Chaise from Tonner Convention and Kingdom Doll Eira

I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it. Tonner's props and furniture are simply the best and always have been. They're always fully scaled and fabulous for photography.  It sold out shortly after going up for sale on Wednesday but I got my order in while I was on the treadmill at the gym. Now that's determination (aka obsession.)

Took some quick iPhone shots of Black Lipstick seated on the chaise.

Love the doll, the chaise and the outfit which is from Sandra Stillwell's "Radio Days" convention.
The jewelry is Franklin Mint.

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As expected, Kingdom Doll's Eira, a very limited edition, sold out almost immediately leaving several collectors moaning and groaning. ( I could also say 'pissing and moaning' but I'll be diplomatic outside of the parentheses.)

Cheer up because the next doll up, Orbit-seen below, is a larger, though limited edition, and she is another beauty.

That's not to say she'll last long once available. The usual suspects will complain and condemn Kingdom Doll for not making enough, blah, blah.

When the new GenX Solitaire went live on Superdoll's site, she didn't last long. Of course, a few people were disappointed they missed her but I didn't see venom-tinged remarks aimed at the company. When Mansion came and went very quickly, there were no angry collectors posting on Prego about Superdoll's business practices. Superdoll doesn't even tell anyone a specific time a doll will go live! You have to keep checking the site and hope you find it ready to buy.

With Integrity Toys, you know when to contact your dealer after seeing a doll. It's called NOW. You don't get time to think about what you really want because if you hesitate, the doll will be sold out. You have people emailing every single dealer, trying to get the dolls any way they can. Ultimately, the disappointed collectors complain about the dealers, favoritism and canceled orders. 

When Mattell posts a Platinum Barbie for sale the site crashes or they cancel the sale and then hold it a few days later without broad announcements of the new date. 

Mattel Announces Four Club Exclusive Dolls for 2011

Mattel sent out email to all members of Barbie Fan Club showing two sneaks of actual dolls and a drawing of another. The fourth is still a secret.
Redhead Silkstones are winners in my opinion. This one is BFMC Ekaterina. She is the first club exclusive and will be available in February with free shipping.

This is a screen shot of part of the email. The Platinum Label doll is the blonde in the white dress. She is called Pinch of Platinum and has the endlessly skinny, hands-on-hips model muse pose, a boring vapid smile and an un-articulated body and collectors will buy every last one the minute she goes on sale. The sketch of the witchy-styled doll is called "Fall Holiday Hostess." The outfit is cute - nothing new but cute.
 "The opportunity to purchase Ekaterina™ Barbie® begins 2/9/11 at 11:00am CT for $99.95, for 2011 BFC™ members only, in the online shop. No more than 3,000 of these dolls will be available for sale. Doll purchases are optional and available only to members of the 2011 Barbie Fan Club." 

Information on joining (or re-joining) the BFC is coming next week.

Mattel's Pop Life™ Ken® Doll - Gone in the blink of an eye.

At 9:00 AM Pacific Time on October 21, Pop Life Ken by Bill Greening went on sale on the Barbie Collector website. This is a Platinum Label Collection doll which means "sequentially numbered editions of less than 1,000 worldwide, available at select retailers." It took just 11 minutes for the doll to sell out and by that time he was already being sold on eBay. Not surprising at all. The order process took me only 4.5 minutes but it felt like forever. The pages moved so slowly due to the traffic on the board. I think I was holding my breath the entire time.

The retail price was $74.95. The fourth quarter coupon was $30 bringing the price down to $44.95 for me. Shipping was only $1. Not bad for a Platinum.