Collector balks at low price of her prized dolls

“I want my dolls!,” the woman screamed so loud that I was sure folks walking outside the auction house could hear her. It was the anguished cry of a woman in distress, the fervor in her voice belying the frail body that sat in the wheelchair.

She had consigned some vintage German bisque (or bisque-head) and other dolls to be sold at auction, but her collection was not selling for what she had expected. She kept screaming, and the auction was halted as a staffer tried to calm and reassure her.

For those of us there to buy, her tantrum was interrupting our groove. This was a special auction of vintage dolls, toys, trains and Christmas items, and most of the men wanted the doll portion to end soon so they could bid on the manly stuff.

But the woman wasn’t giving up. She was someone who was used to getting her way. The young woman who had been wheeling her in the chair stood by without saying a word.

The woman had likely started building her collection of vintage German-made dolls decades ago, and had grown attached to them. That’s how it is with collectors, especially doll collectors, because the dolls are personally chosen and become more like children. The prices were belittling their value to her.

But these dolls had been neglected. Practically all of them had some trouble – mold, broken fingers, faded clothes, cracked or torn bodies. Whoever bought them at auction would have to spend some money to have them repaired so they could pull in the $200 to $300 or more that the woman was seeking. Some of the bisque dolls did have unblemished heads.

I had carefully handled the dolls as I previewed them, afraid of tiny bugs that may have been hiding in the hair, clothes or inside the bodies. All of the bisque dolls appeared to be German (although the French made their share, too, both starting in the 19th century). Most often, the heads are bisque and the bodies made of another material.

A woman standing next to me mentioned that she’d seen bisque dolls in worse shape that sold for more than these were selling for. To start, some of them were selling for less than $100, even though the bidding was also open to internet buyers.

Several of the dolls were Armand Marseille with ailments. Similar dolls from that manufacturer were selling for $300 to $500 on eBay, but they were in impeccable condition. Those needing repairs were selling for less than $100.

The woman was obviously wondering if she’d made a mistake in consigning her dolls to this auction house. And maybe she had. It’s always important to consign with an auction house that specializes in the item you’re selling. And do some research so you’re clear on how much your stuff is worth.

There are several auction houses in the area that specialize in dolls; at least one of them, though, would not have taken her dolls because of their condition.

Even before her outburst, the woman had forcefully complained to the owner of the auction house about the bid prices of her dolls. She had seen several modern dolls (with cracks and damage to their bodies) selling for $5 and $10. The highest before her scream was a pair of German bisque dolls that sold for $40 (one had mold on the top of its head).

She was ready to pull them even then but the owner talked her out of it. The auction house had invested a lot into staging this auction, and this would have been a major loss. He mentioned that these dolls do not sell as well as they used to, offering as an example the closing of a venerable old antiques shop with a 100-year history whose contents he was auctioning soon.

The woman settled down, but her angst did not depart. Her young companion, who seemed to be a hired worker, rolled her closer to the auction area and she continued to watch in horror as the prices did not budge. That’s when she screamed her disapproval, and an auction-house staffer went to calm her this time.

Those of us who regularly attend auctions were not happy that we had to wait. We’ve been going to auctions long enough to know that what we consider valuable may not be so to someone else. Most consignors, however, don’t realize that.

If you have a weak spot for your items, don’t drop by the auction house when they are being sold; it can be too painful to watch.

The auction staffer and the woman reached a solution, after the woman’s consultant had been called in: She would sit at the arm of the staffer as he managed the internet bids, and she would have final approval on her dolls. As expected, she rejected most of the bids.

She did get big prices on some dolls: $700 on a bisque Gebruder Heubach black doll. $600 on an unmarked three-faced bisque doll. $425 for an unmarked bisque doll. $425 for a two-faced bisque doll head marked “159.”