Watch for more dolls for sale!

I recently decided to go through my doll collection and sell many of them. It was a difficult decision to make, but I want to try to raise enough money to have my car — a low-mileage classic Nissan Z — restored before the rust eats it up.

Last night I started going through the first couple of boxes of dolls, and today I photographed the first batch of things for sale. So far there is a lot of small pre-Barbie fashion doll stuff and 8-inch toddler doll stuff.

I will go through more of my dolls at a later date, as quite frankly I have found this day physically and mentally exhausting. It's hard to go through a collection with the goal of selling some of it!

I will start listing my dolls for sale shortly. There is a lot, so check back frequently!

New doll pics, coming soon...

I mentioned in my post about the doll show that I bought a new doll there. I will take some pictures and post them soon, but first I think I am going to clean her up and soak her dress. (Someone has washed it and wrung it out — arrghhhh — but a good soaking should remove most of the wrinkles!)

In the meantime, I have plenty of other dolls that I have photographed and have yet to blog about, including some other dolls for sale, so stay tuned!

Downsizing

Most collectors go through cycles of adding to collections, and downsizing collections. I think it's triggered by an instinct for self-preservation — my dolls would take over my home if I didn't downsize periodically! Besides, selling dolls I am tired of means more money for my current interests.

I have recently started thinking of downsizing. It's hard to decide what dolls to part with, especially in an economy where I know I won't always get what I paid for them, but I've chosen a few to start with. My mom is thinking of downsizing, too, so we're going to rent a table at a doll show next month and try our hand at selling.

I will post pictures and descriptions of all the dolls we're selling on my For Sale page over the next few weeks. Any dolls that haven't sold by then will go to the show with us. I'll post more information as the time for the show draws nearer.

More dolls and doll stringing stories coming soon

I am back from my long hiatus!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated my blog, but I had an extraordinarily busy summer. All that is over now, though, and I'm back to my old work schedule — complete with plenty of time to blog.

Starting tomorrow, I'll have all-new blog posts about my dolls and doll stringing stories. Stay tuned for:

1) Pictures, descriptions, and stories of several new dolls I've gotten — as well as why my tastes have changed

2) Doll stringing stories of dolls I've had that I just hadn't gotten around to tell you about yet (I've got well over a hundred dolls, so really this blog has only just scratched the surface)

3) Pictures and descriptions of several dolls and related items that my mom and I are offering for sale

Coming soon: For Sale page

Like most collectors, I am always refining my collection. As I focus my doll collection more and more, I am always selling off dolls and outfits that I have decided not to collect anymore.

Although eBay has been a great source for my collection, I am dissatisfied with some of their policies and changes over the years. As a result, I have decided to offer items for sale to my readers here before listing them on eBay.

Stay tuned — I'll have the "For Sale" page up soon!

Why I don't publish catalog or doll book pictures

I belong to several Yahoo! doll groups. In one of these groups, members are scanning and uploading pages from doll books they own, as research materials for other members.

The objective is commendable, but I was concerned about copyright infringement, so I spoke up. As a writer, I am all too aware of how many people on the Internet are ignorant about the fact that most intellectual works are protected by copyright. That means that you can't use someone else's words or pictures on your website, without first getting permission or verifying that the works are part of the public domain.

In the case of this group, I offered to research the copyright on the book (because there is a chance it is not protected by copyright), but I also suggested that they make sure the scans are available only to the group members.

Oddly, the responses I received betrayed a lot of ignorance and even a little hostility. I guess some people will do anything they can — even if it means flaming a well-meaning person — in order to avoid acknowledging what they don't want to.

At any rate, as a writer I refuse to infringe on other people's copyrights, because I know from experience how miserable it is when someone does it to me. That is why most of the pictures on my site are ones I have taken of my own dolls. (In the two exceptions, the pictures of Snow White's hair and the Scarlett Elise, I got permission from the photographers.)

Any time a scan or a picture not taken by me appears on this site, you may be sure that either 1) I received permission from the copyright holder, or 2) the image is part of the public domain.