MCM sale Report 2023

I didn't buy any dolls at MCM, but I had a great time, and I saw some online doll friends!

This MCM was very pain-free. It was indoors with AC. Groups were let in on time. There was not a silent auction.

The vendors were in the entry hall, which did not need a ticket to visit.

I think the most popular vendor item was some cute Claudie dresses- they sold out!

It felt like there were less people than usual. There weren't huge crowds and most of the parking lot was empty. Maybe this was because they spaced out the tickets, but I know that not all the tickets sold out.

They didn't have any of the dolls on my wish list when I went through at 9:45 am (which included 55, 84, 88 and 116) and I ended up not buying any dolls for me. I bought a Claudie and her PJs for a friend. Another friend wanted me to get her either 115 or 116, and neither was there at my ticket time.

I bought clothes and accessories for me- the Shi-Poo dog, Janie and Jack red shoes, Janie and Jack boy Christmas outfit, the Eid outfit, the Halloween witch outfit, Joss's cheerleading jacket and a ballet outfit.

They had a lot of Maritza, Makena, Corinne, Maryellen, and Claudie.

All the other named dolls were sold out by the time that I got  there.

 I had a very good time at MCM. I am grateful that I got to go.

I am also proud of the purchasing decisions that I made.

I had a great time meeting people, and I wish that I had gotten to meet more!

After I left, I went to the St. Vincent de Paul Dig and Save thrift store and bought a lot of clothes to make into doll clothes. A whole armful of clothes only cost me $5.21.

I left before the big doll collector get-together, but I got to spend time with my mom and her friend, and that was important to me too. I also got to spend some really nice time talking to the people that I did see, and I think I'd rather meet in small groups and have in-depth conversations anyway.

It was a great day.

I am grateful for all of the MCM sales that I got to attend, 2016-2023. I am sorry that this is the last one.

I would love to take a group picture of all of the dolls that I got at MCM from all of the different years sometime.

MCM Sale Report 2022

MCM Sale Report 2021

MCM Sale Report 2020

MCM Sale Report 2019

MCM Sale Report 2018

MCM Sale Report 2017

MCM Sale Report 2016

MCM 2023 Price List

 The MCM sale confirmed today that there will not be any CYOs.

"Also, just as an update, we do NOT have Create Your Own dolls at the sale this year. (We normally don't confirm or deny the presence of any item at the sale, but given that we'd had quite a few in some recent years but we were not given any this year, we wanted to clarify.) As a reminder, all of our inventory is overstock or returns from American Girl."

Here is the price list: https://madisonchildrensmuseum.wordpress.com/2023/06/21/american-girl-benefit-sale-prices-limits/

• Truly Me Dolls, $55
  
• Named Dolls (includes Historicals, World by Us, etc.) $60
  
• WellieWishers Dolls, $40
  
• Bitty Baby Dolls, $40
  
• Bitty Baby Doll + Accessory Sets, $50

Accessories may cost anything from $5- $50. There is no information on what accessories or outfits might be there.

MCM Sale Report 2022

 Yesterday was the start of the Madison Children's Museum Benefit Sale. It is ongoing though Sunday.

This is the third online sale.

It's never started on a Thursday before, but this worked for me for having a better Internet connection.

I logged in at the start of the sale at 10 am.

I decided not to try for any Create Your Own dolls. There were only 263 of these and I knew competition would be high.

 First I checked to see if there were any 35th Anniversary Felicity dolls. There weren't.

Then I went to the World By Us section and tried to buy Evette. She sold out while I was trying to check out. It must have been in the first five minutes or so.

I went back and made about three separate purchases, trying to keep my finds from selling out.

I got dolls: Maritza and Makena. Martiza was not listed in the World By Us section. I found her in the All Items section.

I also bought several doll outfits: Explore the Outdoors Outfit, the Everyday Accessories with an orange hoodie, Dream Pajamas with a hot air balloon on it (for my Saige), and the Wellie Wishers Frosty Fun Outfit.

The items I wanted most that got away were Evette and a set of pumpkin pie.

There were no technical problems, which was very nice.

Overall, it was a good experience. I look forward to picking up my purchases in a couple of weeks.

