I have been shopping at yard sales for many years and until a couple months ago I had never found any on my adventures. Then one ordinary Saturday morning I walk into someones garage and the first thing I see are FIVE vintage Barbies. I approached them slowly fearing they were a mirage. As I reached out for them I realized that they were very real and authentic vintage Barbies. I quickly grabbed them before anyone else could and asked the woman selling them "How much?" She starts out by telling me that they are very old. She played with them when she was young. That vintage Barbies were very collectible... and on and on. The more the spoke the higher I saw the price going. Finally she gave me the price: $5.00 each. Being a veteran yard saler I of course had to to counter with a lesser price. After much back and forth between us I finally ended up buying all five with some extra clothing for $15.00.
You would think I would have ran home and listed them right away. But no. They sat in my garage for a couple months. I couldn't decide if I wanted to list them separate or as a lot. Also, a few of the dolls had some issues.
This doll had the dreaded green ears. Apparently on some of these dolls when the earrings are left on the metal in them cause the ear area on these dolls to turn green.
A week ago I finally decided to list them as a lot including the above Barbie, two Midge bubble cut Barbies, a slightly newer Barbie, and a Skipper doll. I took pictures of all the issues the dolls had. My starting bid was $40.00 and the first day I got a bid. I also got 15 watchers. My listing was set to close on Saturday afternoon. On Friday night when I went to bed I had 55 watchers and 7 total bids with the highest bid being $75.55. Not as high as I was expecting but I knew I still had most of the next day to go.
On Saturday morning when I awoke I ran to my phone to see if I had received any more bids. I had!! My dolls were at $199.00. I almost fell over. They had surpassed my expectations. But the story doesn't end there. By the time my listing closed I had 70 watchers, 25 bids, and I had sold my Vintage Barbies for $306.89. And the best part about it was the buyer paid right away!
Now I will admit I know nothing about vintage Barbies and who knows if I could have received more if I had listed them differently. But for a $15.00 investment I am ecstatic about my $306.89 sale.
So even though I probably don't need to tell you, be on the look out for vintage Barbies.
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