Why do you like Collecting MOC Ponies?

[WaterDraw]

As an outsider looking in, I'd like to know why you MOC collectors like collecting MOC ponies? Personally, I couldn't stand having a pony in her box, I'd just be thinking about how much I'd want to rip her out! However, I'm curious to know why you guys like it (and how you have enough will-power to keep her in the box/card)?
Personally I only have one MOC pony and she's only on her card because I already have one of her (and I'm having trouble keeping her in the box anyway!)
The only MIB Pony I'd ever buy would be a seapony and, I'm ashamed to admit it and you avid collectors would probably kill me, I'd take her out of the box. (I would like the closest experience I could get to a seapony who's never been in water and this is the only way I can think of getting one. I know you MIB collectors are probably cringing at the thought, but lucky for you guys I'd never have enough money to actually buy one, lol)
The reason I can think of is because they tend to be worth a lot of money or displaying reasons, but I'm sure there's tons of other reasons! So, enlighten me collectors. I am very curious to know.

[Taffeta]

The subject of decarding upsets me. It's the same as taking a pony you don't like and cutting its hair off because you don't like that pony. It doesn't mean someone else wouldn't cherish that pony. Joking about vandalising something that another collector might see as their grail is, in my view, not good. Just because we're talking about ponies in package doesn't change the fact that these are just as much collecting goals and treasures as any other pony item.

So to answer your question, I like backcards and boxes, and I collect them for nostalgia's sake. I am also a historian and believe in preserving what can be preserved for the future. I believe in 'do no harm' where my ponies are concerned. Also, as a UK person, the UK carded ponies are often a lot harder to find. One decard may make that pony extinct in MOC form. My big focus is to get all my childhood ponies MOC or MIB because I didn't keep a lot of the early cards. At least 2 of those childhood ponies probably don't exist MOC, and even if they did come up, I won't be able to afford them. But I would like to have a chance of getting the others, on the cards and with the names I remember, rather than on US cards.

So that's my reason why.

There's no logic in buying MOC for monetary investment reasons as you have to spend money to get one and they don't really appreciate in value in a reliable way over time, it's hard to call what will and won't retain value. I would personally like to display mine, but I don't currently have space (I have around 100 I think, so I would need space). But for me it's entirely about the memories of being a child and seeing them in stores.

I admit that the threat of them being decarded makes me kind of wary about ever selling any of my MOC collection ponies. There are some UK packaged ponies which I don't own but know people who do own them, and knowing that they are safe in the hands of people who value them and keep them as is makes me relieved. It means there will be stuff for the future.

None of the justifications for decarding really pan out in the long term, either. People say they won't sell the ponies, but most do, and for much less than they paid for the MOC. Decarding obviously reduces the supply so increases the cost of other MOC ponies for other people. A good example is Argentinian or Greek ponies, whose original MOC prices were dirt cheap until people kept taking them out of packages and now look at the price range. Also, it means we lose evidence of accessories, especially if there are regional variations, and that impacts on the information we have. Websites are not tangible or permanent. In 20 years I've seen a lot come and go, and information is always lost in between. But a MOC item is a tangible physical item that does not lie. It is a way of preserving for the future information about this collectable.

And of course, the cards have so many clues on them - to issue, release areas, all kinds of things can be learned from pony packaging. And I find that stuff interesting too.

Obviously a collector has the right to do what they like with their own pony items. But just because you have the right to do it doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing to do. We don't live in Toy Story. Ponies do not need to be saved from their bubbles and boxes. And the idea of reliving childhood for me makes no sense. I mean, kids cut pony hair and scribble on ponies and leave them outside in sandboxes or forget them at parks...unless someone is intending on doing all of those things as well, then surely they're not really reliving childhood at all...

[Khoufu]

I don't go out of my way to get anything in box, but I have a few G3s and a G1 ponywear NIP. The G3s were a gift and I'm keeping one for nostalgia and display. The G1 ponywear was because I wanted a backcard that was complete as possible, and it was only $12.

Most of my other NIP toys are simply because I haven't opened them yet, like my baby Furby and Star Trek action figures.

