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 We are no longer answering questions about your LDD doll/s collections or other items
MINT/SEALED vs. NEAR MINT/SEALED vs. BARGAIN BASEMENT
We have created different selling points for our Living Dead Dolls here at WackyStacker.com, LLC. Being a collector myself I am a FREAK when it comes to collecting and a stickler for MINT CONDITION products! I've found that as the years go on a MINT/SEALED LDD is becoming much more rare and hard to find whereas a NEAR MINT/SEALED LDD is very common along with opened and/or damaged packaging or BARGAIN BASEMENT as we like to call them. I know some people like to open their dolls and don't care about the packaging, some prefer already opened dolls, some want to collect and save money and some want perfect dolls no matter the cost.
We are going to now offer a WIDE variety of dolls this coming year for every die hard collector out there. We will be working on the new web pages with different buying options and hope to have it up and running early 2009. In the mean time you may find most all of our dolls stating their condition at the purchase point and if it works we may leave it that way. For now you will find MINT, NEAR MINT, BARGAIN & OPENED dolls within our LDD pages. Below is an explanation and our new rating system for the LDDs we sell in our web store.
When purchasing any LDD doll from our store it will now be catorigized as
DEAD MINT/SEALED:
SUPER EXCELLENT CONDITION and super rare find, doll is sealed, coffin, tissue and shrinkwrap is flawless in everyway, this will be a super rare find on the older dolls and a term you will rarely find on our site. If you do see the term this doll would be case fresh with virtually NO problems
MINT/SEALED:
EXCELLENT CONDITION and hard to find, doll is sealed, coffin, tissue and shrinkwrap is in excellent condition, may have very minor shelfwear or factory imperfections. Overall the doll is in excellent condition for a mint collector
NEAR MINT/SEALED:
AVERAGE and commonly found, doll is sealed, has some shelfwear and factory imperfections, no dents, may have a small tear in shrinkwrap. Overall the dolls packaging is just not up to par for a mint collector but still a decent appearance
NEAR MINT/OPENED:
AVERAGE and commonly found, doll is opened, near mint w/ all accessories and coffin, will have tissue intact w/ no tears, some dolls may have been removed once and some may have never been removed from their coffins. They are pristine in appearance but because the original shrinkwrap has been removed the value is cut in half
BARGAIN BASEMENT:
BELOW AVERAGE dolls will be mint and packaging is not mint, coffins may have dents, major factory imperfections, interior contents will be perfect and exterior will be bad
We scrutinize and clean every single doll that comes through our store to the best of our ability. Then we give it a RATING of DEAD MINT, MINT, NEAR MINT, OPENED or BARGAIN BASEMENT. We've been doing it for years and have now decided to make it available to our collectors. I personally am a perfectionist and have over 20 years of collecting experience. Jenny or Mom as many of you know her has over 30 years of experience and together we determine what the rating will be by condition. So a doll has to pass a lot of tests before we give it a rating. If you have any questions regarding the condition of a doll please feel free to ask.
I want to sell my OPENED DOLL Collection or Doll, How Much is it worth?
Once you've removed the original shrink wrap from your doll the value is cut in half in most instances. Not always but mostly. I can't give you values here, you'll have to do that research yourself by checking stores and auctions selling prices for the SAME EXACT item you have.
If you have an opened doll and you see a sealed doll sell for $100, your doll is NOT worth $100. Your doll's value is automatically cut in half. Start at $50 then deduct for any problems that your doll might have, keep reading for more info on descriptions. The more popular the doll the more it will be worth even when opened. So in some instances your doll will not be devalued at half, it might be worth more. Figuring the real value of your particular opened or sealed doll takes research research research!
Some dolls were meant to be opened, like the Blue Eggzorcist and the Jeepers to name only a few and those collector values remain fairly high on the secondary market. The only way to tell how trends and values are going is to track selling prices for particular items. Please buy my book for more information about your dolls pertaining to supply & demand.
For the year 2010-12 I would recommend holding on to you dolls or collection until the economy gets better, that's if you can. If not expect lower prices then during better economic times.
