Not sure how this will be received because I don't often "air" my personal opinions during open discussions. I leave them for readers to express views, opinions, their likes and dislikes.
As a whole, I'm a fan of AG, however there are some key issues that bother me....
- AG brings in huge profits for Mattel, however they seldom acknowledge fans, bloggers or vloggers who provide FREE marketing of their products via reviews, photo stories, opening videos and instagram photos. All of which I enjoy! Only recently did AG take notice of a handful of fans on IG by posting their images in the catalog.
- Many companies send out products for preview. AG does not.
- AG facebook continues to opt for "we do not have any information at this time" answer instead of being straight forward. (I find this distasteful.)
It seems to me, AG chooses to ignore it's cult-like following and very seldom gives solid responses to the general public. They're late getting their catalogs out, if at all! If you want to hear or see something of interest, you typically have to go to the AG community to find it.
There's just a huge disconnect between AG and it's LOYAL CONSUMERS. Only recently did they begin the rewards program and it was bit confusing at first as to which past purchases would be credited.
But what about those who don't purchase "often"? How will AG reward the young collector (their target consumer) who LOVES AG, but lacks a lot of funds? Many save chore money or baby sitting money...that's a lot of patience and determination since dolls are $115 and clothing sets can be $28 - $48 each!
Or the large family? Parents on a budget may find it challenging to toss hundreds of dollars AG's way with several children to buy for. Such families may purchase once or twice a year. Who rewards them?
Does AG rely upon social media giveaways to fill in this gap? Bloggers, vloggers, Facebook fans and AGIG (American Girl Instagram) are not provided doll products from AG. Individuals BUY the items to host giveaways for their own followers. And...who rewards them?
I have really enjoyed both Maryellen and Melody's BeForever launches/collections. Probably because they were released as BF characters. The classic historical doll makeovers under the BF concept is unappealing to me! So much so, that I have determined that immediately I will not be adding any BF clothing items to my classic historical doll's collections.
AG quality fluctuates. You may find one item to be great quality, while another item released around the same time, cheap by comparison to the original standard.
The original PC American Girl's Collection concept is what drew me to collect my beloved historical dolls.
That being said, I am understandably nervous at the prospect of Felicity being let out of the archives. Fingers crossed her clothing collections are not bright orange, yellow, green or (gasp) pink. I am interested more in what Felicity's furniture and accessories collection will be like.
As a FAN of PC American Girls Collection, I will be "dishing out" my hard earned dollars at the secondary market for classic items for my classic historical dolls.
Interesting post. I'm wondering now if Mattel/AG should spend their advertising budget differently. Since most of the most visited blogs are written by adults, your first two points aren't an issue with me (although very valid). It may cause AG sour grape type problems to choose one blog over another. I would however, like to see their Facebook page recognizing bloggers. I think they're missing the boat by not showing what people are posting/blogging about. They could showcase a few blog/vlog posts once a week, for example. This would provide the blogger with free publicity and make the AG Facebook page more interesting. Which brings me to your third point--totally agree.
ReplyDeleteI too am disappointed with the current Beforever color choices. I would love to see a true to the era outfit and a modern interpretation outfit.
Thanks for a great post.
I'm right here with you.
ReplyDeleteI think the BF line is allowing the secondary market to flourish - both with rapid resale of new items and high priced vintage collectables. There's no winner for either scenario.
The quality of new releases disgusts me. The lack of communication from corporate is likewise elitist.
I too am concerned about a Felicity release. I expect her in bright pink and orange which Mattel will claim their expects say is historically accurate. Her furniture and accessories will be plastic and over priced.
We the consumers are speaking. Sales are down.
We the fans are speaking out too. Our blogs are full of disappointment where once only excitement reigned.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. None of this is as simple as not embracing change; it's about not being willing to accept less is all we're worth in exchange for a corporate bottom line. Civilization falls when conversation ceases.
I can not explain just how much I hate that new year's outfit! Is it a dress, is it a shirt and pants? Maybe if they redesigned it for the modern line it would be better, but there is no way that is anything like Julie should wear.
DeleteTl;Dr I really don't like that "new year's outfit.
