Kate's Take

This past weekend we traveled to Middleton, Wisconsin to attend the American Girl Benefit Sale. I’ve been a fan of American Girl since I was a kid and I’m so pleased that my oldest is into the brand as I don’t think there is a better mix of history and imaginative play out there. As for the sale it wasn’t technically my first as I partook in one 28 years ago when attendees slept overnight on the sidewalk to gain entrance! While the memories are priceless, thankfully, overnight camping is no longer required for sale entrance. I’m sharing all the details of our experience and some things that I wish I would have known beforehand below. Read on for my TAKE on the American Girl Benefit Sale!

What is it?

Every summer (typically in July) the Madison Children’s Museum hosts a two day American Girl Benefit Sale in a warehouse in Middleton, Wisconsin. The thousands of American Girl products at the sale are donated by American Girl (Mattel) and the items are typically either overstock or returns. All items are offered at a discount; generally between 30 -70% off with deeper discounts on some items the second day. The sale proceeds benefit the Madison Children’s Museum as well as the American Girl Fund and is almost entirely staffed by volunteers.

How to attend?

Tickets for the event can be procured through the Madison Children’s Museum. There are two days of the sale the General Sale (Saturday) and Markdown Day (Sunday) which offers some of the remaining products at a deeper discount. In order to get our Saturday tickets I participated in the Lottery Pre-Sale and purchased tickets for $8.00 each. Based on the lottery we were awarded tickets with a Noon time slot which was a little bit on the later end as we missed out on some product available earlier in the morning. If you don’t want to pay an ticket fee for the sale your best bet is to attend the General Admission portion of Sunday’s sale, which generally begins after 9am.

The most comprehensive details about tickets can be found here and I recommend signing up for the mailing list to stay notified of hotel blocks, events, sale details, lottery details and procedures as tickets do sell out.

What is at the sale?

Aside from the warehouse filled with dolls, books and accessories there was also a silent auction, raffle and vendors. The vendors mostly consist of booths selling clothes to fit the 18” dolls but there was also one food vendor who because of their monopoly was quite popular. I have to be honest, I didn’t expect to buy anything from the vendors but we ended up with three well crafted outfits. Elsa, Anna and Super Woman costumes have found a new home in our house.

The main event is, of course, the warehouse. The warehouse is filled with to the brim with product that volunteers have busy processing for almost an entire year. The mix of product changes every year but for the 2019 sale at least there was a large variety of dolls: Bitty Baby, Wellie Wishers, Truly Me, Girl of the Year and a handful of BeForever dolls. Some dolls had large quantities available whereas, others were quite limited. All were available at a discount, some steeper than others. There was also a large selection of books (all available for $2 each) and a handful of clothing, accessory and large voucher items. Examples of the large voucher items were: Melody’s bed, Kit’s Garden Shed and a spa chair. I wish there had been more clothing options and big ticket items but again, this changes every year and isn’t shared prior to the event. Regardless, there is a vast amount of items all of it in pristine condition.

What I wish I would have known?

Entrance times at the sale tend to be delayed. Be prepared especially as there is little shade and seating outside of the warehouse. We were set to enter at noon and didn’t get to enter until around 1pm. Timing updates are posted on Twitter and the Museum’s sale page but be warned that cell reception around and in the warehouse is not reliable.

The Silent Auction and Raffles are quite popular. The Silent Auction is especially a great way to score some clothing and accessories that are currently retired. I almost ended up spending a small fortune on Lea Clark but last minute decided to rescind my offer…my daughter loves Lea thanks to the movie Lea to the Rescue on Amazon Prime but it’s best I didn’t break the bank.

The weather can be extreme you will spend time outside either waiting to enter during your time slot or walking around and visiting vendors. Plan to bring snacks, water, rain gear and in extreme heat a portable water spray fan would be wonderful. I wish we would have had one.

If you get an email from Madison Children’s Museum about the ticket lottery, hotel blocks opening up or additional events like this years’ PJ Party - act fast! The sale is very popular and people do travel in for it so the blocks and the events sell out. For example, I waited to book tickets for Friday nights PJ Party at the museum and it sold out. Luckily, they opened up a second night and I was able to grab some quickly but that too sold out. My advice would be to act on these things and if you find out you can’t attend, there will most likely be someone who will want to purchase the tickets from you.

However, the number one thing I wish I would have known about is, The Mattel Toy Store! The toy store is located in Middleton next to the American Girl HQ and they also carry American Girl amongst other brands. I heard from a number of people that they were able to find quite a few accessories here as well as Maryellen’s Camper at half off! If you want to check this store out your best bet is to go Saturday morning (it’s relatively close to the warehouse) as they are closed on Sunday. This would have been a great time filler for us and I’m sorry we missed it.

Additional Insight…

There are shuttles to and from the sale from nearby hotels and parking lots. We were able to find street parking a short walk away and I would recommend this. It was then easy enough to drive up the car for pick up of our sale purchases. It would have been a hassle to take them on a bus.

There are a handful of social media accounts that you can follow to help you stay informed. The American Girl Benefit Sale Facebook page and the agbenefitsale_2019 Instagram account were the most helpful for me.

Additional events like the PJ Party at the Madison Children’s Museum are worth it! I’m not sure if they do these every year but it was a great way to see the museum and make some memories. Tickets for the kids were $30 and chaperones were $5 a piece. There were doll themed activities like a scavenger hunt, t-shirt decorating, bracelet making, button making etc… Plus snacks and the ability to explore the museum for 2.5 hours. All that plus a brand new Melody doll (included in the price of the child ticket) was really too good too pass up!

All in all, it was a really fun experience and if you love a good shopping “high” this sale may be for you. My oldest daughter loved it, she wants to come again next year and she said it felt like it was her birthday. She was definitely spoiled but when your birthday is six days before Christmas…it’s ok to have a little bit of Christmas in July too! Next year’s sale dates are already posted, so mark your calendar for July 18th and 19th 2020…maybe we’ll see you there!