MIBs - I don't understand. Do you open them up?

[cmc62]

I'm confused about the MIB ponies     I don't think I could ever buy one because I would have to open it up! But then I guess they lose value once they've been opened?  But I don't like the thought of the pony sitting in the box for all that time without being opened and played with. It's so sad!

I was just wondering why people buy MIB ponies.  Do you buy them and then open them up?  Or do you keep them in the box.

I would definitely have to open it if I bought one! So for this reason I don't think I will ever buy one!

[HoustonCollector72]

It is really a complete pony when it is in its original box 
I read the above statement somewhere here in the Arena
And I liked it and if you want a loose one , there are plenty out there already open , but Moc/Mib there won't be as many left.
But this is a topic where not everyone will not agree .

[Hannah66665]

This can be a very touchy subject among collectors. It wasn't too long ago that there was a thread about it but I don't think it exists anymore. Personally, I would open one if it came into my hands but a lot of people like to keep them pristine and in box not just for the value but the nostalgia factor.  You'll find a lot of people who feel strongly about both, keeping them mint or opening them up.  I've opened a G2 pony before but at the time I literately couldn't find a loose one of her for sale. I would love to open a G1 someday since they were before my time and I never had the opportunity.

As for G3 most people don't seem too concerned. I've gotten a few in the last couple years and I opened them without hesitation. I agree that it's sad seeing them all boxed up! But after reading some of the arguments from MIB collectors I know they're still well loved. I just wouldn't have the self control to look and not touch.

[gabumon]

It might depend on if you are talking about MIB 1980s ponies vs MIB current ponies.   MIB 1980s ponies really shouldn't ever have happened, they were either forgotten about in a parents closet or part of old store stock that got lost and found years later.
So in my POV part of keeping 80s MIB is the fact that the phenomenon is just so rare and it's so uncommon to see a 30 year old toy preserved in its box.

If you're talking about MIB current line MLP:  they do look nice in their packaging,( though the first G4 packaging was much nicer than the plain cards you get now).  And for me it's been an evolution of my collecting style for the current line,  I really only collect non-mane six ponies, just because I like variety and have limited space.  After having opening about 30 or so g4s and playing with them and fixing their hair I realized that I do get enjoyment of just displaying them MIB.  They are easier to dust.  I still get the enjoyment of having them in my collection.  the back cards are cute also, so I get that as part of leaving them MIB too.   also keeping MIB prevents them from getting scuffs (my loose Featermay got a mysterious black streak while in my storage bin

So I guess it's important to keep in mind that people get different types of enjoyment from ponies.  And MIB enjoyment is just as valid as loose play.

[Lore-Lei]

I like how you care about keeping MIBs MIBs and prefering to buy a loose pony since you'd open them up regardless. Lovely attitude, very respectful.

About the question, I don't get it either, I prefer to buy toys/games I'll actually, you know, play with and such.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I love MIB/MOC G1 because as gabumon says, they are so rare to find.  Also the packaging artwork and details for G1 were so much different - they actually bothered to invest in the artists at that point in history.  They are little art pieces themselves! 

I agree, there are enough loose ponies for everyone to find what they are looking for without having to open a MIB one. 

[Princess Lala]

I have some MIB/MIP ponies, but my collection is mostly loose ones!!! Some collectors choose MIB because they love the artwork or they like to resell their collection when the toys are retired. Its nice to see a pony in its original packaging, especially G1! I keep my SDCC ponies, Limited Edition G4s, and interactive (talking) G4 ponies in their boxes.

 I also have a paint error G4 Fluttershy MIP because I want to show that she isnt tampered with or a custom! One of her eyes is way bigger than the other and she actually has two cutie marks- one on her flank and another on the back of her display wing!

[LadyMoondancer]

Seeing a MIB pony is like being transported back to a time when every store with a toy aisle had ponies hanging on the pegs, beautiful and new.    They're also a unique little piece of history.  I don't really get it when people think they're 'sad', lol.

[gabumon]

Seeing a MIB pony is like being transported back to a time when every store with a toy aisle had ponies hanging on the pegs, beautiful and new.    They're also a unique little piece of history.  I don't really get it when people think they're 'sad', lol.

[ponycake]

I don't play with my loose ponies either. My collecting these ponies has always been about liking them because they are pretty. They are gorgeous on their cards or in their boxes with their gorgeous box art. It's a form you don't often get to see them in anymore.

