Bad news' ladies.. these plastic neck ties are the way that AG is moving with their NEW dolls.. Birdie got a new Molly for Christmas from Santa.. she has a plastic neck tie (the doll, not Birdie.. LOL!) So, I called AG CS and I was told I can send her back with no charge to me for shipping either way, and that they will put a neck string in place of the tie, but that this is the way that all the dolls are going to be made eventually. Now, personally, I think that this REALLY cheapens the quality of the doll, but aside from that, it makes it harder to clean dolls when our little girls get their bodies dirty. I guess we can always remove the ties ourselves by cutting them, ever so carefully, with an exacto knife and then running a cord (which you can buy at JoAnn's) in the neck .. attach a saftey pin to one end of the cord and it will go thru MUCH easier.. HOWEVER, for what we pay for these new dolls,I dont think that they should be doing this.. JMO, but I think it makes them look REALLY cheap.. something about those neck strings says that it is a better high end toy. I am disapointed and if you find yourself feeling the same way, please call in and voice your opinion to the CSR's at AG to let them know. I was told that they DO listen to us.