Doll collecting is a fun, rewarding hobby and most folks start with dolls they had as a child, dolls they received or bought as souvenirs of trips or a doll reaches out ands grabs their attention. Beyond the childhood or souvenir doll, there are thousands of dolls to be considered.

The safest and best investment is to buy dolls that are mint in box, or mint and have not been played with. Mint dolls are the best quality of the specific doll that you can buy and will increase in value. Mint dolls reflect time frozen in a box or in a doll. It is awe inspiring to see a doll from the 1950s or 1960s or even the 1900s in the same box and condition that you could have bought it off the shelf, if you could live the fanstasy of going back in time. The box also gives the name of the company, the year, perhaps the name of the doll. New dolls purchased by the collector would be mint in box if the collector is very careful and doesn't play with the doll much outside of the box. It is however, the most expensive way to collect. While I have brought a few dolls mint in box over the years, I prefer dolls that I can clean and fix up and dress. A mint doll in box is for looking at but not to play with.

If you are like me and have limited funds or like to fix up dolls, then it is important to know what is worth collecting, what to look for and how to increase the value of a doll. Here are the things to think about and look for:

Name of the company
Check the back of the neck and most of the time you will see a name or initials. If you buy a basic book on doll identification, you can look up the name or initials and match it to a company. Some of the most popuular names that come up are Ideal, Mattel, Horseman, Pleasant Company (American Girl) and many others. On eBay the seller will frequently give you this information or you can ask.

Condition of the Doll
I check to see whether all the eyelashes and hair are there. I check the condition of the vinyl or hard plastic. Dirt will come out, many stains will not. I look for paint on the lips, cheek color to make sure that it is in good shape. I count fingers and toes. If a doll has a cloth body, I have to consider cleaniness,  the condition of the stitching and condition of the fabric. When a doll has a compartment for a battery, I want a battery cover. My goal in checking the condition of the doll is to buy a doll that once dressed up will be almost as good as new.

Doll Clothing, Original and Otherwise
Most of the dolls that I have bought over the years have been naked. Some have been clothed and a few have had the original store brought clothing still on. Original clothing refers to a doll still in the clothes that it was sold  in or, in some cases, an outfit meant for the doll by the manufacturer. Barbies, Ginnys, American Girls as an example, have  clothing and accessories that you can buy for them directly from the manufacturers. The clothing themselves will frequently be tagged with the name of the manufacturers or the name of the doll or both. Some untagged clothes maybe original but unless you can find a picture of the doll in the particular unmarked outfit, it is difficult to verify.

If the clothing is not tagged, the next best thing is to find clothing that reflects the style and period of the doll and fits the doll. Tagged and untagged but appropriate clothing for specific dolls can be found on eBay under doll clothing and accessories or you can look at local flea markets and yard sales. One way to learn what is appropriate to the doll is to buy a doll reference book and look the doll up using the information on the back of the neck. You maybe able to find the same doll as yours in original clothing.

If you sew, you can make your own doll clothes. Some patterns are labeled for particular dolls. They are also  copyrighted with the date they were released. Simplicity recently reissued doll clothes patterns from the late 1950s and 1960s with three sizes in each pattern making this task easier. There are also doll clothes patterns from the 1930s, 1940s up to 2006 on eBay for purchase. The challenge is to match the doll to the right pattern for the time period and to use the correct period fabrics. Fabrics and trim from most time periods can be found on eBay as well.

Improving Value
The doll has been cleaned and the hair combed to reflect the original style that it came in. The doll jas been dressed in appropriate clothing to the time period that the doll was manufactured and sold and to the type of doll such as baby, toddler, teen or adult. By cleaning and dressing the doll appropriately, you have increased the value of the doll.

The Choice is Yours
I have covered some of the basics of doll collecting. The harder question to answer is what dolls to collect or what is worth collecting from a financial standpoint. Doll collecting to me filled an emotional need. It gave me a creative outlet to research, design and sew miniature fashions. As a result of eBay, I can even sew with fabrics and trim from the time periods that I am working from. Each person collects for a different reason, different goals and is attracted to different dolls. The answer to what to collect therefore begins with you and what you want.

If you are interested in investing and are looking for financial return, buy mint in box dolls. If you like dolls as an art form, buy artist dolls. I use to buy any doll that was in decent shape, had all eyelashes, hair and could be cleaned and found that I had to specialize to limit my purchases.

Dolls with names and personalities will always be more collectable than unknowns. Barbie, American Girl, Ginny, Chatty Cathy and many other dolls that were popular, well known and heavily marketed in their day will always be worth collecting and will return a modest return on investment. The goal of any collection should be having fun and enjoying your collection.