I actually had an outfit like the New Years one except it was sleeveless and was a summer play outfit.It was green with pink flowers the year was 1974.
DeleteI agree with most of what you said. Like, I will be buying Maryellen's fridge and strawberry dress because they nailed it! Julie's new years outfit? Nope. I actually am hoping Felicity takes on a green theme approach (if we must do themes AG) because it would match her eyes. She did have yellow in her collection and Elizabeth had bright green and pink. I mainly am interested in how they do her furniture and accessories. That's what I'm nervous about - will her bed be plastic or wood? I luckily own 90% of Felcitiys outfits from PC and AG before she retired.
ReplyDeleteYou are one of the lucky ones. I did not realize how well crafted her collection was at that time and passed on her. I will be interested in her new collection and am hoping along with everyone else that AG will make us proud like they did with Melody. I do strongly believe that the only way to do Felicity justice is to use real wood and authentic colors in the new Be forever line. Here's to hoping!
DeleteI fervently hope that American Girl's new approach works for them so that there will still be a company today that sells the American Girl product. i got no coupon in my catalogue, so no purchase when I was at the store. I was told marketing decides. As an adult collector now, maybe I am not in the targeted audience. I think loss leaders like coupons in all catalogues would do a lot for business. Madelon
ReplyDeleteDifferent question: do you get AG rewards from purchases at Kohl's or Toys r Us? Madelon
ReplyDeleteGood question, I don't know. I would imagine so since it's an AG product.
DeleteSomeone asked this question on AG fb & the answer was no
DeleteI don't know about bloggers, but there are a few on YouTube that AG seems to acknowledge. I remember baby gizmo had gotten Caroline early, & I was incredibly jealous. Now agoverseasfan has been receiving gifts from them, & I can see why. She surly has given them free advertisement. So if AG is to send out free products then there's only a 50/50 chance the most deserving reviewers would be chosen. Kind of like how loyal customers never find coupons in their catalogs. They can say it's random all they want, but we know that isn't true. I've gotten every catalog since Holiday 1993. I used to make several purchases a year. I can't afford to anymore, & yet still no coupon. (It's like they're saying I have enough already) I try to plan ahead for what I should buy next, so when I have some spare cash I can grab the things on my list that are most likely to retire next. But anymore you can't guess what might disappear, & you can't ask bc they won't have any information to share. (LIES)
DeleteI can't say enough how much I adore Maryellen, & I hope to eventually get Melody. Samantha's return was...? Well let's just say I'm still waiting for her return. I'm sure the BeForever Felicity won't be the same either. I feel lucky to be over 30 & to have so many PC things. They were better! Quality does fluctuate now, but at the very least customer appreciation shouldn't. We keep hearing about sales being down. If only they would listen to us...
That's the unfortunate thing about selling them at other stores - you can only use AG store or AG website receipts. So basically I won't be participating in the rewards system anymore, buuuut I don't have to pay $16.95 shipping for TM dolls and Lea Clark.
DeleteI just wanted to say I've noticed a trend with Mattel being unsupportive and borderline antagonistic towards its followers and bloggers. I've seen other bloggers comment about similar issues regarding Barbie as well as AG. It seems more like they are out to attack these loyal customers rather than appreciating them. It is totally beyond me why the company acts this way. From shutting down a blogger's facebook page over a photo, to going nuts over the use of the words "American Girl" on Etsy or anywhere else, it's like they don't want any publicity but their own pathetic variety. I will never understand it, but I can tell you that I very, very rarely buy Barbies, except secondhand; I only have a few American Girl dolls, because I found three at our local thrift store one day for $5 each, no joke. Only the Wellie Wishers have tempted me, but I'm holding out for the re-release of the Hearts for Hearts dolls which my daughter and I both love even more.
ReplyDeleteI think Mattel and AG are missing out on a huge opportunity. I think that if, instead of attacking their supporters and harassing them for *gasp* loving their product, they commended them, gave them special permission to use photos or whatever, or things like that, I think they would find it would drive their sales up. Imagine if all the faithful bloggers got to tell their readers how wonderful the company was treating them, how they have appreciated their free advertising, etc. That would make me buy their stuff again, or at least consider it.
