If you want to know what are the newest dolls available from a toy company, the best thing for you to do is check out the collectible doll catalog. You can see most of these online or even brochures, which are sometimes given out to customers in the store.
But what prompts manufacturers to introduce these changes? Well, this is usually based from the input of dealers and the feedback of customers and collectors. This gives management the opportunity to listen to what the people want and not just what they think is saleable.
After all, how one product sells depends on customer satisfaction and if this not achieved, then this means that the company will not be able to make a profit.
One way of attracting more people to buy the collectible doll is by changing the packaging. Although it is just a cardboard box, how it is presented is sometimes the deciding factor when the person is choosing between two different dolls.
Another option is to change the logo. Let's say the company has been around for many years. In order to boost sales, they have to come up with something unique like a limited edition series. This can be released annually that will be added revenue as there will still be the regular items that people can buy.
But what if you do not want to designate one doll as a collector's or limited edition? For that, some companies are using a color-coded system. This is good especially for the collectors so they know how valuable is one doll compared to another.
Take for example Barbie, which has implemented this color-coded system into 4 groups namely pink, gold, silver and platinum.
The Pink doll comprises of their Dolls of the World, the Princess Collection and "I Love Lucy." A significant number of these will be produced so there is plenty for it to go around.
The Silver on the other hand includes the Birthday Wishes line. The reason why it is silver is because the packaging is silver trimmed. Unlike the first one mentioned, not more than 50,000 of these units will be produced so if you count how many people there are in the world, this could fetch a certain amount of money to a collector.
The Gold line will carry the Fashion Model Collection and the Model of the Moment. Collectors will still be able to find it given that the company plans to produce 25,000 of these and make this available worldwide. Because of the small number, this will only be available in higher end stores.
Lastly is Platinum and this will be a bit challenging to find because the company will only make a thousand of these for the public. This will cost a bit more than the others but you can just imagine how much people will be paying for it when you auction this off or put it up for sale.
The color-coded system implemented by Mattel has been done for the past 2 years. If you are not a collector and just flip through the pages of the collectible doll catalog or see it online, it wouldn't matter to you. But for those who think they can make a profit, such a distinction is important. After all, toys such as these and others like it also follow the law of supply and demand.
