Josefina in her new pajamas
It was a summer, girls-only, road trip kind of day today. Destination: the American Girl Warehouse Sale in Wilmot, Wisconsin. We had never attended this sale, and it was an adventure! We arrived around 11 am and got our ticket to go in. Our number was 536 and so far only numbers through 125 had been admitted in. At least you can leave and come back after you have a ticket.
We passed time at a small-town cafe and mingled with other doll lovers. We marveled at the number of eBay buyers at the sale, some of whom arrived at 3 am and brought uHauls (moving trucks). No kidding! One person was funding her kid’s medical school tuition by selling items on eBay.
All of these people are ahead of us in the check out line. Do not bring your toddler or your husband!
Our number was called and we entered the sale around 2:30. No shortage of merchandise and the prices were very good. American Girl mini-dolls, $ 6.00; AG clothing $10-14.00; books, $2.00. We were glad Mr. Saver wasn’t along because he would have had some sort of calculation adding in the value of our time + gas. We had fun, though, and we will always remember our crazy long day in Wilmot!
Stay tuned for a future post on how we budget for these adventures. If you have questions about this annual sale, please leave a comment.
The Healthful Saver 
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Whoa! I didn’t know such an event existed! I am amazed that there is enough product to handle that much demand. So… Did you get a doll or few for personal use or to resell?
It was pretty crazy! They don’t sell dolls there, just clothes, books, and other branded items. We bought 3 outfits, a couple bday presents to have in reserve, and a couple books. Total $ 61.00.
The strange thing about the eBay contingent is that the same outfits that are currently in the AG catalog are listed for similar prices on eBay. I really ought to follow a sale and see what items sell for. It seems you would need to hold the inventory for a while until there was a demand.
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Im interested in finding out the date for this summer’s sale. How do I find out? Thanks!
I don’t know if the sale is always in August or not… Last year was our first time. I would recommend bookmarking this page and checking back in summer. http://www.matteltoystore.com/locations/wilmot-wi.aspx
It will be in summer because you spend a lot of time hanging around outside! We plan to go again this year, but I will know to plan better. There is very VERY little in Wilmot. A small cafe that takes cash and a gas station. The Mattel outlet store, where they sell other Mattel products, does have a bathroom.
There is a lot of camaraderie while you wait to get in!
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Do they have any items that went with retired dolls?
I have Molly and would love to get more of her items.
For information on the 2016 sale, see
https://dollsbetweenus.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/wilmot-2016-warehouse-sale-dates-announced/
As for Molly, never say never, but I haven’t seen many items going that far back. I would anticipate Caroline, and maybe even parts of Cecile and Marie-Grace’s collection. Often at Wilmot they do not sell the complete outfit, so you might find a meet outfit without the shoes. Always be sure you know what is included. There is a picture above the boxes.