Product Description
Collectors will delight in acquiring the first and only Black dolls book that is completely published in FULL COLOR! Author Debbie Garrett has written an extensive book of reference on vintage, modern, fashion and artist Black dolls. Featured in this book are Black dolls made from cloth, bisque, celluloid, composition, rubber, wood, and hard plastic. Fashion dolls, modern artist dolls and other doll categories are covered. This long-overdue, insightful book i… More >>

The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls

The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls is from collectibledollstore.net

Apparently so. Barbie was first introduced in toy stores in 1956 and had quickly become the fascination of young girls, and even their moms. The doll collecting is second to stamp collecting as popular hobbies in the United States.

There are Barbie doll conventions, newsletter, magazines, clubs, and Internet sites which allow those who desire to collect antique Barbie Dolls to exchange information with other people who share their interest.

Nowadays, Barbie dolls are sold in more than 140 countries and continues to be in demand. Thus the continuing production of these toys despite the other brands that are available such as Bratz. Barbie continues to have its charm in the market. Collecting antique Barbie dolls is pretty much expected to happen.

Barbie dolls are designed and directly marketed to those who collect antique Barbie dolls. This hobby was introduced in 1988 during the Happy Holiday series which profited the interest of the people to collect these dolls.

Barbie dolls, for the sole purpose of becoming a collector’s item and not playing with has become an ongoing trend. Those who collect antique Barbie dolls don’t remove them from their boxes. The prices of these dolls range from $35 up to hundreds of dollars.

Those who engage in this hobby of collecting antique Barbie dolls know the name of the vintage dolls that they have to collect. They make sure that the dolls they buy can look suitable for any occasion. Be it on the beach or at the office.

Barbie dolls have always been fashionable and they also provide the collectors their own choices of shoes, purses, accessories, belts, hats, and even scarves. Mattel continues to earn big bucks because of this current hobby.

At the same time, it has progressed to reach the appeal of adults with world-renowned fashion designers joining the bandwagon and design for Barbie dolls so that they give the collectors more options in collecting antique Barbie dolls in the years to come. Two designers who are active in doing these are Bob Mackie and Vera Wang.

Another fascination of those who collect antique Barbie dolls are the hair because of its ongoing changes. Young girls, teenagers, and even adults are drawn to the long and beautiful tresses of Barbie which can be stylized and put accessories on depending on the collector’s liking and her outfits.

A lot of Barbie dolls already have combs, clips, and accessories.

Collecting Antique Barbie Dolls is from collectibledollstore.net

The value attached to an item of currency is usually bound up with purchasing power: how much can you buy in exchange for a particular coin? However, numismatists attach values to coins that are very different from what this money might have been able to buy. For example, many valuable coins are ancient coins that would have bought very little at a long-vanished marketplace might be worth a small fortune now, due to their rarity.

In many ways, valuable coins are some of the easiest collectibles to maintain. Given the material of which they are made, you will not have to worry too much about any permanent damage being done to your coins. They may tarnish over time, but this can be fixed with polish. Contrast this state of affairs with that of stamps or comic books, where the merest stain or spilled cup of coffee can cause irreparable harm. They are also compact and easily portable, unlike collectibles such as porcelain dolls, which must be carefully packed if ever you plan to take them anywhere.

If you are planning to start collecting valuable coins or expand your current coin collection, knowing people in the museum circuit might help. They can put you in touch with items that have been considered for exhibits, but rejected, or items from exhibits that are about to close.

It also helps to have friends or acquaintances who work in banks. Such people may be able to tell you in advance when a certain coin is going to go out of circulation. You can then set aside a supply of these ordinary (for now) coins, until the day when their value shoots up as a collectors item and considered very valuable coins to have.

Even so, sometimes the best way to find valuable coins is to look through your change. After all, it isn’t just the famous coins like Spanish doubloons, Renaissance ducats or pieces of eight that get money. Modern or recently-minted coins with rare minting mistakes are also valuable to collectors. That’s right-somebody else’s unwitting error can earn you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Try learning about these valuable error coins and check your change to see if you might have one of them.

Necessity or inclination often pushes numismatists to make some money from their hobby. Valuable coins can be sold to private collectors or museums. If you have a coin collection, and suspect that some of the items may fetch a good price, do invest in an up-to-date numismatics book. Some excellent manuals and catalogs have been published over the years, but try to make sure the text you are using has been published recently. The current prices of valuable coins may change over the years, due to inflation/deflation or new discoveries. Furthermore, you might try numismatics websites, as these tend to be updated more often than books.

Happy coin collecting!

Collecting Valuable Coins is from collectibledollstore.net

1. Barbie will be half a century old in the year 2009. She was introduced in 1959 at the New York toy fair. Barbie #1 wore a zebra striped one piece swimsuit,high heeled,open toe,shoes and had either blonde or brunette hair.

