Selling Dolls on Consignment

Our Operation Base

We are located in Northern California near Modesto  CA.  We  have contacts and have been helping people sell dolls in the Central Valley and San Francisco Bay area for many years.  Click the button to show the locations where We sell dolls. See Map

Current selling status

At present our shops are well stocked with a wide range of wonderful dolls.  In general we are not able to consign large collections in their entirety.  We are forced to focus our help on just a few "special" dolls we feel we can move in a reasonable time frame.  We further try to focus on vintage and antique dolls from the 1950's and earlier.  If you have just a few special vintage and antique dolls to sell we would like to see them and may be able to help you.  If you have a larger collection we will be glad to look them over but may only be able to take a few dolls at a time from the collection to sell on consignment. 

How it works

We will take your dolls on consignment and sell them through our shop, through the web, and in the doll shows where we sell.  We charge 30% of the final selling price for the dolls. This may sound like a lot but it is important to consider what we do not charge you.  There are no charges for credit card fees, web sales fees, advertising fees, or shop space rental fees.  All of these are covered by the commission.  In addition there are no selling costs to you unless we sell your doll. If the doll does not sell or you decide to take them back there are no selling fees to you. 

If dolls need major repairs to improve their saleability we will perform these repairs and will need to charge you for the repairs.  This is appropriate because you receive the benefit of the repairs through a higher selling price or a more valuable doll if you keep the doll.

Our goal in selling your dolls is to help you receive a fair market retail price for your dolls and to help insure they go to new home where they will be appreciated and treasured. Selling in this manner may take time. We will evaluate each doll and place them in the shops and shows where they have the best potential to sell. If you need to sell dolls quickly we may be able to work with other dealers we know and sell major parts of the collection at a wholesale price. 

As part of the evaluation of the doll we will assess the saleability of the doll at the price you want to get for it.  If the sales and profit potential of the doll are low we reserve the right to not accept the doll on consignment.  In this case we can often suggest other ways you may be able to dispose of the doll

Types of dolls we can help you sell

The focus of the dolls we can sell is vintage and antique hard plastic, composition and bisque dolls generally made in the 1950's and before.  The shop and shows where we sell have good following of collectors interested in these dolls.  You can see a selection of these types of dolls in my web shop See dolls for sale

Because we sell on commission there are some types of dolls we are not able to help you sell.  These are mainly newer dolls that in the current market are depressed in price, The low prices realized for these dolls make it uneconomical for us to take the dolls because of the overhead to account for the commission sales and provide commission reports to the dolls owners.  Also our current customer following is more focused in the vintage and antique dolls. A good way to sell dolls in these classes is to go to a local doll show.  There you can meet dealers who may be interested in purchasing all or part of your collection. Note: Not all dealers at doll shows will purchase collections.  

The Selling Process

When you wish help selling your dolls E-mail is always best way to contact us.  In the E-mail include the number of dolls you have, Their age and any condition issues they have.  For individual dolls a couple of pictures of them with their measurements are useful.  If you have a large collection a few overall shots will help get the ball rolling.   Email Me

If you have a large collection we can come to your home or other storage location to assess them.  In this case we typically charge $30.00 per hour for our travel time to the location plus a $30.00 gas charge.  There is no charge for the actual evaluation and appraising of the dolls accepted for consignment.  If we evaluate and appraise other dolls not taken on consignment we charge $30.00 an hour for the evaluation.  If you can bring the dolls to one of the shops we work out of there is no charge for travel time and gas.  To evaluate the dolls in a shop you will need to contact us to make an appointment.  See Map to Shops

Based on the evaluation we will work with you to come up with an inventory list for the collection showing each doll to be sold with its condition and expected selling price.  (see notes on selling price below). We will provide to the seller a copy of the inventory list including the description and recommended selling price for each doll. We will provide a monthly report showing the dolls sold and the selling price and net returned to the seller.

When we accept the dolls we will do any cleaning needed to make them more salable. If the dolls need major repairs to make them salable we can do them but the cost of the repairs will need to be paid by the seller.

There have a shop where we can place the dolls.  We will also evaluate the dolls to see which ones would benefit from being sold through my on line shop on RubyLane.com Click to see shop When it comes time for a doll show we will take dolls best suited to the show and carefully pack them and present them on the tables at the doll show.  (see my shows page for examples of dolls at the shows) We typically have two or three tables at most shows but we can usually get more tables if we have a larger selection of appropriate dolls to sell.

The Selling Price

The selling price for a doll can be a fickle thing.  If you purchase a doll new it's price instantly depreciates (just like a new car).  Just saying that I paid $xx for it does not mean others will pay this price because it is now used.  With time a doll will become a classic and be more collectible.  A lot of factors affect the future value of the doll.  How many were made, how many were saved, the condition of your doll.  Many late century designer dolls and commemorative boxed dolls are suffering in price because of these factors.  Most of the dolls were bought by collectors who saved the box and put the doll in a display case and never played with it.  As such most of the dolls made are still available in immaculate condition.

For all the dolls I accept for consignment I need to make sure the price reflects what people are paying for dolls of this type today.  Unfortunately this may be less than you originally paid for the doll.