1997 BLONDE CLUB HOLIDAY BARBIE!

This 1997 Blonde Holiday Barbie is one I've been watching for a long long time...

This Barbie was only released to 'Barbie Club Members' around the time of the Holidays... meaning, unless you paid the fee to join the Barbie Collector Club, you couldn't have this Barbie (unless you bought it from another member, but they would have jacked up the price!).

The only prices I could find for this Barbie were between $100 to $150... however, patience is a great virtue and after months and months of watching, I finally found one for only a fraction of the price!

I am very excited to add this Barbie to my daughter's collection and again, this is a picture of the Barbie was won at auction so I will still have to do my own inspection when it arrives but I'm confident that this Barbie will be in great shape!

Very excited to cross this one off our collection list!!

I'll be posting updates about the inspection of all 3 of our latest Holiday Barbies Barbies!

2001 Celebration Barbie is now on it's way!

 

Shortly after obtaining the 2002, 

I was able to locate a 2001 Celebration Barbie at about the same price as the 2002.

Just like the 2002, I had to be patient with the auctions, but it paid off and we were able to grab this one!

We're waiting for this one to arrive as well and we will be doing a full inspection of it when it does, but like the 2002, it looks in great condition!

The reason these Barbies are not called 'Holiday Barbies' but are still part of the collection is due to Matell trying to take a sharp left in the series after the value of the collection crashed...

After 1998 Holiday Barbie was released, everything that seemed collectable started to become... worthless.  There were just too many too soon, and when everyone has one, then no one wants one, making the overall value next to nothing.

With the new millennium coming up, they decided to release a new Barbie at the same time as they would the Holiday Barbies, but they just gave them a different name, the Millennium Barbies.  They were set up for 1999 and 2000 release... however, they decided to try and 'rename' the Holiday series again, and moved onto a new name, the 'Celebration' Barbie... which would be the 2002 and 2001 releases.  In 2003, Matell even went further then that to come up with a completely new Barbie, name it the Winter Fantasy 2003 Barbie, again releasing it the same time the Holiday Barbies would have been released... it wasn't until 2004 that they finally decided to go back to the Holiday Barbie name.

Many thought and still think today, that because of the 'break' Matell took in the name, that the 1999 through 2003 Barbies shouldn't count as part of the series, but after awhile, it just became accepted.

I mean, how can you have a 'series' if there's 4 years missing of Barbies, it would seem very odd.

So now we have the Millennium Barbies for 1999 and 2000, the Celebration Barbies for 2001 to 2002 and the Winter Fantasy for 2003!

Awaiting our newest addition, the 2002 Celebration Barbie!

 

This here is actually a picture of the Barbie that we were able to obtain on eBay!

Thanks to eBay's 'eBucks' system, their buy back program, we were able to obtain quite a bit over these past few months and used it to our full advantage in obtaining a handful of new Holiday Barbies to add to my daughter's collection!

This was the first of three we obtained, and thankfully, we were patient with the auction.

Due to the upcoming Holidays and inevitable winter approaching, everyone is staying off their computers and working to prepare themselves at home.  This is typical for anyone when the weather is nice, I mean, who wants to stay inside with 70-80 degrees outside?  Certainly not me or my children!

However, this gave a great opportunity to snatch a few auction Barbies and I was thankful to find this one at the price that I did!  Normally these are one of the hard to find and expensive Holiday Barbies, but we were able to grab it at less then $15!

I will post updates here when it arrives after we do a thorough inspection of it, but from the pictures, it looks to be in great shape! 

A Very Much Needed Update on the Holiday Barbie Collection!

It's been almost 2 months since my last post but I can assure you all that it certainly was not intentional.

Tragically and very unexpectedly, I lost my father on August 10th 2013, very shortly after my last post here.  His name was Robert Sumner and his loss was both sudden and devastating to my entire family line and to all who knew him.

Although he did not look it, he had just turned 50 years old, in my own opinion he was still very young, and I did not see this coming... not at least for another 30 or even 40 years...  My children were his only grandchildren and he was very involved in their lives and he will be missed by all.

His loss was devastating and in order to cope, I had to back away from the entire online world for quite some time.  Even my Facebook page and eBay store took a hit from my absence, but it was all so I could get my head screwed on straight and pull myself back on my feet.  My daughter and son were very close with him also, and they are still working through this with me one day at a time.

But it's time to start coming back to old routines because time does not stand still for anyone, for any reason, so here I am again.

To be completely honest, my drive to collect is because of him.  Growing up I'd watch him collect all kinds of things, Baseball/Football Trading Cards, Beanie Babies, Pokemon Cards, Video Games, just anything you could think of!  Now, I am sorting through his many many collections, mainly his trading card collection and trying to help others fulfill their collections as he did.

I would keep each card myself but unfortunately, beyond opening the packages with him and handing him the cards, I knew little about them or Sports in general!  I know very few baseball or football players by name, I don't even know all the sport names!  I can tell you about the Florida Dolphins with Dan Marino because of the Ace Venture Pet Detective and I only know about the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers because I live on the border of Pennsylvania and an hour away from Pittsburgh (and also because my father was an avid Steelers fan and could talk about them from dusk til dawn)!  I also know about the Dallas Cowboys, but I don't know a person that doesn't... but that's about it.

So because of that, I am now wading through and researching his trading cards and attempting to trade them off with other avid collectors who I know will take very good care of them as I know that's what he would want.

As for the Holiday Barbie Collection, I am again looking for the next Barbie to add to my daughter's collection!  My father knew I was working on this collection the moment I bought the first Barbie for my daughter.  Each one that followed, my daughter was always eager to show it off to her grandfather and also show him how large her collection was growing.  We know he would be proud of both of us for continuing the passion of collecting items like my daughter's Holiday Barbie collection so we will keep on collecting for both my daughter and for him.

Between everything that's happened lately and the upcoming Holidays, however, it may be some time before I am able to grab the next Barbie for my daughter, but I'll keep on searching in the meantime!

But at least I can take these pictures of the collection so far!  Yes, these are direct pictures of my daughter's collection, not all of them as it's hard to fit them all in one shot, but you can get an idea...

So we're now back to saving up on the side for the next addition to the collection! 
Hopefully soon my daughter and I will be able to announce that we've obtained the 1994 Limited Brunette Happy Holidays Barbie!

One can only hope!

How to fund your Barbie Collection

In earlier blogs, I explained how to control your spending when it comes to investing in a collection.  Now I'm going to share with you what I do to help fund my daughter's Holiday Barbie Collection.

