Welcome to the board. We got into AG about 18 months ago (although Bitty has been a member of the family for 6 years). We have some Mattel and some Pre-Mattel dolls. The PM's have all come form ebay (of course) and because they were a good price so they weren't mint. I'll go against the norm and say I really like our Mattel dolls better. They have more color and better hair (just because it's new). I hope you will enjoy collecting as much as most of us do.