Cheap-y Josefina...she's going back.

[Felicity Merriman]

Last Saturday, I went to the AG Place Chicago to get my new Josefina, and an outfit for Addy. I just love the what I got for Addy--her school blouse, skirt and jacket. It's a bit of a tight fit, but it doesn't bother me. Josefina, on the other hand, I have barely touched. She hasn't even been taken out of the box hardly. This doll is WEIRD looking for one thing--Her eye's are super wide (though not as wide as those of the fakes), she's super pasty-looking, and she looks like she has bags under her eyes!! Overall, she just doesn't look right. She is a FAR cry from the gorgeous pre-Mattel Josefina I once had. Even the Mattel Josefina's before this one were pretty! Another thing is her wig is just TERRIBLE. My mom thought that if I took her hair out and re-did it, the doll would look cuter (she hates it whenever I send a doll away). Her hair was pulled back really tightly, and didn't look very attractive. Well, I took her hair down, and to my horror, I found that her hair was very,very THIN, and that there wasn't much of it. It was silky-shiny, but just CHEAP. Everytime I touched it, about a hundred strands fell out. And you could clearly see the wig-cap even when the hair was braided. By the way, she has the American Girl, LLC stamp on her neck, which was a very unsettling thing of see. The white camisa is pretty much see-through, and the moccasins are super-cheap and plasticky looking. As you can guess, I am VERY un-happy with this doll! I will be brining her back to the store for a refund--hopefully they won't notice or care that her hair was taken out. With the money I get back, I'll get a much nicer Josefina off ebay. So, I just thought I'd just give you an example of how much the company has cheapend its products.

[lacherig]

You might have just gotten a bad doll from the batch, why don't you first try exchanging it? Open the boxes yourself and find one you fall in love with. There's no way that American Girl could open each and every box for quality control, they can only do like one from each shipment box and if that passes, the whole box passes. I don't want you to give up just because of one imperfect doll, especially because I have a Mattel Josefina that has the "American Girl, LLC" stamped on the back of her neck and she is such a beautiful doll.

[Ks4treasures]

I feel your pain!! I just returned dd Christmas Josefina for the same reason. When she came her hair was a mess and when I took it down to fix it a ton of hair fell out. A week later I did the same thing and she had a bald spot on the top of her head. Our replacement is not much better, and she is pastie looking too. I want to send her back, but dd does not. I guess when she gets a bald spot from her cheap wig I will just rewig her myself. I am very disappointed with quality lately...she is the second doll I have returned in a couple of months.

[MollyGirl]

I hope all of you have called AG and complain. A lot!!! The quality of the dolls seems to be dropping. Only way AG will fix this is if there are lots of returns and lots of complaints. There is no way the hair should come out like that. I would not settle for a damaged doll. They cost way too much.

[slovejoy]

I have a Mattel Josefina and while she did lose a little bit of hair when she first came, she NEVER had anything close to a bald spot and you certainly cannot see the cap underneath. Mine also had a lot of coloring, sometimes I wish she even had a little less, her cheeks are almost a bit too rosy. The Camisa of mine is also not at all see through, it's actually very well made and one of my favorite tops for her. I think that you porbably got a bad one, but the PM ones are gorgeous as well. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Shanna

[kymmy3]

We got Josefina in Oct 2005 from AGPC. She is just beautiful. Her hair is long and thick and I can't see anything wrong with her.

I would try again. Josie is so cute [img]graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[AuntBarb1999]

Also on the subject of Josie I had a disappointment yesterday. My Josefina was purchased in July 2000 at AG Place Chicago when we were there. I'd like to believe her tags are correct and she might be from Germany. The paper wrist tag says dolls made in Germany for Pleasant Company. The little brochure with Josie's picture that came inside her box has Pleasant Company and the 1997 copyright. I'm completely happy with my Josie and am attached to her really can't say for sure I'd recognize the difference in a PC Josie, a Mattel Josie, or a Germany version of her if I saw one. So this week I decided to e-mail customer service and ask how likely it is that those tags are accurate and that she was, indeed, made in Germany. Basically their response was that the dolls were not intended to be collectible and that there have been so many vendors, changes, etc. over the years that they cannot provide me with an answer to my question. That leaves me not knowing for sure what I think now!

[Grapedy1982]

If it were me, I'd go back to the store and look through every single Josefina on the floor and see if I could find one to do a return. If that's unsuccessful definately get your money back and head for eBay.

My summer '03 Josefina is just exquisite. My avatar does not do her justice. Her hair is so rich and vibrant, I've never seen such beautiful shading on a doll!

(Could people please spell her name right? We love these dolls so much that the least that can be done is to spell their name right. there is no "PH" in the Spanish alpahbet, only "F".)

[llama_dreamdancer_5]

Wow, after reading this I consider myself to be VERY lucky!! I got a brand new mattel Josefina for christmas and she was perfect. So defintly not all mattel Josefinas are ugly and poorly made! Don't give up, I'm SURE you will find one that you like. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[SayuriWhispers]

I am SO glad that I read this! I was about to go order Josefina! I think, to be safe, I'll wait a month or two before I order mine now. I'm becoming greatly disappointed with how our beloved American Girls are going down the drain.

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