The Doll That Went Around The World

Online Trading Manager, Jay, who is in charge of Sobell’s eBay sales was thrilled when a donated My Girl Doll sold for £310 in early August. The vintage dolls, popular in the 80s, have become a collector’s item, and the red hair on this particular doll made it a rare and sought after item.

The doll was sold to a buyer in Italy who was thrilled with her purchase and happy to pay an extra £28 for international postage. Jay carefully packaged up the doll, checked the address details twice and shipped the parcel herself, confident it would arrive at its new home within a week. Two weeks later, however, there was no sign of the doll and the buyer was becoming anxious.

Parcels do go astray from time to time so, initially, Jay didn’t think much of it. She entered the tracking details into the system, only to be met with a shock. The doll wasn’t in Italy, in fact it was 4,490 miles away from its final destination… in Washington USA! A disappointed Jay began trying to contact someone at the United States Postal Service (USPS) who could help her locate the doll, but hope was running thin. Jay felt awful that not only would her customer not receive the much-wanted doll, but she’d have to refund the sale, and lose out on money that could have helped the hospice.

Miraculously, Jay’s email was replied to and while USPS couldn’t send the doll directly to the buyer, they were more than happy to return the package to Jay. Problem solved, or so Jay thought. Two weeks later, and there was still no sign of the doll. Jay began the tracking process again and discovered that the doll had left Washington, but had since landed in West Virginia! Jay was all but resigned to having to make the refund, but tried once more to contact someone who might be able to help. Once again, the promise was made to return the doll to Jay.

Jay continued to track the parcel over the following week, hoping it would soon arrive at the Sobell House Bicester Superstore, but there was no sign of it. When hope was all but lost, the buyer suddenly received an email to say that her parcel had arrived in Italy. The doll spent a month in customs before the buyer finally received a delivery date.

Believing it was too good to be true, the doll’s new owner wasn’t taking any chances. She arranged to have the doll delivered to a friend’s newsstand so she didn’t miss a delivery driver. Opening hours on the big day came… and went… and there was no sign of a delivery truck. The newsstand’s owner held off closing, just in case. The worried buyer was joined by a friend for moral support, and another newsstand customer even hung around, wanting to know the outcome. At long last, a parcel arrived. The beloved doll had finally reached its new owner, who was so overjoyed she named her Sybelle Jay and the doll is now rarely out of her sight.

Sobell’s Jay is overjoyed at being a namesake, but even happier that Sybelle Jay finally made it home: “It’s what makes me love this job so much”, Jay says, “no two days are the same. You never know what will get donated or what the shop managers will send my way. I definitely get thrills when an item sells, especially when it goes quickly, or sells for more than expected”. When asked about her most memorable sale, Jay recalls a tantalus with a set of three decanters, the tantalus was so dirty you couldn’t tell that it was even silver. Jay polished them up and discovered hidden under the tarnish was a solid silver tantalus complete with three royal Brierley crystal decanters, stamped with a corporate logo. Jay thought they might reach £300 at auction but ended up making a staggering £950!

Jay says “After two and a half years in the job I am getting good at spotting sought after items and the shop managers are even better! I love seeing what treasures are donated and get excited about what they might fetch for the charity”. We can’t wait to hear about Jay’s future eBay adventures!