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Dolls Buying Guide


For many serious doll collectors, only vintage, antique, or modern collectable dolls will do. While collectable dolls are beautiful and rare, they’re not meant to be playthings. If you’re looking for a new toy doll, eBay Canada offers a wide variety of reasonably priced choices to spark the imagination and help create new childhood memories.

Select Dolls for Playing or Collecting


Select Dolls for Playing or Collecting

Often the most notable factor when deciding whether to purchase a collectable doll or a toy doll is price. While prices vary greatly based on the popularity of a given doll, ultimately, the doll’s condition and vintage will determine its price.

Doll accessories such as doll clothes, doll hats, and doll shoes can be priced significantly higher for collectable dolls than for contemporary toy dolls, simply because they are rare and harder to find. Good antique doll shoes for German and French bisque dolls can be quite expensive, for example.

Another differentiator is the material. Collectable dolls are often made of porcelain, wood, bisque, cloth, metal, papier-mâché or composition materials. Contemporary toy dolls, in contrast, are typically made of vinyl; a soft, plastic-based material, which is highly durable and ideally suited for many hours of play.


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Discover Popular Dolls


Discover Popular Dolls

While there’s no shortage of toy dolls available today, the following examples have great play value and offer a wide variety of styles and accessories—all at reasonable prices.

  • American Girl dolls: American Girl dolls are 18 inches tall and each has a page from history to share. For example, you’ll find Felicity, a colonial girl growing up in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1774. Josefina is a Hispanic girl living on a ranch in New Mexico in 1824. Mid-century Molly is a girl growing up during World War II. Native American and African-American dolls also share their historical background. Since these dolls come with their own unique stories, and historically accurate wardrobes and details, they can serve as educational toys for years to come.   

  • Barbie dolls: An all-American favourite, Barbie dolls come in an array of personas, costumes, and price points. Innovative design, unique themes, and “celebrity” Barbies always keep buyers coming back for more. Choose from Betty Barbie, Veronica Barbie, Holiday Barbie, Princess of Holland Barbie, Princess of Hawaii Barbie, Queen of the Gypsies Lucy, and Evening Splendor Barbie, to name just a few.   

  • Baby dolls: Baby dolls are softy, cuddly dolls that are perfect for younger children. Reasonably priced and sturdy baby dolls, such as Treasured Children by Lee Middleton, Huggums from Madame Alexander, and French Corolle dolls, are a good choice for everyday use.     

  • Bratz dolls: Bratz dolls, with their styled-out hair and makeup, trendy outfits, and ultra-hip attitude, have been a huge hit with the pre-teen set since they burst onto the toy doll scene in 2001. Popular members of the 10-inch Bratz pack, include Cloe, Sasha, Jade, and Yasmin.     

  • Cabbage Patch dolls: Cabbage Patch dolls designed by sculptor Xavier Roberts were born in 1979. The original pudgy Cabbage Patch dolls had a soft cloth head and limbs and hair made of yarn. In 1982 Coleco bought the rights to produce Cabbage Patch dolls and began making their heads out of vinyl. Coleco Cabbage Patch dolls also came with a birth certificate and adoption papers. Hasbro gained the rights to produce Cabbage Patch dolls in 1989 and began making smaller dolls. Mattel still makes vinyl Cabbage Patch dolls, and you'll find a large selection of Cabbage Patch dolls from every generation on eBay.    

  • Groovy Girls dolls: Groovy Girls rag dolls from Manhattan Toy are geared toward 3- to 10-year-olds. Diverse Groovy Girls dolls come in a variety of skintones, hair colours, and hair types. Each Groovy Girls doll also wears hip clothing, and you can buy separate Groovy Girls pets and accessories.


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Purchase Fun Doll Accessories


Purchase Fun Doll Accessories

For many children, half the fun of playing with dolls is in the accessories, such as doll clothes, doll hats, and doll shoes.

American Girl doll accessories

Whether you want a Tea Tin Lunchbox and an entire set of Nature Paraphernalia (including a mini flower press and magnifying glass) for Samantha, or a pioneer school lunch and a fishing set for Kirsten, you’ll find a wide array of great American Girl doll clothes, accessories, and furniture unique to each doll on eBay.

Barbie doll accessories

Barbie is the ultimate fashion plate. Today you can buy anything from business suits to glitzy evening gowns for your Barbie doll. The New York Accessory pack, for example, comes with a purse, bracelet, sunglasses, ankle boots, stiletto heels, and even a plastic Yorkshire terrier!

For many, Barbie doll collecting has become a full-time passion. From Barbie fashions to Barbie furniture one thing is sure: Barbie doll collectors will never run out of inspiration, imagination, or options to fuel that passion on eBay.

Baby doll accessories

Most baby doll makers, including Lee Middleton baby dolls and Adora baby dolls, offer a wide array of baby doll clothes and accessories for their baby dolls as well. You can also add many more hours of playtime with baby doll carriages and strollers, baby doll cradles and cribs, baby doll bonnets, baby doll shoes or booties, and baby doll bottles.

Bratz doll accessories

From funky Bratz doll clothes and fashion packs, to the Bratz doll beauty salon & spa, Bratz convertible cars, or even Bratz doll loft apartments, there are plenty of Bratz doll accessories to keep your Bratz dolls “stylin’.”


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Find Dolls on eBay


Find Dolls on eBay

Once you know what type of toy doll you want, go to the Dolls & Bears portal, click Dolls, and start searching for item listings on eBay.

  • Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You'll find links for Clothes, Accessories, Furniture, and more. As you dig deeper into the site you'll also be able to narrow down your choice by brand.     

  • Keyword search: Search eBay listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find Barbie, type “Barbie” (without the quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.


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Buy Toy Dolls with Confidence


Buy Toy Dolls with Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

  • Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

  • If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

  • Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

  • Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

  • What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

  • What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

  • Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

  • Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to C$1,250.

  • eBay Security & Resolution Centre: Visit the Security & Resolution Centre to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.


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