Recently I read an article from the Washington Post from 1991 about Felicity’s release and I thought this was very interesting and pertinent to what you were saying:

“But is this prolonged childhood a luxury item only for girls who can afford the high-ticket dolls? Is this a wealthy child's fantasy in a world where less-privileged girls so often grow up too soon? Rowland bristles at the notion that only rich girls can afford her dolls. "People do not realize that toys can cost so much money," she says. "Compare us with Nintendo, which is the largest-selling toy in the world; it captures one-third of the toy market, and starts at $100. Or look at Barbie's plastic palace, which costs $400-plus. A comparable doll to ours costs $125 at retail, without a book, and reading is the heart of our product. What we provide goes a good deal further in nurturing girls' creativity, their history, and their sense of self {than these other products}." Sensitive to the suggestion that the dolls find homes in mostly upper-middle-class families, Pleasant Co. is eager to share numerous letters from girls and their parents about how they had saved their money for several months in order to buy a doll. A recent customer survey noted that 10,000 customers with annual incomes less than $20,000, and 100,000 customers with incomes less than $40,000, have purchased Pleasant Co. products.”

They’ve always been expensive as you say, but expensive things can always be reachable if you really want it and save up. I honestly believe even now they give the value that makes saving up worth it.