I'm mad and thinking of selling my collection

[luanne]

I have to vent for a minute here, please allow me.

Having just read the string about the next LE, I am feeling very resentful of what Mattel is doing to American girl. The company was started by a woman who wanted to encourage girls to be the best they could be, while celebrating their differences. Pleasant Rowland wanted young girls to embrace History, and learn from it, and hear about struggles other little girls had to go through so they could appreciate the lives they live today. She created adorable little dolls so young children could act out their accounts of what history was like, and use imaginative play to deal with their own issues. In the process, some of us (adults)fell in love with the dolls, and we collect them, proudly displaying them, buying clothes for them as if they were our own children.

In my opinion Mattel has lost sight of the goal! They have taken a wonderful, educational, heartfelt feeling created by holding an American Girl doll, and turned it into a profit margin. Plastic accessories, release dolls as if they were Barbies, thinner girls, to save $ on plastic! Garbage!

Don't get me wrong, I love all my little ladies, but I think I'm going to save one doll for each of my DDs, Kailey for myself, and sell off my collection. I don't think it's right for them to entice us with the greed they are creating. I think it's the opposite message Pleasant Rowland would have wanted to teach young girls.

I'll let you all know before my auctions go live so you'll have the 1st right to buy.

[Miss_Nellie_OMalley]

Calm down and breath. Do not do anything until you have thought it through fully. I know what its like to be angry with a company when it sells out to greed.

Even though Mattel might be turning the AG world upside down you don't have to let them get the better of you. Think of all the wonderful things, life lessons and experiences, you could give to your daughts through the dolls. You don't have to collect everything that comes out, you can put the cataloge down and boycot new products. But think about all the joy that the doll collection you have at this very moment has brought. Do not let them get the better of you, show them that you are above all that and that, sure maybe you won't buy anymore from them you aren't going to throw away the benifit and gift these dolls do bring when handled correctly.

[wrxgirl]

I agree with them also... I would email letters and call AG and voice your concerns, thats the only way they are going to change is if we all speak up on what we think, etc... coming from true collectors you would think they would listen to what we have to say... I agree with you though about the dolls and their stories, releasing one after another, etc.. I think the LE's should still only be released once every 2 years or so, and have them make more TODAY dolls, they are great sellers and are very pretty....

[dianasmama]

I find it interesting that everyone always blames Mattel for the "change" of AG and that they just want to make money, etc.

Let's not forget that it was Pleasant Rowland who sold her company to Mattel in the first place. I'd say she was also a little motivated by making some money too.

Mattel is not perfect, but maybe if Ms. Rowland had sold the company to a smaller entity or someone specifically only interested in dolls things might have been different.

For the most part, I'd say I'm about 99.8% pleased with every purchase I have made through Mattel and I'm still glad that American Girl is available.

I'm not happy either about the introduction of so many new dolls, especially when they release a doll like Marisol immediately after Christmas. I'd prefer it to be on the timetable of Kailey, who came out in the summer. That way it doesn't take the shine off of getting a new doll for Christmas, only to have another introduced immediately.

No one is making anyone buy more dolls. They are giving you more variety. Believe me, I have to keep telling myself that too, that just because Mattel introduces something new, it DOES NOT mean that I need to purchase it, or everything in a collection. For instance, I will not be getting the spinning, light up stage for Marisol, just to complete my collection. I saw it AGPC and was not impressed with it in the least.

Anyway, just my 2 cents here,

Laurie

[Kitzka]

Luanne:

I can understand your frustration. But I think that you should hold off on selling everything. Everything that is being said on the Girl of the year thread is pure speculation. All we know for sure is that a new book is coming out from American Girl publishing.

Even though their primary reason is to make books to go with the dolls AG publishing may be taking another crack at regular fiction. The past few LE doll authors have been well known in the book industry.

I just think it is too early to jump the gun at this point.

Lara

[[email protected]]

I totally agree with you, Luanne!

I'm sure that a lot of us do. Remember that the original reason that our mother club (SOAGC) was born was because there were so many of us that were so VERY UPSET with how Mattel was treating Felicity, and with how Mattel was treating AG customers (by lying through their teeth about what the plan was for Felicity).

(For those of you who don't remember, they put out notices in the store and in the catalogs to the effect that Felicity would no longer be in the catalogs or the store but that we should not worry at all because her entire line would continue to be available online. Within 2 weeks they started retiring items in her line, and by Christmas 7/8 of her line was gone forever. It had been a bold-faced lie to all of us, and I'm telling you many of us were hopping mad.)

When we first heard that Pleasant Company was being sold to Mattel, these kinds of shinanigans (sp?), and those like you have listed, are exactly what we were worried about, and the more time goes by, the more our concerns come true. While it's distressing, I think that we need to accept that Mattel can't help acting like Mattel, any more than a cat can't help acting like a cat and a dog can't help acting like a dog.

Taffy and I have written many long epistles on this message board, on the subject of the decisions of Mattel regarding Pleasant Company/AG. You might find them interesting, if they haven't been pruned out by now.

