How to Save on American Girl Dolls, Clothes, Accessories, Shipping and More!

As most of you know, my daughter got an American Girl doll for Christmas and ever since I've been on a quest to save money on the outrageously expensive clothes. After my last post on this topic, I emailed one of the commenters, we started a discussion, and I asked her to write a guest post on how people can save money when buying American Girl items.  Her company, Emily Rose, sells American Girl-like items at a good discount from what the originals cost. If you're in the market to save money on these sorts of items, you'll LOVE her post below. BTW, she's included a coupon code for FMF readers at the end of the post, so be sure to check it out.

Ah, the American Girl© Doll. I haven't yet met a girl in the 6-12 year old age bracket who doesn't salivate at the sight of blue spotted boxes. My own nine year-old daughter practically burst into tears of excitement after receiving the American Girl© "Marisol" as a surprise gift from a family friend. And Moms agree - these dolls are gorgeous. I remember the first time I saw an American Girl© doll. I was a Nanny for a wealthy family in the Hamptons. We visited another family and the kids brought out their very treasured, very well looked-after dolls. I was a 20 year-old college student at the time yet I spent the remainder of that afternoon ignoring my charges. Who could resist the steamer trunk with little drawers, coat hangers and hat boxes? Who could resist the hairstyle potential given the tiny box of styling accessories? Who could resist the outfits? Therein lies the rub.

How can our own little treasures resist the lure of that powerful marketing machine? And how can we as parents enjoy all the positive aspects of the American Girl phenomenon without going broke? I struggled with these questions as I tried to enable my own daughter to enjoy the full play potential of her wonderful dolls. We have all read the articles. There is a proven and direct correlation between dramatic play and success in school and social development. What better to encourage imaginary play than a gorgeous doll and a ton of accessories? But the expense... oh the expense. But there are options.

I tried Target. The "Next Generation" Doll is definitely not very high quality, and frankly I think they are a little unattractive, but the clothes were okay. Uninspiring, a little cheap looking, but okay. I tried Michaels. Did you know you can get accessories at Michaels? Some really cute stuff too like this fur coat and these eyeglasses for very cheap. The problem is the quality is not there and half the time the stuff isn't either. They don't keep very much stock I'm afraid. I tried eBay. I got very frustrated with the time involved, getting outbid at the last minute, the surprise shipping costs and the unreliable vendors. I gave up. I decided that surely other Mothers are dealing with the same issues. Surely there is a market for a store that provides a wide variety of good quality, affordable, clothes, accessories and furniture. My store, Emily Rose (named after Emily Rose my daughter) was born.

The main goal of Emily Rose was to save money - so let's compare.

Clothes:

• Mia's PJ Set is $22. This is an adorable set (with slippers) in the American Girl web store. Our equally adorable Cloud Nine Pajamas (with bunny slippers) from Carpatina? $18.99. That's almost a 15% savings. For even bigger savings we have pajamas (without slippers) for as low as $9.99 which is more than half price!
• Molly's Robe and Fuzzy-Wuzzies is $22. Our Pink Heart Bathrobe with fuzzy heart slippers is only $14.99 - you can save almost 30%.
• Kristen's Work Dress is $20, that's just the dress. We have over 60 different dresses available at Emily Rose - but our gorgeous Sunflower Garden Set is only $18.99 plus it includes a matching purse and hat.
• Mia's Performance Outfit, the ice-skating dress, is $28. Our Spangle Skating Outfit (with earmuffs) - only $13.99. Half Price!

Unless you want to add on the airfare to New York, Chicago, Atlanta or Los Angeles, shipping costs are always a factor for American Girl purchases. To ship the four outfits above from the American Girl store (regular Parcel Post) would cost you an additional $10.95. Emily Rose ships everything via Priority Mail - you usually have your order in your hands in 2-3 days and has a flat shipping rate for clothes only orders, anywhere in the US for $5.50 - another 50% saved.

Furniture:

• Samantha's Bed is $68 - ouch! Our Brass Bed is $39.99. We include a mattress and coverlet and pillow too (ours is white without the pink trim).
• Samantha's Trunk is $175... but wait when I put it in my cart I get a little message telling me not to forget to add my shipping surcharge - that means on top of the regular shipping charge - of $20. I think that means the trunk costs $195 don't you? We have a variety of Doll Trunks available at Emily Rose and most are under $90.

