Boxes and packaging. Do you keep it? Or get rid?

[TCRI]

Lol. Yeah, have to draw the line somewhere. Can't keep everything.

Sometimes I see old MOTU, Ghostbusters, Thundercats etc going for crazy amounts - all of which I once owned. But if I had kept them all, I'd be overrun.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by TCRI

Lol. Yeah, have to draw the line somewhere. Can't keep everything.

Sometimes I see old MOTU, Ghostbusters, Thundercats etc going for crazy amounts - all of which I once owned. But if I had kept them all, I'd be overrun.

I made a decision a LONG time ago to not be that guy who rebuys ****. If I sell it or dump it's gone. I'm out. Even if I want to buy it again later, I don't go back.

F'n Leo had me lookin' at the new MOTU figures at Wal-Mart. That was a hard walk, but I aint going back. I sold my vintage MOTU collection probably 13 years ago.

[TCRI]

Yea, I think to some extent throwing boxes away and saying to yourself - "these are for keeping" is quite a good exercise in stemming that impulse buying or hoarding trait. It helps you set rules for yourself.

Some people buy EVERYTHING they like, even marginally. Then sell. Then rebuy. Then sell again. I'd rather have a minimal, curated collection, rather than living in a toy shop stock room!

Recently, I've sold off a lot of toys, video games and consoles recently. The whole process was very good for me mentally.

I'd love to rebuy old toys, but, like you, those old toys are gone, end of.

Also I told myself a long time ago - I'll only ever buy TMNT. Although I really wanted S7's Hyper Skeletor!

[Redrumh2o]

Originally Posted by TCRI

I'm the same.

With electronics it's worth it. Especially with midrange consumer electronics items like cameras, consoles and video cameras. I sold a PS3 boxed with games for £150. If it was unboxed it would have been £75 at best.

Cheap and high-end audio equipment I don't bother. Boxes add no value to them.

Yep..gotta keep those console boxes!!..Plus is makes it easier to ship.

I agree..it is tough but I try to do quality over quantity. I still purge a few times per year.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by IMJ

F'n Leo had me lookin' at the new MOTU figures at Wal-Mart.

I am proud to be the Devil on everyone's shoulder.

A couple months back I was cleaning out my stuff in the screenhouse, and I found a TON of old action figure cardbacks. Like literally almost every single figure I'd bought since around 1996 through 2008. I knew I'd kept SOME of them but I had no idea I still had so many.

Regular cardbacks with no plastic, I generally keep. They don't take up that much space. Boxes and stuff, that's a tougher decision. If it's a "collectible" figure with swappable parts like heads and hands or other small trinkets, then I'll usually keep the packaging so I don't lose the sh*t. Plus we're definitely moving one day so that'll come in handy. Other stuff, it depends what it is.

I probably do keep more than I get rid of, though. I'm stupid like that.

The thing I probably regret trashing the most, though, is the boxes for my old NES/SNES games. Man, if I'd known what boxed copies were going for nowadays... yeesh. I don't care THAT much; 99% of those games, I don't have boxed so if I find a game in-box for a reasonable price that's fine but if I don't then I don't sweat it. But I wish that when I was a Dumb Kid someone had told me "One day you're gonna be one of those people that wants their collection to look nice on a shelf, and not just be a stack of gray plastic coasters." I might not have listened, but it'd be worth a shot.

You can find repro boxes for SOME old video games but a lot of the times they cost as much as the games themselves. Just doesn't seem quite worth it. With the number of unboxed games I actually have, getting repro boxes for all of them would cost a small fortune. So while I'm tempted, it's a temptation I've resisted thus far.

[Germ]

I'm an opener myself but I save the boxes. The cool thing about boxes as opposed to packaging is you can put them back in if you decide to switch up the way you wanna display them. Or put them away in storage for awhile if your moving or something like that. Plus if you ever do decide to sell them down the road they'll probably be worth more with the original boxes.

I just put all my empty boxes in plastic bags and stick 'em in some random corner in the attic or basement and forget all about them.

[Y2Josh]

I generally toss the boxes unless I find them really cool. For NECA's TMNT, this is just the four GameStop Turtles and then Metalhead and Krang's Android Body. Super 7 is going to be a real problem for me, because those boxes are really gorgeous... but unless I wind up selling them off at some point, they'll just wind up taking up storage space forever.

[SavageSloth]

I actually came to this thread to see if there are people that are throwing away the S7 Ultimates boxes. I know that with the first 4 waves those boxes are going to take up a lot of space.

[mikey see]

Ugh, the boxes... I'm an opener but I have a really hard time tossing boxes for "nice" toys. Marvel Legends and Black Series aren't terrible as they're relatively small and uniform but NECA's TMNT stuff is really starting to become a problem. I agree with the thought that there's no point keeping packaging if you don't display it and don't ever plan to sell the figure but at the same time I can't begin to guess how I'll feel about this stuff in 10-20 years. I think I can fairly safely say I'll never let go of my childhood toys (Star Wars, GI Joe, TMNT) but the stuff I've picked up as an adult? Priorities for those could certainly change.

