I finally got up the nerve to list Lucy on reborns.com! My mom and sister said I should list her for $500 which I’m not sure about but I figured if I have to lower the price I can. I would have had to charge at least $400 to make any profit after supplies, box opening and fees. What do you guys think? Is my listing okay?
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Good luck with your sale!
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I want you to take a look at other Lucys for sale on reborns and try and adjust your pricing according to your current skill level. I just don’t think this is a 500 dollar doll.
Your photos also need to have less shadows. Taking pictures by a window on a day with good daylight will help show true colors without being too harsh or casting harsh shadows.
Edit: five hundred CANADIAN! Now I see! Okay I was like wait a minute. So that’s like 380 USD?
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She’s very pretty. I think her lashes are a bit to dark and dense, but that is my opinion. Good luck!! xo
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That’s the best I could do with pictures. That was daylight, outside and inside by a window.
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I think this is your best doll yet… but that price seems very high to me. I wish you luck!
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How much do you guys think she is worth? I just went with what my mom and sister said because I cant judge my own work lol. Keep in mind her box opening cost over $60.
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This is just my opinion as a collector from the USA. I would not spend $380 on this particular doll. She is beautiful but there are some things about her (her eyebrows) that I think need to be worked on to bring her up to that price point.
Do your mom and sister reborn dolls as well? Even if they do, they might not be objective when it comes to pricing suggestions because they love you!
I also think that the worth of the box opening should not come into play when judging the price to charge for the doll. My first reborn was a $250 budget baby and all he came with was what he was wearing and a plain white blanket. I might not have been able to afford him had the artist added a box opening. I was paying for the doll and I got what I paid for.
I have an Etsy shop so I understand the issues with lighting but you must find a way around it. I know if I’m paying almost $400 for a doll, I need photos that are clear and show details.
I wish you the best of luck on your reborning journey!
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I think your paint is well done. You have improved a lot !
But : your hair painting is not bad but will need more practice. The eyebrows are too thick and don’t look like baby’s eyebrows, that’s broke a bit the realism, that and the eyelashes. That’s the most important things to be able to get right, and also the most difficult !
That being said, I would say that you can ask between 250$ and 300$ usd. That’s seem the average with beginners dolls. Maybe reduce the box opening ?
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To be honest, I thought the price was only slightly high for the amount of money and time i put in to her. I spent about $200 on the supplies to make her and shipping, I spent 1.5 - 2 weeks painting her. I used about $50 worth of the supplies I already had (Glue, paints, ect.) Her box opening was over $60, I spent about $30 to make her handmade blanket (This took about 3 full days of work). If I charged $300usd I would be making a $30 profit, if that. I need to put most of that back into supplies. I know I have only been painting for a year but I don’t think i could justify that low of a profit. I need to make profit to continue making dolls. Not meaning to sound defensive and I appreciate the feedback. I just wanted to explain where I’m coming from. Also I made the price a tiny bit higher than I was going to because I read on this forum to start high and lower it if it doesn’t sell.
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Not to mention Reborns.com and PayPal fees. Now that i calculate that, I wouldn’t make a profit at all.
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I hear you. Most people can not afford to make dolls at a loss. Even if they could, why would they want to? Wouldn’t make sense.
Your box opening is lovely. Outfit is adorable. Not many people would put that much effort into a handmade blanket. You clearly put a lot into this, so I definitely can see your position.
The thing is that people will make their buying decisions based off of the doll itself, not the items coming along with it. The best thing you can do in my humble opinion going forward is to buy the least expensive kits you can, dress your babies simply, and offer them at a good price just like that. They will sell quickly, you’ll buy more supplies, get lots of practice, raise your prices, then as you do, you can start adding on with the fancier box openings.
I wish you the best in getting what you want this time. Only sharing what worked well for me.
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Thank you so much! This was one of the cheapest kits I could find though as I live in Canada. I really don’t see how other Canadian artists can charge so low lol
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Me either!! I feel for you all in Canada sometimes because I know stuff is so much more expensive for you than it is for us!! Lucy was a good choice for a kit. Let’s hope that someone buys her and that Macphersons has an amazing Black Friday sale. 
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I know darlin… it takes a lot of time and practice , and alot of money to build up supplies! You can leave your price… but I’m not sure she will sell at that price. My first year or so, I sold just to recoup and buy more supplies . 
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As far as the eyebrows go, they’d look gorgeous on an adult doll. 
Very dense and groomed like adult woman’s.
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We all have been where you are. As a new artist, you may have to suck up the costs, maybe not offer such an elaborate box opening, as many adoptive moms already have the clothes they want to use. So a simple outfit and less in your box, may be the better way to go. xoxo
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Don’t forget that paint, brush, sponges, mediums etc. you will use for other dolls. You just count a small% of those in your price. You can choose a close eyes kit that come with body and buy glass beads in bulk, locally or on Amazon. Bountiful baby’s kits, when you can get them at sales,worth it even with the shipping and customs. You can add the supplies you need in the same order to save on shipping.
You will loose money with your 1st few dolls, no way around it. Or if you are lucky you get your investment.
Avoid handmade items and big box opening with your first few. Like @DollyPardon said, people mostly look at the doll first and set a value in their mind, wether or not it come with clothes.
It’s not easy. Price is also very much suggestive, so you may have luck and sell her for the price you want. Give you a time frame, then lower your price.
Good luck !
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When I first started selling it took a bit before I made a profit off of it, definitely not on my first doll. But I think once you get to selling more and you’ve built up your supplies it evens out. I’m in the US though so I wouldn’t have to account for things being more expensive in Canada like you would.
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