[WaterDraw]

The subject of decarding upsets me. It's the same as taking a pony you don't like and cutting its hair off because you don't like that pony. It doesn't mean someone else wouldn't cherish that pony. Joking about vandalising something that another collector might see as their grail is, in my view, not good. Just because we're talking about ponies in package doesn't change the fact that these are just as much collecting goals and treasures as any other pony item.

So to answer your question, I like backcards and boxes, and I collect them for nostalgia's sake. I am also a historian and believe in preserving what can be preserved for the future. I believe in 'do no harm' where my ponies are concerned. Also, as a UK person, the UK carded ponies are often a lot harder to find. One decard may make that pony extinct in MOC form. My big focus is to get all my childhood ponies MOC or MIB because I didn't keep a lot of the early cards. At least 2 of those childhood ponies probably don't exist MOC, and even if they did come up, I won't be able to afford them. But I would like to have a chance of getting the others, on the cards and with the names I remember, rather than on US cards.

So that's my reason why.

There's no logic in buying MOC for monetary investment reasons as you have to spend money to get one and they don't really appreciate in value in a reliable way over time, it's hard to call what will and won't retain value. I would personally like to display mine, but I don't currently have space (I have around 100 I think, so I would need space). But for me it's entirely about the memories of being a child and seeing them in stores.

I admit that the threat of them being decarded makes me kind of wary about ever selling any of my MOC collection ponies. There are some UK packaged ponies which I don't own but know people who do own them, and knowing that they are safe in the hands of people who value them and keep them as is makes me relieved. It means there will be stuff for the future.

None of the justifications for decarding really pan out in the long term, either. People say they won't sell the ponies, but most do, and for much less than they paid for the MOC. Decarding obviously reduces the supply so increases the cost of other MOC ponies for other people. A good example is Argentinian or Greek ponies, whose original MOC prices were dirt cheap until people kept taking them out of packages and now look at the price range. Also, it means we lose evidence of accessories, especially if there are regional variations, and that impacts on the information we have. Websites are not tangible or permanent. In 20 years I've seen a lot come and go, and information is always lost in between. But a MOC item is a tangible physical item that does not lie. It is a way of preserving for the future information about this collectable.

And of course, the cards have so many clues on them - to issue, release areas, all kinds of things can be learned from pony packaging. And I find that stuff interesting too.

Obviously a collector has the right to do what they like with their own pony items. But just because you have the right to do it doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing to do. We don't live in Toy Story. Ponies do not need to be saved from their bubbles and boxes. And the idea of reliving childhood for me makes no sense. I mean, kids cut pony hair and scribble on ponies and leave them outside in sandboxes or forget them at parks...unless someone is intending on doing all of those things as well, then surely they're not really reliving childhood at all...

I hope you didn't take my joke as me actively trying to find MOC/MIB ponies and trying to ruin them. I thought I made it clear I could never afford one but you might've taken my joke in the wrong way? Anyway, I didn't mean to give you the impression I would purposely buy a perfect MOC/MIB pony and de-card it.
I think certain kinds of de-carding is okay. Like if the box/card is actively damaging the pony. I remember seeing where because of the card being wet and gaining mold, a Blueberry Baskets (I think that's her name) was getting mold. Sometimes I feel if the packaging is damaged so much (as to where you can't even read it, and the toy is pretty much out already) it would be best for the toy to get out of the package. But that's just me. If you have a different opinion that's fine.
Thank you for giving me an insight. I agree with that if a pony is already rare that it shouldn't be decarded. Sometimes though I feel as if there is already a lot of that pony on card that it's okay to take if off card if you really wanted to. To be honest, and this probably sounds horrible, but if I had a MOC pony that already had it's packaging damaged and I knew there were a lot others, I would most likely take the pony out of the package.
I feel like the childhood-reliving argument is a valid one as long as the pony isn't super rare. Not every child actively ruined their ponies, a lot of little girls took very good care of their ponies. Sometimes, in the end, I think we need to remember that they are toys and their purpose was made to be played with. Sure certain toys are no longer safe to play with, but that doesn't mean all toys are like that. I feel like if it really makes someone happy to open, say a MOC Applejack, then it's not my place to get angry at them for doing so. Now if someone opened, like, a MOC Mimic just to mock the whole pony community that's another story, but there's really no harm in doing it with the common ponies who are already well documented and have multiple other MOC sisters.
I know sometimes it's really hard for people to keep their ponies in the package. Let's take myself for example (because anecdotal evidence is the best am I right  ). About a year ago I went into Toys "R" Us (RIP) and bought a wedding set CMC set that they for some reason still had in store. I had later found out there was a factory error with the set and I bought the set to play with. I was really beating myself up over it as I really wanted to play with the ponies but it had a factory error and I was worried how people would view me for taking it out of package. I eventually talked to my mother about it since I was so unhappy about the situation and she told me I should open it since they are toys and meant to be played with. I don't regret my decision either. They're in lovely shape and if anyone doesn't believe me that they came the way they did, then that's their problem.
I am in no way advocating de-carding, but sometimes I feel like the community puts too much of a pressure on people. I know sometimes it can feel like you're a criminal if you discuss how much you want to play with a pony. I feel people take it too serious. I mean of course if someone doesn't really know about ponies and they say "Hey this green unicorn with the gem eyes is really cool and I wanna play with her" it's of course obvious to tell them not to, and I don't want any ponies coming in boxes extinct, but I personally feel like you're thought less of if you de-card a pony.
I feel certain reasons are valid for de-carding a pony.