So I think that we need to not be too surprised when Mattel acts like Mattel on the one hand, and on the other hand we need to all keep protesting when Mattel's acting like Mattel ruins something about AG that we value. Perhaps now and then we can help them want to temper their decisions, or at least make them think twice before they put those decisions into motion.

When I first joined SOAGC, a couple of years ago, I had the idea that we should all buy $1 of Mattel stock and eventually create a large enough voting block that we could MAKE them listen to us. That idea seemed too overwhelming for most of the members back then. Maybe someone can come up with a more workable variation on that now?

In the meantime, constantly giving them feedback on what we like and what we don't like should make some kind of an impression on them on some level, if we send them enough of it often enough.

Joy

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ September 13, 2005 01:59 PM: Message edited by: djsnjones ]</font>

[dornroeschen]

I couldn't have said it better Miss_Nellie_OMalley, prasnlrd and wrxgirl.

Luanne, just because AG might have another LE already at the beginning of 2006, you don't have to buy it. Even though they bring new dolls and other merchandize out at a rather speedy schedule, you don't have to buy them if you feel pressurized. You can always say 'no thanks'. Pleasant Rowland sold the company many years ago, Mattels top priority is sales hence they're trying to seduce us with new merchandize. Yes, it's not what Pleasant Rowland dreamed about or what was her top priority, but if that should have been continued she shouldn't have sold the company in the first place - but that's all if and when and in fact history.

In my opinion even the current AG's are not that thin - there are way thinner dolls around. Just look at the Les Cheries from Corolle, considering the size of their heads they have rather slim bodies or have you ever seen someone whose head is as wide or even wider than her/his shoulders? Compared to them the AG's are still on the plump side.

[lscogbill]

I think there are two things you can do. First, don't keep any items you feel don't measure up. Second, let AG know about it. Considering the monetary investment people put into American Girl dolls, consumers want value - whether they are collectors (young or old) wanting the dolls as cherished heirlooms or children wanting maximum play value. No one is going to buy items that fall apart. Sooner or later, AG is going to realize that.

On the topic of "educating" girls, an education can be obtained in a myriad of ways. I love the historicals because they (obviously) teach history from a youth's point of view, something that is rarely learned from textbooks. However, I also like the Today dolls because they teach lessons about how young girls can overcome the issues and pressures they are experiencing right now. I rather imagine that any young girl who is "into" American Girl has read at least some of the historical books. And, don't forget, American Girl Today was also developed by Pleasant Rowland. Her goal was to develop dolls that were neither babies nor "grownups" and she has succeeded in this mission. AGoT still appeals to girls' interests such as horses, dancing, swimming and school. I think the LE dolls' stories are just as educational as the historicals. There remains a central message in all of them - be true to yourself. Taken to heart, that is one of the most important messages a young girl can learn.

[mayergirl]

Dianasmama, I'm with you. I think we need to realize just how many GOOD things have come with the Mattel ownership. The ability to pump money into the line has really made it what it is today. If Pleasant Rowland had kept the company, I can guarantee there would have been no AGPs, probably no Kaya, considering the expense of making such a unique doll. The movies wouldn't have been made, no friend dolls. The prices of the dolls would be significantly higher. An item that cost $68 in 1986 would cost $133 today if it went with inflation. Yes, I agree, a couple of the more recent items have had problems, but that to me speaks to a learning curve that's going on. Mattel is trying to find out where it's ok to cut corners, and where it's not. Maybe instead of complaining about where they cut the wrong corners, we can get together a letter explaining what we think should have good money spent on it, and what we feel they can afford to scrimp on. For example, is it REALLY necessary to print their own tissue paper? No, we don't even look at it, generic white paper is good enough. And what about NOT including a catalog with every package? Heck, they could even go back to using bags for a lot of the outfits. They also don't have to include hangers with every outfit. Maybe we should concentrate on helping our favorite company be better, instead of complaining about the mistakes they make. AG is a business, they have to save money when they can, so let's let them know where it's ok!! They can only do what is good for business.

[Katie148]

I understand how you feel, Luanne. It's difficult to watch a company you love change in ways you wish they wouldn't. I dislike the introduction of so many dolls in such quick succession, the "slimming down" of the dolls, the retirements, the plastic, and I'm still bitter about the "blonding" of Elizabeth. [img]redface.gif[/img]

However, things could be much worse. I'm glad Pleasant Rowland sold her company to someone who could keep it afloat, rather than just ending the whole thing. I'd rather have too many AG dolls released than none at all. Sure, I don't like some of the changes to AG, but I also love my Mattel created dolls - Kaya, Nellie, and Marisol are some of my favorites. Not everything Mattel does is bad. I agree that the most productive thing to do is to write, call, or otherwise let AG know about our frustrations. You don't have to buy anything new from AG, but don't let the company's bad decisions get in the way of your enjoyment of the dolls you already have.

Either way, I would wait a while before doing something as drastic as selling your dolls. Hold on to them for a bit, take some time to think things through before you make any final decisions. I have sold dolls before, though for a different reason, and it's MUCH harder than you think it will be! [img]graemlins/broken_heart.gif[/img]