American Girl quality changes?

[gregokdisney]

My Mom bought my DD some American Girl items. I went over there yesterday to check it out with her (we love the stuff almost as much as DD) and I have to say I think their quality has gone WAY downhill.

For example, she bought the Holiday treat set. For $20, it was a plastic tray with plastic cookies which don't come off, a plastic cup of plastic cocoa and some sheets of Christmas Carol music. Now, granted $20 is a lot and it wouldn't have been any cheaper any other time, but in the past, the cookies would have been made of some higher quality material that had a real feel of a cookie, plus they would have been individualized that you could take off the tray, and I think it should come with two cups of cocoa. It just had a real cheap feel to it.

Also, she got Kit's laundry set. They drying rack was crappy plastic. AG has always been about quality and realism. A drying rack from the 30s would have been wooden. We have been buying AG stuff for years, and NONE of it is plastic. I couldn't believe it! It has really gone downhill since last year - actually just May when we bought a bunch of Kit accessories.

AG prices have always been outrageous but you could always count on the best quality from them. I feel very cheated. I just hope my DD won't notice.

Has anyone else noticed this?

[Hannathy]

It happened as soon as they were bought out. When they were an independent company things were great but when they were bought by the big corporation the bean counters took over and that was the end of quality. Everything has been cheapened from the clothing to discontinuing classic dolls and the furniture.

It is very sad and I'm glad my DD got most of her stuff while it was still the original American Girl.

Same thing happened to Land's End when Sears bought them.

[gregokdisney]

Originally Posted by Hannathy

It happened as soon as they were bought out. When they were an independent company things were great but when they were bought by the big corporation the bean counters took over and that was the end of quality. Everything has been cheapened from the clothing to discontinuing classic dolls and the furniture.

It is very sad and I'm glad my DD got most of her stuff while it was still the original American Girl.

Same thing happened to Land's End when Sears bought them.

Do you know when they buy out happened? I vaguely remember the buyout, but hadn't noticed a change until this most recent order. Our items bought in May were the usual high quality.

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I noticed some little things:

Bitty clothes used to come with an accessory for Bitty Bear- no more.
Clothes used to come with a hanger, no more. You can buy a 12-pack of hangers for $12.

[Perditamarie]

I think the change in laws in regards to children's toys is a big factor here. What used to be individual pieces are glued probably due to choking hazards, and the laws also cover what materials are used and how they are embellished. However, I agree for their prices, the items should be a better value...more pieces, maybe bigger so they don't have to be glued or clumped and less plastic - Melissa and Doug can do it!!!

It can be a fun hobby to track down pre mattel AG items on Craigslist and Ebay!

[Lisa_M]

Originally Posted by gregokdisney

Do you know when they buy out happened? I vaguely remember the buyout, but hadn't noticed a change until this most recent order. Our items bought in May were the usual high quality.

The buyout was a long time ago, like 1998 or 1999. I have a Pleasant Company doll and plan to pass it down to DD someday.

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I ALMOST FORGOT!

DD bought a $58 carrying case for her new Kit last week, in 6 days it popped a seam (hole over 3" long!) They were very helpful about it, but still makes me wonder if the replacement will do it also!

The new case barely fits any clothes and forget any big boots or hats, I ended up getting a $19 kids suitcase from Target and it is just as good quality if not better!

[gregokdisney]

Originally Posted by Lisa_M

The buyout was a long time ago, like 1998 or 1999. I have a Pleasant Company doll and plan to pass it down to DD someday.

That's what I thought - we didn't start buying until my DD was 2 or so, that was 2001. We've always been pleased until this year.

I wrote them a letter and also left reviews of the terrible items on their web site. I want them to know we've noticed!

Luckily DD is getting old enough that this will probably be the last year of major AG doll purchases.

[celeste.]

i agree, the clothes look a little cheesy now.
they used to be much, much nicer.

[Lisa_M]

Originally Posted by gregokdisney

That's what I thought - we didn't start buying until my DD was 2 or so, that was 2001. We've always been pleased until this year.

I wrote them a letter and also left reviews of the terrible items on their web site. I want them to know we've noticed!

Luckily DD is getting old enough that this will probably be the last year of major AG doll purchases.

I haven't ever bought AG, as mine was a gift from my mom and dad, but I would like to get DD a Bitty Baby maybe for her birthday, but I'm not sure how it will hold up.

Probably as Mattel has owned them, they have skimped on certain things to reduce costs, so you probably have seen a decrease in the quality since then, idk.

[mlittig]

Now I am very glad my daughters outgrow their American Girls when they did At least when we were into buying items, the price was high but the quality was great. Many a Christmas I sewed matching outfits for my girls and their dolls to use for our Christmas card pictures

[IDoDis]

I've read the same thing about the quality on an AG board. DD's 11 AG dolls are now packed in their orginal boxes and stored in the attic for her daughters some day. I'm glad we got the quality dolls when we did.

For those that have the pre-Mattel dolls, they will be worth $$ when your DD's are grown ups and will all be discontined by then. Save the boxes, hand tags, and packing material if you have them. I saw this tidbit on the Antique Road Show a few years ago. Those dolls will be valuable antiques when our DD's are grandmas.