About
Sue Coffee How I built my Annalee collection |
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Annalee Thorndike, Sue Coffee and Chuck Thorndike - Annalee's son
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I have amassed a collection of Annalee
Dolls numbering in the thousands since 1988 and today I have the
largest inventory in the country. My web site is the most extensive
resource guide available. I offer a locator service. "If
I don't have it, I can find it for you." I am known for my
personalized service and my satisfaction guaranteed policy. I
take pride in being the leading source in buying and selling Annalee
Dolls.
The ages of the dolls cover
the spectrum, from Annalee’s earliest creations in the late
1930s, to present day. It all began back in the early seventies.
My Mom would purchase one or two Annalee Dolls every year for
the Christmas season. The dolls were an integral part of our family’s
decorations. I would traditionally purchase Annalee Dolls as gifts
for my Mom each year, and one year, there were some "extra"
dolls that didn’t make it into my Mom’s possession.
These became the seed dolls for what would become a massive collection.
I have been asked, "When you
collect Annalee Dolls from every era, which then, is your favorite?"
I say it is the ski dolls. My ski dolls are part of an elaborate
diorama that includes a ski slope, ski lift, pond and lodge. The
whole scene measures 12 feet by 5 feet, with a rising slope of 4
feet.
I was the consulting expert for the publication, "Annalee Mobilitee
Dolls Price Guide" by Larry Koon, Portfolio Press, Cumberland, MD.
in Novemeber 2001. The following year, in June 2002, I was asked
by Annalee Company to give a presentation on, "How to Date Your
Dolls," at the Annalee Summer Social.
Annalee produced 5 Sue Coffee Annalee Custom Classics in 2005. All
the dolls mentioned above can be viewed in the left menu under "Sue
Coffee Exclusives."
Be sure to visit suecoffee.com periodically for
unadvertised specials on over-stock items, current and secondary
market pricing, locating a particular Annalee, decorating ideas,
researching and dating.
My collection and
exclusives have been featured on the Annalee web site and in numerous Annalee Collector Magazines. Here are the issues
for your convenience: Vol. 13 #1 page 10, Vol. 13 #3 page 4, Vol.
14 #3 page 6, Vol. 17 #3 page 12, Vol. 18 #2 page 6, Vol. 18 #4 page
13, Vol. 19 #1 pages 7 & 13, Vol. 19 #2 page 7, Vol. 20 #1 page
16, Vol. 20 #2 and Vol. 21 #1. SueCoffee.com is owned and operated by
Sue Coffee I
not only sell Annalee Dolls, I collect them My
job is to make you happy
Calli Coffee Makes History 1/24/2008 Calli Coffee went into the record books at Testimonials
Dear Sue, my eight year old daughter, Haley absolutely loves Annalee elves. She will talk about them to anyone who will listen. She takes them in the car with us whenever we go out. They have now become a part of our family after only a short period of time. I love to see her excited face when she catches one in the mailbox. Also, the anticipation as she searches the house to find where they have gone while she was sleeping. Sometimes, I even hear her talk to them and who knows maybe the magic is so strong that she hears them too. It makes me so happy to see her fall in love with this adorable collection. They truly are spectacular pieces of art.
My favorite memory about Haley and the elves is when she stumbled upon the Sue Coffee website. I am not joking when I tell you that she looked at the website for hours. She kept calling me over to the computer to show me all the neat things she had found. She couldn't believe that she could now by the older elves. She calls them the hard to find elves. She was amazed by this website and immediately added it to her favorites. Her list from that day continues to grow but her favorite one that she keeps hoping to catch is the gymnastics elf. If it doesn't arrive soon I am sure she will use her birthday money to buy it. I keep telling her maybe the Easter bunny will drop it off. You never know when it comes to these special elves. She fell in love with these magical elves on her own but, Sue, thank you for giving them even more life than one small child could ever imagine. You really are a fabulous person. No matter how old Haley is she will always remember your phone conversation and just how special you made her feel. That is all she talked about for days. I can't thank you enough! Nicole (see below for my comment)
Haley with a few of her Annalee Dolls and her 8th Birthday cake
just look at that smile.....adorable Dear Sue,
The reason I started collecting elves is because of my friend Marissa. She told me about them on our play date. She told me that if you put cookies in a brown paper bag in your mailbox possibly an elf would come in the morning. Then she showed me her Christmas elf. That night I went home and put cookies in my mailbox just like she told me. In the morning there were 2 Christmas elves. There was one for me and one for my sister. I kept both because my sister was only a baby. That is how I started collecting Annalee elves. Love, Haley Dear Sue, I love all of your elves. I like the gymnastics one the best. I have 26 elves. I bought 5 of them from you. I like your website a lot. I was so excited when I found it. I only knew about the Annalee website. Almost every time I have a play date I bring my elves. All the kids at my school collect them. We make up new elves at school during recess. I have more Christmas elves than any other type. Did Annalee sign one of your elves? Can I send you an elf to sign? I would love that. Thank you for letting me write something. Love, Haley Dear Haley and Nicole, thank you for sharing your Annalee enthusium. It brought back all the fantastic memories and excitement of when I started collecting Annalee Dolls. I know exactly how you're feeling. The excitement of collecting Annalee Dolls is contagious.
I have to share this story...I was talking on the phone with Nicole, Haley's mom. We were discussing Annalee and the times I visited with her at her home and when we went out to dinner. Nicole would repeat out loud everything I was saying to Haley. I could here Haley in the background asking questions, so I asked to speak with Haley. Nicole asked Haley - NO way..........too shy. Seeing as my daughter Calli is also very shy, I knew what I was up against! Immediately I asked mom how she felt about me giving Haley a free doll if she talked with me? Mom blurted out..she'll give you a FREE doll if you talk with her! Suddenly, I heard this very soft "hello". Priceless!
