When Bruce Zalkin, a 59-year-old New York native who has lived in Florida since 1976, appears to be like at even the earliest editions of the unique 1959 Barbie, he can detect delicate variations that differentiate a doll value hundreds of {dollars} and one value pennies.
The very first model of the doll—with downcast eyes, a curled blonde ponytail and black and white striped swimsuit—has holes in her ft so she will be able to connect to a stand; within the second model, the holes had been patched up the after kids ended up breaking the stands; the third version of Barbie wears mascara, whereas the fourth model is the primary made out of a vinyl plastic mix relatively than polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Zalkin began his Barbieland journey in his 20s, when he was working a toy store in Tampa that was full of cast-iron Tonkin Reproduction vehicles and antiques. It was the early ’90s, and his workers of primarily older ladies satisfied him to concentrate on the intricacies and attract of Barbie dolls as a substitute.
“They taught me all about Barbies,” Zalkin advised Fortune, “every part I needed to know and extra.”
Zalkin has now been promoting Barbie dolls for over 30 years, growing a expertise for discerning the delicate variations between the earliest variations of Mattel’s star bombshell. However he has been unofficially promoting toys, studying the commerce from influential ladies in his life, since a lot youthful: At age 5, his grandmother taught him about her passion, accumulating glassware, pottery and collectible figurines in his hometown of Liberty, New York; at 13, after his household moved to Tampa, he determined that was “previous woman stuff,” and commenced shopping for and promoting toys as a substitute.
Courtesy of Bruce Zalkin (2)
His 40-year-long profession as an vintage toy vendor now offers primarily with Barbie collections—principally classic fashions with alluring downcast eyes and feathery blonde ponytails. Through the years, Zalkin estimates he’s bought $2 million value of classic Barbies, working by eBay, toy reveals, and auctions. Whereas it’s not a occupation he encourages others to affix (it’s “simply not an excellent funding,” he says), he’s managed to lean into the appeal, selection and nuance of the doll—together with its profitable market energy—to create a sustainable livelihood.
“I’m probably not a collector of Barbies, I’m extra of a vendor,” he advised Fortune. “That is how I make my dwelling.”
Patrons of his classic Barbies embrace these nostalgic to personal the dolls they grew up with, or weren’t allowed to purchase, together with skilled collectors.
“There’s the youngsters that grew up with mother and father who would by no means purchase them a Barbie doll,” Zalkin stated.
Then there are particular strains geared towards collectors that Mattel launched within the Eighties—together with limited-edition dolls designed by esteemed dressmaker Bob Mackie and silkstone fashions, which had been launched within the 2000s. These typically sport lingerie and, Zalkin says, “had been by no means meant for kids.”
They’re, nevertheless, “extremely sought by collectors” and might fetch as a lot as 400 on eBay.
On the hunt for rarities
Recognizing the fitting collections can take work, because the uncommon dolls Zalkin hunts for aren’t simply discovered at yard gross sales or on social media.
This week, Zalkin considered a Florida girl’s assortment of over 150 dolls, which she determined to promote as she’s shifting, and since her baby has outgrown them. Zalkin introduced alongside Marl Davidson, a pal of 38 years whom he calls “the primary vendor on this planet.”
Going by the dolls, Zalkin stated, “she didn’t have any tremendous uncommon gadgets,” however fortunately for him, the vast majority of dolls had been classic, which implies they had been launched earlier than the Eighties.
Zalkin and Davidson spent round $4,000 to purchase the gathering. As soon as bought, the duo then spent about two hours packing the dolls, wrapping them individually in paper or plastic (so “we don’t mess up their hair”) and making ziplock baggage of the dolls’ equipment.
Subsequent comes the next part of the dolls’ journey: rehoming. “It would take a number of months to kind by,” Zalkin stated. “We purchased 100 pairs of footwear, all in little baggies, that must be sorted to see whether or not they’re classic or trendy, as a result of individuals pay very completely different quantities of cash relying on what they’re.”
The equipment, he stated, typically promote for greater than items of clothes and at occasions even the dolls themselves, as a result of “these are the primary issues that get misplaced or vacuumed up.”
What makes a Barbie value her {dollars}?
The reply, Zalkin stated, often depends upon how a lot she was beloved, the rarity of the version, and whether or not her garments sport Mattel’s signature scorching pink Barbie tag.
“Even to this present day, all of the clothes is tagged,” he stated. Within the Nineteen Sixties, he added, “Mattel bought sample books so that ladies may make garments for the Barbies, as a result of it was cheaper to try this than purchase the Mattel garments.”