2. Barbie was named after Barbara Handler,the daughter of Ruth handler. The Matell company,which makes Barbie dolls,was founded in 1945 by Elliot and Ruth Handler in partnership with Harold Matson. The name Matell is a combination of the names Matson and Elliot.

3. Barbie has had over 80 careers. The first was as a teenage fashion model. She has had military careers in the Marine corps,airforce and navy. She has been an astronaut,a lawyer a doctor and a rock star. She was a candidate for the presidency of the USA in 1992 and again a candidate in the year 2000.

4. Barbie is a global phenomenon and is sold in over 100 different nations. Total sales are about $1.5 billion dollars per year. Mattel estimates two Barbie dolls sold somewhere every second of every day.

5. Mattel is a major clothing manufacturer based on the quantity of clothing the company makes for Barbie and her friends and associates. Over 105 million yards of material have been used over the years just to make clothes for these dolls.

6. The first Barbie dolls were made in Japan. On the bottom of the right foot they are marked Made In Japan. Later editions were made in Korea. These carry the copyright marks on the back of the doll.

7. Matell estimates that there are over 100,000 adult Barbie doll collectors. The majority of these are women averaging 40 years of age. They each purchase at least 20 Barbies per annum. More than half of them spend over $1000 per year on their collection.

8. Matell has made nearly one billion different fashion outfits for Barbie and her associates. They have also made more than one billion pairs of shoes.

9. Barbie has had high fashion clothes designed for her by famous designers including Versace,Gucci and Givenchy. Her military uniforms were approved by the Pentagon before going into production.

10. The first Barbie doll made in 1959 sold for $3 and about 350,000 were sold. To jump to modern times,now the market for Barbie is $1.5 billion dollars per annum.

Barbie will soon be 50 years old and she sure looks young for her age? Where will she go from here? We will have to wait and see but I wouldn,t bet on her demise any time soon.

10 Facts About Collecting Barbie Dolls is from collectibledollstore.net

Barbie Was Brilliantly Marketed Mattel learned early on exactly how to market the Barbie doll. No other doll maker has come close to her. Barbie has been seen on TV commercials since the early 1960′s. With over 40 years of continuous television exposure you can’t help but see the ads throughout your childhood and into adulthood. This exposure has led Barbie to being one of the most popular toys in history.

Barbie Dolls Are Nostalgic

If you are a woman under the age of 60 then you most likely owned a Barbie when you were a kid. Just like baseball cards, if you collected Barbies’s when you were young, the chances are good that you enjoy it now.

Many people still have their original dolls from their childhood and it almost has become an obsession to collect each and every Barbie doll there is.

Barbie Is Not A Fad

You know that when you buy a Barbie doll that you will always be able to buy new clothes and accessories for her. She is not here today, gone tomorrow. No other doll can say that.

The Internet Has Fueled Barbie Doll Collecting

That’s right, the online world has helped promote Barbie doll collecting to the next level. You can find all sorts of Barbie doll forums as well as websites to purchase Barbie’s. Ebay is a great example of this. Both advertisers and collectors alike can get together and discuss anything and everything to do with Barbie, as well as buy and sell.

What does the future hold in store for Barbie doll collecting? No one can say for sure, but if it is anything like the past, you can expect some really great things to take place.

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All About Barbie Doll Collecting – Why is Barbie so Popular? is from collectibledollstore.net

The original production included a series of 12 inch male figures which wore US military uniforms and had 21 moving parts. These figures were named action figures in order to give them a separate identity to that of the placid Barbie dolls that were in vogue. With time, military equipment pieces, arms and artillery, vehicles and even large sets were manufactured for theme based play using these action figures. A story line was created later which featured antagonists that were lacking until then. The story centred on the unabated conflict between the elite GI Joe team and the vicious cobra gang.

The first year of production and sales saw the GI Joe action figures being launched in a few retail stores initially, and then spreading across stores in America at a rapid pace with increasing popularity. There were GI Joe stores that were set up for selling these action figures exclusively as the line expanded and the number of figures grew.

These toys were ideal for imaginative play for boys at a young age and were a huge hit not only in America but soon expanded into GI Joe stores in Europe and other parts of the world as well. The popularity waned when the Vietnam War happened and everything associated with warfare and military lost its appeal and by the late seventies these figures were out of production.

The popularity sparked on and off until the time when collecting action figures became an obsession with children and adults alike. Those young and old men who grew up playing with GI Joe action figures and were careful enough to preserve them so that one day , their children could use it, suddenly found them a great way to earn money. The more vintage and rate the figure was, the more money it fetched. With the advent of the internet, the selling of collectibles and toy action figures reached a peak as there were many websites that specialized in buying and selling these figures.