Thanks for your time and the effort you put into your fantastic blog every day. I enjoy reading it and look forward to any and all of your posts.
Sincerely,
Kathy
Yes everyone should actually check out the uproar Mattel just caused this month by "revamping" the Monster High and Ever After High dolls. All the collectors are furious and there's basically nothing to buy anymore.They even took out full articulation on most EAH dolls. The AG world sure does know how they feel. I'm not sure how much longer Mattel is going to be around sadly, since they've messed up another doll line, and one of their best sellers at that. The next stock and sales report for Mattel this fall is surely not going to be too good.I'm hoping and praying they dont mess up the AG doll line anymore than it already is.
DeleteRhonda, you make good points about AG and the bloggers. They should definitely offer free products for review.
ReplyDeleteEven Lego has acknowledged its adult fans and offers them free products or special deals. This is one thing that frustrates me because the adult fans of Lego (mostly men) get respect, have conventions, etc, while doll collectors (mostly women) are looked at like they are crazy and reliving their childhood.
AG really needs to wake up to the fact that the "moms" are buying for themselves. Would I really buy a $500 bakery for my kid? No, I bought it because I also wanted it! But I get to pretend that I am buying it for my kid so people won't look at me funny.
Having just recently discovered AG, I hope it sticks around for a while. I think instead of putting the dolls in TRU or Kohls they should offer better shipping deals consistently. That way the people who are currently fans would buy more.
Thank you for your blog and all you do! =Patty
Oh my goodness! So glad you said this. Soooooo agree about the double standard. The people in the store refuse to believe I am there buying for anyone else after I revealed my white body Kirsten. It's like they just have seen too much, know all and know all. Even if I am there just to buy a gift they will ask me, Now what do you want and I can literally see dollar signs in their dilated pupils.
DeleteVery valuable points being made today. Madelon
DeleteI totally agree with this post and comments thus far. I wrote a constructive, justified email to AG and described my lack of enthusiasm for the attitude towards adults who buy for their children, other children or themselves. I told them that most of the adults buy their products because they support the company and it's reputation therefore passing along this good feeling to the next generation. Our opinion and dollars matter to the success of the company. In response I got a detailed apology from a representative from the company. However the issue of Beforever does bother me as an adult collector who started out as a girl...once upon a time as their target audience now all grown up and kicked to the curb so to speak. The only thing they want from me now is my first born and promise to buy whatever they decide to dish out whether it looks good or not. Lately, the new stuff is better than what I have been seeing, buy they still have far to go in order to win back loyal customers who will pass this on to the next generation. AG marketing is missing the point when they refuse to acknowledge adult collectors and what we are willing to spend out of sheer loyalty and appreciation of being that stand up company we all loved so much back in the day. Hope they realize this sooner than later. Thank you Ronda for your honesty and opinion on this topic.
ReplyDeleteI agree. When I am in the AG store-who do I see opening up their wallets a lot of the time-Grandparents! Age does not make older adults fools. A new generation of Mattel leadership is trying to turn around this business. The gamble is that they will make more money from the "new" customers than the vocal loyal customers, who, they hope, the majority of which will stay. Madelon
DeleteWELL SAID!!!!!!!!! This is exactly how I feel!! I called AG about Maryellen's Christmas cookie set last week. I wanted to explain how disappointed I was that they did not pay enough attention to the fact that the reindeer cookie was as big as 3 glasses of milk! They let me know that adults were not their target audience. I tried to let them know that it is the adults who buy for the children . I would think that their goal would be to have children that love dolls and history so much they become adult collectors that also buy for the next generation!! I am not surprised at all in their profit decline. Sharon
DeleteWow that was so rude and uncalled for of AG.
DeletePersonally, I think that AG started a downhill slide in 1998 when Pleasant Rowland sold to Mattel. It was not as apparent at first, and some things were good ideas (like the Best Friends line and Girls of the Year) but now, especially with Beforever, they basically seem to be turning American Girl dolls into what are essentially big Barbies. It's gotten to the point that "Beforever" is almost an expletive among my doll collection. Why couldn't they just have left Pleasant Company alone?
