Recently I joined several reborn facebook pages since I plan to start selling dolls soon. As I was looking around I noticed several things that surprised me. First babies were being sold at extremely low prices. I saw kits that run $110 being sold for $250–$300 completely painted and rooted. I saw bountiful baby kits reborned and rooted for $100-$200. How are these people making a profit at all? These were usually with free shipping and box openings. And you would think they would be ones that were horribly made but there are several great artists selling on there for those prices. I don’t expect to get rich but I’d like to make a little bit after supplies and when I spend 8 hrs or more on rooting I would like to be compensated in some way. Also I noticed that a lot of the people wanting to buy are posting that they want the babies 6-8lbs or more. I’ve always made mine around 4lbs because they feel so much heavier and the ones I make for my daughter and her friends I make even lighter at 3lbs. What do you normally weight your newborns that you are selling?
The reborn facebook pages are the absolute worse place to try to sell at a decent price.Everybody wants a high quality baby at a ridiculously low price.Post after post asking for babies under $100 or $150.
That’s what I’m seeing. They are very detailed in what they want usually including a fully rooted head and then they say price range 100-250 dollars.
Don’t forget most of them want a nice box opening to go with it
Thank you for raising this topic. That is actually was very surprising to me after I adopted my first reborn and joined the FB group. Now that I am learning ro reborn myself and see how many hours of tideose work (and paint layers, not even mentioning the rooting process) goes in to one reborn it’s totally beyond my understanding how good, reputable, experienced RA sells them around $250-$300. And don’t forget clothes, blankets, pacifiers, etc. I personally think that reputable RA had to do it to compete with overflowing market of low priced, quickly and cheaply made reborns. Since I am in a learning process and watch closely every baby posted and adopted on reborns.com, I saw plenty of low quality reborns sells around Christmas time as hot potatoes in $150-$180 range. Unless they were bought for small children, I don’t see how buyer can be satisfied with that quality. Very curious to know the thoughts of experienced RA of this community.
My other theory of that that RA just enjoy the process of transformation so much and I can see how it can be addictive, that baby sells just to cover the cost of materials with a very little profit.
I started to making reborns for myself. At first I just wanted to buy some, but I tried to bid on some and all those I liked were going for something like $800 plus, and had many bidders bidding at the last moment and I kept missing out. So, when I started to make my own I was not interested in making money. The only reason I started selling them, because I wanted my dolls to be the quality of the $800+, and therefore I just wanted to re-home those I was learning on. Then I just got carried away, and was painting dolls because I enjoyed the process, and I was selling them very cheaply, probably bellow cost, because I just did not stop to think to add every cent of materials. I think many people make the mistake of not thinking of the cheap but necessary bits and pieces, but every cent adds up. And there are many people who make the dolls as a hobby, and lets face it there are not many hobbies that actually do not cost. So some ladies are happy to get enough for a new kit plus some materials and they can go on enjoying making the dolls.
The current economic situation in the USA will not exactly help with doll sales either.
I started making them because my daughter loved them. We ordered one from ebay and when it came I was so impressed with it I really wanted to try my hand at it. At 40 some years old I never had a hobby for myself I was always taking care of everyone else so I decided to do it. At this point though I’ve made my daughter at least 5 dolls and I made her friend one and we are overflowing in dolls at my house because my daughter also has masterpiece dolls and ashton drake dolls. I also financially need to sell a few if I want to keep painting. I need to recoup the cost of the supplies for the doll I’m making but it would be nice to be able to build a stash like all of you ladies have. I only have 2 colors of hair to choose from at this point, a few eye choices, etc. So my goal isn’t really to make an income but to be able to replace the supplies I used for the doll I’m selling and be able to get a stash of supplies built up so I can be more creative. I only buy bb kits at this point (other than my daughter’s fairy) and only on sale so my costs aren’t extremely high but I can’t keep giving dolls away if I want to keep painting. The facebook pages are weird though because you have gorgeous dolls and not so great dolls right next to each other at the same price point. I just feel the artists doing quality work should value it more but I guess since the market is overflowing they have to do what they have to do to make a sale.
Moving to correct area.
Sorry I should have posted this in your other post.
And as someone said (I think it may have been Katina) they want you to throw in your firstborn too!
I would try the higher priced reborn pages. A doll has to be 500+ to post on there. Of course some of the dolls posted aren’t that great, but most are very well made.
I probably did say that. And they want the baby to be breathing and have a heartbeat. “And can you change the actual face and scan my baby into a realborn? And would you consider a trade? I have this beautiful Ashton drake doll that I took apart and reborned myself. I would love to trade her. Here’s a picture of her. 
”
Makes me kinda happy that I don’t sell, just collect. 
If I should ever become really good at this, as in good enough to sell, I think I would heed the advice of so many on here – make them like you want, put them up for sale. Then, if they like them, they will buy them as they are. This is a fun group. I like this forum.
there are a bazillion doll groups on FB, some are just crazy, filled with “looking for 100.00 reborn, must be top quality” type posts, BUT keep posting your work anyway, in all that let you sell… gets your work out there, and good quality buyers are watching… then send them to your nursery page on FB (you can set your nursery page to 18 and older, weeds out kids) BOL xx
I usually weight my newborns with about 2-3 pounds of glass beads
Oh my, the latest I just read is “How often should a custom artist communicate with her customer?”. Peoples answers are every day, every other day, etc. Artists are telling this lady that it’s ok to expect daily updates. No wonder people have crazy expectations because artists desperate for a sale are doing whatever it takes to make a sale.
Yeah … the very reason I won’t do customs. 
They are selling a twin a with mohair for $200 isn’t the kit $100 or more?
I think $75 ish plus shipping