My Rapunzel Limited Edition Collector's Doll Arrived!

MY RAPUNZEL DOLL IS HERE!!!

SQUEEEEE!!!!!!!

 

Okay, deep breath. Must make a post... Calm... calm... calm....

*clears throat.*

When she arrived, I was surprised to see how beat up the box was. Check out those images to your left. See how dented it is? Now, the box was a reused one (props to the seller for being green!) but I am not sure that the box was in -this- bad of shape when it got sent to me. Why do I think this? Well, if this is how the box looked imagine the doll inside. Are you collectors cringing yet? Take a deep breath and let it out. I opened the box, my stomach turning with what I might find inside. I was so worried that the box the doll came in would be destroyed. However, considering how this box looked, the doll's box was not too bad...

There were three noticeable dents in the doll's box, and all of then on the plastic sheets. Thus, there were little white marks on the plastic. *sigh* Well, the box would not be considered mint, but the doll inside was perfectly fine. To the right you can see one the damaged sections of the plastic. I circled them in red. It really is minor and while it would have been nice to have a mint box, I am not fretting too much. I know a lot of collectors who have taken the doll out of the box completely and done all sorts of things with it (in terms of pictures, undressing it, etc.) While my box may not be perfect, at least I hope to keep the doll that way.

The doll, by the way, is beautiful... 

 

Gotta love the reflection of the flash right on her face. The box she came in actually opens real easily without it having to be damaged. The damage would come if you tried to remove the doll from the box, but as I stated before that is not something I am going to do. I was super excited that I was able to open the box and look closer at the details of the doll.

The fabrics of her dress are quite soft. The deep purple details on the skirt are flocked in velvet. There are crystals galore, and I am a girl who loves her crystals. The hair is made of at least two different types of material. Some of the strands are straighter and more blonde while the others are slightly crimped and are more golden to mimic her hair when it glows when she sings in the film. She comes without shoes, since for the majority of the film (you know, the good parts before she was made just another plane-Jane with a horrid hair cut) she does not wear them. In her hand she holds a hair brush. It is perfectly detailed to match the one in the film as well as one that was made into a necklace (which of course I also own!)

The final surprise came when I found out what edition number she was. For some collectors, the closer the number of the doll is to 1, the more valuable she is considered. When I got her, I did not care what number she was, so long as I had her! I had seen dolls on eBay with their numbers in the 3,000 - 5,000 range. The doll's certificate of authenticity was found when I opened the box and it revealed her number:

 1752! It did not mean much to me that she had a low number, but I was amazed to see a doll with this low a number. Had she been in the top ten or even top hundred made I might have been even more excited.

Now, Rapunzel sits on my Tangled shelf with all my other Tangled items; dolls, home made crown, homemade flower, pins, and other items. For now, my collection feels complete, even if it isn't. (I didn't want the wedding doll with her nasty short hair.)

There is another doll coming out in October that I am stalking... Who knows... Maybe she will join my collection as well...

The Collection Grows

In 2010, Disney released an animated movie called Tangled. It was a retelling of Grimm's Rapunzel. While there were some things about the movie I did not like, overall I found it to be a lovely story; heartwarming and visually beautiful to experience.

That same year, the Disney Store released a special edition 17 inch doll for the film. Her attire was slightly different, with elongated sleeves versus the one she actually wore in the film, but this assisted in making the doll more beautiful and more elegant. The doll also has several crystals over the bodice, skirt, trim, and the ends of the pink cording on the bodice. I thought she was beautiful, and I wanted her, given her going rate on eBay ($250 - $700), I figured she was not meant to be. That did not keep me from waiting and watching.

In February 2012, the Disney Store released another version of the Rapunzel doll: the wedding doll. While the gown was lovely and the crown beautiful, her hair was butchered into the ridiculous bob she ended that version of her story with and that turned me off to it completely. I saw the doll in person, looking it over, but the hair was so terrible I could not get past it. I decided then that I did not want the wedding doll and would keep my hope out to get the first released one.

