15 Tips to Save BIG on American Girl Dolls & More
If you have an American Girl fan in your household and are looking for ways to save on the really popular but expensive brand, here are a few tips to make note of before paying full price!
1.) Join the American Girl Rewards Program
If you shop for American Girl items often, it’s definitely worth joining the FREE AG Rewards Program. You’ll earn one point for every $1 you spend and will receive a $10 rewards certificate via email for every 200 points earned! You can earn up to a maximum of $50 in rewards certificates per month and $500 in rewards certificates per membership anniversary year. The points definitely add up!
You will earn rewards points for ALL regular, sale, and clearance merchandise purchased online, by phone or in American Girl retail stores AND even on purchases made at the American Girl Bistro.
As a member, you’ll also receive special birthday wishes, early access to select sales and events, exclusive sneak peeks, members-only surprises and bonus benefits. Awesome!
Even sweeter, occasionally AG Rewards Members can earn DOUBLE points on sale items, which means you’ll get two points for every $1 you spend. That means you’ll earn a $10 reward twice as fast!
2.) Sign Up for American Girl Emails for Sale Alerts
Be sure to sign up for the American Girl Email Newsletter so you are the first to know about the latest in-store sales and online promotions! As an e-mail subscriber, you will get access to special promotions and premium content, as well as early notification of new products in your inbox!
3.) Request a FREE American Girl Catalog by Mail
Be sure to sign up to receive a FREE American Girl Catalog in the mail as they are filled with fun items that any American Girl fan would enjoy browsing through. Occasionally, you’ll even find coupons attached to the catalog, such as 20% off or possibly 3 select dolls for $98 each. Be on the lookout!
4.) Consider Buying Knock-Off Before Paying Full Price
If you’re not 100% sure if your child will enjoy an American Girl doll which retails for $115 or more, consider checking out the knock-off brand 18″ dolls on the market first! There are many brands that are very similar and may work just fine if your child does not insist on American Girl.
You can snag Springfield Collection 18″ dolls at Hobby Lobby for just $13.19 with a 40% off coupon and they look very similar to American Girl dolls! Or snag Our Generation dolls starting at $24.99 at Target or even Journey Girls from ToysRUs for $19.98 during a sale (reg. $39.99) – much cheaper!
5.) Buy American Girl Dolls at Kohl’s and Earn Kohl’s Cash
If you have a Kohl’s nearby, you may want to head on over whenever they are offering up Kohl’s Cash as you can buy the Tenney Grant Doll and Logan Everett Doll (Tenney’s bandmate & drummer), both available in-store only. Note that you cannot use promo codes or coupons on these dolls, but you can use Kohl’s Cash during an earning period to get back Kohl’s Cash to buy other American Girl items!
These dolls are priced at $115 each, which is the same price on AmericanGirl.com. BUT if you are looking to spend any earned Kohl’s Cash and earn Kohl’s Cash for your purchase, be sure to head on over to your local Kohl’s as you’ll get back a whopping $20 in Kohl’s Cash to spend in the future!
Plus, they now have the new American Girl Wellie Wisher dolls available in-store only. These dolls are priced at $60, which means you can get back $10 in Kohl’s Cash to spend on other items!
6.) Save on Clothing! Buy Preemie Baby or 18″ Doll Clothing
If you’re looking for new accessories or clothing, consider buying preemie baby clothing at stores like Carter’s, Kohl’s or Target (or even on Amazon.com) as it should fit your American Girl doll perfectly. Or purchase any brand clothing for 18″ dolls and it will cost less and should fit any American Girl doll.
Also, Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Joann’s Craft Stores sell 18″ doll clothes and shoes so if you can buy during a sale and/or with a coupon, you should score big savings on doll accessories.
7.) Get Discounted Retail Gift Cards at Costco
If you’re planning a trip to an American Girl store, be on the lookout for discounted American Girl Store gift cards at Costco before stepping foot in the American Girl store! You may be able to find a FOUR pack of $25 American Girl Gift Cards for ONLY $79.99 – that is a whopping 20% savings!
Note that these gift cards will not be available at every Costco year-round and usually appear to show up in the Spring and Fall, so be sure to snatch them up if you do spot them. These deals will vary.
Also, usually around March and October/November, head on over to your local Costco as you may be able to find popular Doll Sets that include a doll, outfits and a book at a huge discount! You can also usually find great deals on other American Girl craft sets, baby doll sets and more at Costco.
8.) Send “Injured” Dolls to the American Girl Doll Hospital
If you’re able to find a pre-loved doll or if your doll has an “injury”, the American Girl Store has a Doll Hospital so you can admit her to the Doll Hospital and she’ll be carefully handled to protect her from further injury. A team of doll doctors will examine her from head to toe and decide on a treatment to fix her “injuries” – everything from hair brushing to limb tightening to major “surgery.”
9.) Shop During a Sale…and Cyber Monday!
You can often score nice savings on accessories, furniture, clothing, and occasionally dolls whenever you shop during a sale so be sure to keep your eyes peeled. Plus, they often offer online promo codes or sales to save on shipping or where you add discounted outfits with a qualifying purchase.
