The last of my convention dolls finally arrived (one of them was mailed on December 7 and just arrived on Wednesday, January 6). It is fair to say that the IT Legendary Convention hit me hard in my countdown and in my budget.
I felt like I was doing alright with my rules. 42 dolls left my collection in 2020. Some of my decisions were difficult but necessary. I'm not sure how, but 59 dolls made their way into my house this year.
I think I will blame the pandemic! "Sheltering In Place" was difficult. Not being able to leave your house caused us to spend more time on the internet.
Some older collections presented great pricing opportunities. I was able to add three dolls from the Luxe Life Convention at below original retail cost:
#1 of 2020 Prosperous Complexity Kyori Sato:
#55 of 2020 Subtle Affluence Eugenia Frost:
#56 of 2020 Gilded Oligarch Tatyana Alexandrova (originally purchased as a body donor, but wears Sea Devil's ensemble so well):
Integrity Toys has had a substantial influx of younger collectors over the past couple of years. Since these collectors were attracted by newer collections, many of them have no experience with the older body types, so they aren't invested in wardrobes to fit those dolls. (Collectors who have been around longer have different body versions in their collections and are able to upgrade bodies as necessary.) The prices of older dolls have come down. I was able to add the following dolls at little cost:
#10 Perfect Skin Adele Makeda:
#15 Heat Seeker Natalia Fatale:
#47 Sweet Smell of Success Veronique Perrin:
#55 Heart Stopper Natalia Fatale:
But I didn't stop there. Since I was at home on the internet so much, good pricing opportunities popped up on dolls that have been on my radar for several years. Like:
#6 Heiress Erin Salston:
#14 Elyse Jolie Bergdorf Goodman Daywear:
#16 Chameleon Vanessa Perrin:
#17 Sunny Slickers Poppy Parker
#18 Smoke and Mirrors Lilith Blair
#52 Get Graphic Misaki
#53 Snowstopper Poppy Parker
#54 Origami Girl Misaki
I sort of dropped out of blogging existence from July 4 until the Legendary Convention in November. I got a new puppy which required a lot of my time. My mother-in-law lives with us and had some serious medical issues and complications (she is on the mend and doing well). The Covid19 crisis continued to interrupt my normal life as my husband is part of the essential work force and was working 7 days per week for most of this time period. Teaching in a digital environment required me to take some hefty staff development courses over the summer. Things only started settling down a little in November. (Unfortunately, all of these things caused an abrupt halt to listing and selling dolls from my collection. The last doll that left here happened in early June. I need to get my organizing back on track!)
I made up for lost time with the Legendary Convention collection. It's hard to believe but I actually added 15 dolls from that convention to my collection!
Being a Fashion Royalty collector since 2005, I honestly felt nostalgic over the Style Lab dolls this year. Fortunately, many newer collectors were quite disappointed in the Style Lab's return to original molds to celebrate their characters' 25th Year Anniversary, so I actually got some of them for retail price! I couldn't resist that, right?!
#38 of 2020 Radiant Soul Kyori Sato (mold 1.0):
#39 of 2020 Violet Obsidian Vanessa Perrin (mold 1.0) One of my favorite dolls from the convention.
She is wearing the 2016 Pure Love Ensemble from the Supermodel Convention with Walking On Clouds Adele Makeda's boots.
#40 of 2020 Flawless Beauty Adele Makeda (mold 1.0):
I corrected her irises myself! She is wearing the 2014 Gloss Convention Style Lab Ensemble Night Fever.
A few of the Style Lab girls haven't made it to the redress shelf yet.
#41 of 2020 Cover Story Veronique Perrin (mold 1.0):
#42 of 2020 Acquired Traits Natalia Fatale (mold 1.0):
#43 of 2020 Exotic Interlude Anja Christensen:
#44 of 2020 Red Reign Korinne Dimas:
Personally, I didn't care for Social Standing Mme Margaret Jolie; however, I did acquire the ensemble "Social Behavior". Although I was able to get the "...And Scene" ensemble at a great price, Body of Work Isha Kalpana Naryanan became a hit and her secondary market price keeps her out of range to add to my collection.
When I looked at the additions, I was surprised to find that 25% of the new dolls were Poppy Parker and 25% were NuFace. Only about 1/3 of the new dolls were Fashion Royalty with the remaining coming from various other lines (East 59th Street, Misaki, or Meteor).
As I hit the reset button for 2021, I realize I am behind in sales and need to find homes for 17 dolls to bring my collection back into balance. Unfortunately, three other dolls are in the mail: Mothership Dania Zarr, Charmed Child Ayumi Nakamura, and Undercover Angel Poppy Parker. Being so out of balance, I chose to not participate in the W Club lotteries for The Originals Adele Makeda or Veronique Perrin. I also didn't pursue purchase of the Poppy Parkers, Enlightened in India or Outback Walkabout. ... At least I'm trying, right?
