I don't have any items with little x's on them, but what do they mean, is there a difference in quality, or what?
From: http://www.sewdolling.com/americangirlpc.htm
The following items were purchased at the Annual Madison Children's Museum Benefit Sale, Seconds and Returns. I have checked them all over and they do not appear to have anything significant wrong with them other than a tiny black "x" on the dolls' bottoms that the Pleasant Company puts on every item they send to the Madison Children's Museum Benefit Sale.
Dolls that have an "X" marked on their rears are those that are donated by AG to the Madison Children Museum. They are resold at their annual sale. These dolls can be either returns or overstocks, etc. They are sold "as is" at the Madison sale and you can not return these dolls to AG for credit. They come with is no warranty or guarantee. If something is wrong with the doll, other than silver eye, AG will not repair or replace the doll for free like they will with a doll bought directly from them. Clothes at the Madison sale also sometimes have their tags clipped to signify they are from the sale.
Kim
But you can send them to the doll hospital if something falls off right?
Yes, you can send them in at your cost to the hospital for any repairs. They just can't accept them in at their cost for defects of any kind, OTHER than silver eye. I have an email from them that specifically states they will still cover the silver eye problem.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you so much for your e-mail and your questions about dolls
purchased at the Children's Museum Benefit Sale. Dolls marked with an
'X' on the bottom signify that they were purchased at the museum sale.
The sale items do not have our guarantee and cannot be replaced or
exchanged by us. We do, however, make an exception for dolls with
'silver eye'. These can be repaired in our Doll Hospital at no charge.
We hope this information is helpful. Should you have any additional
questions or require further assistance, please call Customer Service at
the toll-free number listed below.
It is my understanding that when you buy things at the Madison sale, you have to sign an agreement that you will not resell them for a profit. How can this website be so blantant about reselling these dolls?
Judi, I understand what you're saying, but I guess they figure, who will punish them or what could be the punishment anyway? I've seen tons of stuff that obviously came from the sale before on ebay too.
Some people honestly have bought things for others and then it turned out they didn't want them, so they've sold them that way. And yes, I'm sure lots of others buy specifically for resale, but signing a release isn't going to stop them unless their is a consequence.
Laurie
I have heard of people not being able to work or attend any future sales. A website owner would be easy enough to track down. I guess if I wanted to go back to the sale again, I wouldn't have it up on a permanent website. People who go to the sale and follow the rules about just buying for their own personal use and gifts, report people like the website seller because quantities are limited at the sale.
again, though, as just a buyer (not a volunteer that they'd know), how can they really keep you out of the sale. You just buy a ticket and go, it seems to me it's a busy place and how would they remember your face, or even know your face from ebay?
I'm not agreeing with the practice, I just don't see how they can enforce anything.
I'm going this year for the first time and I'm so excited!
Laurie
You are going to have a great time! I have heard from people that volunteer there (one of my in-laws does) that they have repeat customers that come back and buy many, many of the same item. Typically, you would buy just a few of a certain item if it was for personal use. The volunteer clerks seem to know that these are the e-Bay people which, as you said, it would be hard to do something about. I believe that they are limiting quantities of certain items. For people who sell just ocassionally on e-Bay, I don't think anything would happen.
Although you are going to the sale from pretty far away and no one will know you, Madison is not that big and a lot of people know each other especially in the doll collecting community and the volunteer community. Did you buy tickets already? I wasn't following it too closely this year, and I can't remember when they sell the tickets.
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