To be in a box or not to be in a box...?

[SkyCakes]

I have a G1 in a box with a yellow bubble. I kept her that way because I have alot of her free. So I feel its good that I got a mib pony that I already have free. I would only buy free ponies anyhow. MIB and MOC is way out of my budget so im gald for what I have.

[ScotchHop]

Prefer loose, but totally agree that people who do should not open MIB. I just have a small amount of MIB where I wanted to buy my favourite (Hopscotch) and the person happened to have a small bundle.

[Ponyfan]

I agree with Taffeta on this.   If the pony has stayed MOC/MIB for so long, it should go to a collector that will keep it that way.   That being said my MIB  G3 Styling Cherilee's box was actively growing mold and to try to kill the mold and preserve as much as the box as possible my mom helped cut away the parts of the box that had mold spores.  I hated to do it because I had bought Cherilee specifically because she was MIB but that was a case of having to prevent further damage to pony. 

I do own one MOC G1, Blueberry Baskets.   It was my dream to own one MOC G1 pony and I thought for sure it would always be out of reach.  Thanks to a very good friend I was able to get my MOC G1.  She's probably the only MOC G1 I'll ever be lucky enough to own.

I have 2 sets of Basic Fun's first set of anniversary ponies.  One of these days I will debox one set and keep the other set in their boxes. 

I have a few MIB G3s also.

Ponyfan

[Carrehz]

I only buy out-of-box since keeping stuff MIB/MOC/etc doesn't interest me at all. I do keep the backcards/packages (and keep them intact as much as possible) for all the ponies I buy new.

IMO it's silly to shell out for a MOC just to debox it, since 9/10 it's cheaper to just buy the pony loose. Unless it's something like Ponyfan mentioned where keeping it MOC is doing more harm than good (in which case I'm 100% in favour of doing whatever needs to be done to preserve the pony inside), I say just leave the MOCs for people that want to collect that way. Wouldn't judge anyone that does or has decarded, it's your pony to do what you want with, but I would wonder *why*. :p

[Leave a Whisper]

 It's entirely up to each individual to decide for themselves.

Disclaimer: What you are about to read is MY personal opinions and observations, and not meant to deride anyone else's.

 I can't afford original mib G1s and prefer them loose.

They're kid's toys made out of cheap, sturdy plastic. Not some expensive and delicate figurine.

I've seen the rare occasion where de-boxing/de-carding is neccesary after being damaged, succumbing to time, or other ickier factors. Cardboard isn't the sturdiest of materials after all.

Some ponies are very difficult to find loose, such as the G3 fair and comic con ponies.

I've deboxed several G3s long after they stopped being made and didn't feel the least bit sorry. Would do so again.

Its  inconvenient to keep lots of toys mib considering my space is limited.

I do have some toys in box, but that's only because:

1) Rhapsody in Black is on a tippy pose and very expensive. I also don't want her taking my other breyers down with her.

2)The Royal Gala pack box doubles as storage and slides under my bed when not in use.

Both have been opened.

[katrine2309]

I have mainly g1’s. Would not buy one MIB or MOC just to open them up. That is money out the window imo. Many of the MOC ponies are not minty-mint either, so what’s the point really?

When it comes to newer gen’s I wouldn’t be as hesitant. G3s are cheap, and haven’t been as long in their box. Also, there are more of them in box than for g1s. G2s I don’t know that much about. Probably wouldn’t open them up either.

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Boxed and carded ponies I think are really neat, a lot of package designs are so pretty! I would like to have a couple packaged ponies per generation in my collection eventually, but that is definitely not my preferred way of collecting ponies as it's so much more expensive than buying loose ones. Loose ponies are also much more space efficient, and I like being able to admire my ponies from every angle for the most part.

I would for the most part never purchase an older (talking G1 through early G4) pony with the intent of removing them from the box/card. If I'm buying a packaged older pony, I'm doing so with the intention to keep them in the package. I do think there's some importance to preservation of MOC/MIB toys, particularly ones where there are significantly less MOC/MIB ones out there than there are loose (vs. something like Holiday Barbies where it seems like the majority are still boxed and thus I don't feel bad about letting them free if I buy them boxed).

The only exception I would make here is if an older pony is still on the card or in the box and something's going on with the package that is threatening the condition of the pony itself, like a moldy card or box. Those I think would be fine to free so that the pony itself could be saved or restored.

In my own collection, I only have three MIB or MOC ponies so far. I have an MOC Pepperberry, who I bought from a secondhand store for a fairly cheap price, I think she was maybe $10 or so. I have a MIB Chinese New Year G4 Pinkie Pie, who I also got for a fairly good deal on Yahoo Japan Auctions, because her box was dented. Usually don't like importing items from overseas that were originally sold in my own country, but the deal was too good to pass on. I keep her in her slightly dented box because I love the box design. And then I've kept the SDCC Twilight set packaged because I think the package design is really fun.

Would love to own some MOC/MIB G1s and G2s someday, but the prices are so crazy! I'd want to either save some money up for some, or track down a good deal.

[Chelly]

I almost exclusively collect loose! I have one G2 I was lucky enough to find at a flea market in her box, so she'll stay in there! (Unless the box is destroyed, or something like mold is causing damage to the pony)

As much as I love the packaging the ponies come in, they're a bit out of my price range! Plus I love being able to hold and admire them out of box (:

I do think that if someone purchases a pony (or any older/not mass produced anymore thing) in their box, they should stay in the box. Just buy it loose if you want to have it loose haha. However it's their money, so you can't really stop them, but I do think it's a bit of a waste at that point haha

[Starflashbaby]

It depends on the pony generation & pony.
G1-G3 I buy unboxed unless it's a rare G3 pony like the comic con ponies.
G4-G5 I do however buy new then unbox from store. Now if It's the Basic Fun Ponies I keep them boxed.

[Kitcatepic]

I am not very interested in mint in box ponies but I understand the appeal if I did somehow get one though I wouldn't open it I feel like that would be disrespectful to people who do collect mint in box ponies