it? My poor 15 year old son will be going with us, I don't think he's going to like it very much.
The show will be Saturday, February 19, 2011 from 9:00am to 3:00pm at the Placer County Fairgrounds, 800 All America City Blvd in Roseville, CA. It's official title is the Crossroads Dolls and Teddy Bear Show and Sale.
If anyone is interested in seeing the catalog, just email me and I'll send it to you. If you find you're interested in any of the dolls, you can email or call me and I can ship them to you.
