by Dolly DeVonderland

Created on: February 14, 2009

Vintage doll treasures can lurk in any corner of a garage sale- never look past a sale just because it looks like a bunch of dusty old boxes full of junk. As a lifelong fan of both dolls and garage sales, I've found some real gems in the dusty bins of flea markets and toy departments of thrift stores. Occasionally you'll find an advertised sale listing off dolls in their offerings, sometimes those dolls are the poorly made mass produced ones offered by grocery stores, and sometimes it's the 1968 Barbie doll you've been dreaming of- you never know unless you go to the sale. Knowing about all types of dolls can be a good asset if you attend garage sales regularly, regardless of which types you collect. Some good places to start your learning would dolls of the 60's and 70's who've recently been trending upwards in value.

Vintage dolls are often placed in odd little nooks at the sales, I've found very rare vintage Barbie shoes tucked into sewing baskets and hand stitched vintage rag dolls mixed into the linens. It's the thrill of the hunt that makes collecting from tag sales so rewarding, so look high and look low, someday you'll find a treasure. Mostly, the old dolls get thrown in with whatever other toys are offered in the garage sale, though just as many are considered knick knacks. Barbie dolls can often get handed down from cousin to sister throughout many years, and the clothes even more so it seems from my finds. Many times I've looked into a box of seemingly modern doll clothes and found a few vintage pieces mixed in, one of my prized Mod era Barbie dresses was only ten cents.

Never forget, you can't win unless you play, the same goes for collecting fabulous vintage and collectible dolls from garage sales. Unless you attend sales regularly, your odds of finding your dream doll for mere pocket change aren't as good. Church sales have been just a dream for me, yielding vintage patterns for Barbie clothes and the odd retro doll. Sometimes a doll sized item will be found in the most unexpected of places; it's just a matter of knowing what you see when you see it. A doll could have the most charming set of drawers to store her clothes in a jewelry box that looks just right, or perhaps a stationary organizer. Miniature versions of things abound in keychain form, from board games to stuffed toys, your dolls can collect things from garage sales just like you do.

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