Saturday, August 2, 2014

Thrift Store Price Increase :(

My favorite thrift store has been changing its price point over the last couple of months. When I first went there almost 16 months ago, you could get a toy car for $2.95. The beginning of this year they went up to $4.95 and in June they raised them to $9.95. I figured I had enough cars anyway until I saw this:

A PT Cruiser in pretty good condition!
I didn't have this model and felt it was worth 10 bucks.

It's much bigger than my Mini Cooper.

And can seat 4 dolls as long as the dolls in back are LIV bodies.

Then they raised the price of NRFB dolls from $4.95 to $9.95 as well. There have only been a few of those that I felt were worth that price. I know that I could find these dolls on eBay, but then I'd have to pay shipping and deal with a seller and blah blah blah.

1999 Pilot Barbie
Wearing "real" clothes and has a great big suitcase - awesome!

2000 Barbie and Kelly Children's Doctor
So much neat stuff and that scale alone is worth the price.

2007 Hannah Montana (but doll is Miley)
Love that the clothes are very detailed and kid friendly.

2007 Gwen Stefani
I didn't know such a thing existed! It's so stylish.

And finally, this last week the Thrift Store has raised the price of bagged dolls. It used to be you could get 3 nekkid dolls for $2.95 and 3 clothed dolls for $3.95. Now the pricing, upwards 50%, is arbitrarily based on who the heck knows what.

Both clothed doll bags but different prices?!


Is it because their are 2 long dresses vs 1 long dress in the other group? Regardless, as much as I didn't want to pay all that, I really wanted that Pocahontas and the AA doll.


I already had one Pocahontas that I found there before but she was nekkid and her facial expression is a bit... sad and constipated? Even though the newer head is larger, I think her screening is just gorgeous. She looks very regal and majestic.


Even though I've already found a couple of the Asha (?) face mold there, this is my first one with natural hair.


Look how fierce it is! Are you serious right now?! It's amazing. Totally worth it. The hair feels rough as heck, and although I washed it, I'm not going to condition it in case it makes the curls fall.


All three of these dolls have big heads so they will be sharing this Bijou Moxie Teenz body. OMG, look at her hair from the side. It's just fantastic, lol.

Ah well, the Thrift Store understandably has to turn a profit too, but this is seriously going to curtail my spending habits there. I was picky about what I purchased before, but now I'm going to have to be doubly so. *grumble grumble*

P.S.

Can anyone please look at the video below and tell me what this doll was designed for? She was the Barbie in the Belle dress in the $5.95 bag, thanks!  Never mind!  Much thanks to Laura and Dot for figuring out that she is Lifeguard Barbie.

64 comments:

  1. What a fantastic haul! My fav thing is the PT Cruiser, of course but you have a nice selection of dolls. I have the pilot Barbie, very pretty. I love her luggage! Can someone please tell me what the h-e-double hockey sticks the new Ken and Barbie pilots are carrying? Their luggage looks like a tic tac connected to a strap! I've never seen a suitcase so small and it's plastic. :-/

    I'm guessing that dolls body was designed for the uneven bars. So, I'm thinking she is a gymnast? Let us know when you find out.

    Very nice, Muff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, Tracy! I have seen the latest Pilot Barbie which is why I was very happy to find this old version. The new ones look like they are in cheap pilot Halloween costumes and their luggage is only carrying bikinis, condoms and a toothbrush.

      Laura and Dot figured out that doll is a Lifeguard!

      Delete
  2. The PT Cruiser is nice. Asha has a beautiful head of hair. I wouldn't condition it either, and whatever you do don't comb it, at least not with a comb. The natural-looking texture will be destroyed.

    The price hikes would be a shopping deterrent for me. Does the thrift store offer special discounts based on price tag colors? At those prices, unless I really wanted something, I would probably limit my purchases to special discounts. Even at 50% off you might still be paying more than before they raised prices. What a bummer.

    I have no clue about the Barbie body.

    dbg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think more and more thrift stores are checking eBay and basing the prices accordingly. Love the PT Cruiser and think it was worth the money.

      Delete
    2. Debbie, I wont comb her hair ever! After I washed it I put some lotion on my hands to get them nice and soft and then gently reshaped the layers. I almost wasn't going to wash it but then I was like, "Girl, please. You got this from the thrift store. There might be bugs in here!"

      This store has Senior Day on Wednesdays and everything BUT green ticketed items are 1/2 off. I'm 15 years away from being a Senior but if I'm still collecting then, you know I'll be working that discount.

