# Got lots of dolls - have to sell. Where? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 2, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-lots-of-dolls-have-to-sell-where/919567 "2020-09-02T00:51:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-lots-of-dolls-have-to-sell-where/919567/1 "2020-09-02T00:51:40Z")
Not me, actually, but a close friend. Her mother passed away last month and an inventory of the house uncovered lots of dolls. I quote: _From ‘fashion’ dolls to designer fine bisque Baby dolls, brides, nursery rhymes, fairies…sandy &I counted over 150 dolls, still in their original boxes._ She has no idea how to get the maximum possible for these things. Anybody know any good doll forums around? Groups on Facebook that know what they’re talking about? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-lots-of-dolls-have-to-sell-where/919567/2 "2020-09-02T00:56:26Z")
I sell a lot on eBay, mostly stuff I don’t know about (as in, someone out there is a collector but not me). I just search for the item on eBay and filter the results for “sold” and see what the item sold for in the past. Usually I will post everything as an auction, with an auction starting price of what would be my lowest, and a Buy It Now price of what would be great to get. I’ll leave the items at auction for a couple weeks (so, two auction cycles) maybe tweaking the starting and BIN prices for week two. Then I put all the leftovers up at Buy It Now, sorta slowly tweaking down the prices until they’re all gone. I never expect to make a killing, but I try to price to sell and remember that for the most part any money I make is more than I had before. Even after fees. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-lots-of-dolls-have-to-sell-where/919567/3 "2020-09-02T10:26:40Z")
There **are** collectable toy dealers. Drop a bill or two on getting them appraised. You might be surprised. Also, watch for a Barbie labeled in German, called “Bild Lilli”. If you have it, you hit the jackpot. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-lots-of-dolls-have-to-sell-where/919567/4 "2020-09-02T22:36:43Z")
I would recommend contacting a local auctioneer, and if they don’t specialize in something like this, they will know who does. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-lots-of-dolls-have-to-sell-where/919567/5 "2020-09-02T23:53:50Z")
Re Local Toy Dealers Last time I checked, the standard fee for an appraisal was %10 of the value of the items appraised. So this might not be cheap. Keep in mind (I say this as a sometime toy dealer) that a dealer can give you at most %50 of what an item is worth. Some dealers will be honest with you. Most will attempt to screw you as royally as possible. I second the suggestion of E-Bay. It beats the pants off the old days of having to go to Barnes & Noble and look through multiple price guides. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-lots-of-dolls-have-to-sell-where/919567/6 "2020-09-02T23:55:05Z")
Oh I almost forgot! Unless you are an expert or do not care about destroying an item NEVER NEVER clean it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-lots-of-dolls-have-to-sell-where/919567/7 "2020-09-03T00:21:16Z")
Do you know if the dolls were bought new by the owner’s mother? And if so, what are the approximate range of dates that they were collected?