Is American Girl Dolls overrated

greenfire

Sun, Nov 10 2013, 1:00 pm

fine ~ I'll confess also ... I don't like dolls & I'm a tomboy - ... I never had a doll growing up & when american girl dolls came out over 25 years ago - I NEEDED the doll !!!

so with gift monies one year I purchased one & got samantha's birthday dress as her shabbos dress ... years later one of my daughters also got an 'american girl of today' and it's actually FUN to play with my girlys & change their clothes & get them ready for a different season/look/whatever ... but they were never dragged around and abused

one day they will make beautiful heirlooms for the right grandkids/kids

Fox

Sun, Nov 10 2013, 2:47 pm

Chloe wrote:

Raisin wrote:

all I can say is, their marketing must be extraordinary if fox is sold on them.

Lol! Yeah, that's me: hamburgers & fries for the chassunah, but an American Girl Doll.

They've been around since the late 80s, but when they were first introduced, they were pretty revolutionary. "Dolls" had been getting, for lack of a better word, skankier and skankier. Fashion dolls, such as Barbie, were increasingly under fire for their lame feminist attempts (e.g., "Doctor Barbie" with a lab coat that barely skimmed her thighs -- and nothing else!) and the forerunners of Bratz dolls were being heavily promoted.

Parents were sick and tired of dolls that seemed to be over-s-xualized and completely out of step with what they wanted for their 5-10 year-olds

So as a result, a lot of parents kind of viewed the ridiculous price as a way to send a message to the mainstream toy manufacturers. It was a way of saying, "We'd rather pay extra money for a wholesome product than save money by buying 'pole-dancing Barbie' or whatever."

Of course, this was long before the American Girl Doll stores, which came in the late 90s, I believe. For what seemed like a long time, Chicago had the only store, and it was absolutely insane. I happened to be traveling to NY quite frequently for business in those days, and every single flight from ORD to LGA/JFK/EWR had the overhead compartments absolutely stuffed with American Girl Doll boxes. I mean, flight attendants would regularly ask you to gate-check stuff in order to make room for the American Girl Dolls.

So, yes, it's a lot of hype. But there's a history behind the hype, and I think that a lot of people feel good about supporting the product (or at least rationalizing why they're succumbing to the marketing) because of that history.

etky

Sun, Nov 10 2013, 3:05 pm

OT - I didn't realize that some of the historical dolls had been discontinued and I was curious to see which ones had made the grade and which had gone by the wayside. I was sad to see that Kirsten, Felicity and Samantha - 3 of my girls favorite characters - are no longer. I was even more upset when I saw that there is now a doll called Julie who is growing up in the seventies and is considered "historical". I guess that makes me a museum piece Sad

amother

Sun, Nov 10 2013, 4:33 pm

Sanguine wrote:

Is this something new? The dolls cost close to $200? I don't get it. They look like every doll I've known (do their eyes close when they lay down?)

Where on earth did you get that figure from?
The basic doll with one complete ensemble and the first book of the series costs $110.
Of course you can add as many accessories as you want and then the skies the limit.

spring13

Sun, Nov 10 2013, 5:35 pm

Fox wrote:

Parents were sick and tired of dolls that seemed to be over-s-xualized and completely out of step with what they wanted for their 5-10 year-olds

So as a result, a lot of parents kind of viewed the ridiculous price as a way to send a message to the mainstream toy manufacturers. It was a way of saying, "We'd rather pay extra money for a wholesome product than save money by buying 'pole-dancing Barbie' or whatever."...

So, yes, it's a lot of hype. But there's a history behind the hype, and I think that a lot of people feel good about supporting the product (or at least rationalizing why they're succumbing to the marketing) because of that history.

Before Mattel bought them out (Pleasant Rowland must cry herself to sleep at night), there was a bit of a different vibe, but the historical dolls still have it. The great thing about AG was/is that it's one area where something old fashioned/historical/not hyper-modern is actually really cool. No one is weird for liking this stuff. For a kid whose parents want something more wholesome, or a kid who's fascinated by this stuff, it's nice that in this case it's mainstream and not some kind of substitute.

I quite literally ended up at my college major (and then ultimately my career path) because of American Girl books. I got hooked on history, I learned how enjoyable it is to get into a world that is so different from my own - but in a lot of ways, people and things are always the same. The books gives kids a taste of some serious issues in an age-appropriate way, through relatable and likeable characters. Yeah, you could always just read - but the dolls and accessories are part of the experience, they make it all more tangible. And as a history nerd and librarian, I'm all for things that broaden kids' horizons in a fun, hands-on way.

