Someone told me her “Holy Grail” is the 2012 Paris Convention Doll  “La Belle Époque Barbie”.  I took a look at eBay’s listings, the prices are ranged from $850 to $1395.  I don’t think I’d pay that much for a doll

She does look better than the recent year’s Convention dolls.

Borrowing a IRL photo from Pinterest:

A Weekend Project to save $1395.

 

If it seems too good to be true…

 

I believe a group of  scammers has started new plots on eBay to scam buyers.

Last week, there was a listing for 5 brand new NRFB Blush & Gold Silkstone Dolls, the  price was $44.99 each, with free shipping , the seller is brand new with “0” feedback and a strange eBay ID  that the scammer himself wont remember after he pockets buyers money.

3 days ago, a similar listing showed up,  also for 5 brand new NRFB blush & Gold Silkstone Dolls,  the price was $16.99 each with free shipping.

Blush & Gold is a newly released doll, MSRP is $100 each.  so these “Brand New” sellers have no problem to quickly sell off these dolls within hours.

“If it seems too good to be true,  it probably is” ,  buyers  know it, but some of them think “What do I have to lose?  PayPal or eBay will refund my money if I don’t get my doll”

Here is what you will lose:

1. Time: you wait for ages but don’t get the doll, the scammers use your money to run more scams.  you may get a package with a Tracking number but without the doll you paid for.  do you want to open a dispute? sure,  go ahead,  play more waiting game,   eBay or PayPal needs time to decide who is the liar. the scammer say you are, you say the scammer is…
2.  Personal Information:  the Scammers have collected your name, address, phone number and eMail. they will keep selling your information on black market again, again & again… it also could be the beginning of Identity theft. the perpetrators will try to reroute your Mail, hack your eMail accounts… there are a lot of things they can do with these information.

This is not only happening on eBay,  MANY newly opened online stores  do exactly the same.  these scam stores even buy Google ADs, when you buy Barbie, these scammers’ ADs show up on your screen: don’t want to pay more? the same doll is now 50% off on the scam site…

I have found at least a dozen of  such scam stores, here is an example:  there is a phishing  “Barbie Store” website (yep, the website is called “Barbie Store”, I wont post link to boost these Scammers business) –this website copies all Mattel’s webpages,  its prices are 50% off Mattel’s original prices.  shipping is free.  you can find all the collectible Barbie dolls.

I did a little online digging, found the site is newly registered on May 17, 2017, its expiration date is May 17, 2018.  the address listed under “Contact Us” is a vacant residential house in NH, no one lives there.  the contact email is Gmail.

I reported to Mattel via eMail, but Mattel is a big company, my eMail may get lost in thousands of eMails.

I’m warning all the online doll shoppers: Shop Smart.   Use your common sense when you buy from individual sellers.  Be logic: Why would  a newly released doll’s price fall from $100 to $16.99 with free shipping?  $16.99 is not enough to ship this doll from New York to California via Priority Mail.  not to mention 10% eBay Fee and 2.9% PayPal charge the seller has to pay.  so the seller is not selling you anything, you are selling your personal information to the seller.  you don’t get the doll but frustrations.

People who paid $16.99 probably think $16.99 isn’t a big deal, its not even worth fighting with PayPal to get the money back –see, that’s why scammers keep doing it, b/c they know they can get away with it.

 

It’s June!

Its June already? yes, it is.

Happy June.

The next doll in line is Happy Hipster. so she is Miss June.

This “look” is typical street style, one glance catches at least 2 girls wearing the same style on the city streets.

nothing glamorous, it sells if the price is low.

Memorial Day

A day to remember… these who  served and sacrificed

going to the Memorial Day parade….

Tweed Suit

Like many others, I have a soft spot for Redhead dolls, So Miss Tweed comes home.

however, I dislike her “Tweed Suit”,  especially hate the cutaway at the front of the jacket. it supposed to be a double breasted jacket,  but the front panels are not designed to be so,  that’s why the cutaway & the button placements are not centered– its a design defect.  the good thing is that  all the buttons are in black, they are not very visible, many collectors “adore” her suit, that’s good enough for Mattel.
the dress is made of 2 different kinds of fabrics,  same way as the “Blue city chic” doll’s dress. the top is made of light weighted fabric,  the skirt is made of  stiff fabric.  they don’t go together, but with Barbie, everything goes… “Imagine the impossible, you can do anything”!

The outfits have no lining, the jacket & skirt have a clear layer of iron-on vinyl backing, it feels very stiff & hard — Hey, think about the bright side, it keeps in shape.

The cutaway at the front is a strange but not smart design:

I think she looks better in Green.    I have not made any thing for poseable Silkstone lately,  every piece you see here  is made for  older silkstone dolls that have straight body,   it does not suit her the best, but the colors are right  for her:

Go Green:

Green Stripes:

Polka dots

Pussy Bow

Cocktail:

Gal on the Go

Space Place

These 2 dresses are made to fit the theme of 2017 Barbie Convention.

Barbie & Ken as Space Explorers:

 

TokiDoki “Space Place”

 

 

Dolce & Gabbana Tropical Birds

Barbie needs bright colors and bold patterns. here goes, we adopted one fun design from “Dolce & Gabbana 2015 Tropical Collections”

Zendaya at Met Gala 2017 :

Hope someday Barbie will make a presence at Met Gala, too.

Happy Mother’s Day From Barbie

Happy Mother’s Day!

Black & Yellow

black and yellow,  what an unexpected & daring color combination

Yellow isn’t a popular color, but really,  it all depends who is wearing it

Jacqueline Kennedy wore this black yellow  evening dress  for a White House state dinner honoring  President Manuel Prado of Peru  in 1961.

Blue Chiffon Gown

Instead of waiting for  Mattel’s Chiffon Gown,  I’m singing my own blues–,

the gown looks better on Classic Silkstone dolls than the Poseable Dolls.

Here is a poseable doll:

the color & style make this gown a typical Bridesmaid Dress. so, here goes… the Wedding Crasher. lol