In this article we're going to review pricing guides and what you need to look out for when it comes to using one.

Okay, you're a collector of dolls. You want to purchase a rare 1964 Barbie Doll. You have absolutely no idea what the darn thing is worth. What do you do?

This is where people turn to things like pricing guides. But there are many dangers and things that you need to be aware of when using a pricing guide both for buying and selling dolls.

Let's start with the most discouraging part about using a pricing guide, for when you have a collectible doll that you want to sell.

You've got an old and very rare Mike Hazard Double Agent Doll, series 1 from 1967. You've picked up a pricing guide that you've already paid good money for, maybe even as much as $50. You see that the Mike Hazard doll, in the original box, unopened goes for $1500. So you head down to the local collectible shop where they will buy your collectible doll, show it to the owner and he offers you $500. You look at him like he just killed your first born child. You point out to him that the guide says it's worth $1500. The owner of the shop then says to you that it's worth $1500 only to him if HE sells it. But there is no way he's giving YOU $1500 for it. How would he make a profit? So you haggle with him some more. You ask him why so little though. He then takes the box out of your hands like he owns it and points out the little dinks in the box, the corner that has a little wear on it. Well, you're pretty much ready to spit in this guy's face but instead you just tell him that you can go elsewhere and get more for the doll. That's when the owner informs you that it won't happen and then proceeds to tell you why.

It seems that the pricing guide itself spawns off another pricing guide that is internal in these shop owners heads. If a doll in the guide goes for x number of dollars then each shop owner will only pay y number of dollars for it. And that amount won't vary by more than 2%. So you can go hunting all you like, but the most that you're likely to get for that Mike Hazard doll is $510. Maybe $525 if you're lucky. That's why, as a seller, you can take those pricing guides and throw them out the window. You're not going to get anywhere near what they say the item is worth.

But what about if you want to buy a collectible doll? Well, that's a different story. See, when you want to buy a doll, at most you're only going to get maybe 5% knocked off the guide. So if that Mike Hazard doll you want is priced at $1500 in the guide the best deal you're probably going to make for a mint doll in the box is about $1425. Maybe $1400 if you're lucky. And as you can see, the owner who paid $500 or even $510 for it isn't losing any money if he sells it to you for $1400. He is making plenty on the deal.

The sad truth is, the pricing guides are made for the store owners. The guides don't really reflect the true worth of the doll. Since most of the guides are made by collectors who specialize in selling anyway, it is of course in their best interest to jack up the price as much as they can, within reason. An item that wasn't in big demand when it was out isn't going to be priced at the same price as a popular item like Barbie. That's why the first Barbie Dolls are $2500 and Mike Hazard is only $1500. There is only so much the market will bear.

Pricing guides are really only good for making sure you don't pay more than you should for the item. If you show no knowledge of what items are going for you will most certainly be taken to the cleaners by some of these store owners. As they say, let the buyer beware.