When I first purchased the 1988 Holiday Barbie, I did not pay for it using one of my checks.  I paid for it using the funds I'd received from selling my own home items. 

Most of these items included old and new clothes that had been in storage, others included purses or shoes that had never been worn or used.  It is true that, 'One man's trash is another man's treasure'!  Something that you might find useless may be just what another person is looking for!  A perfect example is the Holiday Barbies that you're buying!  Most of these sellers are selling these Barbies that they've been keeping in their attic for years and years and now they find it's just taking up space and they just want someone to take it off their hands and you are that person!

There are many websites out there that offer you the chance to sell your items, but the one that's at the top is and always has been, eBay!

It can be very nerve-racking at first when you start to try and wrap your head around everything eBay wants you to do in order to sell an item, but I'm here to tell you it's must easier then it sounds!

First off, and most importantly, eBay allows you to list up to 50 items for FREE at any cost you want!  Almost a decade earlier, if you wanted to sell and item, eBay would let you at no cost, but only if you started the listing at $0.01.  Some items this was great for, such as very popular items like a cell phone because you'd get instant publicity to your listing and end up with a lot of money... but if you had something that wasn't worth much at all or was an odd item that not many people knew about, you could possibly find yourself PAYING to get rid of it in the end!

With the new rules allowing any price with the listing, it makes it much easier to decide your own price, just like a personal garage sale! 

Now I'm going to let you in on a secret about selling eBay, it's all about the 'FREE Shipping'!

Now you might say, "Why would I list something with Free Shipping that might cost ME over $15 to ship!  Won't I lose money?"  The answer is Yes, if you do it the WRONG way.  This is the big secret about ALL eBay sellers that use Free Shipping... they ADD that shipping into the MAIN cost!  So, for example, you find a shirt for $10 with Free Shipping attached... what that means is that shirt is REALLY being sold for about $7 and you're paying the extra $3 for it to be shipped!

Why do sellers add the shipping cost into the main price?  Simple!  It gets buyers!  Think about it, if you were buying something on eBay, who would you buy it from?  Someone that says they want you to pay $15 for the item and $10 for the shipping costs, or someone who's offering you the same item for $25 and FREE Shipping.  Face it, you're going to pick the guy with the word FREE next to it.  It's simple to figure out the end cost, you don't have to worry about any back-end fees (because eBay does charge a final value fee on the item you sell AND the shipping cost!) and people just like getting 'Free' anything because it's Free!

Since I started selling on eBay to help fund my daughter's cost, I've made enough to order all the Holiday Barbies I have for her today!  But I too knew that one day my basement junk was going to run out, so I had to look for an alternative... and developed a new niche that has become very successful!

Many years ago, I worked for one of the biggest cell phone companies.  I learned a lot there, and more importantly, how the real world of cell phones work.  Cell phones today differ greatly from what they once were.  Everyone remembers those dinosaur and candy bar phones.. the ones that were impossible to break?  Well now there are new, thin, fragile phones that are worth as much as a laptop computer!  Cell phone cases are desperately needed now more then ever to keep phones intact and to keep you from buying another one that might cost you your entire pay check!  That case can be the difference between the life and death of your phone!  That being said, it can cost you almost $100 to get, what most people think is, the best case on the market.  What most people don't know though is those Lifeproof cases, are NOT lifeproof.  On top of that, cases like LifeProof, make the phone almost impossible to use!  They're bulky, almost impossible to take off without damaging the phone once they're on, and have even been known to block the signal at times (same goes for the Otterboxes!)...

Having all this in mind, I began to sell Artsy Cell Phone Cases.  These cases, made of a silicon rubber, are just as protective as any other case, including the expensive ones, on the market with one more thing in mind, YOU.  You need to USE your phone on top of protecting it, otherwise, why do you have it?  This is what I had in mind when I went out looking for the most beautiful, protective and useful cell phone cases I could find at the lowest price.

These cases are now what fund my daughter's Holiday Barbie Collection.  It has become so successful, I've even been able to open an eBay store!  I new, based on my own knowledge, that I would have some sales, but I never though they would rise to what they are now!  I've even opened up another Blog here on Blogger to announce when cases are restocked or new designs come in, or when I get a new type of phone case! 

The feedback has been amazing and the goal to obtain every Holiday Barbie and Happy Holiday's Barbie for my daughter's collection has never been more in reach then it is now!

If you're in need of a cell phone case, please visit my eBay store and have a look at what I have available!  And remember, these cases are being sold in order to further my daughter's collection and ultimately, put her through college!

I ship EVERYWHERE so you could be in Japan and I'll still send you case!  In fact, international sales are my favorites as I love the thought of sending my cases over the ocean or across the borders to places I could only dream of going one day.  My daughter also enjoys hearing of the different countries and cities these cell phone cases travel to, it's like we are traveling there ourselves!

So please, at least have a look, there are plenty to choose from and I'll even be adding HTC One cases this coming week, (and hopefully many more in the future as well!)  If you have a phone that I don't have a case for, list what your phone is here in the comments!  It might just be the next phone that I go looking for cases for next!

Here's a link directly to my eBay store:
http://stores.ebay.com/ArtsyCellCases

and you can also click the banner at the top of this post and go straight there!
Thanks for at least taking the time to view them! 


You can do what I did right here too!  Just find what you're good at and take it and make it work for you!  If you're an hands on person and like to create things, then do it!  Work out a plan and then sell your artwork on Etsy (the perfect sale website for handcrafted items!) If you have an eye for a bargin, you could always go out and shop and then resell your bargains online at their true full value!  There just so much you can do and everyone is great at something, so take what you're good at and turn it into your financial support for your own collection!

2013 HOLIDAY BARBIE RELEASED!!

I've been waiting for this Holiday Barbie ALL YEAR LONG, and then happened upon it by accident!

Not even the Barbie Collector website has this Barbie listed as available as of yet, they don't even have a picture of it!  But it is available at one of the most common stores in America (and no I don't mean Wal-Mart, I mean their competitor with a similar name, GUESS WHO!)

I personally have ordered the classic Blonde AND the EXCLUSIVE (and FIRST) Auburn Hair 2013 Holiday Barbie!!  Personally, I'm using my Birthday this month as the perfect excuse to order these without hesitation and I'm excited to know I'll have them both on my shelf for my daughter in less then 5 days!

 

These are the 25th Anniversary Holiday Barbies (The first Happy Holiday's Barbie being released in 1988), dressed beautifully in a sparkling silver dress, covered in glittering snowflakes and placed inside a sleek red box decorated to fit this new Holiday season!