MCM Sale Report 2021

MCM Sale Report 2020

MCM Sale Report 2019

MCM Sale Report 2018

MCM Sale Report 2017

MCM Sale Report 2016

My MCM Dolls 2021

 I don't know what is more fun- the MCM experience or the dolls.

Okay, it's the dolls. The usual MCM sale is usually a hot mess, but we love it anyway.

Here are the dolls that I got at the sale this year.

First, the CYOs. They all have the Jess face mold. I am partial, what can I say?

This is Nadia. She's a Jess mold with medium skin, dark brown eyes and dark brown hair.

She has earrings.

Her box said "eye shadow" on it. Her eyelids are a shade darker than her face, and she dos look like she has eyeshadow on! It's cute. I find it endearing.

Here is a comparison picture of Nadia and Danielle, a CYO I designed myself. I left Danielle's glasses off so you could see her face better.

Danielle has darker skin and hair, as well as freckles. Nadia has looser curls, although they have the same wig in different colors.

Danielle's face seems fuller.

They are very similar, but they do feel like very different dolls.

This is Fern. She lives on a farm and loves animals. Her character is Charlotte's Web inspired, and also a bit of Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird.

Fern has medium skin, freckles, grey eyes and brown hair in a short bob. Fern does not have earrings.

This is Steffi. She's a California girl who is friends with Joss.

Steffi has dark skin, dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. She also has earrings.

When I bought her, I thought from the picture that she had the new eyes and that they were crooked.

I have never been to happy to be wrong. She has great eyes!

Here are Fern and Steffi together.

Here's Jessenia! She's a JLY 85.

And here is the #62 who is going to live with a friend. She has the new eyes, but that's okay because she is going to get eye swapped.

Only one doll out of the group had the new eyes! I was very lucky.

I am very happy with all of the dolls I got!

You can read about my sale experience here.

MCM Doll Pick up!

MCM doll pick up went really well.

Luckily, they had lots of signs out, otherwise it would have been hard to spot the warehouse even with a GPS and the address.

I pulled up, didn't have to wait in a line, gave them my name and two volunteers dragged the bag of dolls out and put it in my trunk. It took less than five minutes.

I then pulled off to the side and checked my order. No problems at all.

I am happy with the dolls I got.

They all had good eyes except the #62 for my friend, which she is going to eye swap. Two of the CYOs had pierced ears. One of the CYOs has eyelids that are a shade darker than her skin tone, but honestly it looks like she has eye shadow and it's charming.

The only problem at all is some hairs on the front of the wig of Jessenia, the #85, but I can live with this at the price I paid.

Joss and the CYOs came with accessories, and Joss and the #85 came with books.

I am so excited, and I am already bonding hard with them.

I was a little sad that Clasen's European Bakery and the Mattel Toy Store were closed because it was Sunday, but the trade off in not waiting another week to get my dolls was worth it.

In case you missed reading about it, the reason that I was able to buy more than four dolls is that there was a second sale at 5 pm on the day of the sale, after all ticket holders had a chance to shop. They still had dolls left, even CYOs, so those were available at a reduced price. I bought two more dolls at that point.

Here is my post about the MCM online sale.

MCM Sale Report 2021

 This year's sale was online.

I had a pretty good entry time at 10:45 am. The sale started at 9 am.

I was able to log in and start promptly at 10:45.

There were a lot of Create Your Own dolls left.

They had 350 CYOs this year. I went through the whole list and made a list of the ones that I liked best, as well as saving pictures for future reference.

I found three that I really liked still available. I decided to buy two CYOs, both Jess molds.

There was a third Jess mold that I liked, medium skin with brown eyes, but three of them was a bit much for my budget, as they are the highest priced item.

I also bought a second Joss for myself to customize, or possibly to give to a younger cousin. 

I got a JLY #62 for a friend. I had two friends ask me to pick them up a doll. Due to the limit of only four dolls per customer, I had to turn one down. (I'm sorry!)

I skimmed the accessories really fast. I didn't want someone else to buy my CYOs while I was looking.

I only ended up getting Blaire's piglet from the accessory section.

Then I checked out only five minutes later.

The search function was really my friend here. Since I had a long list of my favorite CYOs and had marked them in order of preference, I could easily search for my favorites. I also used this to grab the JLY # 62.

