Auction Information

From the beginning, eBay's primary growth came from thecollectibles market. There are two basic models for eBaysales:

1. Currently available consumers goods. This is a price-driven model, and although smart sellers can earn above-average prices, buyers are there looking for a bargain andprice is the #1 consideration.

2. Other buyers are collectors, looking for one-of-a-kindunique items that they can't locate elsewhere. Here, priceisn't as important as it is with consumer goods. The powerof this market is obvious because, before eBay and theInternet, most collectors were confined to a local market.

Dolls have always been big sellers as eBay collectibles andeight of them are especially strong sellers:

1. The Cabbage Patch Kids began in 1978 and are never"sold". They are 'born' at Babyland General Hospital inCleveland, Georgia and proud parents pay an 'adoption fee'.The Cabbage Patch Kids were one of the greatest toyphenomenons of the later 20th century. At one time, it was acommon sight to see grown women shopping and lunching withtheir babies in hand. In restaurants, the Kids had their ownchairs and were always appropriately dressed for theweather.

2. Precious Moments began in the early 1970s when creatorSam Butcher began drawing the endearing teardrop-eyechildren as gifts for family and friends. Today Sam'sPrecious Moments artwork is among the most recognized in theworld, and eBay prices reflect this popularity.

3. Madame Alexander dolls were created in 1923. Thesebeloved dolls range from Charlie Brown to babies andchildren to elegant dressed women to glamorous and famouswomen like Greta Garbo and Judy Garland. With all thevarieties of costumes, a single doll can be a 1920s flapperas easily as a member of the court of Louis XIV.

4. Lee Middleton dolls, according to legend, are so real inappearance that grown men sent for a rescue squad to save"the baby" from a locked car! Mistaken identity issupposedly a frequent occurrence and the dolls have beencounted as "passengers" on airplanes and rescued from storecountertops to prevent the 'baby' from falling. As one happyowner says, "These dolls are so lifelike it's uncanny."

5. American Girl dolls are loved by millions of little girls(and grown ups, too!) They are not only from different timesand places, but are ethnically diverse: Felicity fromcolonial Virginia; Josephina from the 1830's in New Mexico;Kirsten is "a pioneer girl of strength and spirit growing upin Minnesota in 1854"; Addy is alive in the 186o's, havingescaped from slavery with her mother; Samantha is "a brightVictorian girl living with her wealthy grandmother in 1904";Kit is growing up in 193os, during America's GreatDepression; Molly lives in the 1940's while her dad is awayat war; Kaya is a Nez Perce Indian living in the northwest.

6. Hasbro dolls are one of the products of the giganticHasbro company, who claim to have been making toys for eightgenerations, including famous games like Monopoly, Scrabbleand Clue.

7. Bratz dolls, unlike older dolls like Madame Alexander andCabbage Patch Kids, have no long history as favorite toys orcollectibles. Nevertheless, their price has astonished eBaysellers and the Bratz collection was one of the 'super hits'of the 2003 holiday season and sales have been strong eversince.

8. And, no surprise, Barbie is the best-selling doll oneBay. Since Mattel has recently announced that Ken andBarbie will no longer be an "item", dolls from the 'good olddays' when the name "Barbie" was rarely heard without 'Ken',will inevitably become more valuable.

Anyone who loves and understands the doll market, can dovery well selling dolls on eBay. They've been strongsellers for the 10 years eBay has been in existence and arealmost certain to remain popular for years to come.

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