If you can figure out who's selling them (and I practically gave it away to all of you!) grab one while you can!  Being an anniversary Holiday Barbie ensures it's value will be high and the exclusives will fly off the shelves as all other exclusives do too!  These pictures here are of the new Barbie that were presented to me on the store's website, so check out their new beauty!

I'll be updating the collectors list with these new additions as well based on sales I've already been seeing on various websites to give you all an idea of what you're REALLY getting!! (and it's far more then the sticker price, I can assure you of that!)

2000 Celebration Barbie

This was the first Barbie released in the 'Celebration' series, but the Celebration series didn't last all that long.  Shortly after 2003, it went back to the Holiday Barbie series.

However, this Barbie was released in replacement of the Holiday Barbie for the year 2000.
Much like the Millennium Princess, it came with a Christmas Ornament that reads '2000' in celebration of the new century.

Her hair is very different compared to other Holiday Barbies as it's so platinum, it's almost pure white.  Her hair though compliments her silver and gold dress making her a stunning addition to the collection!

1999 Blonde Millennium Princess Barbie with Swirl Background

The 1999 Millennium Princess Barbie with the Swirl Background is oldest of the releases within this year.

The original release was just a plain silver background with sparkles sprinkled all over it but there was no real pattern or style besides this.  About a month after being released, however, it was then re-released with the classic swirls to help celebrate the new year and is now one of the most common Holiday Barbies available.

1999 Teresa Millennium Princess

Starting in 1999, the Happy Holidays Barbie line changed into the 'Millennium Princess'.  It was only for this year though to celebrate the new century to come.

This is also the year the first 'Teresa' edition was added to the Holiday Barbie collection.  There were many brunettes but they were still considered 'Barbie'.  The best way to explain it is, Barbie had her hair dyed for a few years and then went back to Blonde.  Teresa, in the collection, is 'Barbie's Best Friend'.  She has her own standard look that sets her apart from the normal Barbie line.

On top of the brunette hair, this edition was dressed in an evergreen dress with silver inlay whereas the original Blonde Barbie is dressed in a velvet blue dress.

This version also comes with a Christmas ornament that can be hung on your own home Christmas tree. 

2010 Holiday Barbie with Necklace finally obtained!

After much patience, I finally was able to locate another 2010 Blonde Holiday Barbie with the Exclusive Necklace.

After the previous loss, it was very difficult to locate this Barbie, but it was necessary for the collection.

As odd at is seems, these Barbies, the ones with the necklace included, are the rarest Barbies to find.
 Most have been opened and are used because of this included necklace.  My own daughter has a hard time not looking at it and talking about 'wearing' the necklace one day.  Thankfully though, she knows better then to try and open the box, but I'll be on the hunt later on for this necklace outside the box, much like I'm searching for other Barbies who are not in their original box but come with all their accessories (including their stand) to be put on display in front of their 'boxed' counterparts.

Acquiring all the unboxed Barbies and accessories removes the temptation to open the ones in the box.

Contemplating Which Barbie to Get Next

 

One of the hardest things in collecting anything, is figuring out what to get next!

When you have just a large amount of 'collectibles' it's hard to figure out where to start.  Usually the best way to figure this out, is to decide which 'collectable' should be the most valuable and, then of course, work you way around collecting it.

In this case, it was originally a 1988 Happy Holiday's Barbie, Mint in Box (MIB) but now has been changed to a 1994 Happy Holiday's Barbie, Festival Brunette.

This new 'goal' barbie would be the JEWEL of the collection (right next to the 1988 of course!)

So now I'm actually kind of drowning in the choices when I look around at the ones we still need.
Normally I usually start from the bottom and work my way up to collecting them all, but that can get boring so sometimes it's easier to make little 'goals' within the main goal of collecting them all.

Example, on top of collecting the 'jewel' of the collection, the first goal would be to gather at least one Happy Holidays Barbie that fell between 1990 to 1999, basically get one of each of the '90's' Barbies.  Once that goal is complete, create a new goal, until finally, you have all the goals completed, and thus, a complete set.

So that's where I'm kind of stuck at this moment.
We have collected at least one of each year from 1988 to 1998!

From here, we must move into gathering a 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010 & 2012.

Normally, I would say, that's the next goal, to gather at least one of each 2000 Barbie (including the 1999) but that seems to pose a problem all by itself!

These particular Barbies, even though they're the newer models, tend to be more expensive then any of the 1990s no matter where you look.  Why?  Because of how beautifully they were created AND who they were created by!

That makes the  hunt for these Barbies, much more difficult!
So that's where I'm stuck at the moment trying to figure out what the next 'realistic' goal should be.  As far as the Holiday Barbie world goes, grabbing all 2000 in the same month is very UNrealistic without making yourself go broke!  If you're curious to know why, check out my 'value' list and add all the NRFB prices or MIB prices together (at least just one for each year) and tell me if you have the money to just dump that out in 'one' month.


What I am thinking about, is starting to collect all the African American Barbies between 1990 to 1999 and slowly pick up a 2000s or two on the side while working on that.

Let me know what direction you would go if you were in my shoes!

Please check out my 'check list' for Holiday Barbies to see which ones I've already collected for my daughter and the 'Value' listings  of what the costs roughly fall under!

1996 Holiday Barbie - The Cheapest, but necessary Addition to the Collection

Aside from the newest 2000 releases, I find this one to be one of the most beautiful in the collection.  That being said, it's actually one of the cheapest and easiest to find as well.

I've come to the conclusion that the reason this might have happened was due to the supply and demand that year.  Holiday Barbies were becoming increasing popular, and it's no wonder that parents and collectors alike were purchasing them off the shelves as a beautiful Christmas gift for their children, however the way Holiday Barbies work is just that.  They will continue to make them as they are demanded until the Holiday season ends.  This means, there are thousands of them, probably 10s of thousands are out there of this particular one because of how gorgeous she is and everyone knows the more that are made, the lesser the value.

So to conclude, I can see this one's beautiful looks being its ultimate downfall in the marketplace.  However, she is still a necessary addition to the collection, because without her, it wouldn't be complete.  So I'm happy to pay out an extra $5 to add her to my daughter's collection!

1993 Holiday Barbie - Got it Both in and OUT of Box

One of my side goals for this collection is to gather one of each Barbie, out of the box (aside from the ones with the additional necklace anyway(2010 & 2011) or different box backings(1997))

However, I'm not just looking to grab ANY Barbie out of the box, I require they have everything that they came with IN the Box, including their little stand and even their shoes and brush.  This little beauties out of the box still carry a good monetary value, but not without each and every little accessory.

