*Sigh*

So it happens again. After what they brought in to replace Felicity's old items, I'm not keen on finding out if the replacement Molly items will be better than what they have now.

Guess I'll buy the last couple things on that list I don't have.

This is one of the many reasons I do at least 50% of my shopping on ebay. Most of my dolls and stuff is pre-loved. Yes, it's a little riskier and my doll furniture may come with a ding or two. But overall, I get fed up with supporting Mattel when they don't give a hoot about me as a collector, or me as a long-time fan of the historical line. The day they phase out the books is the day they stop getting my hard-earned cash. My entire reason for supporting the company is the historical educational value of it. Period. Without that, it's just a bunch of upscale toys- no thanks.

I like AGT, but even that is making me annoyed. By renaming it "Just Like You," it is ignoring the original intent of the AGT line- to make girls of today feel like a part of the history of tomorrow. The original line had blank books to write your doll's story. Now it just comes with a little scrapbook type thing that has no educational value whatsoever. What was wrong with providing girls the nifty books to encourage them to WRITE? Now they just fill in one-liner answers. Blech. As a teacher, I find the whole shift appalling.

What happened to the teaching guides?
The maps?
The many historically accurate (but no doubt expensive to produce) accessory sets we've lost?
The nifty museums and historical places of interest like Williamsburg where they integrated tours with the doll line?
The gorgeous lines of historically accurate clothing for girls?

You can see where I'm going with this. They're slowly but surely getting rid of everything historical and educational about the company, and replacing it with the same consumerist-oriented mindset that all the other companies have.

Thank goodness I'm almost done with my collections and love ebay anyway...