The blockbuster hit of the summer arrives on streaming and VOD today, letting theater-averse fans finally get in on Barbiemania! To mark the occasion, we’re going to answer a question many folks have been asking these last few months: are Barbie dolls worth money?
The Early Days
A 1960s era Barbie doll with the original swimsuit and ponytail hairdo.
The Barbie doll was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler, a co-founder of Mattel. It represented a tectonic shift in the doll market: instead of a baby doll to mother, Barbie was “grown-up” that little girls could project themselves onto. Nothing like Barbie had existed in the U.S. up to that point, and it was an instant hit. Each new year brought new outfits and hairstyles for eager little girls to collect. Barbies’s social circle also grew: 1961 saw the introduction of her boyfriend Ken, 1962 introduced Barbie’s bestie Midge, 1963 saw the debut of her little sister Skipper, and so on. One of the more noteworthy additions to Barbie’s world was Francie, a friend who served as a test subject for new ideas. 1967, for example, saw Francie become the first Barbie doll to have a Black variant produced.
These early Barbie dolls are the most reliably valuable as single items. Naturally, completeness and condition are major factors. A doll with no accessories will sell for less than one with a sold-separately outift, which in turn will sell for less than one with complete original accessories. The most valuable of these early dolls are the original 1959 dolls, which can sell for well over a thousand dollars, but there’s still decent value in 60s era specimens. Particularly notable is the 1965 “Color Magic” Barbie, with a color changing gimmick. Due to its use of chemicals to achieve the gimmick, it is incredibly rare to find in good condition.
Modern Barbies
“My Size Barbie” dolls do pretty well at auction, due to their limited appeal when new.
Like so many collectibles, things get murkier when we get closer to the present. Barbie has, unlike many classic brands, been in continuous production for over sixty years. When the speculator and nostalgia-driven collector market rose to power in the 80s and 90s, that meant there were plenty of dolls on the shelves to feed it. It also allowed for the quick creation of special edition dolls that walked the line between “collector’s edition” and “children’s keepsake”. The most ubiquitous of these would be the 1996 Happy Holidays Special Edition Barbie. Sellers are lucky to get original MSRP for that doll, and it is not likely to gain significant value over subsequent years.
So what more modern Barbie dolls hold notable value? Well, the ones that didn’t originally sell well. Many of these featured in the Barbie movie as offbeat Barbies: Happy Family Midge, Magic Earring Ken, Sugar’s Daddy Ken, Barbie Video Girl, and more can all sell for a couple hundred dollars each. As always, modern collectible toys are most notably valuable when sealed in original package. Loose specimens that are complete will still sell, but the value drops precipitously.
The Enduring Contradiction of Collectibles
All types of collectibles are simultaneously worth pennies and worth thousands. That’s because a broad class, like Barbie dolls or comic books, will undoubtedly cover a wide spectrum of value. So are Barbie dolls worth money? Yes! Even common dolls will sell, it’s just a matter of how much time and effort is worth investing in making that sale. That’s where running your collection by experts like Back to the Past really pays off.
If you’ve got a question or comment about this or any other collectibles topic, let us know in the comments or hit us up on social media @b2pcollect!
