Ebay: Further Tales of Terrible Packaging

I didnt get the memo about there being a cardboard shortage.

Random, newly scratched and bent valuable pieces.

Mr Owl, how many hours does it take to clean off explosive Cockroach excrement off vintage toys? 

ZERO packing material!!!!

Pictured above are 2 seperate Feebay transactions. You can see in the patio triangles I bought, they fashioned a homemade box sparing not even a centimeter for packing material. They weren't damaged, but still. The most recent (and last one I will ever buy) house bought on Feebay was a good deal ($20 for house, $35 for shipping). The house advertised online looked great and nearly complete. The house that arrived came in a home made box that was more tape than cardboard, all the post covers were brown and shattered, roof panels and windows were severely heat warped, the box insides and roof panels had white scuff marks from the walls rubbing agianst is in shipping and many pieces seen in the listing photo never made it to me. The seller thought it was acceptable to ship a very large, vintage toy this way and I had to go through Feebay to force a refund since they refused to reimburse me for original shipping much less return shipping. So, in conclusion I will no longer be buying houses on Feebay because its gotten so bad with dirtbags out there that damage the item while they have it stored in a hot garage for years (complete with browning, warping and bug carcasses) and facilitate further damage by crappy packing when selling. This last one has completely removed any joy or motivation I have had in the past to renovate and resell these houses.

My interest in Beaver Cleaver 1950's suburban colonial homes lead me to this unfortunate experience.  Another hillbilly thought they could shove an antique fragile toy in a tampon carton that was more painters tape than box, use no packing material, no insurance and the house had a spiders nest. When first we practice to deceive.....I ended up with a partial refund.

Porch was bent in order to fit into the box that was too small for the house to fit into. Really?  The house did end up looking nice once it was de-grossed in the shower, polished, furnished, given a front lawn and photographed well. If I had the counter space I'd make a Nick at Night cul de sac. 

Straight from Reno, Nevada another bunch of dirty, broken toys thrown into a box last minute and shipped out. What, a dirtbag in Reno?, say int aint so! Not even the obligatory Walmart (WallofChinaMart) bag thrown in for good measure?

Wrapping a 35 year old toy in a priority mail envelope? Thanks sooooo much. ...

 Listing quote: Chairs are damaged, they still stand, one leg missing. Reality: This is what arrived in the mail-chairs smashed into 12 different pieces, missing 3 leg pieces. 

Once again, someone cheaply wrapped a 21 year old NIB item in paper only! GRRRR!

1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK 

1982 Cottage : Buying Experience Numero Dos...

I had been trying to win a reasonably priced A Frame cottage for about a year when I finally won one for $20 plus shipping. It was mostly complete, I paid immediately and the next day got the email. The seller clamied she had broken some tabs while assembling it and wanted to refund my order. I told her not to, I still wanted it. She wrote back, I think I will refund you because per ebays rules you cant sell an altered item, it must be exactly as it was listed. And she did refund me after sending the email. My theory is that the week before she had been watching them go for $50-$100 and was disapointed not to get that amount herself and made up some story in order not to let it go for so low. Needless to say I was upset about it but there was nothing I could do. I ended up getting a cottage a few months later in good shape with most of the smaller parts and a box, so I was able to buidl one nice complete cottage and I sold the box/paperwork back on ebay for $35, and the leftover parts to almost pay pay for my house I kept. The cottages almost always get $50 plus and for that dinero I would rather have the big house, so I dont actively look for cottages anymore. Its still a cool playset though!

Personal Decor: A Very Barbie Hoarders...

This house is filled to capacity. Luckily the proud owner is a fellow renovator and has restored it to its original beauty since taking the photo. =-)

Okay, the furniture isn't too bad, but there are waaay too many people in this house. Theres even someone sitting on the toilet. Really?

Other Topic: 1950's Danish Modern Furniture

I thought you fans of good taste and design would appreciate a quick post about a recent Ebay transaction. It involved a customized Barbie Go Together Living Room set. Here are the pictures you can see for yourselves the quality of the work and sale price. I watched them for days and even I was surprised at the final price for each set. 