I have to tell you, it was one of the cutest Annalee experiences I've encountered. Sue Coffee ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sue,
It was a pleasure talking to you this morning. I just wanted to tell you the reason why I like you and your
company. First of all you give that personal touch and that really got me hooked. When I received that personal message on my invoice in your hand writing, I thought what a nice person to even care. In this day
and age, when we don't get that customer service, it was a plus. I know I just had a run in with a company and their customer service and I will never darken their doors, but let me tell you I will always buy my Annalee's from you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sue, Thank you so much for combining my orders to receive the country kitty. I love everything I have received and your shipping cannot be beat! The selection is incredible, especially love the 3" bunnies. You are definitely a 1st class operation! Judith ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear "Sherlock" Sue,
I just wanted to say how impressed I am with your service and your knowledge of Annalee Dolls. I called you looking for a doll that was lost in a move over 5 years ago. I really couldn't remember what it looked like exactly. When you began asking me questions to try to get some "clues", it started to come back to me. To my amazement, you had the doll in stock and I received it the next day!
Thanks to you and your love of Annalee Dolls, my next Christmas will be complete. I am forever grateful to you for taking the time to help me to continue my family Christmas tradition. Anna ~~~~~~~~~~ Hi Sue,
I just LOVE the dolls that I ordered from you. Thank you for taking the time to discuss all my options with trying to find a companion for my Mr Santa. By the way, my order did come the next day. I can't believe that they came so quickly. I was so happy and so thrilled!!! One million thank you's! You're the BEST! Linda
~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Sue,
I just received my Annalee Cupid. He is adorable! I'm very lucky to have purchased your last one. I will display him proudly. My grandmother was an Annalee collector and this wonderful cupid brings back many happy childhood memories. Thank you SO much! I also appreciate the catalogs you sent - I'm sure you'll be hearing from me soon. I love the idea of continuing traditions through collectible decorations. Thanks again! Kelly Z. ~~~~~~~~~~ Annalee Halloween Bridal Shower Long time Annalee collectors Adele Shanbar and Linda
Carafa have more than collecting Annalees in common. They are about to become mother-in-laws and create an Annalee extended family. Their children Jen and Bob plan to wed on Dec 6th. They did not know each other prior to their children falling in love, but after getting to know each other they realized they were both avid Annalee collectors. They even have many of the same dolls in their collections. For those of you Annalee maniacs, I'm sure you can relate to this story: Adele noticed a 23" witch that Linda had brought in to use for decorating the room. Since she did not have one of them in her collection, she asked Linda where and when she got it. Since it was produced in 2003 and no longer available Adele immediately called Sue Coffee the next day and ordered it.
Annalee dolls with the Halloween theme were used to decorate the bridal shower. The table centerpieces consisted of Annalee cats, pumpkins and cauldrons accented with Halloween candy. A wedding trivia game was played and the centerpieces were given as prizes to the winner of each table.Bridesmaids, mothers and grandmothers wore an Annalee Pumpkin Pin to stand out from the crowd.The cake was decorated with ghosts, pumpkins, black cats which complimented the theme of the celebration. The majority of the attendees dressed up for the occasion. Let's just say, there were a lot of witches in the room that day.
Not only are the two mothers collectors, but the bride is also becoming an avid collector. Rumor has it that she will be giving the two moms competition when it comes time to decorate her home for the holidays.
The grooms comment to all this Annalee mania... "not only did I have to put up with my moms Annalee decorations all these years, now my house is going to look the same."
Have a great time at the wedding and congratulations.
Thank you for sharing your story with all of us. ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ Sue - received my box of Annalee goodies TODAY. And I love all of them and so glad that you found the faces to match on the devil and warlock. You are terrific. Love the black cat - have told my white cat that I may have to dye him to match the Annalee one!!!!! And also thanks for the nautical combination. So very cute. So today (as always) you scored A plus!!!!! Many thanks. Bette
I would like to comment on the fantastic customer service I received from Sue Coffee. I was looking for a spefic Annalee Doll retirement gift for a very dear teacher/golfer friend of mine who collects Annalee. The poodle golfer. I called her at 9:30 am on a Friday, she quickly placed my order for FedEx to pick up and have delivered to me on Saturday at no extra fee. I received the package before noon for a luncheon I had with my friend on Monday. Now that's service!!!
Wendy in NH
What a blessing it is to find someone who is not only an expert on the product they sell but is also compassionately caring about you as a customer and individual. This site is easy enough for my 80 year old aunt to shop on and I was so impressed we had to join the club. Sue is one of those people you want as your best friend and I consider my time with her this morning a blessing. I can not recommend this site highly enough and we will be doing all of our Annalee shopping with Sue. God Bless you Sue and thanks for an awesome shopping experience!
Thanks, Debbie in Boise, ID"
"Dear Sue, thank you for sharing your knowledge and love for Annalee Dolls with me. Your dedication, personalized service and web site sets you apart from your competitors. I'm so glad I joined your club and can't wait show off my Statue of Liberty doll at my upcoming 4th of July party. It's always a pleasure doing business with you. Thanks for taking such good care of me." Heather in NJ ________________ "Dear Sue, once again I am very pleased with my order. You always send me the
Annalee's with the faces I would have chosen if I could choose them myself!
They are always perfect and I get my order fast! "Shop with Sue Coffee, she caters to the collector" Jan ________________ Dating Your Annalee section contains a page with the Christmas fabrics Annalee used throughout the years Reference Guide section contains a Key to Condition and Facial Expressions Site Map shows how dolls have been categorized by Sue Coffee Customer Service is very important to read before visiting the site |
