American Girl Doll Buying Guide: New, Used & Vintage
How to buy an American Girl doll with confidence — new vs. used, fair prices, where to shop, and red flags to avoid.
9 min read
Collector Reference Hub
American Girl Guides
Independent, in-depth reference material on identifying, valuing, buying, caring for and selling American Girl dolls — written for collectors, parents and gift buyers.
12 in-depth guides · updated regularly · always free
Buying
Where to buy, what to pay, and how to avoid a bad purchase.
Collecting
Building, organizing, displaying and selling a collection.
Identification
Face molds, markings, tags and authentication.
American Girl Doll Face Molds: A Collector's Identification Guide
Learn how to identify the different American Girl doll face molds — from the Classic mold to the Josefina and Sonali molds — and which dolls use each one.
9 min read
American Girl Doll Sizes and Body Types Explained
A clear breakdown of American Girl's doll sizes and body types — 18-inch dolls, Bitty Baby, WellieWishers, and Truly Me — and how to tell them apart.
9 min read
How to Spot a Fake American Girl Doll: Full Checklist
Learn to identify counterfeit American Girl dolls by checking neck stamps, back stamps, vinyl quality, eyes, and hair.
9 min read
Value
What drives prices and how to estimate what a doll is worth.
American Girl Doll Value Guide: What Drives Price
What makes an American Girl doll valuable — condition, completeness, era, rarity, and how to estimate a fair resale price.
10 min read
How to Sell American Girl Dolls: Pricing, Platforms, and Shipping
A practical guide to selling American Girl dolls, covering where to list them, how to price and photograph them, and how to ship safely.
9 min read
Care & Repair
Cleaning, hair, stains, storage and restoration.
How to Clean and Restore an American Girl Doll
Safe methods to clean vinyl, detangle or reroot hair, remove stains and marker, and tighten loose limbs on American Girl dolls.
10 min read
How to Store and Display American Girl Dolls Safely
Practical, tested guidance for storing and displaying American Girl dolls to protect hair, vinyl, fabric, and value over time.
11 min read
History
Pleasant Company, Mattel, and how the lines evolved.
Pleasant Company vs. Mattel American Girl Dolls
How to tell Pleasant Company-era American Girl dolls from Mattel-era dolls, and why the earlier era commands higher prices.
10 min read
The Complete American Girl Historical Characters List (1986–Present)
Every American Girl historical and BeForever character, the year she represents, her story, and when she debuted and retired.
11 min read
Databases & Tools
Live reference data you can search, filter and check against your own collection.
Complete Doll Database
Every American Girl doll we track, with release years, retirement status and estimated values.
Most Valuable Dolls
Which dolls command the highest prices on the secondary market.
Rare & Retired Dolls
Limited editions and discontinued characters that are hard to find.
Identify Your Doll
Work out which doll you have from face mold, markings and features.
Release Timeline
The full history from Pleasant Company in 1986 to today.
Birthday Calendar
Every character's birthday, organized by month.
Tags & Markings Guide
Read the stamps and tags that reveal a doll's era and authenticity.
Collector Checklists
Track your progress toward completing each American Girl line.