A Frame In Mass Media: Article in Atomic Ranch Magazine

Here is a mid century swiss miss with double yellow doors, white beams and a sweeping roofline similar to the '78 Mattel house we adore. Its an A Frame (roof line ends at ground) and the back drop is the desert of southern California. Based on experience I would say that its a 3/2 approx 1700 square foot home with pool built circa late 1950's. Next time I have my A Frame out, I plan on ading miniature cactus and palms to see how it looks.

A Frame: Article in Atomic Ranch About A Frames

Atomic Ranch is a great magazine for vintage architecture, mostly Brady Bunch style, with occasional A Frames peppered in. Its nice to see an article devoted solely to the style we are all so find of.

Ebay: Depressed Housing Market

This is a recent sale on Evilbay. You will notice that the total price with shipping was about $106. Being that shipping will be about $60 the actual price the seller netted was about $46 with the box and patio triangles, which according to my calculations would be $100 for a complete house, $100 for the box, and $35 for the triangles all plus shipping, so all in all that was a hell of a deal. I did bid, but I dont want the original box, so didnt bid high even though it sold for much less than it was worth. Thankfully the seller said they are shipping in a regular brown box to protect everything from damage and labels.

TV: A Frame in the Movies

I'll most likely be adding to this post as time goes on, but here is the initial draft. The photo is from a little known flick called, 'Scenes from a Chilly Winter' from 1979 starring John Heard. I generally like John Heard though this was sort of a fatalistic slow train wreck kind of film depicting an essentially nice guy falling in love with an emotionally unavailable woman (reversal of stereotype much?). At any rate, she lives in an A Frame with her big ol' goon of a husband and he parks outside and watches at night, eventually constructing a model in which to play out different scenarios of 'getting the girl' with the miniature A Frame house. In this 'frame' you can see him about to toss the house into the trash (as ebayers who part out the walls and small parts routinely do). He is fed up with waiting around and is finally moving on. I dont think I will ever throw my A Frame into the trash, but I thought it would make a semi interesting post. ;-) SIDEBAR: See, the roof goes all the way to the ground, hense a textbook A Frame or swiss miss. I reverted back to calling the 1978 DreamHouse an A Frame because I just didnt think California Contemporary was sticking, though the 2011 'A Frame' is a Malibu DreamHouse, so perhaps progress is afoot.

Miscellaneous: At Long Last, Floorplans for the House!

I just drafted these on floorplanner.com Thought it would be a fun project and it was. When I get more proficient at the software I will post updated pictures. I tried to match the furniture as best as I could. I made the rooms 10'x10' large.












1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK 

2013 Barbie A Frame (Beach House): Do You Believe In Reincarnation?

Time and time again my faithful readers give me the Oprah hook up with news and info I had previously overlooked or was not aware of (shocking, I know). Thank you Karen for forwarding the ToysRUs link to the new 2011 A Frame house. I know what you all are thinking, 'Why did they decide to re-invent a 20th century classic, is it as good or better than the original, whats new and improved on it, why does it cost so much, will there be another blog just for this house, does this mean they will recycle all the houses from the last few decades, and so many more unanswered questions! What we do know is that it is a ToysRUs exclusive, it is retailing for $129.99 plus tax and shipping, the official product info is...

Product Description

With three stories, six-plus rooms and 180 degrees of play, girls can open this glamorous Malibu home and rearrange for endless fun! The first floor offers a kitchen and living room, complete with a glam pink chandelier. Take the elevator to the second floor and watch the day-to-night transformation as it's time for Barbie to go to sleep. On this level, a bathroom, dressing area and bedroom can be found. The third floor features an outdoor sundeck, complete with a telescope for whale watching. Dolls not included. Additional Info Item #: 685392 SKU: 07554C15 UPC/EAN/ISBN: 746775045470 Manufacturer #: W3141 Note: Gift wrap is not available for this item. Product Weight:19.1 pounds Product Dimensions(in inches)27.5 x 22.0 x 11.2 http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11587154

