as someone who has been collecting the dolls since 2010, seeing all the store closures and failures over the years just makes me pretty sad, tbh. i really hope that they've learned from all of these mistakes...

I REALLY hope the historical line takes the frontlines of the company again as it was intended to be. They've made so many mistakes, quality has gone way down, and I think the only thing that can cement another decade of this company existing is them making history their forefront again.

Hearing about all the American Girl store closures makes me so sad, I remember when the Seattle location opened getting to go was such a big deal for me! Then even more of a big deal when they opened the boutiques in Indigo Canada. And now the benefit sale is ending! It feels like there will be less opportunities to connect with the AG doll community in person anymore.

When I worked at AG Tenney was in our system as the GOTY

I know the GOTY dolls I’d like to see are a martial artist doll, one that has a pet tarantula, and a neurodivergent doll that partners with the Autism Self Advocacy Network. And if they were all dolls of color, that would be great. Also, I low-key want a Star Wars collaboration.

i’ve recently gotten back into ag specifically because of maryellen and i know it’s just objectively harder and more expensive to make things like they used to but i am genuinely confused by the lack of style diversity with the truly me line. the pivot to glam as a default in the dolls is super off putting to me. i was interested in maybe getting a truly me boy doll but looking at the clothes lineup they really don’t offer masculine/gender neutral clothing anymore. you pm have to go historical for anything like that. feels like a huge missed opportunity. also the discontinuation of supplies like replacement ribbons, undergarments (especially historical), socks, stands etc is a huge bummer to me. it gives the feeling of disposability to me. also laughing at how the $5k doll was just an outfit from the mid 2000s with crystals on it. couldn’t even be bothered to make a new pattern lol

I found it funny how this year they released all that new Harry Potter stuff at the beginning of June and promoted the heck out of it all month and then waited until July to release their rainbow jewelery... Side eye, Mattel! 🧐👀

I was on my American Girl hiatus between 2011 and 2022, so I basically missed all of this, it's really sad to see how far they've gone downhill, but I'm glad to see that there are some sparks of hope here and there. Keep it up with the awesome content!

I got my first AG doll for Christmas in ‘06 when I was only 6, I continued to collect for the next ten years, but by 2016, I was 16, and even though I probably would have kept collecting, I didn’t like what AG was becoming. BeForever was the beginning of the end for me, after that it just wasn’t the same.

Hoping American girl is getting their act together. It’s seem like they did so with the historical line. But who knows. I have to say I really don’t like the truly me line now. It just seems like the dolls are very unrealistic. I hope they release a lot of the old ones with no painted lashes and natural hair. AND PLEASE MAKE BETTER OUTFITS

I feel like the beef forever version of Molly, with her new outfit is more historically accurate to her time. Then the pleasant company, Rolland, Molly.

Lots of info you gathered here. I’ve collected through this entire period. AG has done questionable things before this period as well. Staining of clothes goes back even farther than 2014. Good summary of some if the history of this period.

Me literally finally buying American girl for the first time in 2023😭

honestly scared that american girl won't be around in a few years

In addition, Kavi was very white-washed and my Indian boyfriend also stated that her Bollywood outfit isn't culturally correct. Her collection is considerably smaller, with very few new releases, than other Girl of the Year dolls. 😕 And she too has been ignored this year, very much overshadowed by the twins. I'm just getting more and more disappointed with AG these days. 😥

I actually got a CYO shortly after they launched that line and yes, the first choices were very limited so I'm really glad that AG has expanded on that, but I actually think the older outfits were far better than the current ones, though the design your own option was pretty poor quality. You could also buy the other outfits at the time of purchase of your CYO. I'm really confused about what AG is trying to do with the new outfits.

i grew up collecting american girl (mid 90's to mid 2000's) and it's so sad to see it go so downhill.

I got into adult AG collecting during the BeForever era (I was into AG as a kid during the early-mid 00s Mattel era), and I hated how condescending the whole line felt. AG sparked my interest in history as a kid because of how accurate the period clothing and accessories seemed. The BeForever redesign really talked down to kids, like AG decided if every outfit and accessory isn't super bright and cutesy, girls won't be interested.

for the benefit sale i feel like the end may have been more the museum’s decision than AG’s having worked in museums the amount of time and effort needed to put on the benefit sale (which was volunteer non paid work) was not worth the money they brought in. the museum was probably putting in a lot of time to this event which had exponentially grown since they first started and could not manage how big it became. not to mention it was known that some collectors would lash out at the volunteers are treat them poorly. i love criticizing AG as much as the next person but i would not fault AG for this really no one is to blame and i hope they figure out something better for returns and such in the future.

Its sad american girl not american girl knew as little girl

I've had Caroline since around 2013 and I wish they'd kept her around. She's my first doll and I love her and her collection, despite me only having one of her outfits outside of her original one. From now on, I think Im just going to buy the historical dolls. The girl of the years are pretty iffy overall and they are gone so quick. Also, I for some reason have Felicity's BeForever book without the doll. I dont know why I have the book without the doll because I would definitly remember if I got the doll.

