Does it Bother You that American Girl Dolls are Made in China?

This recent news piece brings to light the fact that American Girl dolls, like most other toys, are made in China. Were you aware of that? Would you be willing to pay more for American Girl dolls if they were made in the United States?

Posted on December 18th, 2007 by Char
Filed under: American Girl

23 Responses to “Does it Bother You that American Girl Dolls are Made in China?”

phoebe, on December 19th, 2007 at 2:30 am Said:

no
Jannell, on December 19th, 2007 at 5:46 pm Said:

It couldn’t bother me less.
Marcia, on December 19th, 2007 at 5:47 pm Said:

Not at all.
Renata, on December 19th, 2007 at 9:51 pm Said:

Well, actually I prefer they were still made by Gotz. American made makes sense but the price of the dolls has topped out. They and their accessories are not the same quality as the first dolls were. Perhaps a Mattel thing. Could they keep the price the same with American workers? Or would they just not make enough to satisfy their corporate world?

Off my soapbox now….
Yes it does bother me. It appears that China does not have very good watchdogs in place. Kudos to the news team for testing a doll for lead. I would hate to have to return our dolls.
But…I am not willing (or able) to pay more than I already am.
Nicole, on December 21st, 2007 at 1:46 am Said:

Well, it does and it doesn’t bother me. It does because if American Girl dolls are made in China then why not call them Chinese dolls? They should be made in the United States. It doesn’t bother me because if they were made in the United States then their prices would be a lot higher. (Eeek! Their prices are little high already … )
Casey, on December 23rd, 2007 at 12:43 am Said:

I just say as long as there is no lead in the dolls, they are perfectly fine ( Well, besides the price, can get a bit pricey at times).
Sienna_or_QT, on December 27th, 2007 at 3:39 am Said:

no, because AG has a doll hospital,
Ella, on December 27th, 2007 at 6:24 pm Said:

Surely it’s obvious that they weren’t made in America, as few products today are. People worry about people in China etc being employed by ’sweatshops’ but surely it’s better people are employed and fed than starving/dying?
I don’t really see the point in this report, other than to stir and try to create negative feelings towards the brand. Must have been a slow news day…
Caitlin, on December 29th, 2007 at 11:01 pm Said:

It kind of bugs me, because it seems like things made in China are cheaply made, you know. I still think the dolls are high quality, but I wish they were still made in Germany.
Victoria-Anastazia, on January 1st, 2008 at 11:04 am Said:

I rather wish they were made in Germany too, just because it would have a sort of European flair…or in the US to make them more ‘authentic’. However, in virtually every country where material goods are produced, sweatshops occur. They exist in the US as well as in China.

If the dolls were made in the US, the price, in theory, should remain stable. Even if production costs rise, surely it is more financially taxing to ship across the Pacific, the world’s largest ocean, than to ship to a warehouse in the same country? By this logic, the production loss and the shipping gain should balance out. However, this may not be the case, but I feel that if AG raised the prices for US production by more than perhaps $5, it would merely be to raise profit and not because of growing production costs.

I believe that raising the price of the dolls much higher would be a fatal move to the company. Many of its customers are ordinary middle-class girls who can perhaps over a few years acquire two to four dolls. If prices rose higher, fewer and fewer parents would acquiesce (sp) to purchase more than one, or even a single, AG doll. Collecters, a major customer group, would be prevented from collecting large quantities of dolls and accessories, as well.

In short, although I would prefer the dolls to be produced within the US itself, I would not wish to pay even more exorbitant prices for dolls I can even now barely afford.

(I apologize for the length of this comment. For the last few hours I have been looking up articles in an aimless manner whilst I wait for AG to update its home-page.)

~Victoria-Anastazia.
Scott, on January 2nd, 2008 at 3:57 am Said:

I would love to see the profit margins on these dolls… that is the only reason they make them in China. You cannot convince me that prices could not remain the same if made in the U.S… their profit margins would be less, for sure… but they would NOT go out of business.

Maybe “American Girl” is a perfect name… think about it, the trend with American companies is to do this exact same thing to increase profit and NOT pass it along to consumers.

I hate to sound like “Joe Union” or otherwise bash capitalism, but there comes a time when you need to be socially responsible. When is it enough money?

I’m sure this was Mattel’s doing… they probably backed the truck up to Ms. Rowland’s (founder) house in 98′ when they made them a subsidiary, and she couldn’t resist… and she stepped away in 2000 to let the Mattel marketing/fulfillment machine do its job.

I’m sure the American Girl line is an extremely profitable, all be it a small chunk of the company. I think I read they do somewhere between 70-80million a quarter.

At the end of the day, its an overpriced doll that people just want… and as long as people stand in line with their wallets ready, they will continue to rake in millions.

All be honest, my daughter has one and my wife wants to buy another… And them being made in China isn’t going to stop them from buying (neither will my ranting).

All I know is I can sleep at night knowing I am not ripping people off… or is it really ripping people off if they are willing to pay?

I changed my mind, American Girl is the perfect name…
Maria, on January 2nd, 2008 at 6:41 am Said:

It is not a big concern to me, but I wish their prices were a teensy bit lower. Why is Mia 90$?
Sara, on January 4th, 2008 at 7:57 pm Said:

I think Mia and the other dolls went up in price becuz they might have moved the industry to the USA…that’s just a thought.
Geniveive, on January 6th, 2008 at 3:44 pm Said:

this is soooo totally stupid!!!! anybody who agrees with this is right, and people who don’t in my older sister’s opinion are “wack”
Sara, on January 7th, 2008 at 5:35 am Said:

i agree, but why hack up the price?
Marcia, on January 7th, 2008 at 8:20 am Said:

Maybe supplies are more expensive.
Anna, on February 15th, 2008 at 5:49 pm Said:

I think that AG dolls should be made in the US. Poor chinese people are making them and getting low wages, and we are buying them for $90. not too great, eh? Ok. yeah. it does bother me. I wrote to them about it a while ago. they didnt reply. i think i insulted them, lol.
Also, in China means that they ARE NOT american girl dolls. huh. something to think about next time you buy from them.
A Ashlee G, on May 17th, 2008 at 1:22 pm Said:

It doesn’t bother me. Even though they are made in China they are still made to be American girl dolls. So it doesn’t really matter where they are made.
A Ashlee G, on May 17th, 2008 at 1:24 pm Said:

What I meant by “they were still made to be American girl dolls” was they were made to be American girls. U already knew that, right?
Sharon, on August 1st, 2008 at 11:02 pm Said:

So, who cares where there made , I’m chinese!
Sharon, on August 1st, 2008 at 11:07 pm Said:

I love AG, even though i must admit China is pretty cheap ,but it doesn’t bother me the same
Sharon, on August 1st, 2008 at 11:09 pm Said:

It’s weird they don’t sell them in China
Sharon, on August 2nd, 2008 at 10:02 am Said:

I cannoy believe it!