Which dolls a collector collects is a very personal issue. The first dolls to which many adult collectors are drawn are the dolls of their childhood. New senior citizen collectors first gravitate to the composition dolls - Shirley Temples, composition baby dolls, and early Madame Alexander's, and also the Nancy Ann Storybooks. Baby boomers today head straight for the 1950s and 1960s hard plastics and vinyl's Saucy Walkers, Ginnys, Alexanderkin's, Chatty Cathy, Barbies, Liddle Kiddles and Tammy dolls. The burgeoning Generation X, now settling down and starting their own families and just turning to collecting are looking for the 1970s dolls Dawn, Crissy and Cabbage Patch.
People collect dolls as mementos of their travels and as a way to learn about different cultures.
Folk dolls are always popular as souvenirs for foreign travelers but they have a value far greater than mere souvenirs. They provide paid employment for the makers, help to record the customs and traditions of the county and preserve the craft of folk doll-making itself. Some people collect dolls as a way of investing. They expect the doll to grow in worth. Because porcelain is so fragile very few antique dolls remain making them rare and valuable.