Thank you for this informative video. I was sad that Claudie didn’t get more attention but I bought her and she’s a favourite in my collection. I would love to have Evette Peters from the World by Us line. Do you think Mattel will do an American girl live action movie like Barbie? If so would it be on your positive or negative list? I would be excited for it if it was well done. 🤗

They should just made Tenny be the girl of the year and waited till the next year to release Gabriella making her better

I always wanted the sequin kimono though. I also have the red hoodie gaming outfit but for my boy doll.

I think American girl needs to realize that a huge part of their customers are adult collectors and it isn’t all just little girls. Of course young girls are an important part of the customer base, but the adults are huge too and are never catered to. They would make THOUSANDS if they brought back original historical character outfits, collections, best friend dolls, etc. They obviously wouldn’t be able to do this all at once, but starting with fan favorites like Marie Grace and Cecile might show them how successful it could be

Yes they just closed our Columbus ohio store. Very sad.

I recently heard that mattel is panicing and not making as much money as they want to. Their shares have gone down in value as well. This video shows just how paniced mattel is. (Ag being the most struggling brand in mattels empire)

What is her face mold name please

All my homies hate Felicity and Tenny

Gabriella did have a speaking disability though

I hope AG goes back to its roots of the historical dolls being the focus. I've never much cared for the Just Like You dolls. Also, one of the selling points for my family, as I'm sure it was for others too, is that yes, AG is expensive, but the historical characters were also educational and could justify the price a bit. The same can't be said for the Just Like You dolls, or the BeForever line, with their often historically inaccurate clothes and scaled down collections. AG is making me want to start my own historical doll line.

I sort of remember this, and honestly, sometimes I’m a bit annoyed by American Girl. The barrage of white GOTY dolls was annoying, especially Tenney’s somewhat unrealistic story; as well as their claim to want to show diversity while ignoring dolls of color. But on a positive note, I would have been over the moon to have Luciana as a Latina space nerd. I also headcanon Luciana as neurodivergent

amazing video, if you got a better mic it would be even better!

Very Interesting video, you obviously put a lot of work into it. One of my takeaways is that people are great to complain about stuff they have no business complaining about… if AG wants to make expensive collector dolls and people are buying them, who are we to complain? That shouldn’t be included in ‘mistakes’; seems to have been a win for AG, as they keep releasing more and more of these fancy collector dolls. I think that changing the release cycle of GOTY dolls before the gift-giving holidays isn’t a mistake. It makes good business sense. Of course, people have to complain as usual. They need to learn to cope better. It’s a business. GOTY is a doll, not a real person with feelings. The doll isn’t going to care how much time she gets the spotlight. Having GOTY dolls around for more than 1 year seems a bit strange, but obviously they’re selling enough of all of them in the second year to justify continuing the practice. I don’t know about the store closures - it’s too bad, but it’s possible that online sales have crippled in-store sales to the point that many stores were bleeding too much money. And that’s partly on AG fans, if you really think about it. Yes, of course the pandemic contributed. And it’s possible the stores were mismanaged. What makes me mad is their terrible online shipping practices. They charge a flat $10 shipping for all orders under $150, no matter how small and light the package is. This is having a direct negative impact on their sales. Personally I end up buying clothing and accessory sets more often on eBay, I can get brand new current sets with boxes and everything for the same price as the website, but shipping included. Offering a $10 credit on every $200 worth of purchases does not offset their expensive shipping costs. Even Sephora who almost never has sales gives free shipping over $25, so why can’t AG? Especially since many of their items are tiny outfits and accessories. I would like to see more WBU dolls but I guess that won’t be happening. I like the tween dolls’ looks, they’re fun. I’m glad that Corinne Tan was 13 in her movie. I don’t believe for a second that Nicki and Isabel are ‘9 years old’ - 25 years ago 4th graders weren’t bleaching their money pieces and wearing heels. IMO the twins look about 11-12 years old and in middle school. I’ll stop rambling - I guess your video brought up some stuff, which was its intended purpose, right 😂 good job!

Store closures are not a failure on AGs part. Covid, recession, high unemployment and dolls arent as popular with children as it was in the past.

Look the most important thing is that they need to improve the quality again, as the prices are not getting lower. Stop making 8 year old dolls looks like 13 year old girls and increase the diversity of the trully me line, as it doesn't cover the diversity of girls anymore. I understand that older girls don't like dolls anymore and they are targeting young children now, the ones that the parents won't spend that amount of money just so see the toy get destroyed, but that doesn't mean that it is ok to stop working on their product, they release things without studying, without materials and without advertising. And stop listening to people making noises and backlashing, they will just complain and move on, they don't buy stuff. Work on the product "universe" is what is lacking. Characters used to have a lot of books, activities, and accessories made just fot them, now they are just copies and maybe one or two very silly books.

Of course they are going to release Harry Potter because it sells. If the doll isn’t selling promotion slows down.