To open, or not to open?

[Twinhead B 482]

I can't see any first-party pony (Made by Hasbro) merch being worth a whole lot of money in the future unless it's a limited or one-off toy (Comic Con Derpy/Zecora). So I'd say open it.

 

I can however, see second-party merch (like the Funko Vinyl Figures) being more valuable because they are only available from specific retailers, and they're intended for bronies. I imagine anything directly related or intended for the fandom will be worth more than regular mass-production toys.

[Scootalove 10,689]

I say don't open them yet, savor the moment. You can decide for yourself what time you should open it, and when the time comes open it then display.

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

I opened my NMM set and I advise you to do the same. Just be careful removing her, the dark blue is just painted on over top of the bright blue and scratches easily.

 

I just don't get keeping things in their package unless it is something that originally cost $1200 and has one fancy display case type package and there were only 5 made in the entire world. A package full of $5 ponies is not going to be worth anything until 3562. I have "collectors" statues of DC Comics characters and stuff where only so many were made, but what good is it in the box hidden away in a closet where the only person that knows I have it is me? I display my stuff on my desk or on a shelf, other than getting dusty no harm comes to them so long as they are not being faded by sunlight. I purchased the things for my enjoyment, if I were to sell them down the road it isn't because I'm expecting to make twice what I paid, it's because my significant other said so I am bored with them and want to find them a new home.

[DATAIRSOFTBRONY 13]

With this package, which i may get anyway. i have the same debate. with this one though i have to lean towards keeping it in the package. i feel its a rare set and would be worth a lot later. however, i have bought a few toys myselft and opened them. they wre a blind bag and a basic figure. i opened them because i wanted too. so it would fair to say its up to you. i look at things like this with the idea that they maybe worth something later.

[Fridge 382]

Personally I would open them because I would get greater enjoyment seeing them on display as an item I love, not as a investment. But then I also imagine that when I'm not around they do a whole Toy Story thing lol

[Equus 91]

Once I started getting poni merch a year and a half ago, I very quickly realised that I was way more into collecting than I thought, and since then I've left almost every piece of merch (nearly a thousand bucks worth mind you o__O) in its package. I do this both to preserve packaging in hopes that they'll be worth money someday (though I never plan to sell any of it!) AND to allow for easier display... I just think things look better still in their original packaging haha. To each their own though!

 

I do think that figurines won't be woth much for a LONG time - while some earlier-gen MLP figurines and brushables are worth money now, it's because very few were kept in their packaging and most wound up getting haircuts or marker/crayon paint jobs or whatever; Gen4, I think, has made FAR more figurines and toys than earlier gens, and FAR more are being preserved. Same concept as in coin collecting: Very few if any people thought of preserving small-mintage coins in the early 19th century, so there are very few of them to begin with and nearly all of them are heavily circulated - they're worth insane amounts of money today, especially in higher grades; recently, state quarters have been minted in HUGE numbers, and there are literally tens of millions that are being saved in mint state from each issue. They're not going to be worth insane amounts of money anytime soon, though their value IS rising somewhat because demand is pretty high. But we're talking four to six figures for early 18th century coinage versus $1.25 for mint-state modern quarters.

 

That said, I do have several figurines out of packaging though; several brushables I bought off people or whatever, including a Fluttershy that I obsessively groom LOL.

Edited February 6, 2013 by EquusStorm

[GuerrierCosmique 146]

Open the package to play with your pony figures, it's most fun. For me, I don't just want to own and look at them in their package, I want to touch my blind bags and brushables and later play a bit with them, this is the reason they have been manufactured for and I spend money on.

 

I also collect various other toys and everytime open the package.

[Twinhead B 482]

I still stand behind my previous belief:

 

If the package isn't sealed to begin with (like the Funko figures), it's perfectly safe to open them.

[fluffpudge 148]

I prefer to take them out of the box, only because I know I'm going to treasure the toys for (possibly) the rest of my life. ;P A bit dramatic but hey- we'll go with it.

I'd probably only keep them in the box if I was gifted the exact same one again or if it was a toy like the glow in the dark Zecora (and I'd get doubles in that case- one to keep, one to collect.)

[Fhaolan 4,483]

The toy collectors market had the bottom fall out *ages* ago. The whole concept of 'things will be worth more in the orginal packaging in a few years' has been destroyed by modern manufacturing techniques. Given that the average Hasbro-licensed toy has a current run of 500,000 units (so I've been told, my data may be in error), the chances of enough of them being destroyed/decayed in your lifetime and yours still being pristine (and the *box* needs to be pristine as well), is so small as to be ridiculous.

 

Also, modern plastics used for toys deteriorate even in the box due to the inclusion of improperly sorted recycled plastics, so anything made after about 1995 or so is no longer considered 'collectable' if it cannot be examined in detail to check for deterioration. Meaning no longer in the box, although the box needs to be kept with the toy and again has to be as pristine as the toy. (Again, my data is given to me by people who do collect toys, so I may be wrong in detail, but the concepts are supposedly accurate).

[PinkieShyFlutterPie 408]

I can't help but to open them! i love to look at them...sometimes i keep the boxes tho