I remember a few years ago when the Series 3 Sheena doll was very popular, super rare & hard to find. Everyone wanted to own her, the price was at a premium to obtain her..... "IF" you could even find her. Same with the Series 4 Lulu & Inferno dolls. In 2009 those dolls were readily available at very reasonable prices. Whereas say the Series 11 Rain doll was higly sought after, super rare & valuable as it is also today (2012) JUST LIKE those other older dolls were also once valued at a premium. My point is the market is steadily changing as more dolls are released, the ever changing economy & current lack of jobs. New releases are easier to find & very affordable in most instances. There are many speculative buyers collecting solely for the purpose of investment trying to drive prices up, again figuring the values of each doll takes much research on your part.
Having said all of that let's get back to selling your opened LDD collection/doll. Before considering to sell your collection/doll you must get a note pad & pen. Here is a checklist of what you should do before offering your collection/dolls for sale.
My Living Dead Dolls Selling Checklist
1) Write down the name of each doll, just below each name
2) Make notes of the condition of each doll, coffin & lid
3) Are the twist ties intact or missing?
4) Is the tissue intact or torn?
5) What are the accessories & do you have them all?
6) Do you have the Death Certificate w/ ribbon & what's the condition?
7) Have the accessories been removed from their original placement?
8) Has the doll ever been removed from the coffin, even if the ties have not been removed?
9) Are there any dents in the coffin or cracks in the lid?
10) Any sun/light damage or fading to the tissue paper?
11) Are you a smoker? This is MORE important then you realize!
12) Non-smokers can smell smoke a mile away & it leaves a nasty yellow residue on ALL parts, especially the clothes & hair
13) Is there any dust or dirt on your dolls or coffins?
These are just a few questions to answer & jot down, think of as many things as you can. Full Disclosure of your doll/s will get you the BEST price!
There are many many factors you must consider before offering your collection for sale to someone. What you might think is OK for yourself is not OK for someone else. You must take special care in examining your dolls & writing down the facts so that the buyer is well aware of what they are purchasing.
Give the buyer what you would expect, ONLY make it 10 times BETTER! Don't assume because that little smudge you don't have a problem with is OK for the next guy. Assume the buyer would hate it, tell them about it & let them decide for themselves if it's OK! It's not fair to the buyer if you don't tell them everything about your doll/s condition/s. You would be mad if someone did that to you so DON'T do it to someone else! It's called consideration, honesty, ethical, reputable, good character & well you get the point!
Finally, if you were going to sell your used car & you wanted TOP DOLLAR you would wash it, vacuum it out, polish it & make it shine like a shiny new penny! Use the same method when selling your collection. You'll get the best price for your collection/doll if it's cleaned up & your honest about each detail. Much better then if you try to sidestep important issues, like condition. Be an honest ethical reputable seller & you'll have good luck with your sales & repeat customers!
In Living Dead Dolls What Is Meant by "Variants"
This is a GREAT question! Thanks for sending it in. There may be several ways to answer this question. Here they are and there may be more I'm not aware of.
1) A Variant is when the Manufacturer makes say 600 dolls, 500 of them will be all the same. The other 100 will deliberately be made different in some way. Basically collectors call this 100 pieces the Variant. Some people call the 100 rare versions, or the 500 the regular version or VARIANT
2) Say in the Hotwheels Brand, the manufacturer produces so many little cars, each made in several different countries. So many are produced that they sometimes run out of a certain color, wheel or decal that those cars becomes a variant or version. In Hotwheels there may be 3 or 4 versions or variants of the same car
3) In LDD, Mezco Toyz manufacturers VARIANT dolls on purpose limiting the numbers to keep the collectible value up on the secondary market. They are called Bloody Variants, Blood Spattered Variants as well as a few other names
So basically an LDD Variant is just a version of the same doll that has something different about it beyond the limited numbers. It may glow in the dark, it may have a special blood spatter, it may just look different or ???
How To Remove a Price Sticker SAFLEY!
Here is a bit of cleaning advice for you and that annoying price, security or other sticker that drives you crazy!
We buy dolls all the time and as you might imagine some of them have stickers and some of them even have the security stickers with metal in them. The security stickers don't come off......easily. HOWEVER we have found a technique that works GREAT! I don't share this secret very often, in fact I've never told a soul. Your the first to know! This makes you very special to me.