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[Icey]

I would never take a pony off a card or out of the box, but that is because they are harder to find than a lot of other vintage toy lines. That being said, I no longer buy MOC or MIB toys (I used to) because they can break down faster than their loose counterparts. I was never really aware of this until my daughter was lead poisoned as a baby. I had a huge collection of MIB SSC dolls I was collecting for her and then the county safety officer explained the dangers of vintage toys, especially ones still in the box. I sold 99.9% of my collections at that point. That stickiness that vintage toys get are plasticizers breaking down and that is very toxic, especially to children. It makes me so sad because if I could I would recollect all of the things that I loved and lost. It is just not worth the health hazard for me given what I now know.

[Taffeta]

Generation 1 are my passion and I love the piece of my pony memory from having them MIB.

I have the utmost respect for loose pony collectors who choose to buy loose ponies rather than debox MOC ponies, because with G1 there are a limited number left in circulation and every one opened puts the prices up and reduces the availability for collectors. I know there is the argument that it's your pony and you aren't going to sell - but recently someone did do exactly that and she stated openly in her auctions about having deboxed all these items from MIB. If one collector who deboxes can then sell up at a later date, then technically those items MIB you have a responsibility to preserve sealed, both for your sake in future emergency or whatever selling, and for the sake of the people who might have bought it from you MIP but don't want another loose pony.

It's a very controversial issue but I do think it comes down to personal preference vs awareness of other collectors and their interests and focuses in collecting. I am very much interested in UK mip ponies, which makes it even tougher as they are much harder to come by in the early years. I think that makes it all the more precious to me to keep them in package if they have survived it this long.

I saw a Japanese blog not so long ago where a person  (Japanese person, the blog was in Japanese) had got a Takara pony and deboxed it with lots of photos of the deboxing. It's her right to do that, of course- but its an extreme example because you can barely find Takara ponies as it is.

In terms of later generations, I would not debox G2 now, or G3 unless there was a significant issue with the pony. I think it's ok to debox whatever is out in stores now. When I buy something G4 I decide whether to debox it or not depending if I like how it is displayed - for example, the wild rainbow babies look nice in box, so I have left them there, but I deboxed Sunny Flare and Lemon Zest without a second thought because I wanted them loose with my other EQG dolls.

Obviously at the end of the day it is your money and your pony, so your decision. I won't pretend, though, that it doesn't make me sad when someone deboxes a really old pony. I can't help thinking about the person who might have spent years looking for just that pony mib because of a childhood memory, and that their chance of finding it just decreasedby one.

I recently got a couple of my childhood ponies mip - Starflash and Tropical Breeze. I've been looking for Tropi since about the year 2000 and this one is in French box, which is as close as I have found to the UK box. All that time looking for that one special flutter pony I had as a kid in her original box. I don't think many people have deboxed UK Tropical Breezes, since most deboxed flutters that come up online are in US or Canadian boxes - but if it's taken me 15 years to just get this far, imagine how hard it would have been if everyone was deboxing and nobody was preserving.

I think everyone has the right to have the collection they want to have. Loose pony collectors can get loose ponies irrespective of what MIP pony collectors do - but MIP collectors can't get MIP back once they've been deboxed, so to me it's better to buy loose if you like loose...and mip if you like mip. Then everyone is happy.

[Prideth]

I only own a handful of MIB G1 ponies, but I wouldn't dream of taking them out of the box.  On that note, I own them MIB and loose and display them together.  I don't find it "sad" (they're plastic ponies, they don't have feelings!), I feel more like it's preserving a piece of history that I'm particularly fond of.  As others have said, it's more about the nostalgia. 

But I don't think this is a difficult issue - If you prefer loose ponies, buy loose ponies.  They're generally way cheaper and easier to find, so I don't imagine it should ever be a personal dilemma unless you came across a MIB in the wild.  In that case - sell it and buy a whole BUNCH of loose ponies!   

[SkyCakes]

My rule is if it is a MIB or MOC it has to be a pony I already own. I understand the nostalgia attached to owning a pony in a box or card. I prefer my collection loose but to each their own. I agree with everything that is said. Though at the end of the day it is your pony if you choose to open it or not. If I found a pony that I bought mint on card or ect that I bought. I would trade or sell it on here. Most of the MOC or MIP ponies are very expensive that is the reason I stay away from buying them.

[Jordan]

when I first started to collect g4 I opened up all my ponies thinking "oh I'll only have a few" now I have a whole display case full and I regret all the ones I've opened LOL

I now keep everything MIP and I kinda prefer it that way, everything doesn't get lost and you can see all the pretty packaging

as far as G1, them being "sad" is kinda silly, that's been their home for what, 30 years now? I think they would have came out if they were ready to leave