The reason I'm looking to obtain one outside the box is mainly to defeat temptation.  My daughter LOVES her Barbies on her shelves, but I know one day it's going to get the point where she's going to want to take them out... with one outside the Box, she can still fluff their dresses and take care of them (gently) so it'll help remove that guilty feeling of wanting to open the boxes.

I thought this was a fair way of handling things as she gets older and has girlfriends come over who might be tempted to touch as well.  I know when I went to some of my friend's homes, they had valuables on their walls, porcelain collections, etcs and it was very hard not to run up and do the 'Oooo's and 'Aaah's and then pick them up.

Accidents happen, so this seems to be the best way of avoiding any accidents from ever happening!
So I picked up a 1993 in and out of the box.

She looks very similar to the 1988 version, but with a few very obvious differences, including the fact that her dress is layered instead of one big fluff!  She was ordered about the same time as the 2011 so she should be here any day, both of them should, so my daughter's looking forward to this new addition and the beginning of the side collection!

1994 Brunette Special Edition Holiday Barbie! - New Discovery!

I was browsing around, like I normally do, and I came across this particular Barbie.
I'll admit, I was a bit suspicious, I didn't know there was a Brunette Barbie until 1997, so finding one like this, I needed to do a bit more research... especially with the price they wanted, talk about Ouch!  They wanted more then the first edition!

I've seen a lot of Barbies being put up on eBay for outrageous prices that were obviously fraudlent.  I found a woman who would De-Box her 1993's and buy out of box 1988's and stick them in them in the box and then glue a picture that she had printed out, on the back of the 1993 box to make it look like a genuine 1988 and then sell it for over $200!!  I've also seen people purchase the clothes of the 1988 Barbie and then dress them on an African American Barbie and call it 'limited' edition and try and market it for close to $300!  There was no African American Holiday Barbie until the 1990 edition, so I feel bad for people who get suckered by these frauds.

So I didn't want to just jump at this Barbie either knowing all the fraudster tricks, but to my surprise, she is genuine and EXTREMELY rare.

Apparently, during the first Matell Convention down in Florida back in 1994, they sold these Barbies there, and only there.  There were only 540 available (and all were sold) so that's all that exist in the world!  Needless to say, I've added it to my list of 'wanted' Barbies and hope to add it to my daughter's collection one day (probably not one day soon though! Maybe a few more months, or another year... it's been out since 1994 and you can still find them on eBay being sold left and right so I don't think I'm in any danger of losing out!)

Best way to weed out the fraudulent ones is that pretty little wreath right on the cover.  That means she was part of the Holiday Festival in Florida and just one of the 540 made.  I'll definitely be keeping an eye on her and looking for her out and about this year and we'll see what happens.  One day we'll have her though and she'll sit side by side the rest of the collection.  It'll be the next Gem in the collection.

1991 Happy Holidays Barbie!

 

This one we are being given as more of a gift due to some damage done to another Barbie we received.  At first I was disappointed about the damaged Barbie, but after examining the box, it was obvious it wasn't the seller's fault, it was the shipping service.  Someone must have decided to use the box as a seat, or a stepping stool, either way, it got crushed.

It's still salvable however and after speaking with the seller, they have offered to just send us the 1991 Holiday Barbie they have, Mint in her box like all the others for no additional cost.

I call that a win-win! (as I was afraid it was going to be a lose-lose because sending it back would have cost me more out of pocket!)

This means my daughter only needs the 1999 (The 1999 Millennium Princess) and she will have the full collection ( at least one from each year) of the 90s!

This is a big accomplishment!

Now our main focus will be retrieving the 1999 and at least one of each year for the 2000's era!  My daughter's room is becoming full of shelves of beautiful Holiday Barbies and it's quite exciting to watch her collection grow!

Received the 1989 & 2006 Holiday Barbies!!

 

After a much anticipated wait, I received both the 1989 & 2006 Holiday Barbies this afternoon!

I was very excited to get them, and both sellers shipped them with much love and care.  Needless to say, both arrived in better shape then I could have ever expected!  The seller of the 1989 Holiday Barbie was even kind enough to wrap the barbie in a towel along with a lot of padding.

I'll admit, I was a bit nervous about receiving these two as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for."  but I feel like my daughter hit the jackpot!  This is an actual picture of the Barbies we received.  As you can see, there's not a scratch on them, the plastic is crystal clear, it looks like I bought them right off the shelf today, but one is over 2 decades old and the other is now 7 years old but they look brand new!

They're both beautiful and we've put up the new shelves in my daughter's room to hold them and keep them safe for many years to come.  I'm very excited for my daughter and couldn't have asked for better condition!  This is very exciting!

We're awaiting a handful more but the shelves are prepared to hold them when they arrive! Probably will receive some tomorrow as well so looking forward to that!

1989 Holiday Barbie - Found with Clear Plastic!

If anyone has an old item that was in-cased in that clear plastic box, such as a Holiday Barbie, then they know the plastic eventually turns yellow with age.

The reason behind the aging of the plastic can be a number of things, but smoking tends to be a big one.  Just like smoke turns the skin yellow on fingers, it also yellows anything clear or white around it over the years.  There are other factors but smoking tends to be the most common cause.  This makes it very difficult to find a clean cased old Holiday Barbie.

1989 ones tend to be the hardest to find in a clear case as it's the second released in the series so many just bought it to keep and sell later on, but didn't know how to really take care of it.

While browsing around, I located one to add to Aeris's collection and was quite surprised to find it for the price it was and in a nice clear clean box.  This one got lucky, it was meant for a child who was never really interested in it so it ended up going into a closet for the last two decades.  That closet shielded it from all the elements and kept it as clean as the day it was bought!

Couldn't have asked for a better condition!

Now Aeris has 1988, 1989 and 1990... so the next one will be the 1991 that we need!

1988 Holiday Barbie - The First Released of the Series!

Have you ever gone to a yard sale or a garage sale and saw something on a table labelled with a price that was next to nothing and wondered if it was too good to be true?

Almost everyone who sells anything researches what they should sell their item for.  Then there's a select few that just 'wing it' and label it a price that they THINK it's worth.  This can be both a good thing and a bad thing.  The bad side can be when they guess too high, basically they overestimate what they actually have and inflate the price.

For example, this 1988 Holiday Barbie is worth a pretty penny, but those who have it out of the box, tend to think it's worth just as much as the ones IN the box.  This is a bad assumption and they're going to get no buyers for it at those prices... however the opposite happens sometimes, which is what I found!

While browsing around, I discovered a 1988 Holiday Barbie... for the price of a 1997 Barbie!  What does that mean?  This Barbie was in perfect condition (according to the picture) IN the box with the box looking in great shape, for a mere $20!!! (shipping included in the price)  Needless to say I bought this up quick!