Like someone said above, they're certainly a luxury, but they're definitely not as useless or meaningless or disposable as a lot of other popular toys and keepsakes.

Sanguine

Mon, Nov 11 2013, 2:23 am

amother wrote:

Sanguine wrote:

Is this something new? The dolls cost close to $200? I don't get it. They look like every doll I've known (do their eyes close when they lay down?)

I got it from Amazon American Girl cause I never heard of this doll so I had to see. Saige is $174, McKenna is $400, Julie, Caroline, Emily... are $160. Looks like $160 is the standard price.

In general, all prices drop right after Thanksgiving so if you can hold out till the middle of Chanuka you'll probably do better (unless they sell out - or maybe this is the lowest before x-mas)

I looked amazon cause they're usually cheapest on things, but I guess my number was wrong - I just took a quick look to see what it is

amother

Mon, Nov 11 2013, 2:38 am

Sanguine wrote:

amother wrote:

Sanguine wrote:

Is this something new? The dolls cost close to $200? I don't get it. They look like every doll I've known (do their eyes close when they lay down?)

The price of the basic doll +book from the official site has held steady at $110 for many years - give or take a few dollars.
I don't think there are seasonal fluctuations. They have sales on many items and I could be wrong but I don't recall ever seeing the basic 18'' doll on sale.

amother

Mon, Nov 11 2013, 7:46 am

Sanguine wrote:

amother wrote:

Sanguine wrote:

Is this something new? The dolls cost close to $200? I don't get it. They look like every doll I've known (do their eyes close when they lay down?)

The dolls you looked at on amazon are the discontinued dolls that you can no longer get through American girl that's why they are more expensive.

Look on American girl's web site to see the real prices and they always stay the same except for accessories that go on sale.

Once a year American girl sells their dolls for much cheaper in an auction in Madison, Wisconsin to benefit children but you have to physically be there to buy. This auction is the only place that you can get all the discontinued stuff for really cheap. They also sell all their retuned items there for very cheap. So someone who lives there can really get a bargain.

nylon

Mon, Nov 11 2013, 8:26 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

I think that the book series for all the AG characters are very good, EXCEPT the "Rebecca" series with the Jewish girl. I was appalled at how they talk about the father working on Shabbos, even when he knew better. The writer goes out of her way to justify it, and even make it a mitzvah. It talks about how assimilation = patriotism, and the American Way. If you're Reform, it's a nice story, but there is nothing in there that a frum girl should be reading.

It's historically accurate. This is how many, many Jews of this era behaved. My own great-grandparents among them. For me, I would like my dd to know what Jewish life in the US of that era was really like, and the pressure Jews were under to sacrifice once they came here. Most of them couldn't afford to work on Shabbat. I know someone whose great-grandfather simply quit every week. It was noble and admirable... but most immigrants had no choice about it.

(I've read the books in question. Do I like that this is what happened? No. But it would be whitewashing to present it very much differently. What makes me angrier is that American Girl discontinued the Shabbat set for Rebecca.)

Fox

Mon, Nov 11 2013, 12:00 pm

spring13 wrote:

I quite literally ended up at my college major (and then ultimately my career path) because of American Girl books. I got hooked on history, I learned how enjoyable it is to get into a world that is so different from my own - but in a lot of ways, people and things are always the same. The books gives kids a taste of some serious issues in an age-appropriate way, through relatable and likeable characters. Yeah, you could always just read - but the dolls and accessories are part of the experience, they make it all more tangible. And as a history nerd and librarian, I'm all for things that broaden kids' horizons in a fun, hands-on way.

What a great experience! I hadn't thought about that aspect, but I can completely imagine it.

I'll just add that my teenage DDs (the ones who didn't get AG dolls!) babysit a lot, and they report that almost no one simply hands over a credit card for the dolls, etc. In most cases, the doll itself is a combined gift from parents and grandparents, and the girls often save additional birthday/Chanukah/odd job money to contribute toward clothes and accessories.

One of the mothers said she liked the whole AG business because it sort of serves as a guide to her relatives as to what kind of gifts are appropriate. Apparently her in-laws were giving gifts that were just boring or age-inappropriate, so she just directed them to the AG website, explaining that a $20 purchase for some minor accessory was more exciting to her DD than something selected just because the box is big.