These Dolls Are Actually Worth A Ton And You May Have Them Lying Around

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We Americans love our dolls. As children, dolls are often our first friends and closest confidants, remaining faithful at bedtime as we cling to them in the darkness. They pretend to drink our tea and nibble cookies, and are dragged through all manner of grass and gravel, seemingly grateful for the small window of our childhoods when they are adored. While we may not be able to put a price on all those happy memories, we can still track how exceedingly popular dolls remain with kids and grownups by how much is spent annually on the toys.

The sale of dolls and plush animals remains a multibillion-dollar segment of the toy market in the United States and beyond. In 2025 alone, revenue in dolls and stuffed toys in the U.S. is projected to translate to $6.94 billion — that's billion with a "b," according to Statista. Interestingly, doll sales show no signs of slowing down, with the market segment projected to experience a yearly growth rate of 3.89%. Part of the reason for such a robust market could be because American shoppers and collectors continue to clamor for collectible dolls and are often willing to pay serious money for limited-edition and rare items. On the manufacturing side, companies such as Build-A-Bear, Hasbro, and Mattel are key players in the creation of new and well-loved dolls and stuffed toys. Here's a sampling of some of the high-value dolls you may have lying around at home or should be on the lookout for as a novice or veteran collector.

What's better than one precursor to the famous Cabbage Patch Kids? That would be two of the little dimple-faced darlings. For the uninitiated, Little People was the name given to the cloth dolls handmade by art student Xavier Roberts beginning in 1976, which later evolved into Cabbage Patch Kids. Taught by his mother to quilt, the 21-year-old student used a German technique dating from the 1800s known as needle molding to sculpt the dolls. After winning awards at regional art fairs, Roberts and some friends bought a property where they could craft the dolls, which were selling for $40 in 1978.

By 1981, the dolls had become national news, and stories about Roberts were featured in Newsweek and other publications. Eventually, another toy maker bought the rights to create the Cabbage Patch Kids with vinyl faces and machine-made bodies, which were famously fought over in toy stores during the holidays in the early 1980s. Some 40 years after those first dolls were created by Roberts, some in excellent condition have become highly collectible. In 2018, a set of twin dolls signed by him was reportedly purchased for $3,500 by a collector who clearly had a penchant for red-headed doubles.

Before there were branded stores in select malls across America, before the restaurants and salons and clothing apparel line for real girls, there was simply a small offering of American Girl dolls that each came with a name, period-appropriate clothing, and a story featured in a hardbound book. Founded by Pleasant Rowland in 1986, the very first American Girl collection featured six dolls including Kirsten Larson, the hardworking daughter of Swedish immigrants who landed in Minnesota in 1854.

Some of the original dolls from 1986 are now worth thousands to some collectors, including Kirsten, who reportedly sold for more than $3,200 on an auction marketplace. If you aren't able to shell out that much cash for an 18-inch doll, don't worry. Kirsten was re-introduced a few years ago and is available on the American Girl website for $175. She comes with an entire 1850s-style outfit including a calico dress, white pantaloons, and a red and white gingham bonnet, plus socks, boots, an apron, handkerchief, heart-shaped necklace, wooden spoon, and a softcover book.

While Barbie has been an iconic toy adored by millions for decades, it's hard to imagine one single doll could bring in more than $300,000 at auction. But that's exactly what happened back in 2010. Fortunately, this was not a Barbie you could find smiling from inside a signature hot pink box at your local big box store. This high-priced — and one of a kind — doll was developed in partnership with toymaker Mattel by famous Australian jewelry designer Stefano Canturi and featured a blinged-out white and pink diamond necklace valued at $300,000.

First unveiled at Australian Fashion Week, this Barbie had a couture-inspired little black dress to go with her big price tag. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed doll featured big bangs and came with black stiletto heels. After stealing the show at fashion week, the doll sold at auction at Christie's in New York for $302,500 and made the Guinness World Records for the world's most expensive Barbie doll. Proceeds from the sale were donated to breast cancer research, according to media reports at the time.