This is the FIRST Holiday Barbie ever released.

When it was first designed and placed on the shelves, Matell never expected it to fly right back off as quickly.  It was only designed as a little gift for the Holiday, it was never meant to turn into a huge deal, but it did and people were buying them in bulk!

There are still MANY still being sold on eBay for between $600 to $1000, so finding this one was a godsend to my daughter's collection!

I believe the reason it wasn't bought before hand (as it had been listed for at least a day before I located it) was because of the way it was labelled and cateogorized.
There was no year attached to any of the information, they simply titled it "holiday Barbie" and then wrote down that it was 'mint in the box' in the description and 'that was all she wrote' so to speak.

Regardless, I'm extremely excited to find this crown jewel addition to my daughter's collection and for the perfect price!  I'll still be inspecting it when it arrives to make sure we're getting the real deal (because regardless of how much I spend, it better be what it says it is!  I don't tolerate fraudulent sales on eBay, and neither does eBay :-p)

Now I'm going to try to work backwards to fill in the blanks with all the oldest Barbies, so the next one to grab will be the 1989!!

1994 Blonde Holiday Barbie

 

This one I've been dancing around for the last few weeks...

I've been waiting to see what would happen with this one, if anything would pan out and if anyone would bid on it, but to my surprise, no one did, so I decided to go for it an put a bid in and see what happens...

And this morning, I won!  Just like the 2006, there was only a $3 shipping attached to it as well and I actually received it for less then $10.  Anywhere else I've looked, the shipping is at LEAST that price alone, and the actually cost runs between $25 to $40, making the total cost come to $35 to $50 in most auctions, so I count this one as a very successful win!

However, can't help but cringe at looking at her.

There's always ONE piece in a collection that no one likes, including the collector, but it's part of the collection and without it, it wouldn't be complete so you have to suck it up and deal with that piece!  This is going to be that piece.

I think it's the colors that really make me wince the most... that clash of Gold on Green, it just looks like a terrible combo to me.  But, at least this painful part of her collection will be over with and we can add her to my daughter's collection and move on to the rest of the list!

2006 Bob Mackie Holiday Barbie for low auction!

I placed a few bids last night in a few Holiday Barbies I found, however I got a nice surprise this morning!

Most times whenever I place bids, I'm outbid later, no question.  Mostly it's due to me being 'cheap', I'm not willing to go into an auction war with someone so I take the losses  as they happen... However with this one, no one else placed a bid to my surprise and I walked away with it for very little!!

One of the things about eBay is you have to know where to list your items.  If you list it wrong, barely anyone's going to see it, therefore, there's less likely chance anyone's going to buy it.  This is actually a good thing for buyers, like me, looking to pick it up for cheap though!

This particular Barbie goes for around $60 to $100 right now (if you look at any other auction you'll see it being let go for no less then $45) but I picked it up for next to nothing!  (shipping being only $3 on top of it! pfft, nice!)

She looks in great shape but we'll see when she arrives and we can add her to my daughter's collection!

Beginning of the Month - New Listings from ME to help fund my daughter's Barbie Collection!!

 

It's the beginning of the new month!! And since it's the beginning of the month again, I've gone and listed more of my OWN items to sell!!

If anyone's looking to purchase new clothes for themselves for a cheap price, please have a look right here!
 I also sell Cell phone cases for Samsung Galaxy S3's and Iphone 4's!!

Everything earned here goes directly into funding my daughter's collection so when you're placing a bid for any of my items, remember, you're helping my daughter purchase another Holiday Barbie, and in turn, helping to fund her college education and we both appreciate it very much!

Please check out my listings here!!  We thank you all again!!

Click HERE to View my items!!!

2011 Blonde Holiday Barbie with Necklace - Awaiting it's arrival!

Just like the 2010 Holiday Barbie, the 2011 one can be found with an exclusive necklace!!

The African American verisons tend to be a lot easier to locate but the Blonde Caucasians are a lot harder.

Luckily I was able to find one and for a low price!

This all goes back to being patience...  It saves you a lot of money when you are and you feel a lot more satisfied with your new addition to your collection!

This seller isn't a powerseller, but has had great feedback, especially on shipping speed so I'm looking forward to receiving this one by possibly Monday or Tuesday (If he sends it out by tomorrow) and then of course completing a thorough inspection of it when it arrives!

In the meantime, we'll be putting up my daughter's new shelf that we purchased this afternoon so we're prepared to receive her and then put her up for everyone to see and admire with the others!

1995 Blonde Happy Holiday's Barbie from same Seller as 90!

After purchasing the 1990 Holiday Barbie from this seller, I decided to see what else he had... maybe he came across more then one!!

As I suspected, he did! a 1995 Happy Holiday's Barbie, again, perfect in the box and bought from another EState sale with a make an offer!  I posted the same price as the 90, $13 total between shipping and the price and he took it within 20 minutes of me posting it!

I ended up getting both at my door the same day and they were in mint condition!  These two are the best deals I've gotten so far in this collection!  Couldn't have asked for anything better!  The 1995 even came with her exclusive rebate form and certificate of authenticity still sealed in it's photo envelope!

These made great additions to my daughter's collection and then... caused me to realize I needed to purchase another shelf for my daughter! Haha.  I can see her room being lined with all her Barbies quite quickly in her future!

Rare 1990 Blonde Happy Holiday's Barbie for Great Price!

I felt I hit the lottery with this one!

I located this one while doing a broad search on eBay for just 'Holiday Barbie' and listed the items for 'Buy it Now' from lowest payment to highest.

These kinds of searches can be a pain to go through, as they usually through up thousands and thousands of answers, but you can sometimes strike gold if you have the patience!

That's what happened here.  Just like my daughter's 92 Holiday Barbie, this one came with a 'Make an Offer'.  The seller had bought it at an eState sale and was trying to flip it for a quick buck!  Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity and scooped this one up for $13 total!  (price + shipping) Still in the box, perfect condition!  Couldn't have asked for a better find!!

Loss of the 2010 Happy Holidays Blonde Barbie with Necklace

 

This was a great disappointment...

While looking for a 2010 Blonde Holiday Barbie, I discovered one with the necklace included... The person selling the item however wanted to be paid within 24 hours of the purchase...

The sale was about to end within the hour so it was now or never so I jumped at the chance to buy it.  The problem was, I wouldn't receive the money from my buyers until Monday... which with it being Friday, meant the seller would have to wait until 3 days to receive his payment...