Also, in year’s past the American Girl Store and online hosts a Black Friday Sale and Cyber Monday Sale where you can save up to 60% off American Girl books, accessories, clothing and more! This would be a great time to stock up on various items and accessories for your doll at a deep discount
10.) Consider Buying Mini American Girl Dolls
If you have a little one who’s not quite ready for a full-size American Girl doll, consider buying a Mini doll set first. Walmart and Amazon often offer deep discounts on the 6″ or 6.5″ American Girls Collection Mini Dolls with Books for $12-$15 each and are regularly priced at $24.99. (Photo Credit)
11.) Subscribe to the American Girl Magazine
If you’re looking for a great gift idea for an American Girl fan but don’t want to spend a bundle on a doll, consider gifting an American Girl Magazine Subscription! Each issue includes games, craft ideas, recipes, puzzles, contests, advice, inspiration, and other fun activities and articles.
12.) Follow American Girl on Social Media
The American Girl brand is heavily active across all social media platforms, so be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for all the latest and greatest news. Plus, they often have giveaways and sweepstakes opportunities, such as this recent Facebook sweepstakes where you could enter to win a special collection of favorites just for commenting on their page.
13.) Sign Up for Discounted Classes & Events
If you’re looking for something fun to do with your American Girl fan, you can sign up for various classes and events directly on the American Girl site or for events that require reservations, you can call 877-247-5223. Also, Williams Sonoma has partnered with American Girl to offer fun events and cooking classes for a small fee. They even have American Girl bakeware available for purchase.
14.) Book Hotel Packages for a Free Doll Bed
Making a special trip to attend an American Girl event or visit a store? Whenever you book an American Girl package and stay at a partner hotel, you’ll get an American Girl Doll Bed to keep! Call the hotel directly to ask about special packages & rates for American Girl visitors. (Photo Credit)
15.) Take Note of American Girl’s 2-Year Satisfaction Guarantee
American Girl wants YOU to be happy. SO, if for ANY reason you aren’t happy with your American Girl purchase, they will try to find a way to make it right by offering either an exchange, merchandise credit or refund within TWO years of purchase. Shipping & processing fees are non-refundable.
16.) Sign Up for American Girl Sales on Zulily
In the past, American Girl has been featured for up to 35% off in a limited-time Zulily event. Be sure to go here and sign up to be notified of their next event. Also, be sure to follow Zulily on Instagram for contests, such as this previous American Girl $250 Shopping Spree Giveaway.
NOTE – The sales on Zulily are rare, so you’ll definitely want to sign up to be notified of their sales.
Written by Mary for Hip2Save. Mary is a proud mom to 3 kids in Austin, TX, who thrives off running long distance, bargain shopping, warm weather, a yummy latte…and a little Candy Crush from time to time. She loves quality time with family & friends and sharing great deals with others.
We love American Girl at or house! Thanks for the tips! We have gotten a few dolls on https://www.shopgoodwill.com/ the shipping adds a lot($15 or so), so be aware of that when bidding. Also, there are a lot of great people on YouTube that have videos with step by step instructions to fix up not so gently used dolls. Here is one from 9CatLives which is my daughter’s channel https://youtu.be/Cp-4wx5zTfo but, there are lots of others out there too.
Wow, thanks! 🙂
Would anyone happen to have a coupon they are not planning on using?
Regarding #4, you can also get beautiful “knock-off” clothing for the 18 inch dolls. One of my daughter’s favorite sites for clothing is Jiminee’s Doll Clothes. They have some of the most beautiful clothes at very reasonable prices.
Yes, great tip! Also, it’s pretty easy to make your own doll clothes especially simple skirts. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube and free patterns online. We use old tshirts that may have a stain on the front. The back of the shirt is enough fabric to make doll clothes:)
Awesome! Thanks for the tips!
Some knockoffs are better than others. I like Journey Girls dolls the best and Our Generation accessories/playsets for the sheer variety (and customer service for Our Gen rocks!). The craft store dolls are very cheap IMO. Be careful about buying a ton of clothing before you know it will fit. JG and OG dolls are slimmer than AG dolls, and not all the clothing fits all the dolls; sometimes even JG and OG clothing isn’t interchangeable, but it varies depending on the clothing style.
Oh, regarding discounts for knockoffs, the best OG discounts I’ve seen are usually one-day only Cartwheels or the 30% off toys that they usually have prior to Christmas. Right about now is usually a good time for JG. TRU frequently has single dolls for $19.99 but sometimes you can get a steal on the limited edition holiday double doll/four outfit sets. Last year I paid $30ish; this year I paid $17.99. Didn’t really want more dolls, but at that price I figured it was worth it just for the clothes. Maybe we’ll turn one of the girls into a boy!
Thanks Erin!
My daughter spent most of last year loving her Our Generation dolls and desperately wanted the American girl doll Kit for Christmas this past year. Santa brought Kit and some of her accessories. Within 2 months my daughter was over dolls entirely. I’m sure so glad I didn’t invest any more money into the outrageously priced dolls. So just a word of caution that this may be a very short-lived phase for your daughter too.
