New American Girl!: The NEW American Girl Kit graces the cover of the latest American Girl catalog, which has just shipped out to customers.  Kit goes "from rich to poor overnight."  She represents a doll in a family that was struck by the Great Depression. I think she will be a great educational tool, since so few of our children have been through truly hard times. KIT is also involving girls in a collection of canned food for the needy during this fall, which fits in nicely in Kits history.  Also, Kit is the first American Girl to have short hair (blonde) and freckles.  She wants to be a reporter when she grows up.  She is a lovely doll, with some wonderful accessories.  Look for an article about Kit soon!    Go to the American Girl site to learn MORE about Kit!

Robert Best Barbie Doll Signings!:  Robert Best, the creator of the fantastic Barbie Fashion Model collection, will be making some personal appearances this month to sign dolls and meet collectors!  His first appearance will be at Diamonds and Dolls on September 16th, from noon to 3pm (Springfield, MO).  Robert will also visit FAO Schwartz on Fifth Avenue in New York on Sunday, September 17th, from 1 to 3-m.  For addresses and full information on the appearances, please visit: Barbie Collectibles: Robert Best Appearances 

ASK THE EDITOR CHAT: Don't miss it!  This Tuesday, September 19th, at 6pm eastern, Vick Steemsa, the editor of Doll World Magazine, will return for the second in her series of popular "Ask The Editor" chats!  Ask Vicki anything you like regarding Doll World, doll collecting and dolls!  That's 6pm eastern, 7pm central, 8pm mountain, and 9pm pacific.  Questions and answers will last for approximately one hour, with general chat thereafter.  And, there will be DOOR PRIZES, too!   The chat room is ALWAYS open, and can be reached at http://collectdolls.about.com/mpchat.htm. 

$15,000 Gene Package at FAO! First it was an $8,000 Barbie--now its a $15,000 Gene luxury package at FAO, for the "Gene Stardust Memories Custom-Made Gown!"  This is a gown an adult female--NOT for Gene! The FAO site says that:  "This stunning Stardust Memories gown will be tailor-made to your measurements. The gown is gray silk satin with silver mesh tulle and hand-beaded accents; a faux fur stole, crystal earrings and formal opera-length gloves complete the ensemble. Then you will travel to New York City for a VIP tour of FAO Schwarz, where Gene designer Mel Odom will present you with your own signed Stardust Memories doll. Afterwards, don your gown and head out on the town, where Mel and gown designer Jose Ferrand will host you and a guest at Le Cirque for a star-studded dinner. This entire package includes round-trip travel for two, hotel accommodations, dinner, the signed doll and your own custom-made Stardust Memories gown; a portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Neil Bogart Memorial Fund for Children's Cancer, Leukemia, and AIDS Research."  WOW!  To see the dress, modeled on Marilu Henner, go to FAO Online.  

eBay Redoes Featured Item Listings: eBay recently announced a change in the Featured In Category item feature for sellers. According to eBay, "Featured in Category will change to Featured Plus! Users selecting this feature will now have their items featured in category listings PLUS search results! Because of the great number of searches performed by eBay buyers, this improvement will DOUBLE the visibility of your featured item. To reflect the added value, the feature will be renamed Featured Plus! and will cost $19.95." Actually, I don't think that this serves doll sellers very well-- $9.95 for a featured listing was already a large amount to pay for selling a single doll, and only those sellers with very expensive vintage or antique dolls will make use of this Featured Plus which requires an additional $19.95 listing fee per ITEM. Great if you are selling a car, but not so great if you're selling a doll. Many eBay users wish that simple Featured In Category for $9.95 remained an option. 

Mystery Guide Of The Day:  Did you know that we have over 700 Guides at About, all bringing you the best on their topic? Click on the picture of the Guide to find out who this Guide is and to visit her site!

