Friday, September 26, 2008

The Advice Columnist is IN: Sasha Doll Values

I got a very interesting question on my blog. Partly because the answer is so long, and partly because it may have some general interest, I am going to answer it here in a blog entry. The question is about the values of some Sasha dolls. But before I answer I have to start with a disclaimer. No one in our house is an expert in doll values. MamaT has been watching dolls come and go on Ebay for the past couple years. For a little while she watched a wide variety of dolls to see what they sold for, but now she just watches a few of particular interest to her. We don't know how well that reflects their true value, but it is an indication of what people are willing to pay right now, although it can be highly variable depending on who is watching when the auction ends and what else is on sale at the same time. I will give some ranges of what MamaT tells me she's seen dolls go for typically, with the lower end for dolls that have been played with, may have some flaws and may not be wearing original clothing. Since your dolls are in excellent condition (unplayed with, no odors, blemishes, or falling hair, and with wrist tags in tact), you might expect them to more likely fall in the upper half of these ranges. These are in American dollars. I guess pounds would be a little less than half these numbers.

To our friend in Holland: Be sure and look at the comments in Patrick's column again for one more note specific to you. Based on the information you have shared with me, this is what I can tell you about your dolls with MamaT's comments on their probable value:

1. Blonde Baby “Sundress” #502, produced 1979-1986
2. Black Baby “Cara” #519, produced 1984-1986

Baby dolls typically sale for between $50 - $175 or so. I have seen asking prices more than $200, but they frequently don't sale. Not all babies are equally popular, but I think both of yours are popular dolls.

3. Sasha Redhead “White dress” #108, produced 1979-1986

Sasha redhead white dress $200-$400. I watch this doll a lot, and it only rarely sells for less than $200, even when the condition is not great.

4. Gregor Dark “Denim” (assuming he is brunette), # 4-301 or 301, This doll was produced beginning in 1968, but based on stringing color, yours would be between 1975-1986. Older dolls have a darker skin tone. If his tone is about the same as your other dolls, he was probably produced in 1980 or later.

Gregor dark denim, I would say usually sales for $100-$200 for the 80's dolls. Older dolls could go for more.

I am less sure about the value of the following dolls because I have not often followed final sale prices on these dolls.

5. Sasha Blonde (20th Anniversary) No. 1, produced in 1985

Sasha Anniversary, I am going to guess $150-$350. She is a special doll, but not so rare as some of the others.

6. Sasha “Harlequin” #184A, produced in 1986. This was a limited edition of 2500 dolls. Your doll should have the year and her production number on the back of her neck. Harlequin's were the only production dolls with a highlight (white dot) added to the iris in their eye.

For Harlequin my guess is $275-$500.

I will also paste in a few links to some Sasha doll sale pages, so you can see some current asking prices for various Sasha dolls:
http://www.sashadolluk.co.uk/16226.html
http://www.sasha-dolls.com/page17.htm
http://www.oursashadolls.com/kelsnewsalepage.html
http://www.sashadollstyle.co.uk/For_Sale.htm
http://www.sashadolls.com/
http://letsplaydolls.com/sasha_dolls.shtml

We hope that answers our commenter's question. I'm adding a little more information on Sasha doll values in broad cost categories for general interest of my readers. My disclaimer, besides the fact that I have NO expertise in this arena, is that I will make no guarantee on these values for any longer than about 60 seconds after they are posted. They are not valid in all states (or countries), and some restrictions may apply. Those are standard clauses in America. I don't know about Europe.

Several thousands of dollars: The most valuable of all Sasha dolls are the studio dolls made by Sasha Morgenthaler herself.

Several hundreds (e.g. $500+) to few thousands: Course dolls are handmade dolls made in workshops under the direction of Sasha Morgenthaler or her primary assistant, Trudi Löffler. The Götz Sasha dolls produced in the 1960s would be in this category, even in really bad condition they sell well. Some of the early Frido dolls from 1966-67, the no-philtrum dolls, will also sell in this range when in excellent condition. These dolls had a lot of hand-painted detail on the eyes, and are particularly stunning. The redheads are especially popular, as they were less common and gorgeous to boot. I try not to take offense at that. I like red hair myself, but MamaT won't dye mine. The most popular of the Limited Edition (LE) Dolls probably fall in this range, closer to the $500 to $1,000something end. These would be dolls like the Sari doll, Princess Sasha, and Yamka. In a similar range, but less likely to top $1,000 might be 1990's Gotz Limited Edition dolls like Marianne and Ruth and the toddler dolls from the same era.

$300-$500: I think most of the other Trendon Limited Edition dolls would usually fall in this range. All dolls produced in 1986 when the Trendon factory closed were limited to less than 400. Sari and Princess Sasha were already mentioned above, but Sasha Wintersport and Gregor Sandy Hiker might go a little higher than some of the LE's since they are more rare, and he was the only honey or sandy blonde Gregor produced. Other 1990s Gotz dolls also fall here. These sold for around $300 new and seem to be selling for about the same price now.

$100-$1,000: English dolls from the 1960s and 70s vary widely depending on condition. We've seen other Kilt girls like me go for both extremes depending on their condition. I'm afraid collectors would probably put me towards the lower end since I am nowhere near mint, but according to MamaT, I am priceless, so that is not an issue.

$100-$300: Most of the Trendon dolls from the 1980s would usually sell in this range. The redhead girls are less common than blondes and brunettes, so they go on the higher end. Cora and Caleb are both popular too, Cora slightly more so. Gregor's tend to sell for slightly less than similar Sasha's and babies go on the lower end more in the $50-$200 range.

And that's my speal on Sasha doll values in terms of American dollars. Our value in terms of non-monetary benefits to those who love us is an entirely different story.

6 comments:

treefrogdemon said...

Hi Sasha - love the blog! Just one point: you say pounds would be 'double' the dollar price, but I think you mean 'half'. Currently a pound is worth around $1.80.

Best wishes

Jocelyn

Sasha said...

Jocelyn, You are right! Thanks for the catch. I got that turned around backwards. When I am looking at pounds, that's when I am thinking I need to almost double to get approximate dollars. I made an edit to the blog entry now. Glad you enjoy the blog.
Hugs, Sasha

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot for your information! You did a great job. Now I need to put them for sale somewhere. I contacted the websites you mentioned but until now no reply.
You know what: I have found another sweet girl from Sacha: with dark brown hair and a light blue dress and a light blue ribbon in her hair.
She was sitting in a far corner of the cupboard.
Again thanks a lot! Kind regards Monique

Sasha said...

Monique, Glad you found this somewhat helpful. Your last doll is Sasha "dancing dress" #113 (1983-1986). She is one of my favorite brunettes.

Here is a better instruction for signing up with the Sasha-L list. Send an email to:
sasha-l-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Note the character between sasha and subscribe is the letter, L, and not the number, one.

The Sasha-L list is a discussion group for all things Sasha, and Sasha sale postings are very welcome. I know at least a couple of members live in Holland, and lots of folks are willing to pay overseas shipping for dolls too.

There is a second list, Sasha Mart, that also deals with buying and selling Sasha related items. I have not been on this list, so can't tell you as much about it, except I think there are a lot of people that are on both lists. If you're interested, here is the email to join the Sasha Mart:
Sasha_Mart-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Good luck! --Sasha

Anonymous said...

This is great info to know.

Sasha said...

Glad you found this helpful, Noya. There does seem to be a lot of variability in price, so I hope my ballpark ranges are reasonable. I still get surprised at how little or high dolls go for sometimes.