The rarity of Barbie garments and editions may be the distinction between a doll value pennies and upwards $5,000.
Within the Nineteen Sixties, for instance, Mattel got here out with a line of Barbies that was solely accessible in Japan. Garments from that line, Zalkin stated, “are super-expensive and tremendous uncommon. I’ve solely had a number of of these outfits and so they promote within the multi-thousands vary.”
Zalkin has bought particular person dolls for $10,000. He recalled one octogenarian couple’s lifetime assortment— over 500 “mint situation, unique dolls and clothes nonetheless within the unique packages”—which he bought for $250,000, principally to personal collectors.
Classic Barbies, and particularly the earliest variations of the doll, are usually essentially the most worthwhile. An unique 1959 Barbie, in excellent situation, is value between $5,000 to $10,000, Zalkin stated.
“You’ll have some individuals accumulating for funding or they need mint excellent gadgets, and so they’re going to pay the highest premium for it,” he stated. “Different collectors simply need the doll, get it at one-tenth of the value, and so they’ll redo the make-up, redo the hair and have the doll they need.”
To make certain, the road of labor will not be with out challenges. One of many greatest, Zalkin stated, is discovering collections, or stock, to purchase. He finds the vast majority of his enterprise by phrase of mouth, with web sites like Fb Market and Craiglist solely accounting for a small fraction of his gross sales. He additionally typically buys again collections from individuals he’s made gross sales with over the a long time he’s been within the commerce, who attain out to him after life occasions, like loss of life or divorce, immediate them to half methods with their collections.
Greta Gerwig generated a brand new batch of collectors
Greta Gerwig’s highly-anticipated Barbie film, launched final yr, has lured extra collectors to enter the market. Dolls that had been featured within the film, particularly ‘Pregnant Midge’ and ‘Rising up Skipper’ (which has a twistable arm that makes her develop taller and her chest increase) doubled in value.
“Proper when the film got here out, there was an enormous uptick in Barbie gross sales,” he stated, including that the costs nonetheless haven’t returned to pre-movie ranges.
In response to estimates by Barbie Wiki, a fandom web site, there are over 100,000 Barbie collectors over the world.
“Primarily older ladies are the principle market, both new collectors, due to the brand new film, or older ladies whose brothers blew up their dolls with GI Joe, or had mother and father who bought them in a yard sale,” Zalkin stated. “Consider it or not, the homosexual males’s neighborhood additionally buys lots of Barbie dolls.”
The important thing to Barbie’s mainstay market energy
For higher or worse, Barbie is an undoubtable cultural icon. She’s been the centerpiece of museum exhibitions and was the topic of a documentary on Hulu. Gerwig’s film introduced near $1.3 billion on the worldwide field workplace, changing into one of many few female-dominated films among the many top-grossing movies of all time, NPR reported.
The doll was additionally a sport changer for each toymakers and younger youngsters alike. In response to a historical past by Encyclopedia Britannica, child dolls had been the norm within the early Fifties, and infrequently inspired younger women to examine themselves as nurturers, moms or caregivers. Barbie, nevertheless, was marketed as a girl of many careers—like hospital volunteer, astronaut, surgeon, and CEO—with outfits to match. When youngsters performed along with her, they may think about themselves in careers that don’t have sufficient feminine illustration.
Nonetheless, the dollmaker confronted pushback for setting unrealistic physique requirements. Researchers in Finland concluded that if an actual girl had the proportions of the doll, she wouldn’t have sufficient physique fats to menstruate.
Between 2012 and 2018, Mattel confronted a number of quarters of nosediving gross sales and criticism continued as different corporations manufactured dolls that higher mirrored the range of Individuals in measurement, coloration and bodily potential.
Within the mid-2010s, after Mattel launched extra various dolls, gross sales turned up. In response to Mattel’s web site, Barbie is now “essentially the most various doll line,” accessible in 35 pores and skin tones, 97 hairstyles, and 9 physique sorts.” The model has since launched dolls with disabilities, akin to Down syndrome, prosthetic legs and wheelchairs.
It’s been a long time since Zalkin first dove into the world of Barbie as a vendor, however he has no plans of turning away. He’s just lately began his personal public sale web site, partly to keep away from eBay’s rising vendor charges, and counts over 150 toy reveals beneath his belt, which he runs along with his spouse, Laura.
“Once we’re at a shopping for present, we’ll be sitting behind tables as individuals come to promote their stuff,” he stated. “Naturally, if they’ve Barbie dolls, they’ll stroll over to my spouse, who says, ‘my husband does Barbies. I do all of the forged iron vehicles.’”
