Mumbled Snark: The Nail in the Coffin for My Twinn, or Why the Lifelike Company Will No Longer Get My Money

Goodness, it has been awhile, hasn’t it? I’d sworn I was stepping away from this blog, but since my other blog is “for my dolls” and hasn’t been used yet (I think I’ve forgotten the password already), and what I’m …

In which another girl will be joining us…

Over on American Girl Collectors (which henceforth will be called AGC), we have an expansive discussion area for off-brand dolls of the American Girl variety. For the most part, discussion is along the lines of ‘OMG so cute!’ One of our posters hit the dolly goldmine in a recent sale on the My Twinn 23″ Adopt-A-Friends and ended up with two extremely gorgeous girls. There’s been talk of Maplelea, Karito Kids, Hearts For Hearts, A Girl for All Time, and the cheaper side of the spectrum, like Our Generation, Springfield, and Positively Perfect Divah. Really, just about everything you can think of.

My Twinn comes up an awful lot, both in their 23″ form and their 18″ form, namely because Emily’s review of her Annie showed some of the likenesses to American Girl. And someone made a new post yesterday saying that the 18″ Adopt-A-Friend dolls were on sale for $49.00, or two for $88.00.

I started poking around. All the meanwhile, repeating a mantra. “I don’t need a My Twinn doll, I am saving for a Kanani.”

And pretty soon my poor Google Chrome window was gasping for breath under the sheer weight of the number of tabs I had open, comparing different dolls I thought were cute.

Neth signed onto AIM and the following happened.

Me: My Twinn 18″ Adopt-A-Friend’s are on sale for $49.00. Also hi.
Neth: Ooo, really?

We shared links of ones we liked, the ones that would be “the one” if we got one, and then got the idea of going halfsies on an order so we could save a little more money. Neth was heading out with her husband, so I sat at home and kept looking around while she was gone. She gets home, we talk a bit more.

Neth: ….looking at the Adopt-A-Friends again.
Me: ….never stopped looking. I changed my mind on which one I want.
Neth: Me too.

We shared links again. There was the usual squealing and telling each other we’d picked good – supportive friends, we are!

Neth: I think we should do it. 
Me: Me too.

I sent her the link to my girl again, and Neth placed the order, and my girl will be making a stop off in Robot Hell before coming home.

Who did I order?

My My Twinn Adopt-a-Friend. Name and bio coming after she gets home and I figure her out!

When I hovered over her picture to make it bigger, I was just drawn in by her sweet expression, that made her look so engaged with the world, and her sweet serene smile and slightly up-turned nose. I think she’s going to make a wonderful addition to my gang, which now stands at five and that is absolutely positively the cap.

Yes, I know I have been all over Emily’s various My Twinn posts loudly voicing my displeasure and dislike of My Twinn. I feel really fortunate that she hasn’t slapped me! I didn’t like the tall ones because… tall. Didn’t fit in with my gang so didn’t give them a second look, though I did think my friend at AGC had two of the most gorgeous ones I’ve ever seen. The 18″ ones were a little more appealing, but to me it was pretty clear that My Twinn was trying to get in on the 18″ doll market and had directly copied American Girl in a lot of ways (that highlights set they had for sale, the hands and feet being identical, the bodies being identical, etc.) and I still wasn’t quite sure that I actually wanted one. Plus, the lack of quality in the 18″ doll clothes from My Twinn really turned me off.

Plus, there was the fact that all these years of wanting an American Girl doll had turned me into something of a brand loyalist. Sure, I’ll gladly steal clothes from other, cheaper brands, and accessories and such, but a direct-competitor doll? No, I didn’t think so.

So what changed? And what had me go from “I’m saving for a Kanani!” to buying a My Twinn?

For one thing, that was a damn good sale. $44.00, plus tax and shipping equaled out to me sending Neth $52.00 over Paypal for that pretty girl. Compared to the $110, plus tax and shipping (not including her dress and the hangers I bought) I paid for Gracie, made it all pretty hard to pass up. Plus, with these being the 18″ Adopt-a-Friend dolls, we all already know of their ability to share clothes with American Girl, which is a wonderful thing because she has a ready made-wardrobe. Then, she’s just plain cute! That sweet little face just slayed me. And then, add in my genuine curiosity about the doll – unless I’m wrong, and someone can correct me if I am, we haven’t seen any of the blogs have a picture of a black MyTwinn in this size.

But what about that Kanani? Why am I not saving for her anymore?

Because she typically goes for $250-$300 on Ebay, and any low starting auctions are jacked sky-high before I know what to do with myself. It’s honestly ridiculous and way out of my league. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I won’t be getting her and you know what? I am actually okay with that. She is an undoubtedly beautiful doll, but that price is just way too much. I think the girl I’ve chosen, judging by her pictures, is incredibly beautiful and unique and will make a lovely addition to my gang when she gets here.

And when she does, oh there will be pictures and photosets and naming and figuring out who she is for all to see! Promise!