I realized I never answered my own questions! [img]redface.gif[/img]

1. Would you mind retirements if they introduced something new for every item that was retired?

I guess...I'm not crazy about the idea of retirements but truly from a business aspect, it is necessary. Most toy companies (and we do have to remember that AG were designed to be toys) do have to retire (only it's not called that) old items to make way for new ones. They are constantly making things bigger and better. My daughter had a toy aquarium in her crib when she was born that had fish that swam around and played music. It was cute. Next year, I saw they had scrapped that one and came out with a more "deluxe" one with nicer fish, better music, and that did more things. Toys that I bought for my daughter a year and a half ago when she was 18 months old are frequently no longer available when I go to get them for my brother's little girl who is now the same age - they are either just gone (not available) or upgraded, which really isn't an option dealing with these dolls. And looking at it from the marketing standpoint, you should market your newer items that have the best chance of being your biggest sellers. If you have new items, they should be featured instead of one of the "extra" dresses that has been around 10+ years. (This is not including the basic core collection from the original six books) The only good that would come out of this would be new items, something the historical girls need desperately!

2. Would you mind the retirements if they gave a warning about it on the website?

This would be a huge benefit as long as not abused by the ebay market. And advance notice while it is still available - not just moving something to the sale page with pieces missing or only a very few available.

3. If AG claimed that "more space" is needed before they could release any new historical girls (not friends), should they retire some items from the current collections or just not make any new dolls?

I actually didn't mean this in terms of catalog but actual storage space in the warehouses (something that people have touched upon with mentioning how big Felicity's furniture items are) I think new dolls are needed to keep the market alive but I don't know what should be sacrificed to keep the other girls around. Like I myself have been collecting since 1987 and have all the historical girls and really just about everything that I have room for (not necessarily what I *want*, LOL) so they would basically lose me as a consumer if they didn't bring out something major like a new doll. This is a tough one - I stumped myself! [img]confused.gif[/img]

4. Do you think AG should only release small collections, like Kaya's, to ensure that their would only be a remote chance of anything being retired?

Ugh, no. Kaya's collection is painfully small but there is a reason for that. You can see how Kit's collection is really limited too, and not just because of the whole Great Depression angle. (Of course that was the whole start of the retirements) I worry that if they do some sort of immigrant doll they will use that as a reason to make another small collection. They really shouldn't, because some of the girls (namely Kirsten and Addy) came from conditions where they wouldn't have had a lot of possessions, yet these girls still had a good variety of dresses and accessories.

5. Do you consider anything released outside of a girl's collection from the original six books limited edition and expect that it will, at some point, retire? (for example, the new outfits that came out this summer)

I do think these things will all, at some point, be retired, so yes.

6. Should the friends dolls be retired after a year like the Limited Edition AGT dolls or should they become a permanent part of the historical girl's collection, and if so, should items from the girl's collection be retired to keep room for the friend?

No - I don't think the friends should be retired. What a slap in the face to an AG to have her friend be taken away from her! And what a thing for a girl to realize she missed the chance to get her favorite doll's best friend. As long as the friend's collection is small enough it shouldn't impact the main girl's collection enough - if anything it should increase sales for both.

Originally posted by SarahS:
I would assume any retirement would be replaced with new items. Otherwise they wouldn't have anything left to sell. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I thought so too...but then realized not necessarily! That was the problem with Felicity [img]frown.gif[/img]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. They've been interesting to read!