Barbie has been one of the most popular dolls and for almost fifty years has been a part of every girls wish list for Christmas or other special occasions. She has also been one of the best seller toys online and one of the hottest collectible toys.

According to Mattel, manufacturer of Barbie, there are already more than 100,000 Barbie collectors around the world. Roughly ninety percent are women in their early 40s, buying around twenty Barbie dolls and spending $1000 or more every year.

At auction, vintage Barbie dolls from earliest production are the most successful. In 1959, original Barbie was sold for $3.00. In 2004, Barbie in mint box from 1959 was sold for around $3552. And in 2006, a Midnight Red Barbie doll from 1965 was sold for $17,000, which actually set a world record.

Looking back, Mattel has sold a lot of Barbie dolls particularly to collectors. Barbie dolls sold included vintage reproductions, dolls based from characters in television series like Star Trek and The Munsters, and porcelain versions.

Barbie is a fashion doll created by Mattel. She was launched March 1959 and from then on has been one of the famous dolls. It is believed that credit for Barbie’s creation and success should be given to American businesswoman Ruth Handler who was inspired by German doll called Bild Lilli and eventually was led to the idea of developing a similar doll but should be called Barbie.

For almost fifty years, Barbie has been a part of every girls’ wish list for Christmas or other similar occasions. She has been one of the kids’ most favorite toys and has been one of the best seller toys online, particularly in eBay and Amazon.

However, although Barbie has definitely been a part of every girls’ life, she continued to be the subject of many lawsuits and controversies, oftentimes involving parody of the doll and her lifestyle. Recently, Barbie has faced stiff competition with Bratz range of dolls which are dolls that have also been so popular to girls.