This went really smoothly for me and was a good experience. I know this is partly because I had an early entry time.

I was really pleased with what I got, and I didn't even have to drive to Madison. (Yet. That comes later.)

There was a second sale at 5 pm.

This was originally billed as a book sale, where you could buy AG books at leisure without worrying about missing out on the dolls you wanted.

However, they had dolls left over, and they were available for purchase. they even had CYOs still available!

I ended up buying two more dolls, since the prices were reduced. And that was an act of will power.

You could only buy eight at a time, but you could make as many purchases as you wanted.

So I actually bought six dolls, five for me, one for a friend. 

This is a lot of dolls!

Here's the post I wrote about picking up my MCM dolls.

Here are the blogs I wrote about previous MCM benefit sales.

Here is a link to my blog post on the MCM sale in 2023- the very last MCM sale ever.

2020 Benefit Sale

2019 Benefit Sale

2018 Benefit Sale

2017 Benefit Sale

2016 Benefit Sale

MCM Preview

 Here are the prices listed at the preview for MCM:

Featured Dolls

• Blaire, $70
• Tenney, $70
• Nanea, $70
• Joss, $70
• Maryellen, $70
• Truly Me #24, $60
• Truly Me #26, $60
• Truly Me #59, $60
• Truly Me #61, $60
• Truly Me #80, $60

Featured Accessories

• Julie's Pinball Machine, $75
• 3-in-1 Game Night Table, $30
• Truly Blue Hairstyling Caddy, $30
• Bitty Baby Colorful Dots Outfit, $8
• Bitty Baby Sprinkles Birthday Outfit, $20
• WellieWisher Gopher & Watering Can, $5
• Music is Love Tee for Girls, Size Small, $8

MCM 2021 Update

 The sale this year looks really complicated.

I might not be able to get a ticket this year, but I will try.

I think some people might be put off just by the number of hoops they would need to jump through.

Important American Girl Benefit Sale Update

We're eagerly preparing for the 2021 American Girl Benefit Sale. As a reminder, this year the sale is online. Pickup is in person—no shipping.

As we stated in previous updates, inventory is significantly limited this year. Doll prices and item limits are being announced BEFORE tickets go on sale this year to help you make the most informed decision about entering the ticket lottery.

*Updates to the Ticket Allocation Process*

To ensure that tickets are distributed as fairly as possible, we're implementing a new system with TWO lotteries, one to offer winners a chance to buy a ticket and another (just like in years past) to assign shopping times to ticket holders.

Ticketing timeline and process

* August 25–26: Ticket purchasing lottery sign-up opens. A form will be sent out by email and posted to the AGBS website and Facebook page. Fill out the form (at no charge) to enter in the lottery to be able to buy one AGBS ticket. The entry form will open by 11 am (CST) on 8/25 and close at 11:59 pm on 8/26. The time of day you fill out the form WILL NOT affect your chances of receiving a ticket. Only ONE entry per person will be accepted.

* Aug 27–30: Tickets on sale to lottery winners. Every person who enters the ticket lottery will be notified by email on 8/27 if the lottery selected them to buy a ticket or not. Those eligible to buy a ticket will have until 8/30, 11:59 pm (CST) to follow the included link and pay for their ticket. A ticket costs $12 and you may only buy ONE ticket per email/household. All ticket sales are final and no refunds will be given.

(Note: Only tickets sold to those individuals selected by the lottery as eligible purchasers will be honored. Anyone not selected in the lottery who uses the link to buy a ticket will have their order refunded minus a $4 per-ticket handling fee and may not be eligible for future sales. Let's keep this fair.)

* Sept 1: Shopping times assigned by lottery. Shopping times will be randomly assigned to all purchased tickets. Results will be sent by email to all ticket holders.

* Sept 1–8: Ticket transfer window. If you discover that you cannot use your benefit sale ticket, or if you purchased a ticket on behalf of someone else, you may reassign your ticket to another person using our MyAGBS website. This process will be similar to last year. Please note that it is against our policy for tickets to be resold for more than their original purchase price and that all trades are done at your own risk.

