If you have not heard already I just got the news that American Girl is discontinuing Ivy, Ruthie and Marie Grace and Cecile.
This saddens and frustrates me as a doll lover and consumer. I hate to see the bidding wars and the hurt feelings of young girls who love these dolls and can not afford to add them to their doll families. When the retirement news comes out, everyone rushes to purchase and put a away these dolls in hopes of making money off of parents who did not know or did not get them in time and I hope American Girl has enough to make it through the holiday season. What do you guys think? I also have mixed feelings about Samantha being reintroduced into the line. I would love to know what you think. Please share your comments and ideas below. Does this announcement make you want to run out and buy all 4 dolls?
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
I'm a very picky "collector", and none of these dolls were on my want list, so I won't be rushing to buy any of them.
ReplyDeleteI tend to look at the dolls in a practical way. I know the company has to sell enough of each particular doll to make it worth selling them. These dolls weren't selling well enough, so they had to go. I'm hoping that this means they'll be adding other things to the line.
As for re-introducing Samantha (and hopefully other discontinued historicals), I do like the idea for those of us who weren't "into" AG when these classic dolls were still being sold. I won't be buying Samantha, though, because I recently found her at our local Goodwill. :)
I think they should have kept the original dolls ~ Felicity, Samantha, Molly, etc. Then added and subtracted from the newer dolls including the dolls that were introduced as the friends of the originals. Those are the classic dolls with the historical classic stories. We have Felicity, Molly, Nellie (my daughter was born on my Great Aunt Nellies b'day), and a ag doll that looks like her ~ brown hair & green eyes. She is now 18 and will be passing her dolls, all the clothing and accessories onto her own daughters when that time comes. She also have a well loved Bitty Baby.
ReplyDeleteMarie Grace and Cecile are already in my daughter's collection. She saved up her money and bought them both at the same time. I don't know why AG treated them the way they did. There was so much potential in those two dolls and AG failed them.
ReplyDeleteAs for Ivy and Ruthie they won't be coming to our house. My daughter does not have Kit or Julie and has shown no interest in getting them anytime soon.
I am actually thrilled they are bring Samantha back. I just found a used one this past December and she needs some clothes. She was dressed in a homemade dress, so I am looking forward to buying her some AG clothing. I am not a fan of eBay and don't plan to spend tons of money trying to buy up retired or discontinued items at secondary prices.
They should make another doll with Marie-Grace's face mold. I think she's pretty.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't really care about any of these dolls individually(except for Ivy), I don't really like when dolls retire. I am not very enthusiastic about Samantha coming back either, because I know her collection won't hold a candle to her original outfits and accessories. It will all be different, and I don't like that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with mateo2629 in believing that AG failed not only MG & C, but also Ruthie and Ivy. These dolls could have been balanced in and sold much better. I am sad to see them go, but I'm not rushing to buy the dolls. I am rushing to buy the different components of different historical collections I like before they disappear or are revised in cheaper materials.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see Marie-Grace's face mold make it to the other lines. She is quite pretty.
Samantha's reintroduction...won't be able to make any real comments until she and her collection are revealed. Though I have heard from a Sam fan that the available excerpt from her new book does not represent well. So that has me concerned for the other historical, I mean BeForever, characters.
AG is following the Disney model with all their archival and re-introductions. It is an interesting marketing scheme to get money from the people. I too feel bad for parents and children who can't get the doll direct and must pay inflated prices on eBay.
Overall, I am saddened by the need to change a loved brand.
I am hoping I am able to get Ruthie before she is gone - I have always loved her and Kit, and the collection.
ReplyDelete