ReplyDeleteRosie
I don't completely disagree with you, but the mess AG is in now is due to Jean Mckenzie, former president of AG who started in 2012 and recently jumped ship to work at fisher price.
DeleteShe's the one who really pushed this expansion of distribution which has led to the over manufacturing of products, the lessening of quality of products even further and the overuse of sales and discounts that have cheapen the brand, left AG with tons of excess stock and hurt their financial results.
While not as great as PC era, I don't particularly hate 2002-2007 era or 2007-2011 era Mattel. I feel AG still had class back then.
I do pretty much agree with you. After all my research, that seems to be the truth. However, I don't think the company would be around today without Mattel. As sad as that thought is,they surely would have died out by now if they had not been sold.
DeleteI'm happy to see customers standing up and saying "no" to the current AG which is reflected in their struggling sales.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'm sad to see that AG's answer is moving their products to Toys R' Us and Kohl's.
They seem to care more about just getting new customers instead of fixing the problems that are causing their old customers to leave.
I wish I had had a "crystal ball" so I could have seen the direction AG was going to go and been a smarter collector years ago. I sold off my collection for various reasons and have just come back into buying AG.
At this point it'd be too expensive and time consuming for me to piece together a collection via eBay so I'm just buying what I like direct from AG and grateful there's not a lot I like direct from AG as it's easier on my wallet.
American Girl's new president worked last, as I understand it, in an important position regarding national coupon marketing, and before that for 20 years at General Mills in various significant positions. She doesn't seem to have worked much in the toy/doll industry, if at all. Madelon
ReplyDeleteWhat happens to something a child/teen loves when their parent shows interest? The child stops loving it. It would do AG some good to find a way not to alienate any of their customer base even if they won't acknowledge them. Madelon
ReplyDeleteI agree with allot of what you said. While we must acknowledge that AG has made minor progress in connecting to fans, they really do just let us do their marketing. However some mom bloggers are given products for review, but not anybody everyone would know, unless you just happen to follow them. They seem to have partnered now with AGoverseasfan and sent her some wellie wishers products. I for one would just like to see a more direct response on social media, I feel like half the time anyone asks a question on Facebook, someone not from the company gives a more honest and correct answer.
ReplyDeleteAlso, retired dolls coming back, I agree. When felicity comes back (if?) Her collection will probably be disastrously paint splattered. This is the exact reason I criticized Samantha coming back, and the reason I hope Molly doesn't come back either. They have no place in the direction american girl is heading now. For them to come back would be even worse than when they were retired.
I have one more point I'd like to bring up. With Melody's release AG put a huge emphasis on showing her advisory board to prove how accurate to time she wa . However, I don't know anything about the advisory boards for EVERY OTHER HISTORICAL DOLL. I searched for some of them and still can't find any names. Just feels like AG is trying to cover up what we all already know, that the beforever revamp made the outfits (and other items) historically inacurate.
Two of the advisors for Addy Walker were Alice Jones and Sabrina Thomas. Sabrina has a disertation out on black dolls in history.
DeleteYes!!!! I agree. When I saw Melody's collection for the first time I thought "Hey she doesn't have a huge color theme, everything has variety, great play value, and just seems more accurate?" And I think it is because Mattel would get huge backlash for messing up an AA doll with such an important story. And because they released the book so early, for a shocking change they focused on the books more for awhile. The rest of the characters probably didn't have a good board. I mean, heck Horace was on Melody's board - he actually saw everything first hand!
DeleteWhat a wonderful discussion. Thank you, Rhonda, for being honest and open about AG. I agree and have had some of the same thoughts. One of the things my friends and I think, too, is that there is a large adult collector following--and we are spending a lot of money to build collections, but we don't feel acknowledged or appreciated. We will also be responsible for our grandchildren becoming AG collectors. I just feel Mattel is a huge corporation bent on making money and blind to the concerns of their loyal customer base. I once sponsored a talk about AG for a group of young girls, and I asked my local AG store if it could donate an outfit or a small doll as a door prize. Only magazines and star stickers. What a missed opportunity!
ReplyDeleteThank you for raising this discussion. I agree with many points, although I would recommend Addy's BF school outfit (if it is still being sold...)