First you need loads of patience!!!
Second buy some Goo-Gone, yes the name is Goo-Gone
next take a little water and put it on your index finger tip
lightly rub the water on the sticker until you get the paper top off of the sticker, yes you can let it set for a few minutes
keep adding small amounts to your finger tip only and keep applying it to the sticker working it in gently
you may want to even place a small drop of water on the sticker and let it soak in
just keep slowly working the paper off of the sticker
Now you'll have a blob of sticky Goo left where the paper sticker has been removed
Now take the Goo-Gone and spray it on your finger tip in the same way you did the water
rub the Goo-Gone on the goo spot and rub it in slowly taking care not to damage the plastic wrap
add a little more Goo-Gone and keep working it in the goo spot
now add more Goo-Gone and SOFLTY use you finger nail to
scrap the goo spot working it away from you, not towards you under your nail
Try to keep the goo spot small in one tiny spot
Now take a paper towel or soft cloth and add a tiny amount of HOT water to one corner
wring out your cloth and spray some Goo-Gone on the wet part of you cloth
Now wipe up the Goo Spot, flip your cloth over and spray a little more Goo-Gone on the cloth and wipe up more of the goo spot
Keep doing this until it is clean
More on cleaning security stickers later
How To Make Your Old Dolls Look Great!
To clean your sealed doll coffins and keep them shiny new just get a cloth and add HOT water, wring out cloth, spray Goo-Gone on your cloth and wipe down your selaed coffins. Any dirt will come up easily and your sealed coffins will look awesome. Do Not spray Goo-Gone on your sealed coffins. They have tiny pin holes or opennings and you will ruin your dolls if you don't take gentle care when cleaning. If you spray the Goo-Gone directly on the sealed coffins you will be sorry.
CLEANING DISCLAIMER:Use good judement as I am not responsible for your cleaning procedures. If you don't have patience or confidence in these procedures please don't attempt them. This is how we clean our dolls and remove price stickers with great success. If you have patience and take care to follow the instructions carefully I have written here you should not have any problems but if you don't you may ruin your dolls. Please don't come back here and blame me for your failure.
Asking Questions & Keeping Dolls Away From Light!!
It's BEST to purchase your dolls and/or other toy collectibles from a reputable dealer in your area or online. The most common problem I've found is NOT asking enough questions of the seller before purchasing unseen items. If you plan to purchase older items for investment be sure to ask questions about the condition of the items you plan to purchase.
You want to ask if there are dents, tears, creases, opened items, missing parts and light damage. Light damage is caused from over exposure to bright light or sun light. Light can discolor the tissue paper in the coffins, create a yellow tint on the once clear coffin lid and/or plastic shrink wrap and even may damage the coloring of the dolls themselves. Look for discoloration to any parts of the packaging and remember to keep your dolls away from constant light. You can expect to lose half or more of the value of your dolls collectible value if this damage occurs. Enjoy your dolls and keep values up by storing in a dark semi-cool area.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FROM COLLECTORS
Question?
Hi Robin, Wanted to show you this pic of series 13 I saw. Is this for real, or do you think somebody repainted them? This is what I was talking about when I said I saw Simone looking forward, not down at her cat. Could this be a variant batch?
Answer
If you found this picture in a chat room then in all likelihood it's just a customized set. Not official or anything.
In fact that type of thing decreases the collectible value of the dolls. However if collectors LOVE to be creative and bloody their dolls up then it's just a fun thing for them to do. As long as they are happy and they don't try to pass them off as REAL Authentic Living Dead Dolls then I don't see any problems. By opening and customizing dolls simply increases the value of the sealed dolls in that particular series just a little bit each time one is opened. The less sealed dolls from a series available on the secondary market only drives the values up for sealed mint condition dolls from that series.
more fun info coming soon
I'll be posting some more LDD collector information soon and if you have any questions or info you'd like to share with other collector's please feel free to send me an email. I'll be using some of the information posted here for the second edition of my LDD Collector's Guide. Have a great day fellow LDD collectors! Robin
Got a Question?
EMAIL ME HERE
Buy an Autographed copy of my book
Value & Reference Guide to Collecting Living Dead Dolls
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