The most popular collectibles that were bought and sold for huge amounts of money, were the GI Joe action figures, the fact that some of them dated back to the sixties made them sell for as high as a few thousand dollars. The price of a vintage GI Joe action figure could touch 5000 USD easily.

The less damaged and battle scarred it is, the more money it would fetch. There are many online GI Joe stores that buy these figures and pay handsomely for them. They then sell these for a greater price. EBay is another website were mass buying and selling of GI Joe action figures takes place.

The evolution of the GI Joe action figure and the action figure collecting craze fuelled by internet GI Joe stores is from collectibledollstore.net

Memorabilia is hot these days. People are collecting everything from pop bottles to political campaign buttons. Presidential memorabilia is gaining in popularity and value to make some of these collectible items really desirable.

If you would like to start collecting presidential memorabilia there is a wide variety of items to pick from. Campaign buttons, posters and banners, cups and plates and even such odd things as beer and hot sauce bottles carry presidential images.

Collecting antique political items such as buttons and posters or flyers is a good way to begin your collection. Check your local flea market or at estate sales. Often people will sell a whole lot of these old  campaign items at cheap prices because they don’t realize that they are valuable.

One key to making sure that you make fewer mistakes and get more enjoyment out of your new hobby is to join  groups of similar collectors. Look in Yahoo Groups and Google Groups for collecting Presidential memorabilia and you will find a lot of helpful information.

Here is a list of some of the various political and Presidential collectible items found in just one search .
buttons, bumper stickers, yard signs, posters
photographs, flyers, banners, flags
plates, cups, mugs, platters
coins, dolls, action figures, license plates
official documents, Presidential signatures,letters, diaries
guns(Teddy Roosevelt), sneakers,
space suit gloves (Senator John Glenn), pilots wings (Senator Chuck Yeager)
President Obama Chia Pets
lots more out there waiting to be discovered

In conclusion, if you would like to have an interesting new hobby  that is both fun and  profitable try collecting Presidential  memorabilia You’re sure to have many hours of enjoyment  and maybe even make some real money as well.

Collecting Presidential Memoabilia is from collectibledollstore.net

The most popular action figures are probably the GI Joe action figures which were first launched during the cold war period in the early sixties.  Although most people started collecting these figures as a hobby, they soon turned into a great investment. There are also others who collect it without any intention to sell. They just enjoy building up their collection, most often hoping to collect the entire series or sets that were ever manufactured.

The collecting of GI Joe action figures means you would have to buy them for a price from a source and also needs you to be familiar with the different kinds of figures, the accessories they come with, the vehicles the use, the value of a figure among the collecting community etc. It requires you to invest a great deal of time and money on researching about these figures and then buying them either from an Online GI Joe store or through eBay or shops that sell vintage toy figures.

The GI Joe action figures come in different sizes. There have been many theme based launches over the years and almost all of these figures come with accessories like arms and artillery equipment as well as vehicles. These accessories also are widely sought after as a missing gun or a vehicle could render the collection less worthy than it would be if it were complete.

The prices quoted by some websites for vintage action figures are over the moon. The funny part is that there are many collectors out there who would pay anything just to procure the GI Joe action figure that they want. There are action figures that sell for thousands of dollars while others sell for between 10 to 100 dollars each.

If you are intent on collecting GI Joe action figures then the first step is to decide which figures to collect. For this you have to think backwards and find the ones that were your favourites when you were a kid or ask your neighbours kid or your own child about which one he thinks to be the best in the series. Any collection would a great value only if you have complete sets which are undamaged and without any flaws. 

You could buy a complete set which was launched for a particular period or on a particular theme. The fun part is collecting rare GI Joe figures, the ones that you can’t buy at a store and require you to put in more effort and money to find them and add to your set.

Taking care of your collections is another important step. Sometimes if you are lucky you might get your hands on a figure that is still intact with its original packaging and is unopened from an online GI Joe store. These untouched figures fetch a very good price and if you are not on the other side of the fence you could get a lot of money for them.

All about Buying and Collecting GI Joe Action figures from GI Joe stores is from collectibledollstore.net

You can find many old catalogues and price lists for different collectibles and other hobbies for the year 1945. There is a news paper devoted solely for hobbyist coin collectors in the year 1952. The response for this newspaper is so great that the company that published the news paper was encouraged to publish other material related to collectibles. This included catalogues, price lists, magazines for different types of collectibles (including stamps, comic books, toys etc.) with references to various books, magazines etc. Like a fire, the hobby of collectibles than spread across the countries. As the number of collectors was increasing day by day, it become very easy to exchange collectibles and buy or sell collectibles.