* Sep 13–Sep 24: Shopify site account verification window. Every email address associated with a ticket MUST have an online account verified with our Shopify website BEFORE the benefit sale. If your account is not verified you will NOT be able to shop during the benefit sale. All ticket holders will be sent instructions as to how to verify their account and must do so by 11:59 pm on 9/24.

* Saturday, Sep 25, American Girl Benefit Sale online shopping. Further info on shopping procedures will be provided in future updates.

* Saturdays & Sundays, October 9-24, in-person pickup at our new warehouse in Middleton, Wis. After the sale, every shopper will have the opportunity to select from available pickup times. You will also have the option to designate a proxy to pick up your order for you. Further info on pickup procedures will be provided in future updates.

*Doll & Accessory Limits and Doll Prices*

Purchase limits: a total of THREE dolls and TWO accessories per ticket holder.

Dolls include all 18" dolls, Create Your Own, Bitty Babies, and Bitty Baby gift boxes. Each ticket holder may only buy THREE dolls total. For example, you could get two Truly Me dolls and one Create-Your-Own doll for a total of three, OR you could get one Truly Me, one Create-Your-Own, and one Girl of the Year doll for a total of three, etc.

Accessories include furniture, pets, clothing, and other miscellaneous items and will be individually priced. Each ticket holder may only buy TWO accessories total.

Doll prices will be:

* $60 for Truly Me dolls

* $120 for Create-Your-Own dolls

* $70 for Character Dolls (historical dolls, Girl of the Year dolls, contemporary characters)

* $40 for Bitty Baby

* $60 Bitty Baby Gift Set

As in previous benefit sales, we cannot guarantee the selection that will be available when you shop. Individual items will sell out throughout the day, sometimes very quickly.

A more extensive list of items and prices will be announced the Thursday before the sale. As with previous benefit sales we cannot confirm the presence of any specific item before the sale.

We are setting these limits so that every ticket holder can be sure of having the opportunity to buy up to the posted limits. Since the ability to purchase a ticket is not guaranteed and the limits are low this year, we advise against planning a trip to the sale that involves traveling a long distance.

*Bonus Book Buy*

As with last year, please know that items are NOT reserved in your cart until you check out. Items may sell out while you are still shopping and will disappear from your cart. You will want to shop as efficiently as possible.

As we know that this doesn't leave much opportunity for browsing our extensive collection of American Girl books, we will be offering a special Bonus Book Buy after the main sale has concluded. All ticketholders will be able to log back in again and shop for books. (Tip: American Girl books make for a great donation to your local Free Little Library, school, or community center.)

Exact times and log-in details for the Bonus Book Buy will be sent out to ticketholders before the sale.

Thank You!

MCM Sale Report 2020

Today was the Madison Children's Museum Benefit sale.

I have attended this sale in person for several years. This year, it was online.

This sale is an important fundraiser for the museum. It is especially important this year, because according to an article from NPR, one third of museums may not survive the year due financial issues caused by the pandemic.

I know that the whole AG fandom will be very sad if the museum closes and there are no future MCM benefit sales.

I know that they had to make difficult decisions to hold the sale online this year and to not offer in-person pick-up.

They also had to decide not to offer any tickets beyond those sold at the pre-sale.

I was fortunate enough to have bought a ticket in the pre-sale, but many did not, especially as no one knew at that point that the sale would be online. No one knew that there would be a sale at all.

My ticket time was at 12:00 pm.

Unfortunately, everything on my wish list was sold out.

My wish list was as follows: Truly Me 80, Wellie Wisher Kendall, and Jess mold Create Your Own dolls.

I was also interested in the mystery grab bag and the mystery grab bag with mystery doll.

There were many ravishing Jess mold CYOs for sale. I had a long list of ones that I would be happy to buy.

However, only 300 CYOs were available, and they all sold out by 10:30 am, long before my ticket time.

There were very limited Truly Me dolls available when my ticket time came. Many historical dolls, as well as Blaire and Luciana, were still available.

I considered buying Girl of The Year Luciana or Wellie Wisher Willa or the Canadian T-shirt.

However, I tend not to bond well with impulse buys.

When I made a cart with Willa and the Canadian T-shirt, shipping came to $30. When I removed Willa and only had the Canadian T-shirt in my cart, shipping was still $30.

