Ways to Get American Girl Dolls for Cheap or at Least for Less Money

Over the years we have acquired dozens of American Girl dolls.  We use them for models for our shows and for our website.  This would break the bank for us if we were continuously purchasing them from American Girl.  Over the years we have heard some great ways for people to save money when getting a doll.  First of all, many people choose to start with a similar doll.  There are many that are the exact same size as American Girl, but for a fraction of the cost.  This is nice because if you acquire clothing or accessories over time, they will still fit an American Girl and the similar doll.  Target offers a great alternative, My Generation Dolls, and you can also find alternatives at Toys R Us, Meijer, and FAO Swartz.  But what if you only want the real thing.  You can always try going to garage sales, but your odds of getting one there are slim.  Most people either go to the house the night before in attempts to purchase them, or get there an hour early just to wait for the doors to open!  You usually never know the condition ahead of time, nor which ones they will have.  Another way is to check your local craigslist.  They are more expensive than what you would pay at a garage sale, but many times your time and sanity is worth it.  Make sure to meet up at a public place though!  If you live near Wisconsin, you can also get tickets for the American Girl Benefit Sale that is held in Middleton every July.  These are the REAL dolls, new and in their boxes.  They range from $65-$95 on Saturday and $35-$65 on the second day!  This also requires a lot of time to either camp out or get there early, along with some thick skin and ability to push your way through a crowd because it is crazy!  Lastly is the easiest way.  This is Ebay.  You can view all the dolls ahead of time and always have thousands to choose from at any given time.  I would suggest buying the dolls in the "off" season though which is January-September.  After that you start competing with the Christmas crowd.  Any route you go though I'm sure your little one will be happy with her new doll!  Good luck and happy hunting.

Don't forget to visit us at weeline.com for all of your American Girl Doll needs.  Also features Matching Girl and Doll Outfits and Bitty Baby and Bitty Baby Twin Outfits.