Mattel figures -- to open or not to open?

Collectibles Collectibles
1

Hi all,

First time poster here – and I have the classically annoying “should I open or not” question to pose regarding Mattel’s new line of Ghostbusters figures. I just got my first, Venkman, and he’s awesome. I have never, ever kept a figure in its packaging, but this one I’m considering, due to the fact that these things are pretty rare and special. And I only bought 1figure.

I’m curious, what does everyone else do? (Especially those of you who only buy 1 of each?) Do you open them or keep 'em sealed?

Best,

Dan

2

I open all mine. Only one I didnt open was my 6in Egon, and I sold it.

3

Unless its already vintage i open the boxes on all my collectables, but i keep the boxes aswell…

4

Did you really wait decades to own a GB figure that you could never play with?

I say open it.

5

No sir I didn’t see you playing with your dolls again.

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I open all my figures and keep the boxes as well.

6

If you get the 12 in figs, open and keep the boxes. They form a nice little pic.

All my figs are open with their boxes in my closet.

But when it comes down to it, it is really all up to what you wanna do.

7

Alright, I think I’ll open him!

8

No! Don’t open them! Put them in rubbermaid tubs for future generations to enjoy!

9

That only works if you then put it in an even bigger tub.

10

AJ mastered long term storage…

11

There’s something weirdly sad about those tubs. Now I’m definitely leaning towards opening.

12

DIDN’T ANYONE SEE TOY STORY 2? MIP makes toys go INSANE! Plus, why keep them in package? The only reason I see to keep something MIP is in preparation to sell it later.

13

Related question – for space reasons I can’t display all my action figures. What do you guys recommend for safe storage? It feels wrong to kind of pile them on top of each other in tubs like those pictured above. Any tricks I should know about?

14

You’ll be fine.

15

We cycle our toys changing out displays every few months, and store the extras in tubs, like AJ does. VERY few are unopened, and few few packages are saved.

We literally have thousands of action figures and toys, and your house would look like a store if everything was on display.

You have to strike a balance between things you want to enjoy, and how you want youre living space to look.

Some items that are most loved always remain out.. as do higher priced items, and delicate items that will most likely be broken if put away with other items. Really.. its just common sense.

16

I’m calling Hoarders for you garee

17

The one thing that ticks me off about that show is when I spot obviously-valuable collections (comics, toys, games, CDs) that are just junked and the owner doesn’t have any real say at all.

Back on topic:

I’ve opened all of mine (with the exception of trade/sale items and a second MIP set of Minimates for my personal collection). I’ve kept the 6" Egon package; I used to store other boxes but just ran out of room.

18

I open all mine as a few others do by cutting the bottom of the package, if I want to put it back in you can’t really tell it was removed. They do look nice in their packaging.

19

We aren’t hoarders at all.. its the result of collecting ■■■■ for better then 30 years.

I did buy some duplicates of some decent stuff on clearance for future ebaying, but those purchases are few n far between.

We do actually have quite a number of things we liked, bought, and never opened just because we had no place for them. (Those M&M star wars figures come to mind.)

But almost everything is torn open within a week, and tinkered with.

20

That’s pretty much the definition of hoarding.