Caring For Collectible Doll Items

“Collectible” is an extremely broad term, and can encompass practically anything. People collect some of the strangest things you could imagine. However, one thing that is collected more commonly than anything else is dolls. Dolls make up such a huge percentage of collectibles that they are what people think of first almost all of the time when you mention collectible items. If you collect dolls, or you are thinking about collecting dolls, you should educate yourself as much as possible about them. One of the things you should learn about is how to make sure that your investment doesn’t go to waste. If you care for the doll properly, you can keep it in pristine condition, and possibly sell it at a later date for a profit.

When you purchase the doll, you should not take it home and rip it out of the packaging. If possible, leave the packaging in perfect condition. You will want to take the doll out after you first buy it though, so that you can prepare it for a long shelf life. First, remove any tape from the hair bows that the doll has. If you leave these pieces of tape on, they will leave residue on the fabric that could be devastating to the resale value of your doll. Along these same lines, you should remove anything from the packaging that might cause rust. This includes small pieces of metal that come in the packaging. If rust invades the packaging, the entire thing could be destroyed.

The next steps will depend on how long you plan on keeping the doll. If you go to a hobby store, you can find tissue paper that is meant to be packed in along with the doll. It is known as acid free tissue paper. If you strip the clothes off of the doll and wrap it with this paper before replacing the clothes, the fabric’s integrity will be maintained for a much longer time, and will allow you to keep the doll on a shelf for long lengths of time. Without the tissue paper, dyes from the clothes of the doll could bleed into its “skin”, making it look strangely pigmented to whatever color clothes it is wearing. While clothes can be replaced, the body of the doll is the most important part.

The eyes of the doll are frequently problematic. If the eyes move free, or are the variety that close when horizontal, you should treat them with a special mixture. Get a bit of isopropyl alcohol, and mix it with one half of the amount of water. Lay the doll down horizontally and treat the eyes with the solution. Cover it up with a thin layer of the solution, and then allow it to drain out. Wipe the entire thing down with a cotton cloth, and get it completely dry. Now the eyes will be perfectly clean and free of any pieces of dirt or dust that could have ruined them in the long run. You don’t want your doll coming out of the box with one eye stuck half-shut. Your doll would look perpetually drunk.

Next, the best thing you can do is put the doll on a shelf and forget about it. If you are hoping that the doll will eventually be worth money, you shouldn’t hold your breath. Very rarely do dolls end up being worth money. If you bought it in the first place, it should have been for a personal love and affinity for dolls, rather than any desire to make money. Dolls are not a good investment, and your money would be better spent playing the stock market. But, if you have a passion for dolls then there is nothing wrong with hoping that the price increases over time. And if it does, your doll should be perfectly preserved, thanks to the methods that I have described.

Buying And Selling Collectibles

Today the hobby of collectibles has become a big, booming industry. Most of the hobbyists buy or sell their collectibles in some way or another. There are different methods for buying or selling collectibles.

One of the oldest, and still a very popular method today, is through the auction. There are two types of auction. One is the traditional physical auction, and the other is the virtual auction (that is, auction on the internet). The popularity of virtual auctions is increasing day by day. In a virtual auction, the picture of the particular collectible is usually inserted along with the description to give people a feel for the collectible. Millions of dollars are exchanged in the buying and selling of collectibles in this type of shop. In internet auctions, the turnover figures for buying and selling different collectibles are astonishing. There are numerous websites like eBay, Yahoo etc. that have special sections and categories for buying and selling collectibles. Nowadays it is quite possible for anyone to buy or sell their collectibles with the click of mouse.

The popularity of collectibles has increased so much that nowadays the popular and established auction houses like Sotheby and Christie who usually hold auctions of estates, furniture and other big items are now holding auctions exclusively for collectibles. This is a very big help for the hobbyist who wants to sell or buy their collectibles, but is still weary of internet auctions for fear of scams. The biggest advantages of a physical auction over a virtual auction is that in the physical auction you can observe and examine the actual collectible, whereas in the virtual auction you cannot examine the actual collectible. Apart from this obvious difference, the actual auction gives a person a good idea of competition, which is helpful for getting the best price for a collectible.

Now, even small towns and cities have many malls and shops that deal with different types of collectibles. Every year there are many shows and exhibitions arranged which give buyer and seller the chance to meet each other face to face. This type of face to face meeting helps them to share information, including general news about collectibles and negotiating the best prices. The biggest indoor shows for different collectibles are held twice every year in the state of New Jersey. This biggest show in Atlanta attracts around one thousand or so sellers who have different collectibles to sell. The advantage of these types of shows is that usually it is possible to get appraisal of collectibles done free of charge. Most of  the other services mainly focus on the collector. Apart from these big shows, there are numerous other small exhibitions and shows arranged to enable collectors to buy and seller to sell their particular collectibles.

There are also magazines solely devoted to buying and selling collectibles. These magazines not only help the hobbyist to buy or sell their collectible, but also provide good information for different collectibles. You can find subscriptions to magazines that are about collectibles in general, or about a particular popular collectible.

If you are a collector and you are having trouble finding good resources for buying and selling, then you should definitely take a look at some of the ones that I have mentioned.