NORTH JACKSON Raggedys to riches: Dolls prove valuable

Turns out, this Raggedy Ann and Andy aren't so shabby after all.
NORTH JACKSON -- Phyllis Watson laughs as she recognizes herself as a new "celebrity" in North Jackson.
Just over a week ago, Watson posted an old pair of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls on eBay with, what she thought, was a suitable asking price of $19.99.
Five days later, the final bid exceeded $2,000.
Sorting through stuff: "Being married for 52 years, you have a lot of things lying around," Watson said Tuesday. She never imagined that some of her old belongings would end up being worth so much. "I just walked around the house, weeding things out," she recalled.
Sounds like a garage sale. But this garage sale came with fast-paced bidding and lots of choices.
EBay has become somewhat of a digital garage sale for homeowners looking to clean out their attics and make a few bucks, all with the ease and convenience of the Internet. Sellers post their items, often with a picture, accompanied with an asking price. Then they sit back and watch their item accumulate bids.
With that, the electronic warfare begins and the buyer with the highest bid wins.
"I posted them at $19.99 and I thought I would be lucky to even get that much," Watson explains. She also posted a few other items, but nothing reached the success of the dolls.
Watson remembers purchasing the dolls at a "household sale." They were part of a doll collection she has had since the early '70s. She hasn't counted them, but still has many dolls left, she said.
"I just wanted to get rid of some things," she responded when asked why she decided to sell this pair of dolls. And since she's not really into "rag dolls," it seemed like a good idea, she said.
Starting out: So after 30 years of collecting, she put them up for the bidding war. "I got a $400 offer before I even posted a price and it was tempting, but I'm glad I decided not to take it," Watson said, looking back on her unexpected success. She told the buyer it would be too difficult for her to change the information on eBay and decided to stick with what she was asking for, not knowing how much higher bidders would go.
It wasn't until the last minute that she really found out. With more than a day and a half left, the bidding reached $1,600. But her dolls weren't done yet.
During the final hours, buyers get an opportunity to "snipe," sending in final bids down to the wire to see if they can buy the item. "Sometimes they don't even get it," Watson says about snipers. "I considered myself to be pretty lucky for as high as the price had gotten so far."
Shortly before closing, the final bid peaked at more than $2,000. On March 11, just before 1 a.m. Pacific time, the bidding ended and Watson's "celebrity" took off. She doesn't know how the last bid ended up being so high, she said.
She's not sure what she'll do with the money, but said the dolls are "all packed up and ready to go."
Ready for more: The success of her dolls has come as a surprise, but you can be sure this won't be the last time Watson sells some of her old things. She considers herself a rookie, but has gotten her daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Eric Lundquist of Waukesha, Wis., on an eBay craze. "They were totally surprised at how much the dolls were making and were very supportive," Watson said, chuckling. "It's been really exciting."
The buyer of Watson's old dolls is a collector from Oregon and recently e-mailed Watson to tell her how happy she was to have gotten hold of the dolls for her collection.
Watson still doesn't believe her old dolls went for that much. Asked if she ever expected her them to hit as big as they did, she replied, "No. Never in this world."