If you want to have a MOC pony and keep her that way, good for you. If you want to take your pony off of her card and play with her, then go ahead. It's not my place to tell you what to do, however I would only ask of people to respect each other's choices if they have no malicious intent behind them. I don't think de-carding should be compared to vandalizing a pony. I don't think collectors should be made fun of for preserving toys. If you're going to stand for something, you should be tolerant of the other person's viewpoint. Taffeta, you and me may disagree on certain points but I respect what you think and I understand why you would think that way. I'm not going to tell you you're wrong, but I am going to explain where I come from. I'm sure you respect my opinion and viewpoint as well.

As for joking about de-carding, I feel anything can be joked about. I'm not saying anyone has to laugh at my joke or think it's funny, but I mean it should be treated as that; a joke. Meaning, I don't think it should be taken seriously. It's okay to not think it was funny. You don't have to like jokes about a certain topic, but I'm just saying that I think anything can and should be joked about. It's why we have forms of comedy like dark comedy. Afterall, all comedy is derived from pain and/or any possible pains whether felt by the person(s) or not.

But thank you again for giving me insight on why you collect MOC/MIB ponies. It was very interesting and I have more of an understanding now. 

I don't go out of my way to get anything in box, but I have a few G3s and a G1 ponywear NIP. The G3s were a gift and I'm keeping one for nostalgia and display. The G1 ponywear was because I wanted a backcard that was complete as possible, and it was only $12.

Most of my other NIP toys are simply because I haven't opened them yet, like my baby Furby and Star Trek action figures.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but is the baby Furby an original baby or the newer ones? I'm curious

[Khoufu]

The baby Furby is original, 1999. I got it at the flea market recently for $10. My adult 1998 furby that I got 2 years ago was "new in box" but had been removed. Thankfully I just wanted one that hadn't been played with.

Btw I basically agree with you about decarding,  Waterdraw. I've opened too many common 90s toys (like over-collected Star Trek toys) to care a whole lot if someone decards their own common pony for their own enjoyment.

[Ponyfan]

All of my G1 ponies are loose.  I do have some G3 MIB and all of my G4s (except the movie baby sea ponies because I bought duplicates) are MOC/MIB. 99% of my doll collection is also NRFB/MIB.  To me a G1 MOC/MIB/MIP pony is very special. There are hundreds of loose G1 ponies but how many MOC ponies are left? To me it is owning something that is still just like it was when it was in stores and knowing that it is still new. It's hard to describe it exactly in words.


Right now I only own one MOC G1 ponywear set but I'm hoping very soon to have another G1 item MOC. When I got back in to collecting it was my dream to own a MOC pony. By that time most of the cheap MOCs had been sold and I figured one would always remain out of my reach. I happened to get lucky with the MOC Pony Wear.   


I have cringed when I've heard of people saying they decarded MOC G1 ponies just because they decided they "wanted to see what they looked like off the card, couldn't stand seeing them on the card" etc..  (I have actually seen people say that) I also have never forgotten what someone said years ago that eventually the MOC ponies will all end up in someone's home/collection. What if you decard the last MOC pony there is of a certain pony?




