Friday, August 22, 2025
FR3E
Thursday, February 13, 2025
How far will your US$35 go?
I got everything from the above photo for a total of less than US$35 -- one doll and 2 fashion sets. Mattel is selling the 45th Anniversary Black Barbie for the same price. That's one doll with less articulation and a fashion set.
With high inflation rates all over the world, I wonder how Mattel will survive with Chinese brands as competition. Not by short-changing their customers, I hope. Wait until you learn how much the executives and the CEO from Mattel get.
_________
Please note that while I patronize the Chinese brand, because it's a more economical option, I am against the Chinese government in invading our territories.
Monday, April 29, 2024
Playing the Blame Game and Dolls
ICYMI, a lot of Barbie dolls are now made in Indonesia, and less from China. This did not prevent Chinese sellers from offering Barbie dolls at competitive prices. I recently bought a Barbie Looks doll from a Chinese seller (not from any local seller) because the price was unbeatable.
How can Chinese businesses offer cheaper prices for the same item? No, it's not because they sell knock-offs! Their government subsidizes favored businesses allowing them to sell their goods for less. If this continues, local sellers, especially the official local distributor (Richwell aka Richprime aka KidsCompany) might suffer. Not only does the Philippine government offer little to no subsidies, the government also tax imported goods (even if they have no direct local competition) making Barbie's more expensive. The local SRP of a Barbie Looks doll is a little over US$50.
If I have to buy from Richwell, I wait for the sale season or maybe after a year after the release. They usually offer huge discounts by then. Barbie's popularity has declined despite the movie, sellers still have stocks years after the initial release.
Of course, you can't blame the local sellers for selling at a high price. They got it for a high price as well. In the same manner, you can't blame buyers who buy from China since they want to get the best value out of their hard-earned money. I blame the government but I wouldn't expect most doll collectors to agree.
Saturday, February 3, 2024
Are these sweatshop doll clothes?
I got these from China (thru a version of AliExpress), that's one. The prices are cheap, I can't help think that some slave labor is involved. The quality of the pieces are better than the current playline Barbie clothes.
If these came from sweatshops, am I a bad person for supporting an entity that exploits human labor? Also, these came from a country that is aggressively encroaching on our national territory. Does that make me twice as bad?
A course on "Wealth and Poverty" from Robert Reich posted on YouTube helped me answer some of my questions. I'm sharing it here as it may help you, too.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Affirmation
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Welcome to Marwen
I'm happy that there are people who can use dolls not just as a feel-good hobby but to make statements about what's wrong with our society.
Because being silent helps the oppressor.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Fake Wonder Woman Doll
Thursday, December 21, 2017
I'm Dreaming of a Colored Christmas
I'm thankful that Mattel has made the following changes on the Barbie Fashionista line this year:
1. Less pink in everything from fashion to accessories.
2. More unnatural hair colors
3. New face molds
What I'm not thankful for is the absence of some dolls, especially dolls of color, not only in the playline Fashionista line, but also in the collector dolls. Here are just some of the dolls that didn't make it to the Philippine toy shelves.
I would have paid full retail price for those, but since I was frustrated, I decided to wait until discounts were offered on all Mattel doll I'd buy. It really makes me smile, a smile that goes deep inside, whenever I see the white dolls not being sold even if they are already discounted, especially the blonde ones.
I feel like a broken record complaining about this over and over but I will not be silenced. I might get tired and rest for a while but I will keep talking about the things that matters to me. The least I could do about the situation is to speak up. Yes, I could buy them online but what about an ordinary person who wants to give a doll to a kid and at the same time send a message that beauty comes in different colors? Collectors can handle the hassle of buying online (yes, locally it is a hassle) because it's their passion but you can't expect that from a casual buyer.
What we see in toys, is usually what we are familiar with in ordinary our lives. When some dolls are restricted from entering the Philippines, it reminds me of immigrants or refugees being restricted entry in some foreign white country. Also, the absence of these dolls in the local toy shelves reflects the Filipino notion of beauty being connected to skin color, something a lot of local parents have no shame in passing on to their kids. The best selling beauty products are still related to skin whitening.
I've been collecting dolls for about 10 years now and I've heard about the problem on the lack of ethnic diversity in dolls from the time I started collecting. I thought this has been addressed when they released the 1st wave of the Barbie Basics line but it was short-lived. While foreign markets are satisfied with the changes, I can't say the same for the local front. I'm dreaming of doll shelves with ethnic diversity unlike the ones I used to know.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Peace Keeper

It could be China's claim on disputed territories causing tension in the region. It could be the rise of murder and extra-judicial killing victims in our country. It could be the diplomatically-challenged pronouncements of our president about going against the world while teaming up with Russia and China, even if we have territorial disputes with the latter (or, technically, as far UNCLOS is concerned, it's no longer a dispute because we've already won the case). Or it could be the U.S. (economic, military and political) forces in our country making us feel like a manipulated colony. These just call for peace keepers, not the United Nations kind. Not yet, anyways. (Things can still be handled with media spinning, trolling and misinformation.) I was thinking of peace keepers of the mind. Peace of mind is a luxury these days.

For me, toys helps with the peace keeping of the mind. What better way to do it than with the World Peacekeepers toy line? I, of course, picked up the Asian-looking doll. No matter how faithful I was to the American toy brands, they failed to address my need for a respectable male Asian doll. I have no choice but to patronize a Chinese toy brand even if I don't like everything I'm getting from the deal. Their male Asian doll looks respectable and not culturally misappropriated like some of those made by American brands. I just don't like the deadly weapons. They don't scream peace, right? And I'm not a fan of military fashion.

I saw at least three Asian-looking dolls. They seemed like they have the same face but with different hairstyles. I picked this one because of the ladder it came with. It also came with one pair of bare hands and another pair wearing gloves. The other variants only have gloved hands. It also has the least military-looking attire. He can even look like a meth cook. Our president will be pissed. He also has a balaclava, in case he wants to be a vigilante and support our president.

If there is such a thing as having too much chest, this doll has it. It is a little shorter than my other male dolls, providing at least some height variety. It has better articulation than your average Ken doll. The "best" part of this Chinese deal is the price, which is said to be a product of one-sided trade policies of China. That makes me wonder what one-sided deal our president recently got from China.

My patronizing this Chinese brand does not mean I will say goodbye to the American brand. It doesn't have be just one or the other. Making contradicting sides work together is key for world peace. I, thank you!
Monday, August 15, 2016
Normal

Thursday, June 16, 2016
Is Racism Being Promoted in Mattel Barbie Boxes?
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Denial Exercise

Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Hero vs Hero
Friday, April 29, 2016
Little Steps
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Black Adjectives
The problem is I'm not black, so the image above doesn't have a black perspective. I don't know how it is to be black. I'm actually think that the doll I styled looks a little oreo. I am not saying black dolls should be dressed like that to make their image positive. I'm just saying white dolls don't have a monopoly for certain looks and adjectives.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Black Barbie Embargo
Monday, April 4, 2016
Reviewing reviews because we can do that.
http://guardiandc.blogspot.com/2016/04/daredevil-season-2-review.html
Although the Daredevil is the main character, I don't think the women are just there to be his love interests. It's ironic that he finds that the womanizing part "didn't work." By that, I'm assuming he meant that it was not a good idea or it wasn't handled well. But he liked the idea of having the female casts pit against each other for the Daredevil's love. What's up with Team Elektra? Team Claire? Team Karen? I think it was a very male-centered view of the situation.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
A Doll of The World Entry
Thursday, February 11, 2016
And Now