I think I'm probably going to go the route suggested earlier in this thread and take all of the accessories and such out and store the empty boxes in a sealed tote in the attic. That will save me a ton of space down here in the house storage.

The Super7 stuff though.. bah. Those are going to take up a TON of space and I'm not sure I want to be as cavalier with those boxes since the line is more boutique. Maybe I'll just wait a year or two and see what aftermarket prices are like. If prices aren't going insane I'll feel a lot better about risking the boxes in the attic.

Good topic.

[TCRI]

Originally Posted by TCRI

Thanks for your replies, everyone. Think I'll do it like this.

Boxes from...

• toys I'm 100% keeping forever = throw away
  
• a series that seems to keep growing, like NECA's live action line = throw away
  
• KOs = throw away
  
• rare or one-off toys, like NECA's 2008 Mirage line or MONDO's 1st turtle = keep
  
• fragile toys, like SH Figuarts = keep
  
• toys I can't find a home for right now ( ) = keep
  

Well, I'm moving house and the big stack of boxes had to go. Figures are all in zip-lock bags in one big secure box.

I followed my rules (above) and I felt great about it actually!

My mrs did the same with most of her Lego boxes, keeping only the modular building boxes - we flattened these as there's nothing inside Lego boxes.

It pleased the mrs and she got the OK to get an Ikea FABRIKÖR to house my modest collection of around 40 figures at the new place

[TCRI]

Originally Posted by mikey see

Ugh, the boxes... I'm an opener but I have a really hard time tossing boxes for "nice" toys. Marvel Legends and Black Series aren't terrible as they're relatively small and uniform but NECA's TMNT stuff is really starting to become a problem. I agree with the thought that there's no point keeping packaging if you don't display it and don't ever plan to sell the figure but at the same time I can't begin to guess how I'll feel about this stuff in 10-20 years. I think I can fairly safely say I'll never let go of my childhood toys (Star Wars, GI Joe, TMNT) but the stuff I've picked up as an adult? Priorities for those could certainly change.

I think I'm probably going to go the route suggested earlier in this thread and take all of the accessories and such out and store the empty boxes in a sealed tote in the attic. That will save me a ton of space down here in the house storage.

The Super7 stuff though.. bah. Those are going to take up a TON of space and I'm not sure I want to be as cavalier with those boxes since the line is more boutique. Maybe I'll just wait a year or two and see what aftermarket prices are like. If prices aren't going insane I'll feel a lot better about risking the boxes in the attic.

Good topic.

Just a hunch, but I don't think modern collector-driven toys will ever see crazy prices for mint-in-box unless there's knock-offs in the market. I.e. NECA Mirage - an unopened clamshell is worth lots now because it's evidence it's a genuine, original release.

I see even super hard to find modern figures fetch good money opened, without packaging and even slightly damaged!

Think these days, so many people will be keeping boxes for the day they decide to sell, it won't add much value. Even in the modern limited edition video game market, like Limited Run Games, Special Reserve etc - loads of people never remove the cellophane thinking it'll boost its worth - reality is, it makes almost no difference.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by TCRI

Just a hunch, but I don't think modern collector-driven toys will ever see crazy prices for mint-in-box

I think the franchise in question might have a lot to do with that.

For example, Fred Wolf TMNT is largely being supported by 30 and 40-something year old adults who grew up with that franchise. Once it's aged out, the aftermarket for these could be fairly small. Whereas Marvel Legends stuff has a new generation of relevance from the last 15 years of films, so 20 years from now there will be a built in market for that stuff as those kids become adults with money and nostalgia.

That's not to say that the NECA TMNT stuff won't have any aftermarket legs, but let's face it - it's a diminishing and not widely renewing audience for 80's I.P.'s. There will more likely be a 2012 TMNT resurgence in 15 years or so than another 80's one. Basically it's like looking for tin-toys and Howdy Doodie collectors now. They are probably out there, but it's not even remotely a competitive market.

[useasneeded4pain]

The only NECA TMNT boxes I keep are from the Ultimates that resemble the old VHS boxes.

If I open a figure, the box is trash. Otherwise, I've just created more storage issues having to store both a loose figure and empty box somewhere.

[inaheap]

Well said! Well Said!

Originally Posted by TCRI

Thanks for your replies, everyone. Think I'll do it like this.

Boxes from...

• toys I'm 100% keeping forever = throw away
  
• a series that seems to keep growing, like NECA's live action line = throw away
  
• KOs = throw away
  
• rare or one-off toys, like NECA's 2008 Mirage line or MONDO's 1st turtle = keep
  
• fragile toys, like SH Figuarts = keep
  
• toys I can't find a home for right now ( ) = keep
  

[King Kahn]

Originally Posted by TCRI

Thanks for your replies, everyone. Think I'll do it like this.

