| Hi, My name is Julia Rooney and for a long time I was called Jewels by friends (started in grammar school). I'm a doll nut as you can tell! I've been a collector since I was 4 years old and no, I never stopped collecting. Even in those high school years. I sort of kept it a closet secret for a long time. Back in the 80's (yeah I'm showing my age), I would have been laughed out of school if anybody knew I still played with dolls. Good thing I got over that! I owe this collection to my Mom who (thank God!), would never allow me to yard sale or give away my dolls. I even still have my some of my baby dolls, Sweet April collection, almost all of my Fisher Price toys and of course, my Barbie's!! My first doll was a titian TNT Skipper doll that really didn't belong to me but I had a screaming fit to my Mom about it and committed my first "hostile takeover"! Oops! Well, what can you do with a 4 year old screaming brat! She was forced to give in and well, my poor sister had to give up her doll. Don't worry folks, she's got plenty of Skipper's (I've paid for that episode dearly!) and is my prime cohort in collecting. We laugh about this now, but I think I laugh more than she does. But my first real Barbie family doll that was ever bought for me was a Fluff doll. She's one of the pride and joys of my collection that you can't put a price tag on! No matter what her condition. She's loved but she's in pretty good shape considering she was a gymnast! Didn't know it as a small girl but I remember the day I got her, she was in a white box, no lid but she had the neatest extra clothes with her (yeah, you know where I'm going with this!). It would take many years to find out that she was the Sears Exclusive "Sunshine Special" gift set. I had no clue as we never had the box lid. My Mom got these on a close out sale (she bought 2 of them) for a mere $5.00 a set! And throughout my childhood I slowly got as many items as Mom could afford but no Barbie doll would ever be loved to this day, the way Fluff is. I have a bunch of very special dolls but she has something special about her. It's that impish face!! I love lots of different fashion dolls. Barbie, Tuesday & Tiffany Taylor, Gene, Darci, Crissy & her family, Fashion Candi and clone dolls too! I love variations of outfits too! I love Montgomery Wards, Sears issue clothes. The fabrics Mego used to make clothes for Barbie were awesome! I don't mind helping someone identify their dolls too! And if I can't help you, I might know some great people who can, so always feel free to ask. I don't give appraisals though. I don't call myself a pro. There's always something new to learn, I find! But I love sharing information and stories. I've spent a lot of years going to doll shows and having a wonderful time, then ebay came along and I joined in 1998 and started selling not long after. My collection exploded even more, which is one of the reasons we had to buy a bigger house. The one that I lovingly call the Jewels Doll Castle. So now me, my incredibly understanding husband, our 2 gorgeous little girls (they really are!) and now somewhere over 1000 of my closest vinyl friends share this cool old house. And so now that my ebay selling days are winding down due to their new fee and feedback structures, I have built this site. No bidding hassles, just straightforward descriptions and prices. And if you ever feel like you need more information or a picture of an item you see on my site that is for sale, just ask! I want to make sure that you are happy with any item you buy from me! I may not always know the history of a doll or item, but I'll give all the details I can. And if I ever question whether something like makeup has been retouched or body parts swapped, you'll know!! I don't like surprises and I wouldn't want you to get any from me either!! And a note about Talking Barbie doll repairs. My husband takes care of all my dolls broken leg knobs and talker mechanisms. We've sold several over the years. He's had so many years as a plastic model kit builder that his knowledge of plastics and materials is endless! Any doll you buy from us that has been repaired will have notations and specifics of the type of repairs done. Once repaired, they are no longer meant for a child's play toy. The talking mechanisms are a rather "primitive" design by todays standards but I always make sure that each doll is in excellent working order when they leave. I always recommend that to every buyer of one of my talking dolls that you pull the string and test them every other week or so just to keep them in nice shape so the band inside doesn't sit stagnant for a long time. We do not use neoprene bands as many people in this business do because neoprene has a 5 year shelf life! If you decide to buy a repaired talking doll from me, the one requirement that I will have is that the doll is insured for both domestic shipping or international shipping! I cannot stress enough the importance for this. If the doll were to not be covered and arrives in a box that has been put through a rough handling process and arrives banged around and no longer talking, I cannot replace it. I pack them all as safely as possible but I want to know that we are both covered against loss or damage! So please understand that I will be firm on this requirement. I want you to have a great experience buying from me and feel confident that I care for your item as much as you do! In my 10 years of selling on ebay, I had the privilege of meeting some wonderful people and made some great friends along the way, all over the world. I ship to almost anywhere but there are certain locations that will be more difficult than others (Mexico is one of them for insurance reasons-for some reason, insurance is not available above a certain dollar amount). And there are size limitations on some packages to Australia and New Zealand. Above a certain size, the post office requires more expensive methods. So if you're buying a very large item or live in an area that may have certain restrictions on insurance coverage, check with me about shipping availability so we don't have confusion over shipping prices. I will do my best to keep shipping low but remember, the post office is raising rates this coming May (again!). With all that said, I want to thank you again for stopping by and checking out the Jewels Doll Castle and hope to hear from you soon! All the best!!! Julia-Jewels |
