Cheap American girl doll

[charming]

Hello im looking for some advice about the American girl doll. I have a little girl who is 5 1/2 and i am now at the stage that she is asking about these dolls but from what i can see they are costly. I think a used one would be better but i just don't know what im looking for. I really need some advice.TiA for the help.

 

[starry_solo]

Craigslist, eBay, garage sales, and freecycle.

 

[satorifound]

Last I looked, a few years ago, they were pretty expensive on ebay too....

 

[Zydebearsmom]

They are still expensive on Craigslist. The cheapest I have seen them was $75.00. I feel like at that price I can buy a new one! Have you though about getting her a knock off (Target, Kohls, Dilliards, Sears etc..).

 

[reenie1]

We found a like-new one at a yard sale last year - they were asking $30, DD10 offered $15 and took it home, so you never know!

 

[satorifound]

I was able to find one at a thrift store for $10. Just keep your eyes open.

 

[lisabarr1]

.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

As said, check ebay, thrift shops, craigslist, etc. You have to keep your eyes open. (I've paid $10, $10, $20 and $20 for ones DD has.)

There are knock offs out there- my recommendation is do NOT get the Target ones. Their hair is awful. Sometimes Tuesday Morning stores carry Gotz Precious Day dolls for $30 that are significantly better quality. (Gotz made the original AG dolls.)

 

[Lucille1963]

The last one I sold online sold within a couple hours at the asking price of $68.

 

[JMJ3553]

Avon makes a really cute doll that could pass for an American Girl doll for around $40. A friend of mine actually compared the two side by side and they are very similar. I even thought the Avon one was cuter. I believe the American Girl doll clothes and accessories will fit as well.

I bought one for my four year old for Christmas and she doesn't have a clue... she love it!

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

As said, check ebay, thrift shops, craigslist, etc. You have to keep your eyes open. (I've paid $10, $10, $20 and $20 for ones DD has.)

There are knock offs out there- my recommendation is do NOT get the Target ones. Their hair is awful. Sometimes Tuesday Morning stores carry Gotz Precious Day dolls for $30 that are significantly better quality. (Gotz made the original AG dolls.)

I don't think the Target ones are all that bad. My two oldest girls have AG dolls and we didn't think our youngest dd could take care of such an expensive doll, so we got her a doll from Target. She calls them (she has two now) her Amerigirl dolls. She plays with them a lot and really likes them. I would say their hair just gets messy in a different way than AG dolls. AG dolls can frizz and become very tangled, depending on the doll, but are probably better quality than Target dolls. Target dolls frizz up more like a Barbie doll. However, both dolls can be detangled about the same way - spray water on (watch out for the eyes) and comb out one strand at a time from the bottom. She's taken such good care of the dolls that I think she is ready for an AG girl doll, but I'm not sure I want to spend the money yet b/c at this point, a doll is a doll to her.

 

[sahmoftwo]

I agree with the posters who said start her out with the Target (or other knock-off dolls). We started my dd out with 2 from Target to see if she really would take care of and play with them. She really does love Holly and Eva (her 2 dolls) and for her 7th birthday this Jan. we told her she could go to the American Girl store and pick out an actual one. For $25 or so on sale you can't beat the starter dolls. Oh, and the hair is not that bad at all. My dd has totally messed it up and it still looks just fine.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I don't think the Target ones are all that bad. My two oldest girls have AG dolls and we didn't think our youngest dd could take care of such an expensive doll, so we got her a doll from Target. She calls them (she has two now) her Amerigirl dolls. She plays with them a lot and really likes them. I would say their hair just gets messy in a different way than AG dolls. AG dolls can frizz and become very tangled, depending on the doll, but are probably better quality than Target dolls. Target dolls frizz up more like a Barbie doll. However, both dolls can be detangled about the same way - spray water on (watch out for the eyes) and comb out one strand at a time from the bottom. She's taken such good care of the dolls that I think she is ready for an AG girl doll, but I'm not sure I want to spend the money yet b/c at this point, a doll is a doll to her.

My daughter had the Target ice skater doll from a couple years back. She came with hair up in a bun. When we took that out, it was very noticably thinner on top- to the point of looking silly. The hair wadded all up in a way similar to blonde dolls of the 70's. (Dating myself there, I guess!) It was one huge mass that I tried for a long time to untangle with a variety of methods. It was *awful*.

I'm totally for going for knock offs, but they are not all created equal. The Gotz dolls are a much better product for the same price/less than the Target ones. DD has had the Gotz equivalent of the Bitty Twins (a MaxiMuffin- who names these things?) for 9 years. She has got dragged everywhere and had her hair tortured by her as a toddler- and it still looks great. MIL got her for $20 at Marshalls, I believe. Bonus too, the Gotz ones are machine washable. We've tested that, too, after a hot chocolate tea party went bad.

 

[connie1042]

Has anyone bought the dolls from WDW that look like American Girl Dolls? Are they worth it. I told my granddaughter I would buy her a AG doll, and gave her the catalog, and she did not want one. Likes the Bitty Babies.

 

[QVCshopper]

I found a AG Bitty Baby for $2 at a community tage sale. You have to know what you're looking for; she wasn't clothed, but was definitely the real deal. QVC sells them as bundles about once a year (not sure when the next one is), and they can be a good deal, too.

 

[princessmom29]

We have 2 real ones a 1 knockoff.Lots of DD's friend have both as well. My advice is to bite the bullet, spend the money, and get the real one. The knockoffs just cannot compete. Their hair gets bad really quickly. We do like the clothing line from target, although the shoes don't fel the real dolls. The quality is not quite as good as AG, but they are half the price.

 

[tink576]

They are still expensive on Craigslist. The cheapest I have seen them was $75.00. I feel like at that price I can buy a new one! Have you though about getting her a knock off (Target, Kohls, Dilliards, Sears etc..).

I would say craigslist and consider looking into different cities and seeing what options are being sold there and if someone would be willing to ship the doll to you. You're likely to find a deal that way. I know that I'm currently prepping to put up a bitty baby and bitty twins, as well as AG clothes on the craigs list to avoid the fees of ebay and I'm sure other people across the country are doing the same thing. Good luck finding a doll for your daughter!

 

[ceecee]

We had the Target and Disney versions. IMHO they were not nearly as nice as AG (which we now have many of). Plus if your DD wants an actual AG doll she will know it's a knock off. The hair on ours was horrible just from sitting or laying it down so I sold those at my garage sale...People actually ran for them thinking they were AG dolls, so my guess is you may be able to find one at a garage sale although I looked for years. Watch for the QVC bundles. I bought one on Ebay which had semi ratty hair so I did the Downey soak on her and it's a lot better.

 

[jlima]

Try Shopgoodwill.com - most of the closed auctions I saw were in the $50 range.

 

[IDoDis]

My DD had 11 AG dolls from the ages of 5 to age 10. We stuck with the historical characters aside from 1 AG Doll of Today (Marisol). Each doll has a story, a series of books, and the items & accessories that are sold for the historical dolls are usually educational. They come with little leaflets explaining the meaning of the item. This would not work as well with a knock-off.

If you go for the real thing, just save everything -- the AG doll box,the tissue paper, the leaflets, etc... When your DD has outgrown her doll, pack it back up in the box with acid free paper and save it for her to pass down to her daughter one day. That's what we did.

AG retires their dolls after so many years, so they keep going up in value. I remember watching an episode of the Antique Road Show where they said AG dolls were a good investment, but to save the box, etc... Also, if the doll's hair gets mangled or something on the doll breaks, you can send her to the AG doll hospital for surgery.