I decided not to buy anything.

I am sorry not to be able to offer financial support to the museum when they need it, but I need to only buy items for my collection that I really want. My collection is large enough already!

I am not too disappointed in how things worked out, although I would have loved to buy some of those Jess mold CYOs.

The museum did the very best that they could to offer a good sale under very difficult circumstances.

I am grateful to them for the hard work they put in.

This is not the first time I walked away from the sale without a new doll, but it is the first time I walked away without any purchase.

I hope to attend the sale next year and be able to find something to bring home with me.

A lot of what I enjoy about the sale is the anticipation, the camaraderie with other AG collectors, and discussing the sale with other collectors. I did get to enjoy that this year.

I hope to see some of my collector friends at the sale next year!

You can read my reports from past years here:

MCM Report 2019

MCM Report 2018

MCM Report 2017

MCM Report 2016

Blog post for 2023, the last MCM sale.

MCM 2020 News

The Madison Children's Museum American Girl Benefit sale will be online only this year.
They will not be selling tickets other than the tickets that were already sold.
All items will be shipped, and shipping may be expensive.

All of a sudden, everyone wants MCM tickets, haha.
Everyone who ever dreamed of going to MCM can now do so, if only they can get one of those golden tickets. It's like Willy Wonka.

I am not sure I am going to participate in the sale this year.
If I do sell my ticket, I have a friend who has already expressed interest.

The reasons I am not sure I will go are:

a) I don't think the online shopping experience will make an interesting blog.
b) I honestly have all the dolls I am interested in.
c) Financial caution
d) Since I live locally, having to pay expensive shipping is going to negate some of the bargains for me.
e) My ticket time is at noon, and I don't want to sit around all day waiting for my entrance time when I could be out doing something.
f) I live with very nosy people, and I don't want them to get all in my business about why I need to go on the Internet at this specific time.

I am most disappointed about not getting to meet with some of my wonderful fandom friends who were planning to go.
That includes the masterminds behind the following blogs: A Peek Into the Pantry, La Vie Revee de Sabine, Northbound Dolls and American Girl Outsider. It would have been epic!

If you live elsewhere, and MCM is now accessible for you for the first time, I am happy for you! Good luck!

My friend Gwen who blogs at A Peek Into the Pantry pointed out that museums are really struggling with funding right now, so the benefit sale is very important for the Madison's Children Museum.

So if you are shopping, please be kind to those running the sale! They are working hard to provide important funding!

Here is the whole post from their Facebook page:

MCM Report 2019

This year was my best MCM sale yet. I have only one regret. More on that later.

This year's sale started with Nethilia from American Girl Outsider.

She had tickets with an early start time, and she was generous enough to share one with me.

It was so great. We arrived, we looked at the silent auction tent, and then it was time to go in the warehouse to get our dolls.

CYOS
I went straight to the CYO table when I got in.

It was a tiny little table in the far corner. When I got there, there was not a line. There was one later!

For the CYOs, they posted an online album of the dolls, and you had to write down the numbers of the ones you wanted, because there is no Internet inside the warehouse.

There were about four CYOs on display, and the rest were in boxes. You had to ask for their code from the online album.

They had my first choice CYO still available!

I then asked to look at a few of my runners up. The ones I asked for were still available. I carried one around with me for a while, but eventually decided it was a pretty doll but too far from my ideal, and I might not bond with it.

I bet this process went really badly later in the day, but for me it went great.
I am sure this is due to my early ticket time, and I am so grateful to Neth for sharing with me.

There were some real bargains at the sale this year, and I bought, I think, eight dolls for other people.

I had two of the giant purple bags.

Selection
I was really impressed with the selection this year. Some of the stand outs, in my opinion, were Logan, the Costco Molly sets, and the $5 three books with a mini doll sets.

The newest Truly Me that they had was #80.
They did not have any Truly Me boy dolls.

Pick Up Service
I had snagged a good parking space, I am really strong, and I thought I could manage with all the items I bought.

Reader, I could not.

I quickly realized that I could barely carry the bags from the warehouse to the street, let alone to my car.

And the purple bags rip easily. I was terrified they would break open and I would lose my goodies.

