Happy New Year dear friends, followers, and doll lovers!! I am so sorry to have been out of touch recently. There were family issues which arose that required most of my attention and all of my energy. The largest of those issues was that my husband, Mr. BabyBoomerDolls (aka the Love of My Life) had a stroke. Our lives were turned upside down! With lots of prayer from so many, a good team of doctors, nurses, and therapists, he has worked very hard and has almost made a complete recovery. We are so thankful and give God the glory. Without Him, I shudder to think how things could be…..GOD IS GOOD!
So, it is now time for life to once again find a normal pace and get back to work. I have had time to think about several things involving BabyBoomerDolls and have come up with what I believe to be some good ideas. First off, many of you know that I mainly sold my dolls either privately or in my Etsy Shop. I tend not to sell on other social platforms mainly because I like to work with Etsy. And I really don’t have the time to check a half dozen different sites daily and answer emails. My focus tends to lean toward restoring the dolls. I’m of the opinion that if I do a good job at that, the dolls will sell. So far, that has held true.
I hope you are familiar with my Instagram account @babyboomerdolls. If not, please take a look. I think you will enjoy it if you are a vintage doll collector or just like to look at vintage dollies. Before offering a doll for sale either privately or on Etsy, I post the doll on Instagram showing before/after photos and let folks know that the doll will soon be becoming available for “re-homing.” I then tell them where to look for the doll. If I intend to sell her on Etsy, I let them know when she will be listed. If I have chosen to sell her privately, I advise them to direct message me on my Instagram account. I can then give them the details and they can ask any questions they might have. I can tell you that I check my Instagram account several times daily.
I have chosen to still list a portion of my dolls on Etsy just as I always have. Nothing will have changed there. Etsy’s platform provides a good place to sell and has high visibility within the doll community.
The part of this plan that I am really excited about is that BabyBoomerDolls is now offering a layaway plan. I have tried it out on several dolls over the past couple of months and have been very pleased with the results. The layaway plan is not intended for the smaller less expensive dolls. Those will be listed on Etsy. The BBD layaway plan is for the larger, more costly, harder to find dolls. Such as this week, I will be listing a Ashton Drake Galleries brunette Peter Playpal as a private sale. By selling the dolls privately, I can cut the price because I won’t be giving Etsy their portion of the sale and the buyer will be paying the shipping costs. This saves considerably on these larger dolls as they can become costly depending on their condition.
Here are a couple of photos of the AD Peter Playpal that I will be selling this week…..
Here are the terms of the plan….. the doll will be listed on my Instagram account as being for sale and if you are interested, please direct message me. When you send me a direct message, no one sees it except you and I. I will give you the price of the doll and answer any questions you might have. If you are still interested, I pack the doll and have it ready to ship. By doing that I am able to see the size of the box and the weight and determine the best way to ship it to get the best deal for the buyer. I use USPS, UPS, and FedEx. I seem to have had the best luck with these three. Yes, there are other ways to ship, but I have not had the best of luck with them, so I stick to what I trust. I can then contact the buyer and give them a shipping quote. If the actual quote goes over what I have estimated, I pay the extra. I then give you a total price of the doll plus the shipping. The buyer is required to put down $100 on the layaway. Payment is made through PayPal. At that time I give you a balance due minus your deposit. The buyer has 90 days to pay the layaway off in any increments they choose. When the doll is paid in full, the doll is shipped. There is no automatic withdrawal from your checking account. YOU choose when and how much you wish to pay. If the layaway is not paid in full (no exceptions) in said 90 days, buyer forfeits their $100 deposit, and the doll remains mine to resell. There are absolutely no returns on layaways. As I stated earlier, this system has worked well and those who have used it have been pleased that they are in charge of their payment amount and when said payment is made.
I hope you will take this new offer into consideration when purchasing privately from me. This offer allows me to charge less for my dolls thus keeping more money in your pocket. In order to see what is being offered, please keep an eye on my Instagram account and follow me there. You can even set an alarm that will notify you when I make a new post. If a layaway plan isn’t your cup of tea, I will still have dolls listed on Etsy.
Many thanks to those of you who have followed me, purchased dolls from me, and supported my dream. I appreciate you more than you can ever imagine. For me, BabyBoomerDolls is a dream come true. Thanks to those who have helped make that dream a reality for me.
I will chat with you again soon! I have missed you terribly. Until then, stay well!
Big hugs,
Lynn
BabyBoomerDolls