Editer's note: I have not seen this house first hand, but on initial analysis I do like the 3rd floor observation deck (for whale watching, hows that for politically correct updating?), it is 6 main rooms like the original, 180 degrees of play like the original, its an A frame, it seperates into 3 sections, the rear of the box is retro, it is furnished, it has a cool transparent shower stall, a bathroom sink, an elevator (would have preferred stairs) and thats about it. Part of me is curious about how much this blog may have influenced the decision to bring back the A frame. Obviously that kind of architecture in real life is not being brought back, so why here, on one of so many Barbie houses that have come out since 1962? There is no other 1978 A Frame enthusiast destination that I am aware of. So, not to toot my own horn, but maybe they were inspired by the blog, and perhaps even moniter it as a way of keeping their finger on the pulse of vintage collecters (think of all the re-issued and vintage inspired dolls that come out every year). Also, did you notice there is a Malibu tie in now? I had referenced the fact that the 1978 house should be called the California Contemporary DreamHouse since that is what it is (see real life examples posts 1-4) Overall, I do not care for this reincarnation of the Dream House. For those devoted followers you'll know I dont like the 'Pepto-Abysmal Pink' Mattel keeps regurgitating year after year after year. When will we finally severe ties with the totally awesome pink box era of the 80's?! Aaagghh!! The outer rooms seem abreviated and not full size, the furniture is not classic and iconic in design as in the 1978 line, it has a fake window mural (remember the beauty of the original was that nothing was faux, no decals, no cardboard, no puffy vinyl, no pictures, etc).  the back wall is pink unlike the white columns and rafters, and the lower front does not have walls or windows, just an opening above the flower boxes.  So if I were Ceasar and this new incarnation of the A Frame was in the Colliseum with hungry lions I would give it a thumbs down. If it were up to me, I would have left the classic A Frame largely unchanged. Perhaps a different color scheme, like brown roof panels, cream floor pieces, and black doors and window frames, making the front doors solid would have brought me and my money to the store. Maybe even clear, removable skylight panels to fill in the large roof openings? And of course a green (or beach) playmat to put it on to make a nice lawn and patio area. I welcome your comments, here and on ToysRUS.com as there are none yet. By the way, for those die hard red, yellow and white fans I would luv to post a picture of a resprayed 2011 A Frame, so just leave a comment with your email in it and I will email you for the pics. ;-

The new A frame has already been reinvented into yet another 'Monster High' house. 

This is the new Rainbow House I keep seeing at Goodwill for $20, here it is on Facebook furnished. I have been thinking about picking one up but lack the space to put it, they are quite large. It's one of the few other houses I have seen that are large, open and airy like the 1978 Dream House. This one could accommodate the rather large, bulky appliances and furniture: 

It is a pretty good bargain at $20 furnished, probably 20% of what it costs new. As usual, facebook marketplace is the 80-90% off store. 

Windows: 4 Different Versions for the Pink House (1985-1991)

Hot translucent pink front

Hot translucent pink back. 

Yes, You saw it here first. Thanks to a loyal follower I was informed about the mysterious alternate windows on the Pink DreamHouse. Everytime I think I know it all (about this anyway) I am humbled by sleeper cell intel. As you may or may not know, I am reluctant to even post about the Pink Totally 80's A Frame for reasons previously posted about but any color variation of the 1978 small house we are all so obsessed with at least deserves a post. There seems to be 4 different windows for the Pink A Frame. Hot pink, transparent pale pink, and clear windows with dark or light pink edges. Anyway, I thought it was interesting and worth a little chat. Please also see the post about the traditionally colored A Frame with orange floors. If I had to say, my favorite would be the lighter pink frames.

Light pink frames

Soft translucent pink

Soft translucent pink

Darker pink frames 

Soft translucent pink

Lighter pink trim

Rosy outlook box-o-plenty. Pick ONE only! Lol. 

They could be alternate yellow windows with yellow panes, but alas they are not. Simply cooked and aged to 'perfection'. 

Hot pink windows, probably the final version that came out. i am assuming it was firs the clear windows with light pink trim, dark pink trim, then the soft pink/rosy tinted ones, and then these. Kinda hot!