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, I think for Caroline's release, they sent out product for preview to 'Mommy Bloggers'. However, I was appalled, as not one of these women had a child in the target audience age. They had toddlers, pre-schoolers, and the eldest I could find was a 6 years old. Can you imagine Caroline's hair in their hands!!! At the time I had an 8,10 and 11 year old, and thought there must be more families like mine out there who could have done a better job. Sorry, rant over!
I try to be optimistic about all things, but I too struggled in general with the BF launch. One of my daughters outright refuses to add any BF Rebecca items to her collection. Her grandmother got her the new meet outfit; 2 years later it is still in the box.
I am grateful to see Josefina finally get some new items. I trust they are great quality and accurate, apart from the crazy pink shoes! But poor Kaya is left needing some new things still.
I love Mayellen's collection now more has been added to it, and Melody's, though I think she needs some more outfits; not a lot of everyday wear, nor mix and match pieces in her collection. Though they were generous with furniture and accessories.
As I am in Australia, there are restrictions placed on what can be shipped (big items), which I find infuriating as I am the one paying!!! A few years ago, no restrictions applied, but with changes in the company, came new rules. I know Canada has similar issues.
I agree that they need to respect adult customers more, try listening to their client base, and stop overpricing things. I am happy to pay for the quality and creativity, but some pricepoints I don't understand.
And on the advisory boards for dolls, I have seen information on Kaya's, Josefina's, Cecile's, Addy's and BF Samantha's and possibly Rebecca's. Pleasant Rowland spent time on location for Felicity's and Kirsten's that I have read about too.
April
I don't understand why many of American Girl's big ticket items such as Grace's $500 bakery were on back order for so long? That bakery hardly ever seemed to be in stock. The new pop up camper went on back order right after it came out. How are customers expected to buy these items when they aren't available for sale? Madelon
ReplyDeleteThey may be holding back stock to create perceived demand.
DeleteAmerican Girl manufactures most if not all their items overseas. There is a huge lead time when placing these overseas factory orders, and of course, to make a good profit, AG needs to place large orders well in advance. These overseas factories likely make goods for other clients and one can not necessarily put in a last minute extra order since the factory is already busy with filling the previous orders from other clients.
DeleteOn top of that, there is a long delivery window, including having those huge boxes get loaded onto a seafaring boat, cross an ocean, unload onto a dock, and finally get delivered to AG warehouses. When AG realizes in the spring that they want to tack on more orders for an item they MUST STOP SELLING on December 31st, you can see all the obstacles in the way. It sounds like AG did up their French Bakery orders early on but at some point the sales outstripped their ability to add more to the production pipe line. And on the flip side if they mis-calculate the add too many orders they could be stuck with enough overstock to be a major financial loss.
In all cases, from reading between the lines, AG had zero ability to add more factory orders (production lead time issues) as early as September that year if not several months before that.
I'm with you Rhonda, I have a German made Felicity which I treasure. Her quality is breathtaking, the feel of the plastic is more like wax it's soft and lovely. Her hair is thick and rooted and the prettiest copper red color. My girls have quite a few dolls and we enjoy our Mattel Molly and even Marie Grace and Cecile. But I honestly regret getting the Beforever Julie doll, her hair is as bad as a Barbie dolls. And you can't style it at all the wig is so thin she looks bald. Don't met me started on the nasty velcro being used on fabrics that snag so easily. The Mattel company threw quality out the window years ago. Then changed the boxes and raised the prices, gee I don't know why the brand isn't continuing to grow. Maybe if they knew their customer base at all!
ReplyDeleteRhonda, You make some great points.
ReplyDeleteConcerning giving products to bloggers, and vbloggers. I am torn on this one. I have seen some other blogs, and vblogs. Some of them don't come across as though they are giving an honest review, so would those people give good review just to get more free products? Then there are bloggers that at times are make comments that are not nice. If you are AG, do you give those bloggers free product? If AG is going to supply free products, how do they justify not giving to some bloggers, and will that then encounter lawsuits, or being called racist? I think there are so many things to consider if AG chooses to give free product. I thought I read somewhere that AG does look at the blogs.