My collection of Rapunzel items grew slowly. The ladies at the local Disney Store began to call me Rapunzel and knew me as that name for the items I bought, the long hat I crocheted, the costume I made, and my own hair (though it does sort of annoy me when women with hair above at least knee-length are called "Rapunzel;" even more so if their hair is only my length [42 inches.]) The ladies would tell me when new things were coming out; when there would be a new this or that. More often than not, they knew what things I did like and what I did not like so they knew what to let me know what was coming out. For example; when the wedding pascal plush came out they let me know, but when something such as children's clothing or more of the accessories and other items came out, it was not brought to my attention.

On June 22, 2012, Disney and Pixar released their new film BRAVE. While my fiancée and I were walking the mall, we stopped in and peeked at the new Merida Limited Edition Doll. One of the ladies at the store asked me if I had seen it (the doll.) I said I had and that while Merida was a lovely doll, I was still hunting down the Rapunzel one from 2010. The lady joked about how she understood how I felt about the doll and me wanting to save my money and put it towards the Rapunzel one: "If this was Mulan," she said, "I would be tossing down my credit card and charging it right then and there!" Leaving the Disney Store, I glanced back at the Merida LE Doll and wondered if I would ever see the Rapunzel I was looking for.

That night, I sat at my computer and I looked over eBay at the Rapunzel dolls. The search was flooded with the wedding dolls that it seems all these people who bought them early to resell at a higher price could not move, and a few of the precious purple-dressed one I was searching for. My funds were limited; I had a certain amount of money I could spend as a gift from my aunt for my graduation. I sighed as I looked at the prices on my purple princess: $715, $635, $330, and so on... all not including the shipping cost. I kept scrolling further and further down the page, not really expecting to see anything... and then there she was.

A listing for the Rapunzel doll I have been looking for for under $170; only a $65 mark up from the original sale price in 2010 from the Disney Store. The person selling her had a 100% positivity rating for nearly 450 sales over their eBay lifetime and was located within the United States (this doll was released worldwide.) As I read over the doll's description it stated she was still in the box and unopened. Her edition number was unknown as the card that tells you that information is inside the box and the person did not want to open it. Further reading revealed why the doll was being sold:

        "I'm currently training for a half marathon and raising $1000 for Alex's Lemonade

        Stand for pediatric cancer research as part of the endeavor.  40% of the purchase

        price for the doll will benefit this very worthy cause (tax-deductible!). :)"

My eyes darted to see how many people had bid on her so far. Five. There were over twenty hours left in the auction. I added it to my watch list and waited. As the time wore down, I kept checking in to see if there were any bidding wars or things that would turn me away and make the dream of finally getting my doll a reality. My anxiety rose as the minutes ticked away and the internet speed in my house started to decline. The page was not refreshing as easily and the countdown clock started to not show the right time; lagging by a few seconds. A few seconds in eBay time is like the difference between life and death.

On eBay I am one of those persons that most people do not like. I refer to myself as a shark. I have dealt with sharks on other items in the past and while I was aggravated about losing those auctions, I could see how effective it was to be a shark. I am not always this way with items I try to get on there, but for things I have been searching years for I am more cut throat. I waited... circled... waited.... circled...

At last, the counter hit under 15 seconds. I entered my bid; a few dollars higher than the price on there and clicked the bid button. It stalled a moment, asking if I was sure, and when I hit yes the timer ran to zero. I was convinced in that moment I had waited too long to act, but as the page refreshed I saw in large text at the top of the screen on a green band: You won this auction.

Shaking like a chihuahua in the snow as the adrenaline coursed through me, I could not believe it. I had my doll and for way, way less than people were trying to mark her up for. Not only that, but she was helping a good cause. Now, the hard part: waiting. Waiting for her to arrive. At least in the mean time, I can make some space on my Rapunzel Collection Shelf for her.