Endeavors in Doll Collecting and Disappearances from the Thrift Store Shelves

Tonight's episode of Endeavor featured marionettes and a show like The Thunderbirds.  There were puppets, and puppeteers, all part of the murder's mystery tonight.

Another mystery I've been pondering is the kind of dolls disappearing from yard sales and thrift store shelves, at least in our area.

For a while, CPK kids were popular, and commanding higher prices.  Then, they were gone a while, and a few have been finding their way back.

I used to find all kinds of McDonald's Happy Meal toys and other fastfood premium toys. They were plentiful in thrift stores; I don't see them as often these days.  I found bags, the Olios, of Goodwill, with Happy Meal toys still in their packages, but it's been maybe two years since I've seen so many there.

Barbie and her friends and  clones used to be everywhere. Occasionally, I would even find a Vintage doll, like the original Midge I found for fifty cents. Now, the Barbies are later jointed dolls; I haven't seen Bratz dolls for months, and not as many Monster High for Weeks.  I'm not finding many 80s or 90s Barbies at yard sales, either.  Usually, the dolls are the jointed dolls of the last four or five years.  I'm not seeing too many clothes or accessories.  I see many Disney toddler dolls these days.

Cititoy dolls used to be plentiful, especially babies made in the style of Berenguer.  I don't see many of them, but Baby Alive and her friends occasionally appear.

I've seen a few companion style walking dolls from the sixties, but not many.  Sixties and seventies dolls are few and in between, even at yard sales.

Locally, I see more stuffed animals, a few beanies, and lot so of action figures and at yard sales.
I don't see many modern porcelain dolls from the late 70s to 90s; I do see a lot of these at thrift shops, sometimes for less than a dollar.  This makes me sad; no one seems to want these dolls, except Walda collectors buy the first of these dolls, made in 1979 or so.

I wrote an article on them for about.com.  They seem to be the weeds among dolls, along with tourist dolls or souvenir dolls.  I don't get it.  The reasons people give for hating them don't make sense.  They are appealing, and their clothes are often very nice.

Seymour Mann, Brass Key, Duck House, Dynasty, and Marian Yu made some of the prettiest dolls.  They came in different sizes, too.    I admit I still like collecting them, even side by side with my antiques and artist dolls.  Someone else must like them; they aren't appearing at yard sales or garage sales.

Maybe everyone is on ebay and etsy?  I see them on Amazon and other sites, too.

I still like souvenir dolls from all over the world; these dolls began many great collections, including mine.  They bring the world together and remind us of cultures that have since disappeared themselves.

To each her own; collectors are as varied as the dolls they collect, but I'm curious as to what you think.  Which dolls have disappeared from your thrift store shelves?  Do you buy dolls at thrift shops and yard sales?  Why or why not?

Happy collecting!