I know Sam's the #1 bestseller, but overall, through the years, how do you think the eight historicals(not including the two friend dolls, Nellie and Elizabeth) would be ranked in terms of doll sales. Who's #2, #3, etc.? Any one care to guess?
Doomo Arigato!
hmmm......... good question. My guess is after Samantha.
2. Kirsten
3. Addy
4. Molly
5. Felicity
thats not counting to newer girls due to the fact that these four have been around longest and would probably have better "overall" numbers. Also this is not my order of favorites... just a guess on sales [img]smile.gif[/img] I'm curious to see what other poeple come up with.
My guess would be, after Samantha...
1) Kit
2) Felicity
3) Molly
4) Kirsten
5) Josefina
Just really going by my daughter's wants...
Justbeingme
The girls on the historical floor in Chicago told my mom and I that Kit was #2.
AGPNY states that sales on the dolls are:
1)Samantha
2)Kit
3)Felicity
4)Molly
last is a tie between Kaya and Addy.
YAAYYYY, Felicity!!! You go, girl!!
Now, if we could only get Kirsten back up there where she belongs.... [img]smile.gif[/img]
The Dollies dressmaker has a poll for your favorite historical AG.It has recently been re started to include Elizabeth.
Ria--where is Kirsten on your list?
That's probably about where my guess would have been.
Neat topic (and I'm glad to hear some "real" answers).
1. Samantha
2. Kit
3. Molly
4. Addy
5. Josefina
6. Kirsten
7. Felicity
8. Kaya
I guess it depends with Felicity, she's obviously a better seller now, but we know she wasnt a year ago. That would be my guess of about a year ago, before Felicity "hit it big."
But, right now, I totally believe Ria's list, although I'm very surprised that Kaya and ADDY are last. Kaya, sure. But, Addy?
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Where are Kirsten and Josefina?Quote:
Originally posted by AGTeacher:
AGPNY states that sales on the dolls are:
1)Samantha
2)Kit
3)Felicity
4)Molly
last is a tie between Kaya and Addy.
My guess would be:
Samantha
Kit
Felicity (having recently moved up)
Molly (nudged down by Felicity)
Kirsten
Josefina
Addy
Kaya
Addy is my favorite after Felicity. I love her story and her clothes. I'm sorry she doesn't do better. I have to admit I haven't really connected with Kaya and I don't know why that is.
Here's my guess:
Samantha
Kit
Felicity
Molly
Addy
Josefina
Kirsten
Kaya
I think Kirsten is losing popularity. Her collection is pretty small. I think Felicity is gaining popularity and pushing down Molly.
I agree about Kirsten losing popularity. Not only because her collection is small, but because they don't add much to it. She's been around as long as Samantha and Molly, but Samantha and Molly seem to get new outfits FAR more often than Kirsten.
Also, as Kit IS the 2nd best seller, that probably pushes Kirsten down. Surely most parents dont want to buy two blonde dolls, especially two blondes with the same face mold, blue eyes, and who are both historical.
I know I dont. Kit and Elizabeth (and maybe AGT24) will be the only blondes I have for awhile.
I imagine Kirsten would sell much better in a Mid-West AGP. I think AGPLA is going to be very good for Kaya and Josefina, with the large amount of Hispanics and Native Americans in the area.
I do think most little girls want their dolls to look like them, and they have introduced mostly blonde dolls lately. Kirsten has a lot of competition between the blonde AGOTs, Kailey, Kit, Nellie, and now Elizabeth. As each of the newer blonde dolls has come out there has been a lot of marketing surrounding them that Kirsten doesn't get at all anymore. I think that might have a lot to do with it. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of parents encourage girls who cant decide to get Kit because her collection is MUCH less expensive for the most part. She is still really cute though!
cami i agree-AGPLA big sellers will probably be Josefina and Kaya because of the population. Most people would be intrested in a doll celebrating their heritage(sp?). It will be nice to see these dolls get better sales.
I don't understand why Felicity was never a bigger seller. She is, IMHO, the prettiest doll of the first five. Some of her clothes are absolutely beautiful, especially the Christmas and summer gowns, and her collection is so classy and wonderful. I also don't understand why Molly always sold pretty well. No offense to Molly fans, but IMHO Molly has really "blah" coloring, hideous glasses, and not a very exciting collection. Kit's pretty and has a nice collection, but IMO, Felicity's prettier and has a nicer collection. Ditto Josefina, who is an absolute stunner and has a very interesting wardrobe.