1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK 

Other Topic: Kick Ass Kitchen Play Set

Though the blog is intended for just the California Contemporary A Frame DreamHouse, after 80 or so posts I am branching out into related topics. For you diehard blog purists, be sure to check out the earlier posts and work your way up to the later ones. This post is about doll kitchens from that era, most specifically the Sears kitchen center also known as the Wolverine kitchen playset. True, it does not fit into the 1978 Barbie house, so cannot technically be used with it, but as I like 1970's kitchen playsets I was intrigued enough to purchase one. They can run very high depending on condition, completeness, color scheme and if it has the box or not. I was outbid on a green and white one that went for $100 on feebay, getting the brown and orange one a few weeks later for $30 total, including shipping in a HUGE box that the dream house itself could have fit it, so shipping had to eat up almost all the $30 rendering the playset itself cost-less. Weighing in at 8 plus pounds, it has a large bag of accesories: food, cookware, kitchen stuff, all very well made, as is the kitchen itself. It is slightly larger scale than Mattel Barbie items and makes her look like a very height challenged person, or tween. The photo includes the 1978 Fridge and stove so viewers can see the difference in scale (read quality) and overall feel. The main reason why I am making special note of this playset is because we appreciate the quality and design of the A Frame house and furniture so much, this set deserves special kudos for the same reasons, and as it came out in the same time period is direct competition. While I degraded other dollhouses for quality reasons, I have to acknowlege this set for going over the status quo for toys. I dont know of any other color variations produced besides the green and white one and mine, but I LOVE my brown and orange playset and especially the harvest gold mixer and avocado blender (did not come with this set but is a perfect addition). Notice how the Wolverine/Sears set dwarfs the Barbie yellow appliances, especially the stove. Mattel never did make counters or a sink for the '78 dollhouse. The food containers are so well made too. I put the Mattel 1978 fry pan and spatula next to the larger brown ones, but the photos dont do it justice, the brown set is far superior to the orange. The food containers are cool and most have different grapics on te other side and are good replicas from the real 70's food they imitate. There are many tupperware containers with lids and a two piece butter dish etc. The set even dwarfs my 13" Aquaman, if that gives you any idea the size, its almost too big for 11-12" dolls, especially given the size of the blue iron and makes the Mattel appliances look like they are for Blythe, not Barbie. Well that is more than enough rant for now on this one. UPDATE: the top photo is a 1996 Kitchen Littles battery operated fridge. It is larger, better made and features clear bins and divider. I like this better then the yellow side by side issued by mattel in '78.

Extremely rare blue cabs, white appliances, translucent dishwasher door. Probably last year issued. 

Ebay: Free Lunch

Though the cliche, "There are no free lunches", is true most of the time I have found an instance where it is false. The technique which I am about to tell you about has worked with the famed A Frame as well as countless other small listings I have found on evilbay. Basically, what you do is buy a 'lot' of items that has at least one item you are hunting for and selling the rest back, usually marking up shipping, to esentially cover the cost of the one item you wanted out of the lot. For example: For the 1978 DreamHouse specifically, at least one house I bought had furniture with it that I did not need or want,  so I sold it off seperately and rcouped about 30% of the cost of the house by selling the furniture. I have bought cheap $5 and $10 floor pieces and sold with refurbed houses as a patio and made another $50 for the sold house because it had a patio and the others for sale did not. One recent purchase was a 1979 Strawberry Shortcake Berry Bake Shoppe that came with a dirty Strawberry Shortcake herself doll. The lot was bought for $20 total, including shipping. The playset is worth $20 alone, plus the cleaned up doll is worth at least $15-$20. I waited a long time and lost alot of auctions, but finally nailed that one on a slow week shortly after Christmas ( a great time to scour for deals since people are preoccupied paying credit card bills from Christmas, making it a buyer's market at least for a few months) So, I sold the doll back (after deep cleaning) on ebay for $20 including shipping, marked up of course for more profit and to recoup ebay and paypal fees, rendering the SSC playset free. The original seller did not know the value of the doll and including it in the sale was my opportunity to make my money back on the playset. I also have a clear orange pots and pans fetish which originally came with the best friends generic kitchen playset in 2001, now sold with direct from China issued Barbie 4 or 5 rooms in one package. They are rare, sought after and average $15 per kitchen lot sold (barbie food dishes) is the search term commonly used in the description. Since they always come with a bag of other food items and the seller does not know the value, I bid high and hope for the best. I have obtained 4 sets of clear orange cookware for nearly free this way since I sell the rest back. Good photography works well for selling before other lots and for igher value. I have even bought direct from China Gloria accesory sets for $5 including shipping and marked up to $13 total when resold back on feebay, helping to make a few bucks during lean selling times. So, I recomend to try these techniques for yourself and see what works and is comfortable for you. It helps pay for my collecting and if nothing else I can upgrade my average condition thing for a mint one just by buying it several times over and reselling the lesser grade ones.