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10 Tips to Collect on a Budget
Written by Sharon Verbeten   
Tuesday, 01 September 2009 00:00

budget-1Recessionary times can prompt people to rethink their expenses—and often the first thing to go is discretionary funds. Money once spent on non-essentials like entertainment—whether that is dinners out, movie tickets or another doll for a collection—isn’t quite as plentiful as it was in recent years.

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Matchmakers
Written by Trina Laube   
Wednesday, 01 October 2008 00:00

Danny Shapiro started retailing dolls, bears and toys through The Toy Shoppe in 1975. Here, he and wife Barrie are pictured with an Annette Himstedt doll. The Toy Shoppe was the first retailer to offer Himstedt’s dolls in the United States. Recipients of the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award, the duo’s success has come in part because of their close relationships with artists and collectors alike. The Toy Shoppe Owners Danny and Barrie Shapiro Create Friends for Life

Since Danny Shapiro opened The Toy Shoppe in Richmond, Va., in 1975, he and his wife, Barrie, have paired hundreds, perhaps thousands, of collectors with the highest quality dolls and teddy bears. The Shapiros are matchmakers, relationship experts. Above and beyond anything else, they are partners.

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Going Once, Going Twice
Written by Wil Peterson   
Monday, 01 October 2007 00:00

The wide-eyed Blythe dolls are extremely popular items for collectors, both in Japan and the U.S. Photo by Carmen GuillamaRinkya Auction Service Aims to Take the Anxiety out of Bidding for Dolls.

Many eBay shoppers know that sinking feeling only too well: The utter, absolute agony of de­feat that comes when your attempt to win the latest must-have doll or doll-related item is spoiled by a last-minute, deeper-pocketed bidder. You replay the depressing scenario re­peatedly and wonder why, oh why, did that auction have to end when I couldn’t be at my com­puter to coun­terattack the down-to-the-wire bid blitz? 

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