Petition for Retired Items!

[adorevintage]

Has anyone ever seen this?
American Girl Petition

I was wondering if someone has ever made a Petition to bring back some retired items? Like Felicity's writing set. I don't know WHY they retired that or her Tea Lesson since it was in her books and in the movie!

[Katie148]

Actually, back when this board was first started, Ann, the original creator of this group, got a petition going to send to AG. Lots of us contributed to it and she sent it in and was contacted by someone from AG. They talked to her on the phone and explained their logic behind some of the retirements. This was years ago and I don't know if the thread is still up or not, but if you want to know more you could try searching for it. Ann wrote a nice long post all about her conversation with AG!

[adorevintage]

Aww Search option isn't working right now, it's sooo slow then just quits.

Why did they decide to retire items though?

[Katie148]

If I remember correctly, they said that Felicity was one of their lowest sellers and her items were the most expensive to produce. I believe they gave Ann the sales figures for her clothes press and it was ridiculously low. It seemed like they felt it was wasn't worth it to continue making her items with the sales they were getting. And about removing her from the catalog and having her online only, I think they said they needed to make room in the catalog for other products, because it was too expensive to make a complete catalog for everyone on their mailing list. They had a lot of extra lines at this point - Bitty Baby, Bitty Twins, AG Minis, Girls of Many Lands, Angelina Ballerina. I think Hopscotch Hill was right around the corner, too. (And interestingly, four of those lines are now gone, but Felicity is still here!) I don't think they expected the huge outcry that came about after they removed her from the catalog and started retiring so many of her things. I would guess her sales are pretty good now after the movie and reintroduction/introduction of old and new items for her. Just goes to show that retiring a doll with sagging sales or taking her out of the catalog is not the answer...giving her lots of attention and new items and putting her at the forefront for awhile can do wonders.

[MissCurlyCat]

If we?re going to try to bring some of our dolly?s belongings back sign me up! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

[adorevintage]

I read on Curt's site (Complete Guide to Collecting American Girls ) that 3 or 4 of her retired items were brought back.

I wonder if that was due to the petition as mentioned, or they just randomly chose a couple to return?

I would really like for Felicity to have more accessories, I know she has Elizabeth now to add to her collection too... but I think it's a bit unfair she no longer has school supplies.

I'm crossing my fingers that they are coming out with NEW sets or something!

That would be COOL!!!

[heidiabigail]

some retired items are still available as replacement parts, if you call CS they can tell you if the items you want are available etc.

[Janie3082]

I HATE retirements in the historical line! I was so mad that AG retired Felicity's Chocolate set and Party Treats last summer! It's not like they're cheap, but I did have the opportunity to buy them and I just didn't. Now I might never get them because ebay prices are so ridiculously high for these 2 items. Not to mention all of Lissie's other retired items. They are so expensive it makes my head spin!

I really, really want back Kirsten's couple of retired accessory sets too. I want her 4th of July fun set and Winter Pastimes, but, again ebay prices skyrocket on those itmes as well!

That's enough out of me for now. [img]redface.gif[/img] I just wish I could at least find these items to purchase without emptying my bank account.

[adorevintage]

I know what you mean! I recently purchased Samantha's retired (First Edition!) Paint Set, I got a pretty good bargain though considering it is the first edition and complete and nearly mint and I only paid $18 than how much it was originally, or maybe $16 more. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

But I am wanting many of Felicity's retired items also and Addy's! And those fetch quite a pretty penny [img]redface.gif[/img]

[Kenshinchan]

I like Kirsten's retired outfits much better than the ones I have (that I got WAAAY back in the day when I first got Kirsten). [img]frown.gif[/img] Although, the high number of retired items gives us all something to dream of when we're at thrift/collectibles stores.