Question about an ebay seller

[lilindygal]

I think I know who you're referring to, and there are some others with quite a few new and retired items. I am assuming they knew way back when how strong AG would be and collected multiple items and kept them preserved till it was a good time to sell. If only I had a girl in the late 80's, instead I had boys and never gave AG a second thought until I had a grandaughter, and now I'm a collector and paying the price for it too. I have bought a few things from this seller and she is wonderful to work with and has the best most professional packing I've seen. Yes the prices are up there, but if you are wanting something that is mint in the box and retired, she is one of the best to deal with.
You could think of it like this, if this seller hadn't done this then there would most definetly be less of the MIB retired items still circulating so.....she has in a way preserved history of these wonderful things.

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ July 28, 2006 08:11 PM: Message edited by: lilindygal ]</font>

[jlogemann17]

Originally posted by momof3kce:
Just curious, are the retired outfits "seconds" from China worth the money? Is there anything wrong with them? Has anyone bought any? do they look any different than ones directly from AG? TIA! [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I have bought several things from someone on e-bay who sells (usually) just the dress from an outfit with no shoes or other pieces. Sometimes they have tags, sometimes not. The one time I found a dark smudge on a dress I emailed her and she replaced it for free and added a Felicity night gown for my trouble (it was a Felicity dress) - all I had to do was ship the smudged dress back at my expense (it was less than $2). Once there was a small seam tear on an item- rather than return it and get a new one, I just sewed it up myself (it was a small tear) We LOVE buying this way for many things- my DDs have plenty of shoes from other outfits we have bought from AG, and often just put their dolls in the dress, without the shoes anyway. It's a great way for them to get dresses they like for a cheap price (often $10-12 depending on how many items you buy at once). I have found this lady extremely friendly and nice to work with.

Jo

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ July 29, 2006 09:56 AM: Message edited by: mykidsloveAG ]</font>

[DaisyDee]

I'd like to know how these sellers GET their seconds from China. Since they don't come with the shoes, it makes me think that AG must have one factory that produces the sewn garments, and that the shoes and other items that would normally come with an outfit are produced elsewhere. Therefor the majority of the seller's items would come from said factory using this logic. But, I feel like something about it is fishy. I've asked some of these sellers before, and they even put in the auctions that the items were "from and adult collection" that they were in "storage" for a long time. No one ever gives a straight answer. It makes me wonder if what they are doing is illegal, especially when they get in new outfits! I've been seeing the new Kickin Back outfit, and Sam's Bicycling, and Molly's Skating outfits lately. If it's not illegal, I want to know how I can get my hands on some of these items! Not to resell, but to have for me, and to give to friends who collect.

[dolllover]

I think I know which seller you are talking about. I've also wondering where they got their stash. Their BIN's are too high, in my opinion, so I have yet to buy anything from them.

[Donna Cotterman]

The original message I replied to... I believe I had the right e-bay seller. She buys at estate sales. She knows that there are collectors who will pay her prices rather than wait for an auction to end.
There are several other e-bay sellers that are lucky enough to be near college campus newspapers. They advertise for the AG dolls and items and purchase low... and sell retired items on e-bay. Many students need cash and older dolls are sold for textbook money.

As far as the outfits without tags, these are made in China, too. Most AG seconds go to the museum sale. <font color="red">I truly believe that it's the same Chinese company that AG uses, but an employee ships the cloned clothing to friend that has a U.S. connection.</font>
I do not have proof but this is my feeling. I don't know how to check it out but if in doubt...ASK.

[trop4]

I tend to agree with Mrs. C regarding the possiblity of clone clothing. It just seems too coincidental, especially when there appears to be alot of brand new Pleasant Company tagged clothing out there on ebay. In addition, I can't imagine that AG is supporting the distribution of these items through second hand sellers. I've purchased a few items recently off ebay and it is very possible that some of them could be cloned. I mean, how often does someone have the actual authentic PC or AG item in hand to compare with an ebay purchase? Maybe that's what some sellers are counting on....that the people buying these seconds or cloned clothes don't really know what the original one looks like. After a couple recent questionable ebay buys, I have decided for my collection to purchase directly from AG. I want to know for sure that if I am spending the money, it is 100% authentic American Girl.

[ninasmom]

I hope these are not cloned AG clothes. I have bought many times from that seller, and she always stated her items are authentic AG, though with tags missing or cut. She seems to be honest, but again we will never know where or how she got her items. I don't mind AG seconds, as long as they are still authentic AG.

[americangirlnewbie]

I am quite interested in this topic also, as I have purchased alot on EBAY. I do notice that some of the same sellers have unlimited inventory of retired items. I know this started out talking about a seller that sells things for higher prices, but I purchased from a great seller that sells things for wonderful prices. The items look authentic. I just hope they are.