Ponyfan

 

[WaterDraw]

All of my G1 ponies are loose.  I do have some G3 MIB and all of my G4s (except the movie baby sea ponies because I bought duplicates) are MOC/MIB. 99% of my doll collection is also NRFB/MIB.  To me a G1 MOC/MIB/MIP pony is very special. There are hundreds of loose G1 ponies but how many MOC ponies are left? To me it is owning something that is still just like it was when it was in stores and knowing that it is still new. It's hard to describe it exactly in words.


Right now I only own one MOC G1 ponywear set but I'm hoping very soon to have another G1 item MOC. When I got back in to collecting it was my dream to own a MOC pony. By that time most of the cheap MOCs had been sold and I figured one would always remain out of my reach. I happened to get lucky with the MOC Pony Wear.   


I have cringed when I've heard of people saying they decarded MOC G1 ponies just because they decided they "wanted to see what they looked like off the card, couldn't stand seeing them on the card" etc..  (I have actually seen people say that) I also have never forgotten what someone said years ago that eventually the MOC ponies will all end up in someone's home/collection. What if you decard the last MOC pony there is of a certain pony?




Ponyfan

Yeah, I agree a g1 MOC is special. If I ever did get my hands on one and if I ever did want to uncard it I would at least make sure there were others around. It's unlikely of that happening. Perhaps when I get older my need to open up packaged ponies will subside, maybe it won't. But I'd never do something just to see what it'd look like. I'd have to have a good reason to.
Some people might really have trouble keeping them on the card, however. It can be really tempting and some people (me at least) end up beating ourselves up other opening it vs. unopening it. Sometimes i feel like they should just sell it if they can't handle the responsibility then they should just sell it. But it's their pony, they can do what they want

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Collecting a ton of MOC ponies is way too pricey for me, but I would at least like to have one or two MOC/MIB pony in my collection for each generation eventually! Right now I only have an MOC G3 Pepperberry.

[WaterDraw]

Collecting a ton of MOC ponies is way too pricey for me, but I would at least like to have one or two MOC/MIB pony in my collection for each generation eventually! Right now I only have an MOC G3 Pepperberry.

Oh wow I just saw what Pepperberry looks like and she's gorgeous. Congrats on getting her 

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Collecting a ton of MOC ponies is way too pricey for me, but I would at least like to have one or two MOC/MIB pony in my collection for each generation eventually! Right now I only have an MOC G3 Pepperberry.

Oh wow I just saw what Pepperberry looks like and she's gorgeous. Congrats on getting her 

Thank you! She was a local find at a secondhand toy store, that I get a lot of ponies from! I don't have her loose yet though, hope to get a loose one someday too! She is a beautiful pony!

[WaterDraw]

Collecting a ton of MOC ponies is way too pricey for me, but I would at least like to have one or two MOC/MIB pony in my collection for each generation eventually! Right now I only have an MOC G3 Pepperberry.

Oh wow I just saw what Pepperberry looks like and she's gorgeous. Congrats on getting her 

Thank you! She was a local find at a secondhand toy store, that I get a lot of ponies from! I don't have her loose yet though, hope to get a loose one someday too! She is a beautiful pony!

Oh yes! She has such a unique body color! So pretty

[Shaiyeh]

I collect both loose and MOC/MIB ^^ some ponies I like so much I have, or want, both carded and loose.
I just think ponies in their original packaging look so neat. The box art is really nice, for g2s I really like the look of the cards and the plastic blister... I just think it looks super nice and neat
As for willpower to not open them? Never was tempted. Just knowing (or making myself believe, rather, as I probably don't own anything that's that rare boxed) that it could well be the last MOC of a pony is a good enough reason. I'm regretting opening a lot of my ponies I bough in stores while g3s were sold. Now, if I own one MOC and want it loose, I just buy a second, already loose one.

I agree though with that if the packaging is actually harming the pony rather than keeping it nice and pristine, maybe the pony would do better outside the box. And with harming we're talking stuff like mold and rust.

[Shaz]

Personally, I like to play with my ponies, and for that reason I would not buy a MOC pony. Why spend extra to get a pony on a card if what you really want is a pony that's not on a card?

I do find backcards and boxes interesting and pretty, and I have in the past bought pony things that came with their original boxes but had already been removed. That to my mind is the best of both worlds: a pretty box to look at, and a pony or playset that you can play with without feeling guilty!

