I just wanted to share a few sales and things I've noticed around town that might interest you. First off, at my local Target, the live action Disney Cinderella dolls by Mattel are on clearance for $27.90 instead of $39.99. I've decided to hold out and see if they'll go down any lower. I might miss them since there are only about five of them left, but that's okay. I don't really need a Mattel Cinderella (but it would be fun to have one). ;) They don't appear to be on clearance in any other stores.
Interestingly enough, the dolls are not on clearance on Target's website, so I don't know if they'll be on sale in all Target stores.
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In other news, Tuesday Morning has had some fun things in stock lately. The Madame Alexander Favorite Friends dolls, which share my Maggie doll's face mold, have been showing up for around $30 there. If you like this face mold, this is an excellent price. Usually they're priced at around $60 or $70, which in my opinion is too high considering the less-than-stellar quality of their hair. Here are a few shots I got of the dolls currently in my Tuesday Morning:
This one is labeled "Favorite Friends Doll Factory".
She has a face just like Maggie's. I love her adorable jacket. :)
This doll is not actually labeled as a "Favorite Friends", but she should be comparable to the other doll. She's got quite the outfit. Lots of mix and match possibilities there. :)
I tried to get a picture of her face without catching the reflection on her clear plastic, but it was pretty much impossible.
Another look at her outfit.
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For those of you who are fans of the original releases of the Ever After High doll line, Tuesday Morning and Ross are really good places to shop right now. You can find the initial dolls, the "Getting Fairest" line, and sometimes even "Thronecoming" or "Legacy Day" dolls for around $12.99-$14.99. These are a great price, and now that the dolls are being re-released with fewer accessories and lower quality outfits, this is the time to snag these original ones.
Some of the dolls currently on my Tuesday Morning shelf.
Some of you may not be aware that the Ever After High dolls now have new packaging and simplified outfits and accessories. For example, I found a Dexter Charming a few weeks ago at Walmart in the new package. Here he is:
Now compare him to my original release of Dexter (which I still haven't managed to review yet):
See the differences?
Aside from the smaller box, this Dexter has no scarf and a jacket with less detail that looks rather cheap. He has no backpack either.
A closer look at his outfit:
And what happened to his hair?
Granted, this "munchkin style" on the first doll was a bit over the top, but the completely flat style of the newer release doesn't exactly work either.
I've seen similar cutbacks on other new releases. The dolls are missing their rings and their purses. Many of the dolls that had fuller, curly hair now have flat, simplified styles. It's very disappointing to see Mattel take this shortcut route. :(
On the same day I found Dexter, I was thrilled to finally see a Lizzie Hearts in person, even in the newer packaging:
Then I noticed something "interesting". Check out her hands, especially the one in the background:
Did you notice? They gave her two right hands! I've seen this at least one other time on a different EAH doll in someone's YouTube review. I thought I should point this out so you can check hands when you buy a new doll. Make sure she has a right AND a left!
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The big news in the American Girl world is that Caroline is retiring, a new 1950s BeForever doll named Maryellen Larkin will be released later this year, and the "My AG" line has now been renamed "Truly Me". Also, three new Truly Me dolls have been released, along with some new clothing and accessories.
I think Maryellen is going to be adorable with her green eyes and strawberry blonde/light red hair. Some of the outfits on the covers of the books look adorable. I'm sure she'll have some really fun accessories, too.
You can get a small preview of what she's going to look like from these photos of the mini doll and books:
Like many others out there, I'm sad to see Caroline go so quickly. I hope to get her Spencer and Hat set before she's completely gone, but we'll see what happens.
As far as the Truly Me line, I'm actually a bit relieved that the name has changed again. It's super hard to search for "My American Girl" on any sort of secondary market, because it brings up everything with American Girl in the title. Also, "American Girl Truly Me doll" sounds a lot better than "American Girl My American Girl doll". ;)
Here are the three new Truly Me dolls:
Truly Me #62
(Picture found HERE)
Truly Me #62 has the Sonali mold, dark hair, medium skin, and beautiful amber eyes. I'm not in the market for any more AG dolls (I've run out of space!), but if I were, she is the one that would come home with me. She is my very favorite of the three new releases. :)
Truly Me #63
(Picture found HERE)
Truly Me #63 has the Classic mold, blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes.
Truly Me #64
(Picture found HERE)
Truly Me #64 has the Jess mold with the special Ivy eyes (which had more detail around them), dark hair, light skin, and brown eyes.
This is #54, who is not a new doll, but her eyes now feature the extra lines of the Ivy mold, just like #64.
(Picture found HERE)
There is currently a Truly Me sweepstakes going on with weekly prizes. For details about this and other AG news, you can check out their Facebook page HERE.
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Finally, just for today, there are some great sales going on at Disneystore.com on dolls, toys, and more. I'm sure they'll have a new promotion tomorrow for Memorial Day, but I thought I'd mention this to you guys in case there's anything there you're interested in. You can see all of the sale items HERE.
P.S. Am I the only one who holds my breath and scrolls through the whole sale when I see the Fairy Godmother and Lady Tremaine dolls on sale? I'm really hoping one of these times that the Prince and Cinderella set will go on sale, too. ;) I'm not thrilled with their serious faces, but I love their clothing. I just don't want to pay the full $70 for them. ;)
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I think that's all for now. I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with your families. In the middle of the festivities, swimming, barbecues and sales, please stop to remember the fallen warriors who bravely fought for our country. That's what this holiday is truly about. Which sounds rather hypocritical after I've just spent an entire post talking about sales and toys. :{ I do feel, however, that it's important to stop and be thankful for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be free. May we never forget.
