My oldest daughter is turning 17 and had about 5 of the dolls and many of the outfits, and the younger one had the bitty babies. But AG went downhill when Pleasant Rowland sold it to Mattel. it is a shame, because i loved the stories and found it an excellent way to have the girls become interested in different periods of history. the 11 yo inherited the dolls from her sister and also read the books. i am lucky in that my girls grew out of the phase prior to this unfortunate turn of events.
It isn't guaranteed that girls grow out of a phase.
I had a doll collection. I passed it on to my daughter.
American Girl was going to be her collection. Dolls like that get displayed on a shelf after the play part is grown out of. My daughter is still playing with them.
My sister in law even bought all the AG dolls for herself as a collection. She is 15 years older than I am. She also collects bears.
Regardless as to whether they are treated as play things or collected, it is a shame. That just goes to show how much more Mattel will be hurt by this Clear Channel partnership.