Most sellers will wait a few days for people to gather themselves, realize they've won their auction, etc etc.. but this one was stubborn and wanted his money now or he wouldn't give it...  Although I was highly disgusted by his attitude and impatience regarding the payment, I didn't have much choice in the matter...

If I really wanted to be mean, I could have written bad feedback towards him or made him drag out the case to cancel the transaction until I received the money, paid him, then gotten into that big arguement... but I decided, it wasn't worth it...

Again the thought came to mind, 'It's not the ONLY one in the world, there will be more...'  So I took in a deep breath and took my loss and cancelled the overall transaction...  It was only time I had lost... I was hoping he'd relist the item later on, giving me enough time to gather my money, but he relisted it shortly after it closed and like I expected, it was bought up quick.  Big sad face to that Barbie, but I'll just have to keep a look out for it later on!

1992 Blonde Silver Happy Holidays Barbie

This one was a great find!

Not only was it one of the older Barbies, I found it at a terrific price!

When I was browsing I came across this Barbie with the 'Make an Offer' button on eBay.  This is the best invention from eBay I've found, thus far.  A great way to haggle in my book.

Think of it like going to a yard sale.  You find a toy for your child you want but they want $10 for it and you don't even know if it works or not, you'd have to go by their word, not to mention, it's old.  This is when you take it up to the owner and you say to them, "What is the lowest price you're willing to part with this at?" or "I'll give you $5 for this instead, would that be acceptable?"  This is what the 'Make an Offer' button is.

If someone lists a price for $20, you can ask them to accept $10 instead!

Now, when you come across this, you also want to be reasonable.  If someone wants $20 for an item, don't make an offer for $2 instead!  They obviously are willing to part with the item for a lower price, but they're not trying to GIVE it away.

In this case, this person was selling this Barbie for $15.00 + $9.00 shipping (btw that's not a bad price for this barbie either!) I made an offer of $10 instead of the $15, and they accepted it within the hour.  I was very excited about this and made my payment immediately!

It took about a week to get here, but she was in better shape then any of the other Barbies we had received so that made it all the better!

So up on the shelf she went as #4!!

2007 Blonde Holiday Barbie

I was excited about this one as I hadn't really paid much thought to the 2000 Barbies before.  The 1998 and 1997 I had owned myself though when I was a child so it was like reliving my own childhood receiving them.

This box was very different from the 98 and 97 boxes, however it arrived heavily damaged to my dismay.

At first glance it might even look as if it'd been open before!  That was a huge no-no on my book and I immediately contacted the seller about it.

They reported back to me that it'd never been open, however it had been tucked away in storage for a long time, not looked after properly and it caused the damages.  Within hesitation after that message, they also refunded the money and offered me for me to keep the barbie as well, (as it would have cost them just as much to have it shipped back to them instead).

So in the end, it ended up right up on the shelf next to the 97 and 98 Barbies

1997 Happy Holidays Barbie with Gold Background

The next day we received our second Barbie of the collection.

Unfortunately, this one came with a small crack within the crease of the front of the box.

I was disappointed, but I did add it to my daughter's starting collection and then contacted the eBay seller I had purchased it from.  It seems the the item might have been damaged in the shipment, but at the same time, even though the seller didn't damage the item, it was still his responsibility that it was shipped in a way to prevent this from happening.

Items that are just dumped in a box without padding are at risk for damage.  Without something to keep it in place, or padded on top to avoid other boxes from crushing it, it's almost guaranteed to be damaged when it arrives.

Thankfully though, this seller was reasonable once I reported the damage.  He immediately refunded the amount and even stated we could just keep the Barbie rather then return it.  This was good news to my daughter as she was excited to add her second Barbie to her collection.

1998 Happy Holidays Blonde Barbie - First of the Collection

This was the first Barbie I was able to collect for my daughter.

After purchasing a Cherrywood Shelf and some iron brackets, I sat down with my daughter and showed her the very first Happy Holidays Barbie and explained to her what her collection would be.

She is only 6 years old, but this one barbie will one day to go towards paying for her college degree.

Most children get excited to see such a pretty doll and are eager to pull it out of the box to play, but my girl quietly listened as I explained how 'special' this Barbie was and how important it was that she take care of her.

She took this as a type of challenge and she took it with such pride.  She gladly watched as I placed her Barbie high on the shelf and began to tell her friends at school how she had a 'special' barbie and how she needed to protect it from any harm.

She looked so proud of herself to go around to her friends and our family and tell us all that this Barbie would pay for her college one day and how it was worth quite a bit of money inside it's box rather then outside.

I cannot tell you how proud I felt of my daughter's ability to resist temptation to open that box.  It now sits on her shelf above her bed and she guards it as the most important thing she owns, even more important then her Leap Pad 2.

I can see this as the perfect beginning of her collection!

The Value of your Collection

 

This is a very simple collection, but it's worth a lot of money if you collect them all.

Barbie does make some VERY expensive barbie dolls, the initial price to purchase one from Matell starting around $500, but there are also others where the price is next to nothing, so how did I decide that I wanted the 'Holiday' Barbies?  Simple, they only come out with one every year.

This is what makes it the ideal collection!  Where others will collect all things 'corvette' or all things 'Harry Potter', I chose something that is done once only one time a year.  Another thing that most people don't know about the Holiday Barbie is, it started in 1988.  That means it only has about 2 decades worth of Holiday Barbies, making it a lot easier to collect them all and then keep collecting every year on forward.

If you decide to collect Barbies, starting with the first one ever made, you'll find yourself in a house FULL of Barbies with barely enough room to move.  While this might sound cool, it could be a headache to create a checklist and extremely frustrating with Barbie releasing new Barbies almost every day.

If you're still considering starting a Barbie collection on your own aside from Holiday Barbies, consider looking up Barbies under the Pink, Black, Gold or even Platinum label.

You need to have a basic focus of what you want to collect and, more importantly, a collection check list such as the one I've listed here in my blogs.

Being organized is the best thing for any collection.  If you know what you're looking for, and you create a goal for yourself on what you want to collect, you'll enjoy yourself a lot more in your collecting.

 

Also, once again, remember to collect your Barbies individually, NEVER buy someone else's collection.  People selling their entire collection eBay jack up the price way too much and unless you're up close and personal to the entire collection, it's not worth the buy.

In the end, when you sell your collection (if that's what you choose to do) you're going to want to do it at a real auction house, not eBay.  In a real auction house, you'll find true fans whom you know will take care of your collection that you'd spent part of your life collecting for your child, and these people will be willing to pay anything to carry on that collection.  People online who are selling them are only looking to make a quick buck off you with inflated prices, that's it.

