Tiktok Is driving up prices on donor dolls

[hope]

This exposure custom repaints are getting on Tiktok and Instagram has noticeably affected the secondary market for donor dolls. Thrift store finds that customizers used to grab for about $3 to $5 are now being scooped up by resellers who know there's demand. Those same dolls are showing up on mercari and eBay for $15 to like $20 and now marketed specifically as perfect for custom repaints

I find it pretty annoying that even damaged dolls with stained faces or chopped hair that used to sit in thrift bins forever are now getting priced higher because sellers know customizers will buy them. Yes, the increased visibility for the hobby is great for the community overall, but it's definitely changed the economics of sourcing materials for people who do this regularly

 

[dollwoman]

Lol, once a hobby hits social media at scale, the arbitrage people show up and kill the thrift hunting advantage. Same thing happened with vintage video games, retro cameras, all of it, then the knowledge gap that makes thrifting worthwhile starts closing fast when everyone is watching the same content

 

[fluxdolls]

I think garage sales are still mostly unaffected if you get there early enough

 

[hope]

Haha, with vintage fashion and sneakers too, suddenly everyone is a reseller. upside though, you see more people are getting into customizing

 

[Alan]

Upside is more people discovering the hobby like you said, @hope. Just sucks that the economics of grabbing donor dolls changed overnight.

 

[Alan]

Donor dolls, such as those given to Goodwill or the Salvation Army? I've only bought one on local Facebook Marketplace, and the price was fair.