A very, very sweet teenage volunteer found me and offered to help. She was with the pick up service, which I had not used before.

You put your dolls in a grocery cart, you get a receipt and leave the dolls with a volunteer. You then get your car, drive it up close, and they bring your dolls to you and help you load the cart.

I was so grateful for this service. It was a life saver.

The volunteer I had was so sweet, and she had to explain it to me three times because I couldn't hear her.
I thanked her profusely.
I told her that her parents should be proud of her, and she laughed.

Volunteers
That brings me to another topic. I always make a point of thanking the youngest volunteers, who lead you to the check out.
To me, they provide a really important service, because if they told me orally to go to whichever checkout number, I would not be able to hear and I would hold up the whole line.

This year, I made a big point of thanking every volunteer I came into contact with for volunteering, and their faces lit up.

Do this. It was a very hot day, there was even an excessive heat warning. These volunteers are amazing. I am so grateful for them.

Donating Unused Tickets
Since Neth shared her ticket with me, my original ticket was left over. I had managed to get everything I wanted in one trip, so I handed in my unused ticket at the Information stand for them to re-sell.

T-Shirts
Oh! And they had T-shirts this year, for humans and for dolls! I got a doll sized one.
You picked them up at the Information stand.

Thunderstorm
Apparently, there was a huge thunderstorm after I left, which cooled things down.
I am glad I missed the storm, but I might have stayed longer in my car or in a store if I had known it would cool down.
Then again, I needed aspirin, a shower and a nap before I felt human again.
I did see the storm, it rolled through my town after already hitting Middleton.

Regrets
Reader, I have one regret.
I had a nice visit with Nethilia and her mom. We had a good chance to chat, and it was really nice.

I also got to meet Elsa from American Girl Collectors. She is so sweet and I really enjoyed meeting her.

I also really, really wanted to meet up with Georgie from Northbound Dolls. I met her last year and was really looking forward to seeing her again. She is a fun person to know.
Sadly, it was just too hot and I could't take the heat any longer. Also, I had gotten up way earlier than I usually do.

I had to leave without meeting Georgie, because I knew I would get sick if I stayed any longer and be of no use to anyone.
I did get a headache when I was already in the car on the way home.
So I did what I had to do, but I hope that I get to see her next year.

You can read her account of the MCM sale here. Amazingly, one of the pictures I took in the Silent Auction tent showed her CYO! Isn't that fun?


Phone Issues
Another problem was the reception for cell phones was so bad that texts were delayed, and it was so sunny that I could barely see my phone screen to read or send messages, even if I was in the shade.
Because of this, I was sending terrible texts to people with messages like "Amwearing prurpleshirt. Whitehat."

I know there must be a way to make the screen brighter, but it's a new phone and I haven't figured it out yet.

Previous Years
Here are my descriptions of previous experiences at MCM: 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Photos 

Inside the Warehouse

I only got this one picture inside the warehouse. It was super hot and I had a lot of decisions to make.

Silent Auction Tent
The Silent Auction Tent was cool because they had CYOs out there that you could buy for the same price as inside the warehouse.
If you saw one out there that you liked, it could possible save you a lot of hassle inside the warehouse.

Outside Vendors
It's fun to look at the outside vendors.
I am not sure it's a really good event for them, though. Everyone is there to spend money, but they probably have a long list of things they have already planned to buy inside the warehouse.

I had a really good MCM experience, and I hope that everyone else who went did too.
I am sorry if I didn't see you!

MCM Sale Report 2020

MCM Sale Report 2018

MCM Sale Report 2017

MCM Sale Report 2016

Blog post for 2023, the last MCM sale.

MCM Sale Report 2018

Well, this year's sale was different.

My extremely beloved guinea pig stopped eating the day before the sale.

On the day of the sale, I got up and held her for three hours and coaxed her to eat and/ or drink.

After I left for the sale, my mom took her to the vet, put her to sleep, and put her things away.

I realize this is not the way most people would deal with the death of a beloved pet, but by the time I came home I mostly felt as though it had already happened a long time ago. It really helped me.

I keep thinking I need to feed her/ check on her/ cuddle her, though.

But that's not what you want  to read about! Here is my sale report!

.................................................................................................................