All in all, as stated in previous blogs, one Barbie of each year (fulfilling the 1988 to 2012) can earn you between $10,000 to $15,000!  A good starting amount of money for children going to college!

Now we move onto my personal collection!

Inspecting Holiday Barbies that come through the Mail

 

If you've ever bought anything online, when you receive it, you expect it to be what was listed.

A lot of people tend to list things on eBay as 'new' because it looks 'new' to them.

When it comes to collecting, MIB means Mint in the Box and NRFB means Never Removed From Box.  It is important to know the difference.  The reason being is many people will mark a Barbie NRFB because it's not MIB.  Basically, the Barbie is still inside the box and locked in, but the box itself is damaged.

Every little nick and scratch or crack takes away from the value of the Barbie.  Where little, barely noticable things can be ignored, big things, like the top of the box being crushed or the plastic front covering cracking cannot.

This is where you must be tough and firm with your sellers.  It can be very hard for some people to be 'direct' with the people they buy from because they don't want to sound mean but it is important that when you find something wrong, you tell them and demand part of your money or all of it back.  If you buy something and they say it's new and it's not, accepting it is like throwing your money away.

These Barbies are worth next to nothing without their boxes, so that box needs to be as in good a shape as the Barbie itself!

There are a few occasions you may have to ignore, such as the coloring of the plastic, (due to you can't stop the plastic from aging) but other things like the box falling apart, is due to their personal care of the box.  If they had taken better care of it, it wouldn't be falling apart.

On that note too, do NOT be afraid to take a chance with new sellers on eBay.

The sad truth about eBay is it fully protects its BUYERS, not sellers.  This means, if you don't believe you got your money's worth, eBay will give it back without any hesitation.  There are many who take advantage of that fact and it makes sellers very antsy, about listing items, but it means full security for you.  So where as many people won't buy a single thing from a person with 0 feedback, you might find a great deal with them since no one else is willing to deal with them because they're afraid of getting ripped off.  At the same time, if that person does pull a scam on you, or tries to defraud you, it takes only a day or two to get your money back.  Again, eBay won't hesitate to give it back to you so you have full protection at all times!

I'm going to go into my collection now and you can collect with me!  Remember to keep the checklist in mind when you're gathering your Barbies!

Buying your First Holiday Barbie!

At first, it may seem overwhelming looking at all the possible Barbies you could buy.

Some might be tempted to buy the most expensive or rarest Barbie to start with, but this is bad idea.

The first Barbie you want to buy, is the cheapest one.

Doing this will give you a sense of pride in your collection and you won't feel like you're throwing away large amounts of money for only one Barbie on your shelf!

If you start with the smallest, you'll find your shelves filling up quickly.  Afterwards, you can start to invest in the more pricey Barbies but by then you'll have plenty to show off on top of your most prized Barbies!


Also, depending on the time of the year, you might be able to get a great deal on the Barbies!

It's hitting into February right now so it's prime time for deals!  All 2012 Holiday Barbies are basically bought up from the stores, however when it comes closer to the end of 2013, you can expect Matell to come out with a 2013 Holiday Barbie!  Here's a hint though, do NOT buy it before Christmas.  You want to go out and buy it the week AFTER Christmas ends.  Why?  Simple, it's deal time after the holidays.

Just like everything else, Holiday Barbies go on Clearance after the Holidays end.  So instead of spending $40 on a Barbie, you can end up only spending $12!  The only exception to this is the 'exclusive' Holiday Barbies, such as the 2012 K-Mart exclusive Barbie.  This one was ONLY sold in K-Mart and was a Brunette.  This made her a lot more rare then the common Blonde Barbie that was sold almost everywhere else.  These ones you want to get your hands on quick before collectors realize their value and start grabbing them off the shelves!

If you're worried about the price, remember, many stores offer layaway closer to the Holidays, so you can make very small payments and then add your barbies to the collection once the final payment is made.  This is a much easier way to acquiring the Barbies you need without breaking the bank as well!

One last thing, remember, Spring and Summer are coming, so look in the paper and on the internet for yard sales, garage sales and more importantly, ESTATE sales.  Most people don't know what Holiday Barbies are worth, especially in an Estate sale, they're just trying to clear out everything that was in the house and they'll just stick a sticker on the box hoping it sells.  This is a great place to scoop up a Holiday Barbie for cheap and add it to your collection!

I'll go into inspections for Barbies you receive through the mail next!  So keep reading!!

Controlling your Spending!!!

One of the biggest downfalls to all collectors, is patience.

When you get right down to the crown jewel of your collection, you can find yourself ready to pay any price for it.

Remember to keep this in mind, it's NOT the only one in the world!

If you find a Barbie 2009 for $40 and you only have $50 for the rest of the week,  it can be tempting to just buy it and then try and survive on the remaining $10 for the rest of the week.  But this the beginning of a very bad behavior that you need to nip in the butt right now!

I'll let you in on how I manage myself and my spending, I run a constant garage sale, ONLINE.

If you're like me, you're probably browsing through eBay for these Barbies.  How I control myself from buying every single one I see, is by only using the funds I have sitting in my Paypal account to buy them, but these funds don't come from my bank, they come from SELLING other items!

In your basement, you have a TREASURE trove of goods.  I bet you even have boxes of old clothes just sitting around that you haven't worn in years.  A lot of people donate their old goods, but once in a while, it's great thing, but listing them on eBay is also great!

eBay allows you to list 50 items for any price on an auction for FREE each month.  This is very simple to do, take a few pictures (front and back of each clothing item) add a description of the item, always be honest, and set it up for an auction lasting 7 days. (starting usually midday Saturday or Sunday to get the best price).

I usually list my items for $2.50 to $3.50 starting and add a shipping charge around $3 for every single item.

Although it might seem like much, it all adds up in the end.  Think of it this way, 50 pieces of clothing for $2.50 each = $125!

That amount can easily get you 4 to 5 Holiday Barbies, or one of the rare ones such as the 1988 Holiday Barbie or 2009 Holiday Barbie!
 

 

This is the best way that I've found to complete your collection without spending a dime from your paychecks!

So start going through your basement and pull up some old clothes or old toys your child doesn't play with anymore and list them on eBay and you won't regret it!

The Collection!

This collection of Happy Holiday Barbies isn't as simple as starting at 1988 and going up, collecting one for each year.

There are actually MANY varieties for each year, including an African American Barbie, and sometimes a Brunette. There are also the occasional Holiday Barbies with little accessories, such as an Ornament or Necklace!

So this is my personal check-list of all Happy Holiday Barbies that I know of so far!

