PC and Question About Playset Boxes

[munchy]

Hopefully some playset experts can help me out! One of my collection goals is to have all the playsets complete with their boxes and instructions. I have quite a few complete already but most were bought already complete. I have a few loose ones so I was wondering how often just the boxes or instructions come up for sale without the playsets and about how much I should pay for them. Off the top of my head I know I need the Pretty Parlor and Bathtub boxes but there may be others.

[Taffeta]

Are you just looking to get the US release boxes for the sets? Because there are multiple variations for some of them depending on the country of release...

I don't know about prices; I collect the UK boxes but I'm not sure how many other people do. I collect all the UK boxes for ponies and such as well, but prices really vary a lot depending on what they come with and, like you, many playsets I have acquired with their boxes...

I tend to find playset boxes less expensive than some pony set boxes, but that may just be a UK thing.

[munchy]

I'm just looking for the US boxes for now. Although I may go international in the future depending on how much space I end up with for my collection...dangerous thinking haha!

It seems like such a hard thing to price since in the end it's just an empty box. There's one I need on ebay right now for $20 and I'm trying to decide if it's worth it. Up until now I haven't really branched out into things that weren't an actual pony so I'm a bit out of my depth!

[Taffeta]

Probably not a good time to tell you how much a very large lot of  UK packages cost me last year, then (although there was a Mountain Boy package among them). Those were UK release, though, and only one playset box, the Sprinkles version Waterfall...I think the price went up more because of the pony boxes than that one, as it's generally more common than the Cascade version.

Is it $20 for the box on its own or factoring in shipping? That's always a factor for me, because unless you want them to flat pack the box, the size of the parcel can play a part in cost.

I am a bit biased from UK availability, where Grooming Parlour and Show Stable boxes are quite common, but $20 seems quite a lot to me for a Pretty Parlor box. Even more so for the tub...Not knowing what others you  need, it's hard to comment. Maybe Hathorcat would have some ideas about pc?

[hathorcat]

The instructions pop up now and again by themselves - probably more often than just the boxes do by themselves. However, both boxes and intructions tend to most often appear when they are for sale along with playset shells (with or without some accessories) unfortunately.

Boxes do not tend to add that much value but intructions can be popular. So its a bit of a gamble. By themselves they are far from the most expensive part of a playset ($2-6 perhaps assuming the main sets) but they come up by themselves so seldom (I think a lot of people just dont bother trying to sell them as they dont see there being a lot of demand) that you could have to pay over their value in order to get them individually. Whether that be paying over the odds such as the listing you have mentioned or buying part sets in order to get the parts you need and selling on what is duplication.