Is your Barbie worth money? The most valuable dolls, from mint condition originals to diamond-wearin

To some, Barbie has always been a representation of the endless possibilities a woman could aim for, and there has been renewed interest in the Mattel doll thanks to the Barbie film now in cinemas and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

Lai’s love for Barbie began when she started buying the dolls for her youngest sister in the 1980s.

“Even when my sister grew out of her Barbie phase, I just kept buying them. The dolls and clothes were so pretty,” recalls Lai. She held on to her collection of Barbie dolls and accessories until 1998, when she moved to a smaller flat after her son went to university.

“When we moved, I had to throw a lot of my Barbie stuff away. It broke my heart when I had to do it. I stopped shopping for Barbie stuff after that,” says Lai, who discovered that her eight-box collection of nearly 30-year-old Barbie clothes was worth about A$600 (US$400).

In the world of Barbie collectibles, Lai’s find is relatively minor – a 2022 Cosmopolitan article on the most expensive Barbie dolls revealed that a first edition, mint condition 1959 doll sold for US$27,450 in May 2006.

Age is a key element in the valuation of vintage toys, as the older models of games and toys are often made with obsolete materials or fixtures. In the case of the original 1959 Barbie line, they have holes on the soles of their feet.

Another factor is whether they are still in the box they were sold in – boxed, mint condition toys are typically worth much more than those that have been opened, played with or show wear and tear.

A toy’s value can also be affected if it was part of a limited run. In 2014, a limited edition doll dressed like the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld was released. They retailed for US$200 each but now have a resale value of around US$11,400 each. Rarity plays a huge factor in this mark-up: only 900 of these dolls were ever produced.

In 2010, a limited edition Barbie was sold by auction house Christie’s in New York for an astronomical US$302,500.

The Stefani Canturi Barbie, designed by Australian jewellery designer Stefano Canturi, was accessorised with a choker made with an emerald-cut, one-carat Australian pink diamond and three carats worth of white diamonds. Proceeds from the sale were donated to breast cancer research.

In Lai’s collection of Barbie clothes, one set seems to pique more interest than the rest – one that features a light blue jumper and cropped trousers, a leopard print vest, hat, bag and a pair of black high heels.

The set was designed by Claire Dickson-Smith, the head designer of the Australian label Third Millennium Clothing, which was sold to Lisa Ho Clothing in 2009 and went into administration in 2013, giving this box set a certain degree of rarity.

Interest in Third Millennium Clothing, however, is much lower than interest in Karl Lagerfeld, rendering this box set valuable only to those with a keen interest in Australian fashion history.

“I might keep these sets a little longer to see if the movie will increase their value,” says Lai. “I really loved my Barbie collection, and these last boxes remind me of the time when I enjoyed shopping for them.”

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