7 comments:
Oh, I didn't know you had Dex. I surprised myself with him for my birthday - about a month after my birtday. (Now that's a surprise. I'm going to dress him up as my own character - Mylittlemegara could tell quite a bit about him) The supermarket where I bought mine has now both Dexters, and the old one is cheaper then the new, downgraded one. And they were sitting on the same shelf. I just don't understand. Back to yout doll. He has Beasts blue coat and blue eyes so you could pose him with Rosabella. (When she finally appears in stores, but at least there are some nice high quality pictures of her. My favourite is her 'in box' picture. I really hope I can get her at a reasonable price so Dex won't be so lonely and I can hav a really crafty summer with lots of sewing :) ) If you get Rosabella and Ben from Descendants, make sure Belle and Rapunzel are around to give the poor teens some advice. :)
I think it doesn't sound hypocritical at all :)
I LOVE the 50s, so I think this will be a nice additions to BeForever. Hoping for a poodle dress! On another note, I will miss Caroline, especially her dress that looks like a replica of Cinderella's ball gown. :(
Great summary of all the wonderful sales going on! I was excited to pick up a Ginger Breadhouse EAH doll at my local Walmart today for $11. I was very surprised to find her marked down so low, but I could not for the life of me figure out what the flaw was, so I guess I'll find out when I open her, lol.
Thanks so much for providing the link to the new AG mini MaryEllen as this is the first I've seen of her...she's adorable!! I'm not sure if I'll get the 18in one, but I will for-sure get the mini. I love her color scheme.
Thanks again for the great info. :)
How often does your local Goodwill have sales like that 50% off one you mentioned, just for holidays? I haven't been to ours in a while (it's twenty miles away, so, I don't make the trip often), but they never seem to have any special promotions going on when I'm there. In contrast, the St. Vincent de Paul Society thrift store I frequent has a different sale every single day (albeit more often on clothing or practical items than children's playthings). Let us know if you scored any good toy finds there!
Your patience may indeed pay off on the Mattel Cinderella dolls, as retail stores often try to clearance out older products during the summer months in preparation for the onslaught of new stuff that they'll need space for during the Christmas shopping season. In fact, I was just reading a blog the other day where the author mentioned that she and her husband do a lot of their Christmas toy shopping for their two children in the clearance aisles of Target in July to save money (they actually ask their son and daughter for their Christmas wish lists in the summer!)
Mattel, and other big toy companies, are always cutting corners to maximize their profits, and make their shareholders happy, as such, it's no great surprise that the Ever After High dolls are seeing a dip in the quality of their outfits/hair and decrease in their number of accessories. Hopefully, Mattel doesn't end up removing joints on the Ever After High dolls' bodies too like Spin Master did with their Liv dolls towards the end.
It's not that unusual to get a screwed-up figure like that Lizzie Hearts. I've got a Spider-man with two identical lower legs and an Incredible Hulk with both of his feet attached onto the wrong legs (his big toes are on the outsides of his feet instead of the insides). If any of us were working in a toy factory in China, assembling the same toy over-and-over again, for hours at a time, chances are that we'd probably mess up like that every now and then too. I don't know about doll collectors, but some action figure enthusiasts actually pay more for MIP figures with factory errors like that.
Hi Mark! :) Hope you're having a good week.
My local Goodwill usually only has 50% off specials on holidays. If I remember correctly, they usually fall on Memorial Day, Labor Day, New Year's Day, and possibly Columbus Day. This past year, they stopped doing the store-wide 50% off sales and just did 50% off of clothing on their sale days. That must have really backfired, because the sales are back again. ;)
I actually didn't end up going to the sale after all. My husband had the entire day off, which is such a rarity that I decided to stay home and have a family day with him and the girls. The Goodwill sale days are so busy that my mom and I usually spend at least a good four hours there, between shopping and standing in line. :}
I'm hoping my patience will be rewarded on the Mattel dolls. The good news is, all five dolls are still there. They're still the same price, though. I think I first noticed the discount over a week ago. You can be sure I'll be making frequent stops at Target for a while. ;)
I do understand the issues, both with the lower quality of the EAH dolls and the flawed hands/etc. I'm sure it's difficult running a toy company in this economy. I just hope the shortcuts don't backfire on them. Fans will be disappointed.
Lol, I suppose a doll with two right hands could make for an interesting story, a la "Belle's Bulletin's" style. ;) Perhaps having two of the same hand makes her extra ambidextrous or extra skilled or something. :)
Interesting about the Cinderella dolls - I saw them a couple of weeks ago at my Target and they were marked down to $19.99, so I grabbed one because I had been wanting her, but not for $40. You might try scanning one and see if the price comes up lower than what is actually marked on the box.
I am excited to see Maryellen. She looks like she will be cute. I was not terribly impressed with GOTY Grace. I am reeeeallly looking forward to the new AA doll in 2016. And I also like the name change to Truly Me. Definitely less confusing.
Okay, I have the sudden urge to drive to Target now. ;) I'll be sure to try that the next time I go. :)
I'm excited to see Maryellen and the new AA doll, too. I didn't mind Grace because she has the same coloring as my oldest daughter. ;)
Glad I'm not the only one who's happy about the Truly Me name change. :)
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