      Delete
    3. KMQ, if they are actually checking eBay prices to help them tag stuff then that sucks big time because often eBay prices are ridiculous. I go to the thrift store to get some dirt cheap prices. If I wanted old stuff at retail prices I'd go to Goodwill. *grumble grumble*

      But, you are probably right because I recall when I went to the doll show, as I was about to purchase a doll the vendor said, "I just checked that price on eBay this morning so you're getting a good deal."

      Delete
  3. Great dolls! I really think the car is fab! Well worth the money.
    The doll body i have the exact same (Also from a thrift store) Its from the "I can be"..Lifeguard barbie.
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barbie-I-Can-Be-Lifeguard/dp/B0042ESG7O
    Hope this helps :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Laura and Dot for identifying the body! You know, looking at the original photo for her I still don't get why her fist are completely clenched. I get the whole "spring into action" and yes, I clench my fists when I jump down from something. However, how is she going to hold the floatation bouey if her hands are completely closed or get a grip on her drowning victim?

      Delete
  4. Muff! I might have the answer to your barbie question! I think she might be a lifeguard from the barbie i can be....
    stuff. She's designed so she can spring out of the lifeguard chair that was included in the set

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, Dot @ "i can be... stuff." Yes, Barbie can be lots of... stuff.

      Delete
  5. Is it California girl Asha? She is a true beauty and looks great on her new body.
    If you get one of Get Real Girl you would get nice, atletic body for your dolls.
    I kinda prefer old Pocahontas, she is really pretty with those huge, exotic eyes. Don't care much for new one, althou she is much more similar to movie image :)

    Really sorry to hear about rocketing prices, too bad our salaries are not that flexible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Major, D7ana says that she is possibly Cali Girl Christie so I'm going to assume she knows her stuff, because I have no idea.

      Agreed, the newer Pocahontas does look more like the movie character.

      Delete
  6. Wow, love your cruiser! Awesome finds, Muff. The Gwen is new to me too, love her style. And I know it truly sucks when prices go up, especially at the thrift of all places.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Adrian! After finding this one Gwen I looked on eBay for the other 4 different versions. It was cool to see them, but for the price, I'm glad I found mine at the thrift store.

      Delete
  7. First, congrats on that super yellow PT cruiser. I don't know who put it out, but that's a cool vehicle ;-)

    Next, your wild-haired, Asha-faced doll is probably the 2nd Cali Girl Christie. Yes, she has amazing hair. Here she is in the 2004 Cali line photo. I LOVE her hair, too. The Bijou Moxie Teenz body is a perfect fit for her. Darn, wish I got them when they went on sale.

    Applause and thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, D7ana, it is very, very yellow and manufactured by ES Toys. I thought it was some toy gimmick to make it that color, but no the Cruisers actually came in that shade.

      Thanks for the scoop on my Asha doll and the photos! Jumping from your research I thought mine had been redressed, but the red shades were sewn into her head and didn't match the yellow ones of the Cali Girl . I looked for more images and she's in her original clothing! She's the Barbie Loves TMX Elmo.

      That Bijou body is the only one I have ever found at the thrift store. I'm super sorry I didn't get interested in the Moxies when they were still well in stock at TRU.

      Delete
    2. Hi, Muff. I sit corrected ;-) I recognized the Tickle Me Elmo outfit, but I never realized that Barbie had such gorgeous hair. So I *knew* she had to be the Cali Christie. Oh yeah - facepalm. Yay and congrats on getting her and in such good condition.

      OMG, you got your Bijou body at a Thrift store? I might have to start looking there, lol. Course I would start once they raise the prices. I would never have thought to look at those bodies because of the huge heads and the inset eyes. Thanks for suggesting that doll body in other blog posts!

      ES Toys for the PT Cruiser? Think I have an older gray car by that company ... hmmm.

      Wish you continued great luck in thrift stores and look forward to seeing your crystal clear photos!

      Delete
    3. Yep, D7ana. Bijou was found in perfect condition at the thrift store. You can buy one now if you want to shell out a ridiculous $75 at Amazon. Pfffffffft!

      Delete
  8. Major haul! I would not have wanted to pay the increased price, but everything you purchased minus Gwen Stefani would have been in my cart too. I remember seeing those dolls at Walmart a few years on clearance. There were a few different styles. Your PT cruiser is the bomb! I love it! I have too many cars too, but this one would have had to come home with me...even if that meant letting one that I already have go.

    P.S. I love love your pictures so crystal clear. What type camera do you use?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, Georgia Girl! Why you no like Gwen Stefani??? I wont be using her body or that head, but her top is going to look stylin' on my Monster and/or Bratz bodies. And she comes with a REAL headband just for me, lol.

