Samantha does have some major plus advantages that dolls such as Molly, Kit, and Addy do not have.
As a child I grew up with a mother obessed with Victorian things. So obsessed she restored a whole Victorian house. So having the Victorian thing exposed to me at a young age made me fall in love with it also. When I see Samantha and other Victorian things I feel like I'm a child again back in home. Reading a Samantha story brings me home in a way, and I also met my husband at a Victorian hotel so that means a lot to me.
She also has the pretty hair and tons of beautiful outfits. When I was a child collecting AG and playing with dolls even though I thought they were cool I didn't care too much for accessories. I wanted dresses. I liked to dress my dolls and my goal was to have as many dresses possible. Samantha seems to have the most dresses out of any of the girls.

Now some reasons why I idnetify with Samantha are
when I was a kid up until I read a Samantha book I always read stories about beautiful and rich girls but they were snobby, shallow, and bratty. Samantha was the first book I remember that had a wealthy, spoiled, and pretty character but she was still compassionate, sweet, and very kind. I came from a very comfortable well off family and I used to feel so guilty because rich girls were always portrayed as snots or selfish. I remember the Meet Molly where I think her name is Alison is resented because she is rich, but I don't recall her acting snobby like Harriet does in the Addy books. I used to even want to be poor because I thought that was the only way I felt I could be a good person. And for a child that thinking pattern is easy to understand. When I read Samantha I no longer felt guilty because she was a generous girl who really helped others out, so I was inspired to donate some of my old clothes and things for those in need because I wanted to be Samantha.
Also like Samantha I am an only child who hung around adults a lot. So I could identify always having to act grown up and mature when they were around.