Of course there are times when nothing but American Girl will do. We don't do exact replicas after all, we don't sell the dolls, and we aren't the brand (although we do like to think that Emily Rose is developing a brand reputation of our own). In those instances let me give you a few tips... American Girl always comes out with a "Free Shipping" coupon in late October, early November. Do a Google search for "American Girl Coupon" around that time and you are sure to find it posted on one of the coupon sites. If you are planning on shopping for the Holidays with that coupon, shop right away - American Girl is infamous for going out of stock. You should also keep your eye on the Sale Page of American Girl. It was there that I saw the Irish Dance outfit for $16.

As Emily Rose has grown and expanded our product line, price can not always be our primary driver. If we only wanted to be cheaper than American Girl we wouldn't be able to offer you some of our most beautiful products like our Sun Blossom Kimono for $26.99 or our Regal Princess Dress for $24.99. But then again American Girl doesn't have any outfits like these so we can't really compare. But we have great coupons and special offers also. If you join the Emily Rose Club you will get a coupon for your "Pick of the Week" - which is an offer for one of our outfits for only $12, every week. And for all of you Free Money Finance readers here is a coupon you can use right now. Just enter "FMF08" (without quotes) in the coupon code box at checkout and we will take an additional 5% off of your order. If you have any questions or concerns just call us (800) 615-7048 or send us an email: customercare@dollsclothes-emilyrose.com. We get lots of nice compliments on our customer service but you don't have to take my word for it you can read some of our customer testimonials - we have over 200!

 

Comments

[billy]

How about discounted Star Wars Lego. Many of the products are only sold for a limited time. Stores like Target & Toys R Us have limited stock or out of stock. Ebay is frustrating and prices are often higher than retail.

[Dave]

This is great for parents who have kids who are into American Girl products, but I wonder if this is a legal use of the American Girl trademarks and trade names?

[FMF]

Dave --

I'm not sure what you mean.

[Scott]

Saw this on dealnews.com and thought of your posts...

AmericanGirl.com slashed prices on dozens of doll outfits and accessories during its latest sale. With prices starting at $6, most are at lowest-we've-seen prices. Plus, use coupon code "A382024" to get free shipping. A best bet is the Ready for Fun Outfit for Dolls (pictured) for $10 with free shipping. That's $16 off and the lowest total price we could find. This outfit includes a pair of jeans, zip-up hoodie and T-shirt, tennis shoes, socks, underwear, and ponytail holder.

http://dealnews.com/American-Girl-com-Sale-Doll-outfits-and-accessories-from-6-free-shipping/214275.html?ref=rss_dealnews_20

[Lisa-Marie]

Dave - just wanted to let you know it is legal to use the American Girl trademark as long as we are not claiming to be AG products. We have disclaimers on our site stating that we are not affliated with American Girl or Mattel.

[Hayley]

I sent a mail order in for the Mia doll on Monday. I haven't heard anything from them since. Should I worry whether my order(with a check inside), actually got there? I mean how long does it take for the order to get there? And when will they contact me? I am beginning to worry if it got stolen and I'll never get the doll. Someone pls comment an answer to my questions.

[FMF]

Hayley --

If I mailed a check to a company on a Monday, I wouldn't be up in arms about it on Thursday. But if you want, why not call them?

[SHELLEY RUSSELL]

If you go to Target they have "Our Generation" items. Their clothing comes with all accessories and costs around $9.99. These items fit the American Girl Doll perfectly and they are cute. They have scooters, horses, styling chairs, beds, etc. Their items are cute and very affordable. They are available online or in the store. The bed they have is very very close match to the American Girl trundle bed. It is pink and light blue and very cute.

[A.J.]

It doesnt take much time or skill to shop on ebay for doll stuff or even DOLLS!! ive got at least 6 or 7 AG dolls off ebay for less than 60.00. And if they need a new wig thats like 16.00 and its very easy to replace on the doll. Most doll clothes on the AG site are very generic and GAP like. I actually prefer handmade styling doll clothes from prominent doll clothes sellers on ebay like doll*sewer and Liberty Jane. There are so many low cost doll items that are even AG brand on ebay. Shipping is right there on the page so there are NO surprise shipping costs and most are doing low to free shipping to attract business. I personally dont care about fancy packaging and prefer the padded envelope that costs like 5 or more dollars cheaper!! there's also Tons of sites online that show how to make fake doll food and free doll clothes patterns as well as crafts the girls can do for thier dolls!!

[Heather]

Try Target. Also, try browsing the internet for contest. Normally, their will always be one where you can win something free.