I Could Not Refuse These eBay Offerings

Offering 1: After nearly 20 years of waiting a particular doll that had an original retail of approximately $400 when released in approximately 1991, I recently won an eBay auction for Jasmine by Rotraut Schrott.

Jasmine (with strands of hair in face); I love her fat plaits!

Jasmine was distributed by the now defunct Great American Doll Company (a.k.a. GADCO).  I first saw her lovely face in doll magazine and immediately fell in love with it and her two fat braids, which reminded me of the way I wore my hair as a child.  I wanted her, but at the time I could not justify paying her original retail.  As a novice collector, I had never spent $400 on a doll. 

Several years passed and my interest in dolls reverted from less-costly-than Jasmine artist dolls, to play line dolls (mostly babies and dolls made during my childhood to recapture that era in black),  to fashion dolls,  and then to purchasing a variety of doll genres.  I eventually forgot about Jasmine until the past year or so when I noticed eBay auctions for her that varied in asking/selling price from $125 to $350. 

Last week, I finally found my girl... she will arrive soon, nude.  I plan to dress her in a replacement ballerina fashion.  I was the only bidder and her total cost was less than $100.  This was definitely an offering I could not refuse, but "Where in the world will I put her?" (I thought.)

I scanned the doll room and eyed the first of several dolls that have been and will eventually be placed on eBay.  After listing the auction for the first 40-inch ball-jointed African American doll made for the American market, I discovered the listing was free!  I will only incur the cost of the final auction value if the auction sells (and it should; bids have already been placed). The free listing is the second eBay offering I could not refuse, described in full below.

Offering 2:  Until August 1, eBay is offering me (and probably other sellers... not sure what the stipulations are to be eligible) up to 50 "List Auction-style FREE [auctions] with any start price. Plus [I can] add a Buy It Now for FREE. I only have to pay final auction value fees if the items sell.  What???? (That's an excited, what.)

Hmmm... with the need to find new homes for several dolls that are no longer near and dear to my heart, specifically baby dolls and large dolls like the 40-inch BJD that take up sooooooo much space and are too heavy for me to manipulate, I scanned the doll room and selected several other dolls to place on eBay between now and August 1. 

I may not list 50 items, but if I place a doll a day on eBay (or close to it) I could potentially find new homes for several and create much needed space (that should remain free)!   

---

If you have dolls that need new homes and you are a registered eBay user, check out eBay's List Auction-style* FREE with any start price. Plus add a Buy It Now for FREE offer.  While you are there, check out my current listings and bookmark the link for my future listings planned between now and August 1.

*If you choose to list for free on eBay, be sure the auction style is a List Auction that does not use a template or any other special "effects" offered by eBay, because these are not free.  Also, any extras like multiple categories, photo packs, gallery, subtitles, and themes are extra. 

To keep the auction listings free, prior to beginning an auction, I upload images of the items to a free image hosting service, like Flickr.com.  I use the List Auction feature along with eBay's free, one picture upload for each auction.  Then I switch the description field from standard to HTML and copy the uploaded Flickr image codes into the description field to add additional photos.   Good luck if you choose to take eBay up on their free listings offer, too.

dbg