OK, I averaged out all your guesses, and here's the "official" unofficial list so far:
Historical American Girls Collection Dolls In Order of Sales(Estimation):
(1) Samantha
(2) Kit
(3) Felicity
(4) Molly
(5 and 6 tie) Josefina and Addy
(7) Kirsten
(8) Kaya
Here are some observations I made...
All of the top four best selling dolls are caucasian, so most young doll buyers aren't really anxious to culturally diversify their collections, unfortunately.
[img]frown.gif[/img]
Samantha is the only one of the original three American Girls in the top three.
Three out of the top four are from the twentieth century, meaning girls generally prefer more recent historical girls.
I guess Samantha's the best seller because of all her 'girly' dresses and accessories. That seems to attract lots of little girls' attention. I agree too with what some of you were saying about Kit being easy for younger girls to handle (plus she's got great accessories!). I just wish Kirsten was not so far down the list.
I think it's said that Kirsten is not a bigger seller. For one, I am biased because she's my most favorite girl ever! (and the less popular a girl gets, the more AG tends to retire things) But, she has wonderful stories and I think her collection has a certain charm to it.
I guess maybe little girls aren't into the pioneer thing much right now. When I was younger, I LOVED all the Little House books. I watched the show a lot too (I don't really like it as much now, too much 'oh, no! what bad thing is going to happen to someone in this episode now?' kind of a thing going on for me) growing up, so I just fell in love with Kirsten's collection.
She really has a lot of great stuff. A lot of it is simple, but that's what makes it have that charm to it. I agree that she needs some new stuff added to her collection. Someone said something about Samantha and Molly having lots of stuff, and it's true! Samantha has SO much stuff, but she's got a wealthy family, so why wouldn't she have lots of stuff?
I do wish some of the 'forgotten' girls would be placed more prominently in the catalogs, just so we see more than one of their outfits in print. I know that's just wishful thinking, though. I sure do miss those old style catalogs that PC made.
I really think AG under-estimates the catalogues. Samantha, Kit, Molly, and now Felicity are the girls who get prominent displays in the catalogue. Addy, Josefina, and Kirsten, who are low sellers, get very little catalogue space. They're doing the exact right thing with low-seller Kaya, giving her more space. If people could see, in the catalogues, what Kirsten, Addy, and Josefina have to offer, they would certainly sell better. Naturally, everyone knows there's more stuff online, but it's so much easier to look at a catalogue on car rides and such. I know I look at the catalogues far more often than the website, and the things that aren't in the catalogue are forgotten much easier than those that aren't.
Kirsten does nothing for me, even though I'm Swedish. However, there are a number of her outfits I would love to have. Her summer outfit is one of my favorite, favorite of all the historical outfits. I love those very plain, clean cotton dresses. I would hate to see them do anything strange with Kirsten's collection.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm pretty sure most people like the girls who look like them the most. And, even when I was little, I wanted the doll who looked like how I wanted to look (in the realm of what would be possible for me to look like), hence why I always loved the red-heads. I imagine most little girls are the same way. I've lately started to like Addy more and more, who looks so very different from me, which is part of what I like about her.Quote:
All of the top four best selling dolls are caucasian, so most young doll buyers aren't really anxious to culturally diversify their collections, unfortunately.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Isn't this part of why Felicity didn't sell well? It must be hard for little girls to *connect* to someone who's life was SO different from their own. Especially if they don't read the books. I really hope that little girls ARE reading the books. I would have NEVER gotten an AG without reading at least her series first. If a girl can't understand the books, she's not going to be able to connect to a doll like Kaya or Felicity, who's items seem so foreign. Samantha and Kit are much more "modern," so it's easy to see how just looking at a catalogue, they would be the most loved. Based on the book characters, I can't understand how ANY of them are low sellers. of course, I think that says that many girls aren't reading the books, or their parents aren't reading them to them.Quote:
Three out of the top four are from the twentieth century, meaning girls generally prefer more recent historical girls.
Kirsten and Josefina need some new items. No doubt.
Sorry that was long, I tend to ramble....
IMO, I can think of some other reasons why Kit is popular:
1 - When we were getting our first AG, friends told me to first look for a historical doll that looks like DD. I've noticed there are a lot of young girls with bobbed blonde hair out there.
2 - Grandmas like Kit because they can tell their granddaughters about what life was like when they were little (my Mom bought DD a mini-Kit for this reason).
