Barbie Tokidoki! Yes, she deserves an exclamation mark, she’s unique. A must for any collector with her designer fashions, limited numbers, and fame as the first Barbie with a fully tattooed arm.
There are three dolls in the Tokidoki Barbie range, two of which have pink hair which makes them an instant favorite for me! These dolls were extremely limited release and are hard to come by, but I’m here to help you get the facts on her, buy or or sell her for the right price.
What’s In This Article:
Tokidoki Barbie Facts & Stats
Barbie Tokidoki is a collaboration between Mattel (Barbie) and lifestyle brand Tokidoki. Tokidoki is famous for larger-than-life characters, bright colours, whimsy and cuteness. I have one Tokidoki item (an ornament of a unicorn with a mermaid tail) and it is FANTASTIC. So colourful and crazy.
Tokidoki means “sometimes” in Japanese. Tokidoki founder, Simone Legno, loves Japan and chose the word because he feels “everyone waits for moments that change one’s destiny, by chance or by meeting a new person”.
Combine the whimsy and color of Tokidoki with the icon that is Barbie and it’s no wonder this doll is so highly collectible.
- Full Name: Barbie Tokidoki
- Release Date: 2011 for the doll with the pink bob. 2015 for the other two, to celebrate Tokidoki’s tenth anniversary.
- Hair Colour: Light pink bob, dark pink waist length with bangs, purple waist length with bangs
- Face: Steffie face mould for the 2011 doll, Karl face mould for the 2015 dolls, dramatic eyeliner and bold pink lipstick on a closed mouth
- Body: Model muse. Colorful tattoos on arms and body
- Clothes: Tokidoki themed outfit and accesories, including a Tokidoki character pet
- Related Dolls: Tokidoki is unlike any other Barbie in my opinion. However, she is not alone in having tattoos, so here are some other Barbie dolls with tattoos: Hard Rock, Goldie Hawn, some Harley Davidson. Totally Stylin, who came out the year before Tokidoki, had those fake tattoos that kids love and wash off with water.
- Country Of Manufacture: China
The pink bob Tokidoki Barbie was a gold label release, so there were about 25,000 made. The doll with the longer pink hair was a black label release and more widely available. The purple hair Tokidoki Barbie was limited to 999 dolls worldwide.
Tokidoki FAQ
What Does Tokidoki Mean?
It’s Japanese for sometimes.
Is Tokidoki A Japanese Brand?
No! The founder of Tokidoki is actually Italian, and the official Tokidoki website uses the Italy web name extension .it. Simone the founder has a love of all things Japanese, as you can tell by his amazing artwork.
Why Is Tokidoki So Popular?
It’s colorful and whimsical, which appeals to our sense of fun and fancy. Tokidoki makes a range of collectibles (and we know people love collectibles, we are Barbie collectors here after all, aren’t we!) and easy to wear clothes. They also collaborate with popular brands like Sanrio (the creators of Hello Kitty) which helps expand their audience.
Where To Buy Or Sell Tokidoki Barbie
Buying
Since all three of the Tokidoki Barbie dolls were limited releases, she is highly collectible and retains high prices. The doll with the long pink hair is the one that is easiest to come by.
ebay is the easiest place to buy Tokidoki Barbie. There are sellers from all over the world listing her there, from new in-box dolls to dolls that are missing some accessories and been played with. You can look through the options and choose one that best suits your budget.
Etsy and Amazon are also great places to find sold-out Barbies like Tokidoki, but I know when I was searching for her, there were the most options on eBay. You may also like to try your luck on vintage toy or doll websites.
Here’s a list of places where I’ve found a good range of dolls for reasonable prices:
- treasurekeeper.com
- nowandthencollectibles.com
- bearhavenvintagetoys.com
- wertoys.com
- dallasvintagetoys.com
- nowandthengalleria.com
- goodwillfinds.com
- nicetwicedollshop.com
- jnltradinginc.com
- anbcollectibles.com
- superstardollsydney.com.au
- stnixstore.com
- vintagetoyuniverse.com
- timelesstreasuresandcollectibles.com
- notjustdolls.com
- vintagedollplaza.com
- thedollemporium.co.uk
- marlbe.com
- theclassicdoll.com
There are also a variety of online auction websites that run doll auctions, such as appletreeauctions, and Goodwill has a great auction section at shopgoodwill.com. Before you purchase from an auction house, read the terms and conditions as many will charge you an auction success fee, which you pay on top of your winning bid.
If you’re visiting this post from Australia, you might like to check out GumTree for Barbie listings. If you’re in New Zealand like me, you can often find dolls popping up for great prices on Trade Me if you look regularly.
Selling
If you have a Tokidoki Barbie to sell, you should get good money for her. The purple hair doll was the most limited release and will command the highest price, followed by the short pink hair Barbie and then the long pink hair doll.
Again, my top recommendation is Ebay. It’s the top place for people to sell their older Barbies. This means your doll is going to be seen by more buyers than any other website. You’ll need to factor in eBay fees to your price, and probably be prepared to post your doll to her new home.
Another great thing about eBay is the range of selling options you have. You can offer your doll for a set price, you can let potential buyers present you with their best offer, or you can let an auction run and enjoy watching a bidding frenzy!
If you want to sell your doll in person, investigate if there are any toy fairs or markets coming up in your area: Barbie collectors are always on the hunt for special dolls at these.
Pricing Info For Buyers And Sellers
I won’t give my value estimation for Tokidoki Barbie here because in the collector’s market things can change rapidly. I don’t want to give you incorrect information! I AM sure though, that this is a doll that holds her value and is an important piece for adult collectors.
The best way to figure out the value of your doll is, again, eBay. IMPORTANT: you don’t want to look at the current listings, these are not necessarily accurate.
The best way to tell is to look at listings that finished recently. This tells you what people are prepared to pay for the doll at any point in time.
To get accurate pricing information, type the name of the doll into the eBay search bar, then use the advanced filter to show “sold” and “recently completed” listings. Use the price information you get from there to figure out the price of your doll.
If you need help valuing your doll, please feel free to send me a message and I’ll do my best to help you figure it out.
