Dear American Girl, I thought “retired” meant “gone forever”

Sep 4, 2014

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Dear American Girl:

I just received the latest American Girl catalog in the mail. I was puzzled to see that you decided to return Samantha to the sales line-up.

What? I thought “retired” meant “gone forever,” as in “This product is retired and so you cannot buy this product from us any longer.”

Don’t get me wrong: I love American Girl. I love the stories, the products, the cafes… almost the entire experience. I’d rather spend money on one gift, or collection of gifts my daughter will cherish and play with, versus purchasing several inexpensive gifts for her birthday or at Christmas that I doubt will last nearly as long or be enjoyed as frequently. I love how these gifts cause her imagination to run wild in beautiful ways. That is why my daughter has a small collection of your dolls.

Yes, it frustrates me that Kirsten, the first doll my daughter received, was retired soon after she received it, meaning we cannot buy any of her accessories. But that is the deal. Once a doll is gone it is gone. I played by the rules. I didn’t even seek out accessories on ebay.

But now I’m beginning to wonder who is next. My trust is beginning to wane. I’m beginning to feel played.

Now, with new un-retired dolls, how do we know when a girl will really be retired?

I recognize American Girl is in business to make money, but the decision to bring back retired dolls doesn’t sit well with me. My daughters heart is already tugged with the fear of dolls retiring. I was ready to deal with that. We’ve played that game and thought about our purchases there, sometimes buying before a doll retires and sometimes not. But now we have to deal with old dolls coming back and the urgency in that? Come, ON, American Girl. When you retire a doll, does it mean she’s gone or not? Which is it?

Sincerely,

A frustrated mom who has supported you through the years

Dear Readers,

What do YOU think about this decision? Am I missing something and just a little cranky? Are you delighted to see an old friend back on the shelves? Or do you question this decision, too?

Comments

5 responses to “Dear American Girl, I thought “retired” meant “gone forever””

Lauren

December 7, 2014

I think that the archives is great my daughter got The American Girl Doll Elizabeth then so soon after she retired it would be nice to take her out of archives. Put this this the SUPIDEST THING EVER THEY GOT RID OF ALL THE FRIEND DOLLS THAT IS STUPID MY DAIGHTER REALLY WANTS IVY I RIGHLY RECCOMEND THAT THEY BRING BACK ALL THE FRIEND DOLLS.

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1. Laurenéya
  
  December 7, 2014
  
  I think they should bring back ALL the friend dolls to that ruined them I collect all the friend dolls and the main character this has ruined my collection please bring back ALL the FRIEND DOLL
  
  Reply
Betsy

September 5, 2014

Here’s the trick: there’s a difference between archival and retirement. American Girl never uses the word retirement with the Historical dolls (it only uses it for the Girl of the Year line). They “archive” Historical characters, which mean those characters can be taken out of the archives whenever American Girl wants.
I dread archivals though. I really do. They turn something that is supposed to be enjoyable, into something stressful.

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Joesette

September 5, 2014

I’m with you. It’s the push to “gotta get it now or never”….and then ta-da, she’s baaaack.

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Karen

September 4, 2014

I think AG retired the one doll to try out the two dolls from New Orleans (which I guess failed-no one wanted to spend $200 for 2 best friend dolls- shocker). The new set of books for the dolls was long overdue (some kind of time travel theme) Plus, they’re bringing focus back to history. Gotta admire the marketing.

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