1. 1988 Barbie Happy Holiday Special Edition

2. 1989 Happy Holiday Barbie

3. 1990 Happy Holiday Barbie  
4. 1990 Happy Holiday Barbie (African American)

5. 1991 Happy Holiday Barbie  
6. 1991 Happy Holiday Barbie (African American)

7. 1992 Happy Holiday Barbie
8. 1992 Happy Holiday Barbie (African American)

9. 1993 Happy Holiday Barbie  
10. 1993 Happy Holiday Barbie (African American)

11. 1994 Happy Holiday Barbie  
12. 1994 Happy Holiday Barbie (African American)

13. 1995 Happy Holiday Barbie  
14. 1995 Happy Holiday Barbie (African American)

15. 1996 Happy Holiday Barbie 
  16. 1996 Happy Holiday Barbie (African American)

17. 1997 Happy Holiday Barbie (Blonde)
18. 1997 Happy Holiday Barbie (Brunette)
19. 1997 Happy Holiday Barbie (Brunette w/GOLD Background)  
20. 1997 Happy Holiday Barbie (African American)

21. 1998 Happy Holiday Barbie  
22. 1998 Happy Holiday Barbie (African American)

23. 1999 Millennium Princess  
24. 1999 Millennium Princess Teresa (Brunette)
25. 1999 Millennium Princess (African American)

26. 2000 Celebration Barbie  
27. 2000 Celebration Barbie (African American)

28. 2001 Celebration Barbie  
29. 2001 Celebration Barbie (African American)

30. 2002 Holiday Celebration Barbie  
31. 2002 Holiday Celebration Barbie (African American)

32. 2003 Winter Fantasy  
33. 2003 Winter Fantasy (African American)

34. 2004 Holiday Barbie (Green Dress)  
35. 2004 Holiday Barbie (Green Dress, African American) 
36. 2004 Holiday Barbie (Rose Color Dress)  
37. 2004 Holiday Barbie (Rose Color, African American Dress)

38. 2005 Holiday Barbie (Mauve Dress)
39. 2005 Holiday Barbie (Green Dress)  
40. 2005 Holiday Barbie (Mauve Dress, African American)
41. 2005 Holiday Barbie (Green Dress, African American)

42. 2006 Holiday Barbie
43. 2006 Holiday Barbie (African American)

44. 2007 Holiday Barbie  
45. 2007 Holiday Barbie (African American)

46. 2008 Holiday Barbie  
47. 2008 Holiday Barbie (African American)

48. 2009 Holiday Barbie  
49. 2009 Holiday Barbie (African American)

50. 2010 Holiday Barbie
51. 2010 Holiday Barbie (w/necklace)  
52. 2010 Holiday Barbie (African American)  
53. 2010 Holiday Barbie (w/necklace, African American)

54. 2011 Holiday Barbie
 55. 2011 Holiday Barbie (African American) 
56. 2011 Holiday Barbie (w/necklace)  
57. 2011 Holiday Barbie (w/necklace, African American)

58. 2012 Holiday Barbie  
59. 2012 Holiday Barbie (Brunette)  
60. 2012 Holiday Barbie (African American)

As the years go on, this list will get bigger with each New Barbie added.

The ending goal is to collect them all until my daughter's graduation day.

If you're curious as to know the value of this collection, let me give you an idea of what to expect.

If you were to have just a single Barbie from each year (preferably a blonde with the exception of 1997 )  all within their boxes, that overall collection would sell for between $10,000 to $15,000!!!

So why so much?  Very simple, it's the FULL collection.  Even if it's missing all the extra barbies, like the ones with the necklaces or the brunettes, it's still considered a full collection, which makes it's value skyrocket!

So FYI:  If you go out looking to buy a Barbie for your collection, do not buy a collection already collected!  Buying them individually will save you a lot more money and then once you have the collection, you'll be able to get a lot back then you ever could have expected to get before!

  

Next I'll be going into how to Monitor your spending!!

I know I was eager to jump right in and start collecting, but you don't want to go broke doing it, so I'm going to go into a few ways to help 'control' yourself!

  

Children and Ideas of Saving for their Education!

 

For anyone who's had a child or is expecting a child, or even wants to have one in the future, their child's future of education comes to mind.

Everyone wants their child to succeed.  Parents envision their child growing up to be the popular kid in school with straight A grades, crowned the prom king or queen and graduating at the top of their class and moving on to a big college, like Harvard law school.  Every child has this potential, but in reality, the biggest thing it's going to come down to, is that 'cha-ching' - Money.

Even with all the help given from the United States government, you usually still end up paying out of pocket!  And even IF you get all that help from the government and your child walks out of Harvard law with a degree, the government wants their money back!

Some people have a misconception that Government money, doesn't have to be paid back.  Where there are a few that the government hands out, others, like the Stafford loan, have to be paid back.  Even worse, unlike other loans or credit card debts, the government can hound you for this loan, F-O-R-E-V-E-R.  There is no place you can't go, there is no place you can hide, they will find you and they will get their money one way or another.

You could live in the State of Pennsylvania, where all debt companies are banned from attaching your wages, or taking your tax returns to repay those debts, and they will still get to you and will take their money back from you if you won't pay them willingly.

Those who know this hard truth personally know the best way to avoid this happening to their children, is to make sure they have money FOR college, before they even go.  However, unless you're child was born with a silver spoon in their mouth, you're going to need to start saving for them as soon as possible!  You could start by opening up a savings account for your child, or put away money in a safe deposit box.  You could even go out and get your children some Bonds or CD, or if you're really savvy, you could even buy some stocks!

In 2013 though, with the economy in the toilet, another alternative to saving might be a good thing to consider.  Bonds and CDs sound great, but they were only good about 10 years ago.  Their growth percentage is next to NOTHING right now, so that means if you buy a $50 bond for $25, 10 years from now, it'll only be worth around $25.  You need something that's going to grow in value to help you and your child get as much as they can for their education.


I'm going to share with you, what I have considered and started for my children to save for their college.
I have started a collection.

This might seem silly, in fact you might be thinking something a long the lines of a 'stamp' collection, but you'd be wrong.

It takes just a little bit of research, but mostly just some common sense to start a collection.
If you have a little girl, think of something she might like and then do some research about it.

I'm going to go into my personal collection for my daughter in this blog, and it's simply this, Holiday Barbies.

They're beautiful looking, and fun to collect, but their monetary value is the main goal and collecting them for my daughter is my way of buying Bonds or CDs, because the value of the entire collection is worth quite a bit and will easily pay for a large portion of her college degree, whatever degree she might choose!

So join me in this collection!  I have many to go through and I hope you all will join me in this search to collec them all!