I confess to having issues with the dolls - mainly that the dolls did not live up to the pre-release promotional hype. We were promised a new line of AA dolls with new sculpts and the promo pics of the latest releases showed the dolls with articulated bodies. The actual dolls - although pretty, were not what many collectors hoped. Instead of new face sculpts, each of the 4 characters share the Mbili face mold. I love this particular sculpt, but it is by no means, "new". None of the dolls have the articulated bodies as we were led to believe - though some do have jointed elbows.
Being a frugalista as well as a doll collector, I really wanted to purchase some of the dolls at the sale price, but I was just not inspired to do so! I had already purchased several of the dolls early on at retail prices and was disappointed with each purchase. I kept looking for the "new" but all I saw was old familiar face sculpts with old familiar bodies dressed up in new fashions.
I am certain that Stacy McBride-Irby, the designer of this line, did the best she could with what she was allotted. The facial screenings and clothing designs are current and fresh and I love that the dolls represent a variety of skin tones. I just feel that Mattel did not truly commit to the project and decided to minimize production costs by using old and familiar instead of really doing something new.
The result is that the dolls are now being discounted. Mattel will probably use this as an excuse for not releasing new ethnic dolls in the future. They will say they just don't sell - yeah, right! The truth is, many collectors were almost salivating at the prospect of something new from Mattel. Many like myself, ran out and purchased the new dolls at retail price as soon as they hit store shelves. We wanted Mattel to know that such a project would be well supported. I am certain that many people really like the dolls. The story lines are great and provide a positive message for young girls. However for collectors, I think the dolls fell a bit short of the mark.
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2 comments:
From a collector's perspective you're right about the SIS dolls. The failed promises may be disappointing for those who expected new faces and new bodies. But from a child's standpoint, the target market (I believe), I don't think these "new" features or the lack of them matters. Demographics may play a role in the dolls not selling and the resultant price reductions in your area. At the TRU and Target near me, internal markdowns have not been necessary.
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As a collector, I was disappointed - at first - to not have new faces BUT I never expected new bodies. New bodies would have upset some collectors/parents who wanted to use older doll clothes with the new dolls. Plus the Barbie bodies - from Model Muse super-thin to the slightly rounder bodies used by the My Scene dolls - temporarily forgot the name for that body type - are part of the Mattel/Barbie brand. For different sized bodies, I go to the Mixis dolls or the older Get Set/G-Five dolls.
What lessened the disappointment for me - two things:
1. kids and their parents love the dolls
2. the bad economy. Maybe the SiS dolls would have had new bodies AND new faces if the economy were better.
Lots of other Mattel dolls are shifting into clearance not long after they've been out so the economy might play a part in the SiS dolls' reduction, too.
Me, I hope to get a few dolls - especially Julian - and maybe some of the outfits before the sales end.
Thanks for posting about the sale.
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