MCM had a new, more staggered admissions process this year. It worked pretty well. There was a 20 minute delay in getting into the warehouse, but it was not so crowded while lining up or in the warehouse.

I was able to circle the warehouse three times, making sure I didn't miss anything.

Although MCM got a record number of donations this year, they had less dolls or less variety of dolls. This was somewhat clear from the price list.

I did not buy any dolls. I was interested in getting Nanea, Z, or JLY 75.
I was also interested in seeing any returned CYOs, but there were none.

None of these were available. I decided not to buy a doll just for the sake of buying a doll.

I own a lot of dolls already!

Here are some pictures of the silent auction items:

And here are some pictures of the vendors:

And here are some pictures inside the warehouse!

I was sad not to get a doll this year, but I do own a lot of dolls already.

I am not mad at MCM. They cannot control what is donated to them. They did a great job of handling admissions.

I used the shuttle parking at the ice arena and was happy not to have to fight for a parking space.

I was able to meet some Internet friends, Aloraal and Georgie from American Girl Collectors. It was really great to meet them.

You can read Georgie's blog Northbound Dolls, and you can read her account of the sale here.

Aloraal was making some video of the event, and I will add the link when I find it.

I did get a few things. I got Melody's bed, several minis, some T-shirts, Maryellen's crinoline and two pairs of pajamas.
I posted some pictures of my purchases here.

As always, I did not go on Sunday because I'd have to take off work. I got everything I wanted on Saturday.

Apparently, AG donated so many items this year that they requested that some be held back for sales for the next three years. I wish they had allowed more 18 inch dolls to be sold, but I am glad that there will be an MCM sale for the next three years.

Blog post for 2023, the last MCM sale.

MCM Sale 2017

Today, as you may be aware, was the Madison Children's Museum Benefit sale! And that means dolls!

I was very lucky to get to go.

Getting Ready for MCM

MCM is in two weeks. If this is your first time, I am sure, you are wondering what to expect.
These tips are based on my experience last year.

1. Money. Obviously you need money to pay for your new dolls and/or doll accessories! The MCM benefit sale accepts a variety of payments, but make sure you have at least some cash. You may need to pay for parking, and if you want to buy anything from the vendors outside, they may accept cash only.

2. Practice parallel parking. I jest, a little, but it is really hard to find parking. There was a small field/ side yard that was set aside for official free parking last year, and it did not have anywhere near enough park spaces. I was lucky and found a parallel parking place for free, but you may need to give in and pay for a parking spot, which is around $5.

3. Punctuality. I recommend coming early, as you may likely need time to search for a parking space. That being said, last time I had to wait after my official entrance time for my group to be let in.

4. Wardrobe. Wear comfortable shoes, that you can stand and walk in.

5. Bags and water. The volunteers sell both huge bags which hold lots of dolls, and bottles of water. However, if you bring your own, you have more money for dolls!

6. Weather. Check the weather forecast. Be prepared with sunscreen or umbrellas, or both. You will probably be exposed to the elements to some degree while waiting to get in. A hat might be a good idea as well.

7. Planning. If you want to be totally spontaneous in your purchases, that's up to you, but I recommend at least looking at what is available and the prices ahead of time. If I hadn't checked the list, I would not have known they were selling the Santa dress, as it took me three time to find where it was being sold. Be aware of how many of each item you are allowed to buy, or else you will waste volunteers' times and face disappointment.

8. Noise. If you are noise sensitive, bring ear plugs. It's really loud.

9. Books. Bring something to do when you are stuck in line. Preferably small and lightweight, because carrying lots of doll boxes is onerous. When I was in line waiting to be let in last year, my cell phone did not get any reception, so that is something to keep in mind. I did get reception again once I was in the warehouse. I read a book while waiting in line, an Agatha Christie to be specific. It was one more thing to carry, but it was worth it to me. I put it at the bottom of my giant bag once I was out of the line.


10. Food. This one is just me being a practical Girl Scout, but I brought a packed lunch in a cooler, which I kept in the car and ate really fast once I was done shopping. The speed was due to all the people circling around in cars, looking for a parking place. I felt guilty about taking one once I was done shopping.

You can read about the experience I had at MCM last year here, and Nethilia's here.