When I have new or relatively recent toys that I want to unbox, I often take a photo of them in the packaging to record how they looked. That's what I'd do if I had a factory error G4 or whatever. I have also been known to hoard particularly pretty packaging. So packaging does interest me, just not when it's still attached to the toys.

I didn't have ponies as a child, and my girlfriend only had second-hand ones, so we can't really vouch for the validity of the "I want to relive my childhood" argument. But personally I don't really remember unboxing my childhood toys. I know unpacking things seems to be part of the fun these days (e.g. LOL Surprise), but I just remember playing with my toys! And that's a part of childhood that's quite easy to relive with second-hand toys

So if MOC is your thing, then go ahead, have fun! Everyone enjoys ponies differently. To some, they're toys to be played with. To others, they're collection pieces to be admired and not touched. For me pony collecting is about playing, taking photos, brushing hair etc and for that reason my collection is an MOC-free zone.

[Taffeta]

I agree with the suggestion of selling a pony if you don't like it MOC. The reality is though that MOC are so costly today that you'd have to have a lot of disposable income to buy a $100 MOC pony just to turn it into a $5 pony. Not ever having had that kind of money to waste, I don't really understand it, but I remember in the Jem community, people who did have that kind of cash buying $200 fashions to just decard the gloves in order to display the same fashion twice.

I think it's a personal decision until it becomes a public subject of discussion.

I also get annoyed by the arguments about personal decision. It gets talked about a lot in these discussions, that it's a personal right to choose what to do with ponies, but this doesn't extend to respecting the right of MOC collectors to keep ponies in package without being criticised for things like 'keeping a pony cruelly confined in its bubble' (gasp). I have also been told that I don't have the right to choose not to sell a MOC pony to someone if they want it for decarding. But if I own the pony, I should have the same right of personal choice to decide its fate, up until the moment money changes hands. The right to decide what you do with your collection is a right everyone should have, but it often doesn't pan out that way.

So to go onto a slightly different point - just because a loose pony is common doesn't make a MOC version common. I mention this because of AJ being named as a common MOC. That's not true. On the contrary, a pony that was very popular in stores and is common loose is likely to leave fewer examples MOC. AJ is more likely to be sought after MOC because she was popular in the 1980s, which also raises the demand. Decarding an AJ because there are already hundreds of her loose just doesn't make sense.

UK MOC are much rarer. I have Tic Tac Toe MOC on UK card. I think she's not only the only surving UK carded Tic Tac Toe, but also the only one from her whole set that has survived on this card. She is an irreplaceable part of UK pony history. If I had decarded her, then that set is entirely gone, boom.

When your grail ponies are probably existing only in numbers of one or two (as many of my MOC grails are), then every decarded pony is the possibility of never attaining your goal. And if that can happen to me, who knows how many other people it is also happening to. And not everyone cares about that kind of thing, but it bothers me :/

And of course, decarding or deboxing a G4 or a pony when it is still or recently in stores is entirely different from decarding or deboxing an item no longer in production. Once they're all gone, they're gone, and G1 was never designed to be a collectable, and thus mostly wasn't treated as one at the time they were on sale. Preserving what is left is therefore much more important.

Not long ago, a collector sold up her collection of ponies. In the course of her collecting, she had amassed and decarded approximately 400 G1 ponies. Obviously she didn't make back on her sales what she paid, because she'd decarded them. But the very thought of 400 being decarded or deboxed by one individual, on the premise that she was never going to sell them, is quite horrifying really. As is the thought of what that kind of action has done to the prices of MOC items in general...as I know that there are and have been many others like her over the years. MOC items are expensive now because probably only about 10% of the MOC items that were floating around in the late 1990s are now still around. Depressing thought :/

On another note, I also love loose ponies. I love to brush their hair and style it too, always have. I don't see the need to choose between either MOC or loose. I collect both and love both and value both in my collection. I just seriously subscribe to the idea of 'do no harm'.

[Teddy]

I only have 2 MOC G1 ponies that are a treasured part of my Gusty Army. They are super special to me, but I do not collect any other MOC ponies. I like to be able to touch them and fix their hair.
Plus, MOCs are far too expensive for me to collect. And they take up too much space.