3 - Her short hair is easy to maintain, and therefore appeals to younger girls who aren't quite as gentle.
This may or may not be true, just some personal observations and opinions.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I agree with your observations, Elizabeth. I think Kit's short hair really appeals to Moms who know that their young daughters will have a hard time maintaining Kirsten's, Samantha's, Josefina's, Addy's or Kaya's hair. Felicity and Kit have the easiest hair to maintain, IMO.Quote:
Originally posted by balletmom:
Her short hair is easy to maintain, and therefore appeals to younger girls who aren't quite as gentle.
This may or may not be true, just some personal observations and opinions.
This little girl I sometimes babysit, Tiara, has Kit and admitted to me she'd never read her books, not even the short story ones or the Meet book she came with.
Poor Kirsten... [img]frown.gif[/img]
After reading this thread, I'm thinking that maybe I ought to be focusing on purchasing the rest of the items I want for Kirsten....I don't want to miss out on anything down the road. You never know.
Yeah, I'd bet Kirsten got pushed down in popularity rather significantly when Kit came out... then there was competition between blonde historical dolls. I doubt (slash hope!) AG would never give her the Felicity treatment though... that'd be just mean!
The problem with Kirsten is that there have been no new books for her. Her short stories are all reprints from the magazine. I hope that AG brings out more Kirsten items when the LA store opens:
For example:
Baby sister Britta
Blackie the horse
Caro the dog
A winter coat with a nordic theme
a more festive dirndle ( if they do not re make the old one)
a mystery book
I'm gonna guess a little differently:
1) Samantha
2) Kit
3) Molly
4) Felicity
5) Josefina
6) Addy
7) Kirsten
8) Kaya
I don't think Felicity has bumped Molly yet, and she won't until the movie comes out, and Christmas hits. Then, I imagine she may even become #2! Until Nellie hit, Josefina was the only one with her face mold, and I have to admit she is just a stunning doll. Even though we lived in Michigan at the time, and my daughter looks just like Kirsten, Josefina was her first choice. We now live in West Texas, and here, EVERYONE has Josefina!
I'd LOVE to see the real numbers, both before and after the movie comes out in November. It would be interesting to watch the change. [img]smile.gif[/img]
I think, although my daughter wants Elizabeth stuff for Christmas, I'm tempted to buy more for her Kirsten. This is making me REALLY nervous! [img]confused.gif[/img]
Lissiefan -
Where are you in West Texas? I thought I was the only one out here in this "neck of the woods." I'm over near San Angelo.
And I agree that Josefina is very popular down here. A lot of the American Girl books are on my daughter's school accelerated reading list, and she has the hardest time finding the Josefina ones to check out so she can test on them (even though we have several Josie books at home already).
Linda
<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ September 30, 2005 06:13 PM: Message edited by: LindaL ]</font>
Well, I definetly know I'll be ordering Kirsten's Work Dress this weekend. Everything else is tied to her stories, so I don't feel it's in as much danger of being retired. I don't think they'll retire one of the orginial three dolls, but after I get my Christmas AG stuff, I will probably go more after the Kirsten stuff on my want list then the new Felicity stuff for now. Just in case. It's bad enough eventually I'm going to shell out ebay $$$ for the drindl.
The dirndl is absolutely worth it! I got it on eBay recently. The only way I was able to afford it was to get one that the seller claimed was stained. I still can't find the stain, lol. You can also get it in pieces. You know get the vest and skirt together, and find the blouse and kerchief separately. It's 100% worth it [img]smile.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Those are all wonderful ideas! AG people, I know you're out there lurking somewhere. As not a huge Kirsten fan myself(her clothes are too simple for my taste, even though I know they're very historically accurate, and I didn't connect with her stories the way I did with Samantha, Felicity, Kit, and Josefina), giving her a larger collection and more character development could definately make give her a second look. There could be lots of story possiblities of a mystery set on the Midwestern frontier in the 1850s.Quote:
Originally posted by Pat B:
The problem with Kirsten is that there have been no new books for her. Her short stories are all reprints from the magazine. I hope that AG brings out more Kirsten items when the LA store opens:
For example:
Baby sister Britta
Blackie the horse
Caro the dog
A winter coat with a nordic theme
a more festive dirndle ( if they do not re make the old one)
a mystery book
mine would be:
Sam
Nellie
Kit
Elizabeth
Josefina
Felicity
Molly
Addy
Kirsten
Kaya
I bet AGoT is up there too.
Tracy