Many women love dolls and never outgrow them. Some prefer baby dolls, some fashion dolls, and still others go for antique or decorative dolls. Often an interest in dolls will spill over into a craft interest, as the doll lover begins to craft clothing and accessories for favorite dolls. Sometimes the hobbyist becomes skilled at crafting the dolls themselves. Some types of dolls that are often hand-crafted are rag dolls and cloth bodied dolls with ceramic heads. It is not uncommon to find older women who have an entire room of their homes filled with special dolls on display.

A toy hobby that is extremely popular is collecting Beanie Babies. These small velour animals, made by the Ty company, each have a personality all its own. You can find Beanie Babies in every type of animal you can think of. A similar hobby is collecting teddy bears. There are many Beanie Baby teddy bears, but a teddy bear collector will probably want to branch out to collect other types of bears. In fact, many bear collectors have figurines and other items collected in addition to their teddy bears.

The world wide web is a virtual shopping mall filled with eager customers who are in search of a bargain and many of those people are interested in collecting antique dolls. The doll market has always been a popular one among collectors, but is even more so now with limited editions and first or last releases of a particular doll being produced. If you are a natural salesperson who also happens to enjoy antique dolls, it may be time to start a home auction business. Many people make a wonderful living by selling antique dolls on internet auction sites and there’s always room for one more.

If you decide to start a home auction business dealing with antique dolls, you will need to decide whether or not you will begin selling from your own collection or if you will buy antique dolls for resale. If you plan to resale, it is a good idea to purchase directly from a distributor or wholesaler. Quite often, these companies offer the lowest price available and may even offer a discount for quantity purchases. For instance, the more you purchase of one doll, the lower the cost may be for each additional one. The majority of resellers buy antique dolls in bulk to save money and help increase their profits. Other sellers, who deal in rare merchandise, may visit trade shows and estate auctions in search of antique dolls.
When you begin to list antique dolls for sale on the internet, always remember to include a photo of the doll. A quality photo can be obtained in several ways, including a digital camera, a scanner or by having regular film developed onto a CD-Rom if you do not own either of the two previous options.

The next step is to list a description of the antique dolls that you are selling. In an effort to generate more business, you will want to make sure that the description is as clear as possible. In addition, the doll’s condition should be listed along with any other pertinent information regarding it’s appearance. Payment options, shipping policies and charges should be clearly noted in each description as well.

On a final note, one of the most important things to remember when starting an antique dolls home auction business is to provide excellent customer care for your buyers. This can be achieved by responding to inquiries quickly and professionally, providing tracking numbers for shipments if requested and always be there to acknowledge any comments that your customers may have. Afterall, the most important thing in any business, including one dealing in antique dolls, is the customers.