American Girl - Any Deals Out There?

My question would be: would she ACTUALLY play with it???? Does she play with her other, dolls???

It is a chunk of change, these dolls.
My daughter, when younger, wanted one.
But so I discussed it with her.... so she learned deductive reasoning etc. I asked her opened ended questions about it, why she wants it, or why she likes it versus other dolls or toys, what will she do with it, does her other friends like theirs, do her other friends REALLY like it and PLAY with it all the time, etc.
So in the end.... SHE decided (via this process) that she, after all, doesn't REALLY want one, nor will she play, with it.

So, I never had to buy her one. Not that I was going to.
Because, "I" knew, she would not make use of it and it would just sit there collecting dust.

the dolls were 20 per cent off 2 weeks ago. most likely the only deal that will show up from now on is free shipping unfortunately.

To my knowledge they never go on sale, except maybe once in a blue moon and on very specific dolls.

My daughter wanted Kaya, so it was Santa's big gift when she was 3. She is now 7, and that doll has gotten SOOOOOOOO much play!!! She has a number of other non-AG dolls that she has accumulated over the years, but she always makes her way back to Kaya. I would definitely say it is one of her top 3 toys, in terms of playtime, in her life thus far! So, for us it was definitely worth it.

Oh, and she plays hard with it, and it has really stood the test of time! That doll doesn't just sit on a shelf :) So, go with your gut if you think your little one really wants one... make it her BIG gift this year!!

Happy Holidays :)

Actually, There is an American Doll outlet store in Oshkosh with reasonable prices, which I got things from my niece last year. They are dfinately cheaper than the online sales.

The only good "deals" I've heard of on them were friends who picked them up at garage sales LOL.

I like S H's suggestion of having a conversation with your 7YO to get an idea of why she wants the doll and how much she'd play with it. One of my DD's wanted one when she was your DD's age but she was open to the idea of getting a similar style non-AG doll - ended up getting a Madame Alexander Girlz doll that Costco sells this time of year for around $25 and she was fine with that. Fast forward almost 3 years, she doesn't play with it much so for us it worked out fine to have a non-AG doll.

I know from previous threads that some of the moms here have AG dolls themselves that they played with for a *long* time, so it *can* be a worthwhile purchase for some folks, just wouldn't have been worth it for us.

Target and Walmart both carry a similar line of dolls too and clothes/accessories that fit AG dolls. My dad is buying AG dolls for my girls for Christmas, so I'm buying clothes and things. Target has a coupon book just for toys that had coupons for their doll line and the clothes, etc. good today through Wednesday only!

you have to buy them online on the amgirl website. I never heard of deals for them... hmmmmm

My daughter loved the American Girl dolls when she was younger. I don't really remember the dolls going on sale. They usually have a period in November before Thanksgiving when shipping is free. Get on their email list and they may send other offers. I haven't been on the website in a few years but when my daughter was younger they had a tab you could click on with monthly specials. There were some really good deals, sometimes 60-70% off. It was usually clothes or accessories for the dolls and there didn't really seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, just random stuff that maybe wasn't selling that month. I don't know if they still do this but in the stores they used to have a deal of the day. Each time we went it was an outfit that they usually sold for around $5.00 if you made another purchase. It is just the one outfit, you don't get to choose so it may or may not be something that your daughter wants. Barnes & Noble carries the books, activity kits and the smaller collectible dolls. I have seen that stuff on sale at Barnes & Noble. I think stores like Target & Walmart carry the books too. You can buy gift certificates for American Girl too. You can order them online & they come nicely packaged so maybe some relatives would want to do that for Christmas. They are expensive but they are very nice dolls.

I have one that has never left the box. It was shipped to me last month by accident. I don't know enough about them to list it on craigslist but i think it said it was number 55 whatever that means. I would really like to sell it if anyone is interested. give me a call at ###-###-####

AG never really does sales -- I think the 20 percent off a few weeks back that someone mentioned may have been only on very specific dolls. We live near one AG store, have been to two others, and get the catalogs in the mail and I've never yet seen any real sale. They know they can fix the price and people either will pay it or not.

My daughter has them but she's older than yours. She does return to them again and again though they are not a daily thing for her; still I know she will come back to them. If your child is wanting to play pretty hard, consider getting a look-alike (many similar ones are on sale). If she is really aware of AG, gets the catalog, or goes by the stores -- I'd tell her it's not an official AG because she'll know. But if you get some great clothes for it (less expensive online if you get them made by folks who make clothes to fit AG dolls, rather than official AG clothes) she may be just as happy until she's old enough for you both to figure if this is really something she wants.

My husband just got a gorgeous kimono and a cute jeans set for my daughter's dolls at a local craft show -- good quality, handmade and about $10 less per outfit than most AG outfits for the dolls.

go to the outlet in oshkosh or try craigslist

My daughter never had an American Girl doll (we went with the Target doll) and I'm glad because she really didn't play with it that much and didn't know the difference. If she adored it, I would've splurged on the real thing. I believe there is an outlet store on the Illinois-Wisconsin border near Wilmot Ski Mountain. I passed it by this past January so I don't know if it still exists but there was a sign on the side of the road that said outlet store. You might to find a number for them and see if they have any sale dolls. Good Luck.

While the dolls don't go on sale, someone had told me that they reduce prices on clothes on the website on cyber monday(11/28 this yr) - I think I was told by 40% but I could be wrong. Thought I would share that info in case you wanted to check it out.