WHERE ARE ALL THE HOT DOLLS AND TOYS?:  At this point in the holiday season, parents are usually panicking about not being able to find the hot toys of the season, and online auction "scalper" prices for those very same hot toys are sky high.  Holiday Season 2002 has NOT been a season of hot, hard to find dolls, bears and toys.  Most dolls and toys are readily available, and there are no truly "hot" stars on the horizon.  A few toys can be locally hard to find due to retailers cautious inventories--these include Furr Real Friends, some Bratz accessories, Rapunzel Barbie, and Chicken Dance Elmo.  Obscure toys can sometimes be the hardest toys to find--my son wanted a particular Hot Wheels City made only at FAO Schwarz, and it was sold out via catalog and online, and I only found the toy after calling 5 stores!  In my location (Northern California) Groovy Girls have been hard to find, because shipments have been delayed due to the dock slow-down at the west coast ports.  However, Yu-Gi-OH! cards which are scarce in some Eastern U.S. locations seem to be on the shelves in every store out here.

As for the doll collectors on your gift list, some collector dolls are scarce, such as the Emme Doll (The 7 Emme dolls and outfits that arrived in my doll store on Tuesday sold out by Wednesday) and some limited Marie Osmonds and Tyler Wentworths are gone.  Other than that, no panicking, and very little eBay scalping for toys for both kids and adults.  Perhaps we've all matured somewhat since 9/11, perhaps the Toy Industry just didn't come up with the new, hot thing, or perhaps its the economy. 

BRATZ VS. BARBIE IN A KNOCK-DOWN, DRAG OUT FIGHT...:  The Bratz dolls, those big-headed dolls with attitude, are shaking up the doll market.  Young children seem to grow out of Barbie at ever younger ages, or so the current philosophy goes (really?  I still buy them, and I'm in my 40s, and try telling that to the group on the About.com Barbie Doll Collecting Forum!).  So, Tweens (those between 8 and 12) seem to be favoring the hipper, edgier Bratz dolls.  The Bratz dolls have very heavy makeup, and low-rider jeans, teenie tops, and other things that make them the absolute anathema to many moms.  In answer to the Bratz, Mattel has created "My Scene Barbie," a Barbie with a bigger head (echo of Bratz) and the same "hip" clothing that shows off, lets say, more skin than most moms want their 8 to 12 year olds to have in THEIR fashions.  Of course, the 8 to 12 year olds adore them, must have them, and have eagerly put both Barbie and Bratz on their Christmas lists this year.  Personally, I'm hoping that our cultural trends shift back to pink and frilly for our 8 to 12 year olds, but I suppose anything that keeps girls with their dolls for longer is a good thing.

DOLL COLLECTING AT ABOUT.COM NEWSLETTER CHANGES:   Starting Thursday, December 12, look for our new WEEKLY Doll Collecting At About.com Newsletter.  The Newsletter won't be quite as free-form as the last one, but you'll get four every month, as well as links to some long-buried resources on our site (did you know that there are literally thousands of pages of doll information on this site?).  Be sure to e-mail me at collectdolls.guide@about.com to let me know what you think.

HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT THE BARBIE DOLL COLLECTING FORUM?  Doll Collecting at About.com has great, busy Barbie Doll Collecting Forum! Run by our Forum Host, Kerry (Topazcathost) the Forum is a busy, busy place to discuss all things Barbie, modern and vintage, as well as online goings-on.  Photos, fun and opinions can be shared, and friends made.  Remember,   although our Forum  used to be connected to the Delphi Forums, they are NOT connected to them in any way right now, and our Forums are NOT affected by any Delphi problems or imposed fees.

Be a Roving Reporter!! Become a Roving Reporter and write a report on a doll event!  Or, do you have a doll event to promote, a new doll to announce, or an updated web site?  Please e-mail me at collectdolls.guide@about.com and put "Newsletter" in the subject line--For events, please give me 7 to 10 days advance notice (at minimum!) in order to have your event appear on time. Some events will also/alternatively appear in the Events Calendar.

Do You Have Dolls For Sale Or Trade? Did you know that you can place FREE classified ads for your dolls for sale or trade (or, dolls wanted) in the Doll Collecting Classified Forum?  Dealers, collectors, everyone welcome; feel free to link to your eBay auctions as well!  Visit the Dolls Forum to find out how to place your ad; if you are not yet a member, click on GUEST, but you will need a free Forum ID to place your ad.

 Want to keep up to date on all the latest in the world of Dolls?    Sign up for the weekly About Dolls  Newsletter! It's free, and is delivered to your email address every week, full of links to new articles, new clip art, additions to the Doll Price Guide and Galleries, Forum Discussions and more!   Don't miss a single issue--- scroll to the end of this page to sign up now!

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