AG doesn't seem to give away anything, not even a birthday gift for the rewards members. Not sure why they can't.
The catalog with the IGs. I think that was a scheme to get more teenage girls or keep more teenage girls interested in AG. For me personally, I felt that catalog was disorganized. If the BF items was used in a layout with Truly Me, then it didn't appear in the BF section. It wasn't a bad catalog; however, I think there is more to just creating scenes when you are putting together a catalog Perhaps the products appear in a certain order, etc. I feel that AG could have done a better job guiding the girls, and maybe they did. I thought it was great that the company was reaching out to girls, getting them more involved, to learn a process.
A lot of what is being done, doesn't make logical sense. Mattel/AG could have just built a store that wasn't so fancy, had more money for more stores. They could chose to advertise more. My kids rarely watch tv, we record shows to avoid the commercials, but I rarely see an advertisement for AG. They keep releasing new dolls every year, last year was BF and GOTY, this year something. Don't they realize what $115 means to families? A week of groceries, 2 -3 pairs of jeans? How many years were Kirsten, Molly etc. out? But under Rowland the purpose of the doll wasn't just to sell something; it was to educate. Big difference. I agree with Rosie about AG turning this into a Big Barbie doll. That business model seems to be release a lot of dolls. I was so upset when AG decided to sell Lea's purple outfit only with a doll purchase. I bought her when she was on a promo sale, and since AG's didn't indicate that you could get the promo and the dress, I didn't. I see that I can buy it separately in Canada. So why can't we buy it separately in US?
Speaking of special promos, I didn't buy the 'special' promo AG offered to reward members for Melody. At the time I wasn't sure if I was going to buy her. I think the promo sales to everyone was cheaper.
On another post, there was discussion about the sizing of the camper, and MaryEllen's cookies. I took notice that in the displays at the store, from release day, that MaryEllen wasn't next to the refrigerator. Then I saw a picture where she was next to it, and I knew why. MaryEllen is taller than the refrigerator. I think it is still cute, but was it designed like that on purpose? Even the jukebox, seems like it should be taller. What about Josefina's new outfit? Her meet outfit comes with leather shoes/moccasins, so why did they give her pink modern type shoes with bows for the new outfit?? Plus, that I can recall, there isn't any pink in that outfit.
I wanted to see what the price of the doll was with this sale, so I put one in my cart. I got a pop-up asking if I wanted earrings and hearing aids. Finally, I'm so thrilled with that!
I love you post. No one is more disappointed then me. I love @agoverseasfan on Instagram and You Tube, with all my heart. But I wonder why She get free items to review and keep from American Girl Brand and not You. I love her but she does not do much of anything with her blog. (I HOPE SHE DOES NOT READ THIS). I POINT that out to say they don't treat you right and I am certain they don't care one bit. The point system is a disaster. I made a large purchase August 27th and points were never added. After many phone calls, on Friday of another Minth September,they said don't worry about it, I will get rewards for them still, even if I can't see them. I explain, it makes you not want shop if they can't keep up with Your points. That was a laugh I am sure, once they hung up. I am very disappointed they selected Khols to put American Girl Brand Products in. I don't feel it is a cukt like following because we all only relax together and we don't worship together at all. Just a little relaxing for the most part fun.
ReplyDeleteAt least you can still get the AG catalogs! In Canada we are not allowed to have them anymore. The ones they send to the stores here are for Canadian readers. They are missing a lot of the US ones. I used to receive them in my mail. Plus because of our Canadian dollar, the price of the dolls fluctuates. I bought Addy in April 2016 for $154 Cdn. That's a terrifically high price! At the moment the historical dolls are $139 Cdn.
ReplyDeleteWhile I always seem to enjoy first time viewings of new releases, I've started to notice the way that products are photographed without a doll to one a clue about size, scale, or fit.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look closely at the new BF outfits which are modeled by dolls, it's easier to see how the historical hemlines have risen. Also how little fabric there is in gathered skirts which are meant to be full. Or items made to look like 3 separate pieces which are sewn together. Well, the items just seem way overpriced. Often I feel that if I got them, I would not value having and using them.
When these items eventually go on sale, not even the discounted sales prices have been enough to tempt me.