Boxes from...

• toys I'm 100% keeping forever = throw away
  
• a series that seems to keep growing, like NECA's live action line = throw away
  
• KOs = throw away
  
• rare or one-off toys, like NECA's 2008 Mirage line or MONDO's 1st turtle = keep
  
• fragile toys, like SH Figuarts = keep
  
• toys I can't find a home for right now ( ) = keep
  

Yup. This is what I do.

[D Piddy 1982]

This is a really interesting thread. I'm a hoarder myself plus I collect lot's of odds and sods from different lines.

The main lines I collect are TMNT and Transformers. So far I have all the NECA and Super7 boxes plus all the War For Cybertron boxes. And yeah, it's starting to become a little over whelming. But I (currently) can't bring myself to throw them out. I read the bit TCRI wrote about being good mentally and I can see the 'release' you would get just letting it all go. I need to have a think about what to do.

Trouble is I also appreciate good art, and for example I just got Major Blood and Marvel Legends Thanos (Infinity Gaunlet). Both those boxes are beautiful but before they arrived I kept telling myself I was gonna chuck the boxes - but now I'm not so sure...

[sdp]

Cool packaging is cool packaging, especially when they design it to be cool for collectors. And you get nostalgic of the packaging of toys when you were a kid. And now it's not just the figure you want but the packaging as well. And then one day you realize your house is full of trash. They make it hard to throw packaging with cool artwork or gimmicks but it's for the best.
Yes it helps resale value quite a bit, I know because i've been selling all my collections, however, was it really worth keeping all those boxes for all these years though? I think not, I prefer to lose some value of the figure than keeping boxes that take up valuable. Now I open stuff and throw packaging in the trash.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by D Piddy 1982

The main lines I collect are TMNT and Transformers.

The new Transformers stuff is amazing. The War For Cybertron originals and all of the 1986 Movie stuff they are sneaking out branded as either WFC or Studio Series is unreal.

I don't understand their marketing though - why Cyclonus, Galvatron, Rodimus are under the WFC banner instead of just being pumped into the studio series.
It's also a bit weird that we get a giant Galvatron for example, but every Optimus Prime always seems too small, line-wide.

Transformers boxes are a curse though - to keep them or not to keep them is this molecule of cognitive dissonance I have going back to being a kid and never keeping my Transformers boxes. Now when I see vintage Transformers boxes on the market, they are like bricks of gold in my mind's eye....

[D Piddy 1982]

Originally Posted by IMJ

The new Transformers stuff is amazing. The War For Cybertron originals and all of the 1986 Movie stuff they are sneaking out branded as either WFC or Studio Series is unreal.

I don't understand their marketing though - why Cyclonus, Galvatron, Rodimus are under the WFC banner instead of just being pumped into the studio series.
It's also a bit weird that we get a giant Galvatron for example, but every Optimus Prime always seems too small, line-wide.

Transformers boxes are a curse though - to keep them or not to keep them is this molecule of cognitive dissonance I have going back to being a kid and never keeping my Transformers boxes. Now when I see vintage Transformers boxes on the market, they are like bricks of gold in my mind's eye....

Without wanting to go too off-TMNT topic (but still talking about packaging)...

Yeah I agree with you on the 86 movie characters being in the Kingdom line. Doesn't make sense. My guess is they might re-release those figures in the 86 line packaging in the future.

Weirdly when looking for figures I want but I missed (any franchise) I actually prefer buying second hand unboxed. I guess it makes me feel good that I don't need the packaging. Yet when I buy new I just can't bring myself to throw it.

I think I'm gonna try to make a start my throwing all non-TMNT and TF packaging away, plus any knock offs. See how I feel then maybe make a start on the TF stuff.

The NECA stuff feels harder to think about chucking. And as someone else said, the SUPER7 stuff is too nice to throw!

[prescribeddrone]

Random bump/thoughts.

Mezco, SHF, MAFEX, NECA, Toddy Mac, Sentinel Toys/1000Toys/Hasbro/Jada Toys//Bowen Statues/Diamond Select/Kotobukiya ...


Most domestic $20-$50 boxes get dumped, no regrets. More "premium brands" vary. Unless you have a big house- huge TV sized boxes aren't worth keeping, get plastic wrap.


I keep and toss, depends on the character/brand/box size. Hence me currently trying to make space and see what I can dump.

I usually only sell to make space, to filter my collection, lose interest in something or when I need a bit of extra cash or unexpected pre orders hit and I get anxious.

I feel like I don't need that figure anymore.. If you ever wanna sell something with no box it decreases value but saves on shipping.


ATM I'm considering dumping my 2016 (only 1) Hot Toys Deadpool box, I don't plan on selling him and have the accessories in a tote but the box does look cool, damn it.

And thinking about cutting the front art/in box art from the TMNT Target 4 pack cause that thing is long AF.