Some outside of the doll-collecting world may not be aware of the distinctive Blythe doll first manufactured by the Kenner Company in 1972. The original doll — which was only produced for one year — wore long gowns and featured oversized color-changing eyes and pouty lips. Even more than half a century later, these chic playthings have a certain vibe and look like they could be at home on the fashionable streets of Paris or Milan. Several modern versions of the doll have been created in recent years that feature Blythe in different sizes than the original doll.

Because they were only manufactured for a year, some of the dolls have become collectible. With a pre-auction estimate between $30-$300, an 11-inch Blythe doll with an oversized head, pink lips, and long black hair sold for a whopping $700 in October 2021, according to liveauctioneers. Made in Hong Kong, the doll was dressed in a multi-color mumu-style frock complete with a black sash wrapped at the neck and waist. The auction description noted that the pull string on the back of the doll and its large, haunting eyes were in working condition. Images of the doll on the auction site showed that her eyes changed from bright pink to emerald green to royal blue. Website marketplaces such as Etsy sell custom versions of the Blythe doll for anywhere from $50 to $5,000 or more.

Described as one of the world's most expensive Barbie dolls, this 1999 version was designed by the De Beers Group, a South African-British diamond corporation, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Mattel's iconic doll. Featuring long brown hair in a straight blow-out style, the De Beers Barbie is dressed in a multi-color flowing sheer skirt, orange wrap, and a teeny bikini top that might make Princess Leia blush. A big feature for the De Beers collaboration was the jeweled belt that pulled the ensemble together. The gold sash was encrusted with some 160 diamonds that complimented the tiny top crafted from white gold jewelry.

Fortunately, the doll with the sky-high price tag wasn't the only one created to mark Mattel's 40th year of making the popular toy. Another version with at least two skin-tone variations was also manufactured. This anniversary doll wore a much less revealing evening gown featuring black and silver stripes across the bodice and sheer opera-length gloves, and came with a large bouquet of pink roses. The price was more affordable, too. Today, collectors can snap up one "new in the box" from multiple eBay sellers for a mere $25 (and up, of course), depending on the condition of the box and doll, among other factors.

Doll maker Madame Alexander, who grew up as Bertha Alexander and later changed her name to Beatrice, was raised by a stepfather who repaired dolls in a shop below their apartment. That's where the fledgling doll maker had the idea for creating dolls that could withstand being played with and not break, like the ones her stepfather spent his days carefully mending. After she married, the female entrepreneur took out a loan in 1923 and opened a factory in the Bronx, New York, to make Madame Alexander dolls. Her company continued through the Great Depression and war years, employing neighborhood residents she and her team taught to make various dolls and doll clothing.

While the company continues to this day, some of the more rare Madame Alexander dolls can set you back the price of a pre-owned sedan. And if you happen to inherit one of these sought-after dolls? Then you could potentially be bringing home a tidy profit if you can find the right buyer. One such doll described as a very rare "Ballet Des Fleurs" portrait doll from the Mystery Series of 1951 fetched a whopping $17,000 at a Theriault's auction. The 21-inch-tall doll featured burgundy-brown hair and wore a white embroidered lace and satin dart-shaped tutu, pink ballet slippers, and a lace crown, according to the auction description.

Most of us still remember our first Barbie, if our parents or other loved ones were inclined to buy the 11-inch dolls that have become feminist icons to some. Known as the most collectible doll in the world, Barbie gave girls permission to dream of futures where they could be anything they wanted. With millions of them in the market now, older Barbies have become more collectible, and more expensive, of course, depending on condition, if the original packaging is intact, and other factors. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the very first version of the Barbie doll would now fetch some serious coin.

In 2006, an original Barbie #1 sold at auction at the Doll Attic in Union City, California, for $27,450. At the time, the sale set a Guinness World Record for the highest price paid for a Barbie at an auction. The retired couple who sold the doll, according to a CNBC story, told Sandi Holder, owner of Doll City, they were going to use the money as a down payment on a motor home.