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About Dolls Daily Archive:

September 11, 2000:  $8,000 Fashion Model Barbie Doll; Lee Middleton Dolls; eBay tackles fraud; Encore Gene shipping
September 8, 2000:  eToys; The World's Biggest Toy Store; Some Alexs' Sold Out; No AA Fashion Model Barbie
September 6, 2000:  Doe Barbie Manipulate Children; Venus and Serena dolls; Baby Boomer Toys; Robert Tonner 18" dolls 
September 1, 2000:  Modern Doll Convention; New Barbies; John F. Kennedy Doll; ViewMaster 
August 30, 2000:  Reproduction Dawn; Electronic Toy Shortage; Theriaults Upcoming Online Auctions; Paper Dolls
August 28, 2000:  Auction-Site Shake-Out; Barbie in the New Millennium; New Links
August 25, 2000:  Ask the Editor Chat; AA Prince Ken; Doll Reviews

• Blue Ribbon HSN Event Planned:  8pm to midnight EST on Friday, September 22 will be the sixth annual Doll Collectors Blue Ribbon Event on HSN.  The program will offer many dolls that have been nominated for the DOTY awards from Doll Reader magazine and also the Dolls Awards of Excellence from Dolls magazine.  
• Theriault's Marquis Trilogy Weekend:  September 23 and 24, Redwood City, California.   Four auctions--a catalogued auction of antique dolls, a special vintage Ginny auction 'Hi, I'm Ginny" and a "Barbie® Retro" catalogued Auction of vintage Barbie, Barbie family and related accessories.  Plus, a Discovery Day Auction! Click here for Full Auction Information
• Timeless Treasures: The Story of Dolls in Canada is on display now through  March 30, 2003 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec. For more information on this huge (over 400 dolls) landmark exhibit, visit http://www.civilisations.ca/cmc/cmceng/pr113aeng.html 
• National Gene Convention 2000 will be held Oct. 20-23 at the Arlington Heights Hilton in Arlington Heights, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). Registration is $325 and limited to 700. For more information, contact genecon99@aol.com

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 Dolls 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!

More GREAT Hobbies News On About.com
Collectibles News * Toy News * Board Games News

2000 Doll News Archive:

January
Madame Alexander 16" Fashion Doll; Mattel Execs Leave * 
Doll Costumer Guild Announces New Publication; *
Barbie® PC; Barbie Auction *
February
Jill Barad Resigns From Mattel  *
All The Toy Fair News! *
Toy Fair Recap; Toy Fair Toys are Technological  *
March
New Theriault's Auctions; Dorothy Coleman Dies *
TRU Big Event, Virginia Graves Carlson Dies *
April
New Doll Books; New Barbie® Releases in Stores *
Jill-Neimrow Nelson Resigns; Americana 2000 Projects; Fashion Doll Convention *
Barbie for President, Sign Language Barbie®; Betty Spagetty and eBay Antique Dealers *
Special Online Doll Auctions; Pleasant Co. Toys For Boys, Cool Collecting Barbie®*
May
Pleasant Company Founder Retires/Doll Discounts/Harley Ken HOT! *
Who's Brave Enough to Run Mattel/Hello Kitty Barbie®/Barbies in stores now *
Toysmart OUT of Business; Where are Asian Barbies; NEW Mattel CEO *
June
Barbie®20001 line info; Gene News; Sailor Moon NEW USA Dolls! *
eBay users dislike advertisements; GI Joe in a Dress; new 16" Fashion Dolls *
Barbie® Bazaar, ITCA, Simply Gene Platinum, Barbie Convention
July
New Doll Costuming Magazine; Harry Potter Mania; Dollmakers Convention *
UFDC Sky-High Convention Dolls; Online Convention Clubs Voted In; NEW Fashion Dolls Magazine * 
Paralymics Becky; Sotehby Barbie® Auction; HSN Doll Event
August
New Elle Dolls; Teri Lee Repros; iDolls Sale; TRU joins Amazon 

For all 1999 editions of "Dolls This Week" please go to the 1999 Dolls This Week Archives.