Old dolls, COA's and original boxes

Yes, I have.

I think you shouldn't worry about it. If someone wants to buy your doll, they will regardless.

From a seller's perspective:
I have sold some dolls that were old and missing CoAs. One had a factory faceup and was super rare, etc. Still, turned out she was unpopular and I sold her for so low it hurt. Then I had another one. It was long sold out, but it was an old Luts, so someone was really after it. They offered a doll in trade. The doll was worth about $700 and was the most expensive doll in my possession to date. In my eyes, the cheap doll was even prettier and in a better condition. The Luts was yellowed-til-almost-green (which i honestly disclosed), but that person had been looking for it for ages.

If you have some Dream of Doll, etc or other rare classics - don't hesitate to ask a fair (high) price. If your dolls are unnown and not sought after - just price them accordingly. Either way, there's plenty of people who will buy them. I nowadays don't even look up the updated recast list (Idk where it is and I don't care, I don't collect any extra dolls), but if a doll is super old, rare, etc then it'd be silly to think it was recasted. It's not some soom/volks/mnf or other in-vogue stuff. (yeah, yeah, rare dolls got recasted too, I know).

From a buyer's perspective:
I have 5 dolls. I have the company boxex for 3. Company papers for 4. But CoAs only for 1 full doll, one head and one body (or maybe just a box? I can't remember). The other dolls have 'papers' such as an old volks manual and an old dollmore manual. It suffices for me, since I don't plan to resell them. But I've bought dolls in the past where I knew they were legit, but had no papers. I just always haggled with the seller or got a deal. THose were not super rare finds (old yellowed volks body, for example), so I guess it was justified. I bout them at a near-recast-like price and i knew that if they turned out to be not legit (which I was sure they wouldn't), I'd not be at much loss. Particulalry if I were to resell them, I'd not regret it all.

if I were to resell my crew now, I'd sell one doll for 25% more than original, another probably for 100% more, another for 200% more, another for maybe 30%, another for more or less the same or a little less (like 10-15% less). I am being realistic, the ones I'd make more money on were really complete deals. (in fact one was a trade, so I paid nothing). in the 200% case, it was simply just a matter of the old owner's having poor photo skills and the dolls' looking poor on the sales pics. Initially, the owner was like 'dammit I wish I had the CoA' because I haggled so low. But when she saw how the doll "feels" with me (better pics, better clothes), she told me she's happy the doll has now a better home. And I'm happy it wasn't just a flig either.

if I see a doll which is old, yellowed, no papers and I can buy the new version and the old is priced the same... I roll my eyes and scroll down thinking 'what a time-waster'

In sum - if someone really wants your doll - they'll have it no matter what and they will give it a loving home. You can always start by setting a high selling price and just mark it down from time to time until it sells. If you know something is valuable more - eep it and let it wait if you have the time and space. I used to like fast sales. Now I sometimes wait even 5-6 months for the sale and get a slightly better price than if I didn't want to wait. but Im talking old dolls.

 

I often wonder about this as well.
I have manufacturer's boxes for nearly all of my dolls.
CoAs for many (75%??) and a few of my dolls have
been the target of recasters. I think I have a CoA for
my IH JID Benny in ebony resin. Anyway I'm now in my
80s and will be shedding dolls rather than adding from now.

Is the DoA market place still the sales forum of choice?

 

Everything said here.
Most of my dolls are old Luts/CPS. Boxes and COAs during the time they were getting released, WEREN'T IMPORTANT. Our hobby was still pretty niche, so recasts were barely ever seen.

A person who is looking for those old sculpts are usually aware of that. Don't take too low of a price because your worried about no one buying your doll, people still will, especially if you can recall some background on them.

As a buyer, I buy dolls based on common sense if they don't have a COA. Do they have history behind them that the seller can provide? Do they look like a 15 year old doll (yellowing, scuffs, original faceups, sometimes even mods on certain sleeping sculpts?)

I'd also look on the marketplace to see what the last sculpts sold for. If it's within the past year, it will give you a decent idea of their value if there's more than one.

 

I think most people who buy really old dolls secondhand understand that most have probably lost CoAs, paperwork and boxes along the way. When the hobby was new, there just wasn't much reason to keep it all if the doll wasn't a fullset, especially if you were limited on space. I have my first doll's box and CoA from 2008 and I'm actually kind of surprised I kept it. At the time, I didn't really keep any boxes that my dolls/toys came in.

I think the best thing you can do if you sell is just be honest about what you do/don't have, give as much information as you can about where the doll came from, and let potential buyers decide if that's important to them or not. Some people will avoid buying because of it, but I think there are also a lot of people who don't really care. I prefer my dolls to have boxes and CoAs, but if there's a doll I really want from a trustworthy seller, lack of box or CoA isn't going to stop me.

 

Like Cloaked said, most of us who are going to have an interest in older sculpts will already know that many of them won't have intact boxes at this point, and that it may not have originally come with a CoA. (Although you DO occasionally see someone in the Marketplace with a WTB on, say, an old CP/Delf proclaiming that it "*MUST* come with CoA!!".... Which makes me chuckle, because it's very much one of those 'Tell me you're fairly new to the hobby without actually saying you're new to the hobby'-things to assume that CoAs were/are/have-always-been universal. )

Personally, I've bought older dolls both with and without. I just do my homework, and at this point have a pretty good eye for what I'm looking at and what it ought to come with.

 

I also think really good clear photos would help. Sometimes inside the head cap or other body parts are little identifying marks...show any if your doll has them.