More than half a century ago, Barbie wasn't the only doll taking American households by storm. Originally released in 1964, the G.I. Joe doll, which was first described in advertisements as an action figure, became a popular toy in its own right. A 1967 talking version of the doll made by Hasbro sold for $12,500 at Heritage Auctions in July 2022.

The action figure in question was described in auction literature as an "early production model of the popular 'talking' Joe figurine," wearing U.S. Navy garments. He had brown hair and wore a uniform and boots that looked to be from the regular production run of the toy. What really made this G.I. Joe stand out was that it came from the personal collection of Don Levine, the creator of G.I. Joe. If you want to snag a piece of the past by buying your own G.I. Joe action figure, vintage versions are for sale across the internet, including at sites such as invaluable, described as one of the world's leading auction marketplaces.

Those who were lucky enough to have a relative who could sew like a craft-show champion may have had a handmade doll growing up that resembled the Cabbage Patch Kids toys, with their sweet dimpled faces and supremely huggable bodies. For everyone else, it wouldn't be until the early 1980s that these adorable dolls found their way to the American masses. Created by art student-turned-doll maker Xavier Roberts, the handmade Little People Originals eventually became Cabbage Patch Kids when Roberts signed an agreement with toy maker Coleco in 1982.

Flash forward more than 40 years, and the early editions of the Cabbage Patch Kids, who also came with adoption papers and a back story, are sometimes worth thousands, depending on their condition and other factors. But the highest prices for the dolls in recent years are for those handcrafted by Roberts prior to 1983. One example is a 1978 Little People doll that sold for $9,500 at a 2024 auction. Known as Conrad Sean, the original soft sculpture toy with "rare ketchup hair" was hand-signed, dated "78," and came with a birth certificate and intact name tag, according to Apple Tree Auctions. The doll was dressed in faded denim OshKosh overalls and tiny white tennis shoes.

If you haven't heard about Labubu dolls yet, consider this your introduction. The Labubu plush dolls were developed around 2015 by Hong Kong book illustrator and artist Kasing Lung. They first came to life as storybook characters. In 2019, toy company Pop Mart began selling versions of the Labubu toys in what's known as a blind box, among other packaging — as in, you have to buy the box and open it to discover which Labubu doll you paid for. A life-size version of the toothy yet lovable dolls recently sold for more than $150,000 at a Beijing auction. 

While many of the dolls start out with an affordable retail price, say $27.99, scarcity is pushing up the after-market cost in a major way. Another factor driving the current Labubu craze is its popularity among famous American singers and other celebrities who have been photographed with smaller Labubu versions clipped to backpacks, belt bags, you name it. And if you don't have $150K lying around for a rare Labubu doll, don't sweat it. Despite their recent popularity, they seem to be available for sale at a variety of international internet storefronts including Temu and Shein. If you can't manage to snag one from a retail site or brick-and-mortar store, online auction sites such as eBay are teaming with resellers looking to make a few extra bucks on the toys.

Collectors adore mint-condition dolls in their original boxes. Which is likely why this not-so-spooky set from Mattel's Monster High brand sold for so much on eBay in 2025. To be precise, a Monster High SDCC 2011 exclusive set featuring dolls known as Scarah Screams and Hoodude Voodoo, that were reported to be new in the box, sold for $1,000 in July 2025, according to eBay. The set also came with two black and white writing journals.

Of course, Monster High collectors can also find much more reasonable prices for similar dolls across sites such as eBay and even Facebook Marketplace. Monster High is a popular fashion doll franchise created in 2010 by international toy company Mattel. In keeping with the name, many of the dolls appear to be part zombie, part teenage prom queen. Some of these goth-like toys with oversized heads and sleek bodies give blank stares because many of them have eye sockets with no eyeballs, including Scarah Screams. Besides the dolls, the Monster High brand includes films, books, and a cartoon series set in — where else? — a high school.