Mattel Struggling To Sell Barbie

[auraa 74]

I wonder if Barbie, the movie affected the brand, at the beginning people loved it but the narrative changed quickly 

[River 127,746]

They need to oversexualize Ken and let the gay buy these damned dolls

I mean release some “cigar smoker bear Ken” doll

”kinky at the Folsom Street Fair Ken” doll

kids don’t give a f-ck about dolls these days, they are too woke for that, they can rot with that brainrot sh-t

[SharkmanthaC 115,066]

Trixie stopped promoting them I guess.

[lasagna 3,435]

if it isnt the consequences of their own actions. they killed the silkstone signature line which consistently had some of the most beautiful high quality adult collectible dolls on the market and the quality of their playline dolls keep decreasing while prices increase.

they use disgustingly low quality plastic fibers for the hair, low quality plastic fabric with printed on textures and materials and no sewing or designing, the dolls have terrible grainy screening, and they're styled like katy perry backing dancers. none of that is appealing to either children or adults.

kids and adults want articulated dolls that look nice with well made clothes. it's not rocket science

Spoiler

i saw these photos online of dentist barbie from the 90s compared to the most recent one and the quality decline is just crazy. the entire outfit is just printed onto plastic fabric, theres no hair styling, the doll is ugly, no sewing on the clothes. mind you the 90s barbies hair has lasted for 30 years, but modern barbies hair isn't even able to be styled without breaking due to its low quality (which is part of why so many barbies now just have flat straight hair, it's for budget and because it can't take styling even in the factory). its no surprise nobody wants to buy them anymore

 

[Horny Chicken 10,944]

3 hours ago, Shipper said:

Mattel better be reaching out to the anime community cause that is an untapped market. So many collectors in the doll and anime community would eat barbie versions of anime characters to their collection. Adults collect them so if they release high quality dolls even for 200$, those things would sell to collectors. So many accessories out already for 1/6 scale dolls. 

Ring dolls sell for like 2k USD each but like 2 feet tall but very high quality. 

I spent 600$ on 2 anime figures yesterday. 

[dynamite 66,828]

8 minutes ago, A Fried Egg said:

I spent 600$ on 2 anime figures yesterday. 

[Shipper 13,114]

33 minutes ago, A Fried Egg said:

I spent 600$ on 2 anime figures yesterday. 

I started my nendoroid collection as andult now I have stable income. And the dolls that was part of my childhood and no longer sold are now being sold 200 USD each.

This bitch bought em. 🫣😭

But dang, your 300$ figures are worth it and will give you relief in your miat stressful days. You must have gotten the uber detailed ones with cool stand and background. I usually purchase mine from Good Smile or CrunchyRoll

[phantasmas 12,402]

i need them to do another tokidoki collab 

[Knife 7,081]

They should kill Barbie off.

[IWantYourLove 1,459]

Doll creativity has gone to sh*t. They're lowkey ugly now. A little girl I know got angry when she was shown what Monster High and Barbie dolls used to look like. All of the c*nty fashion aspect has disappeared. There's no fantasy and visual appeal anymore.

[Pigatha 1,336]

20 hours ago, VTV said:

I doubt it. It screams desperation and greed. Its time for them to take the loss. Labubu is the new IT girl now.

Labubu aren't really comparable, and it's a fad, just like beanie babies, fidget spinners and Stanley cups. 

[artdoll 47,165]

10 hours ago, Flippy said:

It’s because they’re releasing quantities instead of quality… The dolls aren’t… it anymore. The early 2000 dolls would sell so good now compared to what’s on the shelves right now

Agreed, the current dolls Barbie has on shelves are just so uninspired.

Barbie in the 2000s was insane in the best way possible, mainly because they had a fire under their seat because MGA (Bratz) were knocking them out of the park. Just because they don't have as fierce of a competition doesn't mean they have to drop quality altogether.

[artdoll 47,165]

9 hours ago, River said:

They need to oversexualize Ken and let the gay buy these damned dolls

Ironically this accidentally happened back in the 80s(?) when they released Earring Magic Ken that came with a certain type of ring (hint: not one you wear on your finger!) hanging from his necklace. He was deemed "Gay Ken" and was a hit with queer people, specifically men.

If I recall correctly, Mattel sent their designers to look for ideas for fashion, they went to a gay club and just obliviously modeled Ken's clothes after what they saw (mesh shirts, etc.).

[Controversiaga 16,345]

Sadly young kids now have grown up with iPads and that is their main source of entertainment. Kids don’t really play with toys anymore it seems.

Barbie buyers are probably mostly adult collectors- and we don’t want dolls with molded on clothing and zero articulation and pixelated face screenings and polypropylene hair