      Yeah, I really have no more room for cars but it was in too good condition to pass up.

      The photos of the dolls in and immediately out of their bags were taken with my iPhone but all the others were taken with a Canon Rebel T2i using the 18-55mm kit lens. However, I'm going to say it's the lighting that made these photos clearer. My old desk lamp finally died so I'm using my boom reflector light with a 100 watt daytime bulb. It's the light with the small head on the B&H sale page. I got my kit in 2008 so the price is way different now. The reflector really helps to increase the spread of the light without having to increase the wattage of the bulb. You could probably do the same thing with some aluminum foil though as long as it didn't have a lot of creases in it. A daylight bulb will give you the better results over a soft white or clear blub.

      Delete
  9. Wspaniałe zdobycze! Samochód świetny a wszystkie lalki warte zakupu. Szkoda, że podwyższają ceny...
    Twoja Asha z lokami, po zamianie ciałka - to piękna dziewczyna!
    Pozdrawiam serdecznie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cześć, Olla i dzięki, że wpadłaś. Byłem bardzo zadowolony, aby znaleźć wszystkie te elementy, nawet jeśli cena wzrosła tak bardzo.

      Delete
  10. Oh my goodness, that PT Cruiser! What a find.

    I kinda love Gwen Stefani, but not as much as I love Asha's natural hair.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Smaller! I think I'm equally in love with Gwen's box set and with Asha's hair. They both are too cool.

      Delete
  11. Hello from Spain: I have the Pilot Barbie. suitcase is fabulous. You can open it. I also like the yellow car. Definitely I have to travel to America. Great toys and furniture. Keep in touch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hiya, Marta. Thanks! I was wondering if that suitcase opens and am very glad to know it does. That makes it even better. Right now I only have Liv luggage so this piece will fit right in.

      Delete
  12. Love the PT Cruiser! What a great haul. Asha's natural hair is in great condition, however, I have washed and conditioned several dolls with messed up natural hair. It didn't take out any of the curl, just tamed it and made it shine nicely. I used hair conditioner and not fabric softener like I know some people do. Glad you found out who the doll body was, but I was kinda thinking it was like Kick Boxer Barbie! LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phyllis, I've never heard of using fabric softener to tame hair! Well, not that I have any anyway, lol, so I'll stick with human conditioner. Now that you say it wont mess up the curl I'm going to give conditioning it a try.

      Delete
    2. I found this video on you tube of the Lifeguard Barbie!
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xupO0C_odCs

      Delete
    3. LOL, Phyllis! After watching that video I tried to position my Lifeguard to make that awesome life saving plunge and you apparently need that chair for it to be done properly. There must be a spring in the chair as well, because when I try it without it, she just goes kerplunk on the ground.

      Thanks for finding that!

      Delete
  13. I'm always just blown away by what nice stuff others find at their thrift stores! I'd have bought that Cruiser for $10 without batting an eye in that condition! And the dolls are all actually in nice shape! Asha's hair is amazing, I'd be terrified of messing it up. I think Hanna/Miley and her normal-looking clothing is actually my favorite thing that you got, though. Why is "normal" clothing so hard to find in playline dolls these days?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Presto, it's just this particular store that has the good stuff. The thrift store closest to me and all the Goodwills just have junk. It's like all the great items migrate to this location. And, now that they know they are the hotness, they are raising their prices. *cry!*

      Those Hannah clothes are so great and her sweater has actual embroidered details all over it. Mattel is too busy thinking of new ways to put glitter on stuff. They cant be bothered to cater to people with simpler tastes.

      Delete
  14. Even though the prices are on the rise, you still find amazing stuff, i tried the whole thrift store thing in my town didnt work out as well i left with only disappointment in my hand! The asha/christie is really pretty, love the whole natural hair look she's sporting! And that PT cruiser is the business!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also if you plan to debox some of those dolls can we see them? I'd love to get a look a Gwen Steffani doll!

      Delete
    2. Jay, I think I find great stuff there because I go every darn week, lol. Sometimes though I can go months without finding something I'm willing to pay for. I think this store would be an awesome place for a doll meeting.

      Right now I'm only deboxing the Moxie Girlz/Boyz and the Bratz Boys since those are dolls I know I'm not going to keep. Only one of my bookcases is "boxed doll central" and it's completely full. So far I'm keeping to the plan to debox a doll for each newer doll I bring in.

      Gwen is far down the list, but when I open her up or any of the ones I've photo'd in this post I'll show you the deboxing.

