Earn From Dolls

Dolls are not only liked by young children but by adults as well. For example the longest lasting commercially manufactured doll Barbie is collected by both male and female adults with many prominent collectors being easily identified as grandfathers and grandmothers already and come from all walks of life.

Buy and Sell Dolls

The first earning opportunity for dolls and the easiest to do is to buy dolls at cheap prices and sell them at a higher price for profit. Many people are already doing this. People visit thrift shops and flea markets looking for bargain priced dolls that they could resell. I myself found an old Barbie without her clothes but still in good condition and clean in a second hand shop.

I bought it for $1.00 . The lady cashier gave me a funny look while I was buying it perhaps unaware of the true value of the doll and also because a man was buying a naked doll. I just smiled. I stored it for a few years and then checked it value again. It was selling from between $5 and $10 dollars plus postage and handling on eBay.

If I had only known this I could have bought all the naked Barbie dolls from the second hand shop. I would have also bought the damaged dolls. These dolls are sometimes missing the head, an arm or a leg or are bald. I failed to see that just like cars there is a spare parts market for dolls.

Buy and Sell Doll Accessories

There is a big demand for doll accessories. Many doll collectors like to dress up their dolls and give them accessories. You can again buy accessories at a cheap price and sell them at higher prices for profit. There are doll accessory products being sold by doll companies and boutique businesses specialising in dolls.

There are products that although are not specially made for dolls can be adapted to fit with dolls. There are small toys and decorations that are the same scale as dolls and can be found in many toy shops and thrift stores. For example there are tiny hair clips that are made for very young children that would fit a doll’s hair.

Bonnets and hats for babies could also fit dolls. You could sell all these products and much more to doll collectors although they are not intended specially for dolls. You just need to remember that you have to think in terms of scale. For example a bracelet meant for children and even adults can become a necklace for a doll.

Make the Dolls and Doll Accessories Yourself

You can also make the dolls and the doll accessories yourself. Note that this is more complicated and requires more of your time. You can make dolls that are purely decorative or can be played with like toys. There are many YouTube instructional videos that can teach you how to do both decorative and toy dolls.

You can for example type “dolls from waste materials” in YouTube search and YouTube for example would display videos about turning plastic water bottles and socks to dolls. There are other materials for making dolls such as paper mache or wood however most dolls collected today are made by such big companies such as Barbie from Mattel, Bratz from MGA Entertainment and so on.

It is safe to say that the buyers of these dolls from these companies are the most likely to spend a lot for dolls and doll accessories. The best strategy would be to just make accessories for these dolls. Think of dolls as cars where you cannot compete with the big car companies and your best way to make money is to create accessories for cars.

The big doll companies also make accessories for their dolls so you must create accessories that the big doll companies cannot produce. There may be doll collectors who are into steampunk or goth and want their dolls to look as such. Big doll companies would not market dolls and doll accessories for these limited in number customers but you can.

Create a Niche For Yourself

This means that you would ultimately have to find a niche for yourself. By creating a niche for yourself you would separate yourself from the rest of the doll sellers in the market and with it you would create economies of scale. For example if you concentrate on making shoes for a certain brand and type of doll you can be known as the “Jimmy Choo” of dolls.

You can concentrate your time, suppliers, marketing and manufacturing resources to just shoes. For example a doll collector might have 1 or 2 dolls but might have hundred of shoes for their dolls. High heels for example have similar shapes and you could design a single high heel design but create almost endless designs to create almost endless products.

The big doll companies might have a monopoly on the dolls but you can create endless accessories for their dolls. You can go as small as rings for the fingers of dolls to as big as doll houses and dioramas. However before you do this you must first study and look for your clients. Ask your followers for example if you have a social media account what products they wish you to make for them that they would buy and at what price.

Commission Jobs

You can also earn when someone commissions a job from you. This is usually happens when someone sees a doll you created and is impressed such that they want you to make one for them. Usually dolls of celebrities and other famous people make news so it is advisable that you have such dolls in your portfolio. Advertise your portfolio online for maximum exposure.

You do not however have to depend for celebrity doll as commission work. You could advertise that you do commission work of normal people. You can find commission work by creating dolls for your clients that resemble their partners, children, family, friends and so on. You can for example market these dolls as birthday gifts or gifts for special occasions such as valentines.

Create Digital Products

You can create articles, e-books, drawings, pictures, videos and other digital products about your dolls. The subject of dolls is near endless. You can write about doll histories, doll making, doll fashion, shopping for dolls and doll accessories and so on. Although I have yet to see video podcasts of doll collectors discussing or even playing with their dolls I am sure this would also come along.

You can also make printable paper dolls and paper doll accessories and sell them. You can also make an app about dressing up dolls and even make a game of it. The good thing about digital dolls and its associated digital products is that you almost have to make it only once but you can sell it endlessly. It may even be a companion product to your physical dolls.

Conclusion

The doll industry is dominated by the big toy companies and it would be very difficult to create your own mass produced dolls that would compete against them. The better approach especially if you are just starting out is to first make accessory products for these dolls and to create your own niche. You will also be known for your doll customisation talents.