In the year 1960, the market of collectibles was at a peak. Since there were high demands for different types of mechanical and soft toys, these toys than became collectibles for children. The habit of collecting different toys in childhood does not go away as they grow up; instead, it converted into the hobby of amassing collectibles. The occasional news that particular collectibles were fetching thousands of dollars was also very encouraging for the hobbyists. There were different state-wide auction arranged, which had overwhelming response. There have been some famous cases in which frauds have been busted for duplicating or faking the collectibles.

After the year 1969, the many different collectors started forming their own groups and clubs. Many companies, both private and public, are formed to take advantage of people’s great interest in the hobby of collectibles. The auction of collectibles brings more and more high prices. In the year 2000, Honus Wagner baseball cards fetched around 1.26 million dollars in auctions. Many people get into collectibles hoping to make money, though usually the ones who do make money did not set out to do so in the first place.

The craze for different collectibles increases rapidly almost every year. It seems like every year or so we hear about some new craze that is striking the fancies of collectors across the world. One of the most infamous of these was the $5 Beanie Babies, which were sold between $ 100 and $1000. Another infamous case was the “Tickle Me Elmo” doll, which even caused brawls in some stores. More and more people take the hobby of collectibles very seriously. As any one can start the hobby of collecting different objects without investing much, it is one of the best pastimes for both young and old. Today, the volume of retail collecting market soars to around 10.4 billion dollars.

So, if you haven’t already jumped on the collecting bandwagon, now is the best time. It can be done as a profitable venture, or simply as a fun thing to do. So, start thinking today about the different things that you could collect. It could be something popular like dolls, or something that nobody else in the world collects. It’s totally up to you. Sticking with the more mainstream collectibles, however, will give you the chance to see price guides, magazines, and various other forms of support that will make the hobby easier. Ultimately it is up to you, and you should probably stick with whatever you are the most passionate about.

A Brief History of Collecting is from collectibledollstore.net

It seems that when I was a young boy, we only heard of ‘ Hot Wheels ‘, at least that is the brand that my friends and I bought, collected and played with. Now days there are tons of different companies and they make diecast vehicles of every kind, there are cars, airplanes, construction vehicles, boats, military vehicles, and more. When first starting to collect diecast vehicles, you must decide which types you really want because there are a lot of choices, you can collect a certain make and model of car, such as a Chevrolet Nova, or you may wish to just collect yellow diecast construction vehicles, or military vehicles, the choice is up to you.

Diecast vehicles are pretty inexpensive for a lot of the new ones in stores and for some of the older ones that are common. You can often find them in the local drugstore or any Kmart or Walmart, and even a lot of grocery stores have a rack or area where you can find diecast vehicles, they often sell new for under $3.00 each, and sometimes you can find them in a bargain bin or on sale for ‘ 2 for $2.00 ‘, or even less.

Probably one of the best places to find a rare or missing diecast vehicle for your collection is on eBay. Another great place to often find rare and unique diecast vehicles at very low prices is yard sales. I went to a few yard sales, last summer with my daughter and I saw a lot of diecast vehicles, and many were 25 cents each and some were less. If you look you can usually find a pile or box of assorted toys at a yard sale, these often have numerous plastic soldiers, trucks and cars, and some old non-clothed dolls, and if you dig or search through these piles or boxes of old junk toys, you can often find diecast vehicles at the bottom. The diecast vehicles are smaller and heavier then the plastic toys, so they tend to drop down to the bottom of the piles like gold nuggets in a stream.

Back around 9 years ago when I was still married, my wife and I bought one of them cheap metal detectors, the ones you can get at discount stores for around $50 or so. We went outside and in our yard where we lived at that time, we found 7 old diecast vehicles. Once we took them inside and cleaned them up, they were all in great condition, despite being buried for a few years. The vehicles were all made by ‘ TOOTSIE ‘, I looked on ebay at the time and discovered that the vehicles were worth around $15 or more, so if you have a metal detector, you can probably find some nice diecast vehicles for free, by searching yards and old school grounds.

Once you start building up your diecast vehicle collection, you should consider getting a display case to show it off. If you have some talent and a few tools, you can easily build a display case in your garage or workshop, or if you look on ebay they always have a large amount of diecast vehicle display cases.

There is computer software that is made just for collecting diecast vehicles. Anyone who has a small or large diecast vehicle collection can easily keep track of what vehicle they have, the color, condition, cost, value, scale and lots of other info for each record (vehicle). This is the most easiest to use software of it’s kind, and it is made 100% for diecast collecting. The software is described in detail and you can download a free demo version of it at this website address:

http://www.rb59.com/diecast

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

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Collecting Diecast Vehicles is a fun hobby for folks of all ages is from collectibledollstore.net