      Delete
  15. You always find such great stuff! I love the PT cruiser and the Asha faced doll! I like the stuff in the Miley doll package and the Children's Doctor package.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Roxanne! I don't actually have a lot of kid dolls but if they ever get sick they now have a doctor with some quality equipment to see them.

      Delete
  16. Wow, you got some Awesome finds! That Mini Cooper Rocks! And so Many Beautiful Dolls - Wow Thank You for all the Eye Candy! ~ LuV, TiGGy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there, Tiggy and thanks for stopping by. Glad that you enjoyed the eye candy! ^__^

      Delete
  17. Bummer about the price increases, but you found some great stuff. The yellow Chrysler is cool and I love the natural hair on the lifeguard doll! That doctor set is one of the best I've seen. I recently did a post about the current one, which is a pretty pathetic excuse for a play set. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Jewell! It was more than I definitely wanted to spend but everything was worth it. I'll hop on over and check out your dolly stuff!

      Delete
  18. That car is fabulous - everything from the shape to the colour is perfect!

    Shame about the price increases, but you still found an awe-inspiring collection there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, jSarie! ES Toys really did a great job imitating the original, right down to the so called, "solar yellow" coloring.

      Delete
  19. You always luck up and find some awesome things. I do love the PT cruiser. Are you going to leave it or paint it? You know you can turn some things into great things. You know I could never find great stuff here in Charlotte. I wouldn't even recommend one, they are just tooo junkie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hiya, Brini! For now I think I'm going to leave the Cruiser yellow. It's very... sunny. I think it might be used by someone running a business and they have a bright yellow car with their logo on it to attract customers.

      Delete
  20. That's some gorgeous hair on Asha. If anything (Heaven forbid) ever happens to her curls, you could always re-set them using coffee stirrers and a little hot water. It's a tedious process, but who wouldn't go through a little extra effort for hair like that?

    My thrift stores seem to be raising their toy prices, too. I found the cutest tiny stuffed koala last week and realllly wanted to buy it for a friend (who had just been to Australia and snuggled with a real one), but it was ridiculously priced.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saturday, even though word is nothing would happen if I conditioned her hair, I've still been too chicken to do it, lol. It's too pretty!

      Sigh, I guess prices are going up all over. They make it difficult for a girl to get her cheap on.

      Delete
  21. PT was definitely worth it. Nice to be able to have 4 adult dolls in the car together. That scale in the doctor set was worth the price of the set. The Tickle Me Elmo Asha was worth the price of the set. She's rare on ebay and go NRFB for a lot more than the white version. Someone probably just bought it for the Elmo stuffed animal, because she is still in her original clothes.

    That sucks that they have raised their prices. Sometimes at our Goodwill, they price stuff more than you can get it new in the regular store. The toy prices have remained pretty low though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vanessa, the Goodwills here have horrible pricing. They really act like they are Ross or something instead of a "thrift" store.

      This is the first time I've seen a doll convertible that could actually seat 4 and the trunk even opens!

      Delete
  22. How annoying that your thrift store is raising its prices but you are still getting some great stuff. I would pay $10 for the Cruiser too. And I love the hair on your Asha doll.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carrickters, tomorrow is my usual day to go to this thrift store so hopefully I'll find some more cool stuff that is worth the raised prices they are asking for.

      Delete
  23. Seems like your prices are just as bad as ours now. :/ Still, I agree the pilot barbie and the doctor set were both worth it. Gwen stefani's clothes look promising too, depending on what size they are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anderson, I haven't opened her yet, but I just assumed that the Gwen clothes could only fit Bratz or Monster/Ever After bodies. For now I'm quite content to stare at her in her stylish box. ^__^

      Delete
  24. Oh, I like the ID video! Reminds me of those late 80s - early 90s Barbie commercials, except for the over excited and always smiling (did they drug them?) little girls who were always in those commercials.
    Can we please hear your voice in a next video? I'm sure it would be gorgeous :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hiya, Sergio! I have sinus issues so I never know what my voice is going to sound like... but I can tell you it's never gorgeous, lol.

      Delete
  25. Fantastica coleccion, saludos desde El Blog de Boris Estebitan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saludos a usted Boris! Gracias por visitarnos.

      Delete
  26. I haven't read through the comments but surely someones mentioned its Macklamore's fault! I noticed that the last few months since going. I bought some khaki pants last week for $5! when a few years ago they would've been $2 easy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, Valsays. Nope, you are the only person to say it was Macklamore's fault. It stands to reason that a hit song is going to impact on the thrift store industry.

      Delete
  27. P.S. you have the best thrift stores! Look at all that stuff?! and the natural hair? OMGEEE

    ReplyDelete