We were surprised recently to see a big-name website offering the 1999 Millennium Princess Barbie for 15,000 USD. What in God’s name could warrant such prices? The short answer is fraud.
We want to go on the record by saying that 1 Antiques would never allow such gas lighting from its dealers, if that is what you want to call it. We are well aware that there are some Barbie dolls which fetch 5 figures, the 1959 first edition being one of them. But there aren’t many more, and certainly this Millennium version does not justify it, not even close.
It wasn’t just 1 seller asking 15, 000 – it was many – at least 1 – 2 dozen. Perhaps the sellers think that there is someone gullible enough to pay such money for a recent Barbie doll. More than likely, a few sellers were asking such exorbitant money so that others could sell for a much less outrageous price – such as the 200 dollars we saw in another advertisement.
We saw a dealer try to sell a 1911 Chicago air show postcard for 149 dollars by showing a listing for one asking over 1100. Searching revealed that the postcard could be found for much less than 50, yet you may ask, Did anyone sell at either price? We don’t know. This is where reputable price guides come in. The authors include only prices for known, verified sales.
Some scammers take the opposite tactic – listing valuable items artificially low so as to demoralize owners about the true worth of their collectibles.
In any event, it was interesting to note that of the 5 or more places I recently visited, each one had Millennium Barbie and they were all 50 dollars or less.
Don’t get caught up in tulip mania concerning collectibles. Do your homework and buy from reputable dealers.