what's a reasonable price when buying?

[cherrymartini]

I am new to collecting Rainbow Brite dolls, but I know with other dolls out there I collect (Pullips, Blythe, BJDs, etc) there are basic "going rates" and then there are the eBay gougers. For example, is it reasonable to pay $300 for a MIB Tickled Pink? Is OOB but complete reasonable at $175? For an OOB but complete Moonglow is the normal range between $150 - $200?

I have read the eBay guide that someone wrote, and it has been pretty helpful, but I am just wondering what I can expect to pay and what is a real rip off. I realise these are both harder to find girls, and I guess "reasonable" can be different to each person, but I guess I'm looking for an average of what some of you have paid or would be willing to pay.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Treasure_House]

Good question.. I, personally, go on eBay on adverage 4 or 8 times a weeks. Mostly just to browse. When looking for something, I hang back and keep watching for the lowest amount. Usually ending within a day or so. And normally with the lowest shipping rate as well. There are a lot of scammers out there. The auction may say, $5.95 with 0 bidders and you may win without any other bidders. But then there will be the shipping charge of $25. For something that normally ship for $4 to $6. It may even take me weeks to find the best deal. eBay, in truth, is a gamble. It's like putting your money into a slot machine. Problem is, some are riged and you end up loosing more than what it's worth.



The Moonglo doll I purchased off eBay a while back ago was off the german board. I don't speak a word of german so I just skimmed through one auction over another till I found a pattern. Then I did a quick serch of the doll and found 4 of em. The lowest one was for $15 opening bid. 0 bidders. Worldwide shipping was $10. I won the auction, with no other bidders. Plus the lady selling the doll was orignally from the US and was easy to talk with. Their money is different from the US so I thought I was paying more. Turned out I wasn't, I was paying less. Talk lucky on my part. However; on the US boards, Moonglo can go as high as $500 or more. On adverage, I'd guess $100 to $300. Same as Tickled Pink. With or without clothing. My Tickled Pink doll was a trade. A young man emailed and said he had one he was looking to "get rid of". Traded it for a 2000 CareBear. Keychain that is. So it just depends....

I guess I'm one of them patient buyers that doesn't mind waiting for long periods of time. After all, it's just a toy. Weather it'd be something to play with or display. I try not to worry about it too much. As for eBay, it's a matter of luck and finding the deal that best suits you. For money worth, it depends on the person.

Rainbow and the kids aren't really worth much compared to harder dolls like Stormy, Tickled Pink, and Moonglo. In fact, Stormy isn't really out there unless you find someone to make one for you. Like I did. So the overall value depends on how you look at it.

Hope this helps you. And good luck with eBay...

[Blondine Arc-En-Ciel]

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For the three Dress Up (DU Rainbow, Tickled Pink and Moonglow), condition is EVERYTHING. I think that someone has a boxed DURB for about USD 250 and a boxed DUTP for USD 300. I think both are a little high but not too much. A DUMG will set you back at least USD 2000 if not more and that's if you can find one. Even loose MG dolls tend to be expensive and a MOOB (Mint Out Of Box) example can get to USD 500 or even EUR 500.

The normal dolls go for a lot less but it's not too unheard of for the three large MIB dolls to go past USD 125.

Also, there are people that ask crazy prices for average stuff. There's an MIB Baby Brite doll out there for USD 250 at the moment. It's been there for months and will be there for ages as other MIB Babys have sold for about 10% of what he's asking. Anytime you have doubts about the price of an item, ask on here. Some of us have been RB collectors for years and years and we can give you a pretty good idea of what an item should cost.

[Clinozoisite]

Before you buy, I would research for a bit. Check the closed eBay listings and see what items have actually sold for.


A good-condition out-of-box Tickled Pink will sell for about $70-$100. A similar condition Moonglow could fetch as much as $150. Condition IS everything. I recently sold a Moonglow for $45 because her hair was completely discolored. *shrugs*

If you want a Moonglow, I would check ebay.de and search for Regina Regenbogen (Rainbow Brite) and add "Sandra" if you only want Moonglow to show up (her German name is Sandra Silbermond). I've bought tons of items on ebay.de -- German sellers are very friendly. Even ones who don't directly offer international shipping can usually be persuaded to do so.

[cherrymartini]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I actually got lucky and a local woman was selling a box of used RB dolls for $10. Turns out they were Mattel tag ones and now I have Rainbow Brite, Patty O'Green, Red Butler and Canary Yellow. Outfits are complete although Rainbow's is missing the decal, and they all have sprites except for Canary. I was just impressed she still had her legwarmers, those seem to be missing off of a lot of the dolls for sale on eBay. I felt pretty lucky that someone hadn't snatched them up yet!

[Blondine Arc-En-Ciel]

You did well to get a lot like that for only $10. Keep looking on ebay and you'll find Canary's hand sprite sooner or later.

[Coma_White]

I actually wanted to ask the same kind of question, so I'll just add to this post instead of creating a new one

I saw a Tickled Pink doll on eBay earlier on this year, complete with dress and boots and everything, opening bid $30.
I didn't even think to bid because I was sure she'd go for close to $100 - so I bidded on the sellers other item, Shy Violet, and won her for $25, and Tickled Pink didn't even get one single bid! $30! Unsold!

So, what is a good price for Lala now? I know she's harder to find, especially with her hand sprite, but she never used to be impossible - and she never used to sell for the crazy prices I've seen her go for recently!

Lala, and indeed Shy Violet have far surpassed Indigo and Buddy Blue as the harder to find dolls, but I'm still at a loss as to a reasonable price - any opinions?

Thanks

[Clinozoisite]

Buddy Blue looks like he usually commands $50+ for a good condition doll with headband. More if he's got Champ with him. I'm still looking to purchase a Buddy Blue, myself.

As for Shy Violet...I don't know. Sorry. I've never looked at buying her, since I've got one.

[Coma_White]

Well I got my Shy Violet for a pretty fair price but the Lala price is what I'm really interested in - there are more Moonglow's available right now than Lala!

[Blondine Arc-En-Ciel]

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Buddy Blue, La La Orange and Shy Violet came out together about a year after the original dolls were released. That means that fewer of them were made and they are harder to find than the other Color Kids. The box design for these dolls is also slightly different to the first wave dolls.

For the large dolls, Large Rainbow Brite was there at the introduction but the large Patty O'Green and the large Shy Violet came after the small dolls mentioned above were released. Large Shy came after Large Patty but at least for MIB dolls, Large Shy is easy to Find while Large Patty is pretty elusive. No other Color Kids were made in the large size.

Here's the ebay Item Number for a loose La La Orange that's going for USD 9 at the moment. Copy and paste it into the ebay search window... 200530773109

And here's the same again going for USD 50 with free shipping... 380285933102

An MIB La La recently went for USD 75 on Buy Now.

There's an MIB Small Shy up for about USD 40 at the moment or Buy Now for USD 45. It was originally listed for USD 65.