TOP TOYS LIST: Toy Wishes magazine has released their annual list of the "hot" toys for the upcoming holiday season.  You know the toys and dolls--the ones that come December people will be paying outrageous sums for on eBay since they can't find them in the toy stores.  Well....YOU won't be in that position come December because here is the just-released LIST, NOW!  The only dolls to appear on the list this year are Amazing Babies and Celebration Barbie.  Get the WHOLE list in the Top Toys List in the Sacramento Bee!  Also check out the entire article:  This Year's Hot Toy That You Won't Be Able To Get--PlayStation 2!  And, if you don't think this is important, relive the horror of last Christmas in my article from last year, The Santa Panic List  (and,  look for The Santa Panic List 2000 later this fall!) 

Barbie Markets to Moms!:  The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article today about a Mattel print ad campaign that will be aimed at MOMS, not children.  The ads will run in major women's magazines like Martha Stewart's Living, People and Redbook.  The ads will promote not only Barbie dolls, but a Barbie-line of clothing for girls 3 to 8 which is sold at stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Macys and others, and also a new line of Barbie cosmetics and bath items for the 8 and older crowd.  

Black Widow--the First Madra Is Released!  Black Widow, the FIRST and very limited Madra Lord doll (arch rival to Gene) has been released and is being delivered to stores.  The doll has been produced in an edition of only 2,500, and is very hard to get--prices on eBay for this doll courtesy of doll scalpers is now brining between $400 and $500 on eBay.  Although I DO expect prices on this doll to stabilize somewhat, it seems that this doll is destined, like Premiere Gene, to always be highly sought-after and difficult to find.

Theriault's Marquis Trilogy Weekend:  It's this Saturday and Sunday, September 23 and 24, in 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.  I'll be attending, so please stop by and say hello--I love meeting About Dolls members!

  NICK HILL CHAT NEXT TUESDAY!: 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. 

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--HINT:  Many doll collectors LOVE this site, too!!

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About Dolls Daily Archive:

September 13, 2000:  New American Girl Kit; $15,000 Gene Package; Robert Best; eBay and Featured Items
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.