How old was the doll phase? My daughter will be 5 and we are considering going to american girl, i dont want her spend alot if other girls are over it by 6
This totally defeats ends on the child. My twin daughters got their first AG dolls for their 5th bday. They played with them for years! Adding many more dolls to their collection. At the age of 13 one of the girls was done with them but at 15 (now) the other twin is still obsessed. She has a YouTube channel that she makes stop motion videos with her dolls, she makes clothes for them, and she fixes up other people’s injured dolls. She still LOVES her dolls. And the first two dolls they got are still in fabulous condition even after 10 years of play. I know they are expensive but IMO they really are worth it and they will be passed down to grandchildren.
Haha, autocorrect *it totally depends on the child;)
I have two girls who play with American girl dolls. One is 10 and one is 7. I think my older girl plays with them because her sister still plays with the dolls. I think the younger the better. If you are going to pay 100 for a doll.. you want to make sure you get your $$ out of it. I say.. encourage them to stay little as long as you can.
I was still into American Girl dolls at age 12. I’d say I was a bit of a late bloomer but depends on the girl. Is she girlie and does she have a big imagination?
There is a great resale market on eBay for used AG dolls, you could recoup some of your funds.
I’m really surprised Jill’s Steals and Deals wasn’t mentioned! That’s how I scored AG dolls 2 years in a row for like 50% off.
They no longer have American Girl on Steals and Deals.
Does anyone have a coupon they won’t be using? Please and ty! Cass_vill@yahoo.com
Hi!! If anyone’s willing to trade a 20% American Girl Coupon that they aren’t going to use, I could do a small amount Amazon GC or PayPal. Please email me at nbp0320@yahoo.com. Thanks a bunch!! 🙂
If anyone has a coupon they won’t need,we would be very grateful. Zannes@bellsouth.net
My daughter had American Girl dolls since the age of 5 with the bitty baby she got as a gift. Then she got the three full size dolls for gifts from others years later. She had a total of 9 dolls and lots of clothes and accessories. She stopped playing with them by the time she was 11 or 12. She is now 15. We have sold a bunch of her dolls and accessories but plan on selling the rest because it does take up a lot of room since we keep the boxes to all of them too. They are beautiful dolls but I really don’t want to take up an entire closet storing these until she has her own kids
Hi M,
Are you still planning on selling your daughter’s AG dolls? My daughter have known about AG for few years but never really asked for one. Now all the sudden, she insisted top have one just because her best buddy is having a birthday party with AG theme. Can you please email me and send me pic of the dolls you have? Harta20@yahoo.com
Thanks
Iso American girl coupon. I could pay a small amount on PayPal. Pansybinz@gmail.com
ISO American girl coupon. I can trade shutterfly codes from Kellogs, redbox codes, or $10 off $10 Target Baby Coupon or $5 paypal
I don’t know if they still do it, but a couple of years ago American Girl had different items on sale for several days (weeks?) after Thanksgiving, not just Cyber Monday. My granddaughters were really into AG dolls at that point (They all had historical dolls) and I was able to buy several outfits and accessories for their dolls at quite a savings!
Costco stopped carrying AG gift cards last year.
My 2 older girls got Kit and Molly for Christmas when they were little. A friend of a friend worked for American Girl and they got discounts, not sure if they still do that. Anyway, poor Kit and Molly ended up naked with their hair cut off !! Believe me, I had an internal debate for weeks , are they toys to be played with or collectors items to be looked at on a shelf ?!? My 3rd daughter is quite a bit younger so I got her a knock off doll and she never knew the difference. I also overheard a funny conversation with her and a friend. The friend brought over all her AG stuff ( and she had a ton!), she asks my daughter if hers is from Target or the AG store,. My daughter kinds looks at her funny for a second and says ” Hello! She came from Santa!”.
Does anybody know of a free shipping code for American Girl? I hate paying 12.95 for shipping!
Kit it supposedly going to be the American girl doll set at Costco this year. Some Toysrus stores have the truly me line as well. The best deals on used dolls I’ve seen have been on offer up or Mercari. There are also several great American Girl buy sell trade pages.
Question….like 4 years ago American girl doll would have a sale for the girl of the year for $68 with clothes. Does this still happen?
No. Isabelle was the last discounted GOTY. Gabriella will still be available next year as per American Girl.
#6 and #15 are out-dated. The discounted gift cards were no longer available last year, and they haven’t sold any dolls on Zulily in a few years.
My daughter loves dolls and everything to do with them. She really likes having a lot of different accessories to dress them up in, and I would love to save some money when buying things for her. That is a great idea to shop on Cyber Monday or Black Friday! I would be able to save a lot of money then! Thanks for the tips! https://dollherup.com/products/pink-basketball-outfit-set
The catalog usually has a 20% off your first purchase of $50 or more coupon in it. I used it to get dolls for both of my girls and a bunch of clothes and accessories from the clearance section and saved $50.
These dolls are really awesome. My Daughter likes those dolls from American Girl. I bought some dolls from American Girl by using a coupon at MyCoupons and got benefitted.