Quote:
Originally posted by MysticCat81
Okay, I'll risk being the only guy to post to this thread.
As the dad of a girl who loves her Bitty Baby and other American Girl items, and as one who sees the catalog come into the house regularly, I'll have to say that American Girl merchandise is, imo, way overpriced and only of medium quality. Bitty Baby has held up fairly well -- although I'm not sure she has any eyelashes anymore -- but the accessories (crib, quilts, clothes, etc.) are only mediocre quality and ridiculously priced.
I wish my dad was still around. When my nieces were into American Girl stuff, he made cribs and other furniture for them that was better quality (wood, not plastic that breaks when you put the toy together) and a lot cheaper.
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My granddaddy used to make me furniture for my dolls too! And my grandma would sew them clothes. They had some really cute stuff.
I think the American girl dolls themselves are of fairly good quality, but the furniture and accessories are touch and go. Some of it is quite good and others are only so-so. But one reason for that, I think, is that the dolls are aimed at an older crowd of girls than most dolls -- the girl that has started to read chapter books already, but hasn't stopped playing with dolls yet. I think the youngest on the recommended age scale is 7 or 8 (this was actually the primary design of the company, I believe -- to target that in-between age AND promoting reading by getting girls who might normally be more interested in playing with toys). A lot of parents give the dolls to girls who are younger and thus more messy and less careful with their dolls, when they aren't really designed for that age.
I think the baby dolls (at least the ones that were around when I was a kid ) were made of tougher stuff than the AG dolls, just because they were aimed at a younger age.