***The incredible unmentionable.....Do you De-Card the MOC pony?***

[Rachel-Eyes]

I don't have a MOC G1 but have always wanted one. I'm pretty good at keeping my toys in the boxes if I want to, so I think I could resist the temptation if I ever found a nice one. So normally I would not open one, but if the packaging was really gross, as has been said, I certainly would! I remember asking this question when I was new to collecting and a person responded that their MOCs had been damaged in a flood, and they decarded them because they were afraid of the mold damaging the Ponies. That I certainly would do, but I would also take them out if the art was peeling or ripped, if the bubble was coming off, if it was just not pretty to look at! To me, having something mint in the packaging is supposed to be for the purposes of display, and if it just looks bad, then why keep it that way when I can have a pretty, mint, loose Pony that I know will look great? Even so, I would still prefer to buy loose, but keep in mind that sometimes Ponies that we aren't looking for can still fall into our hands. Unexpected Ponies can find us through antique stores, as gifts from friends, etc., and that includes MOC too!

I do second the notion that if I'm buying Ponies for me, then the Ponies are mine to do with what I please. I dislike the idea of "collecting for the community" because no, I don't collect for anyone else's acceptance or approval. I collect because I love Ponies. I collect because it makes me happy, and I know that the members of the community are unique and special with their own thoughts and opinions on the toys and what makes them happy. So, I do find it wrong to tell someone how to collect or that the way that they are collecting is wrong. I mean, at the end of the day, we ARE all adults who spend money on plastic horses for crying out loud.

As for my personal choices though:

G1- Again, only if the packaging was severely damaged or threatened the condition of the Pony inside. I have always wanted to decard one though, so as someone mentioned earlier, I may decard a super super super common one one day and never tell anyone. I had G1s, but was way too little when they were opened, so I'd love to have the experience of doing it myself... Again, it would be a super common or maybe a baby Sea Pony since I know that they would be mint.

G2- I'm not big on G2 actually, so if I ever came across one MOC I'd most definitely keep her that way unless the box was severely damaged.

G3(.5): I'm okay either way on this. I do have some MIB G3s, but I've also deboxed some. Midnight Dream came from a drug store the last day of the year I first started collecting (2011) as old stock, and I couldn't resist ripping her out. I just wanted the feeling of having a Pony that was mine and had only been mine. Most of my Ponies are second hand, so I feel like there's a part of them that can never be completely mine. Midnight Dream is special to me because of that... plus, she is my favorite G3 anyway! I also found a MIB Sew-And-Sew at a yard sale once, but the box was pretty banged up that I didn't see the point of keeping her in there. The plus side is that now I have all her cute accessories and a super mint Pony!

G4- Again, I go either way on these but I keep mine MIB because they are the Ponies that are available MIB and I want to keep them that way while I still can. I sort of have the stinging feeling that thanks to bronies they may be worth a bit more someday, but I keep them mint because their boxes look very nice. As for Blind Bags, take them out for crying out loud! You may know what's inside, but you can't even see the Pony! D:

Fakies- I have to branch off this sub-category because fakies do make up a big chunk of my collection. If it's a vintage one, I'd repeat what I said about G1 and G2 and keep it that way unless the packaging looks bad. If it's something like a RnS I'd say keep it that way. But personally, I've found a lot of fakies in really cute packaging, so I've kept them and put them on display with everybody else. There are also a few that I've taken out because I like to play with them. It just depends. If they are notorious for being brittle though, I'd keep them in the packaging, like those G3.5 sparkle babies.

[HollowZero]

G1 - if the packaging is severely damaged by water or other means, then sure. It's kind of pointless to have an MOC when it's nearly falling off the card.

G2 - Same as G1, really.

G3 - I usually open them unless it's a rare, or they're on card. Cards are just so much nicer.

G4 - Open em all, too many collectors are keeping them MIB, so enjoy them.

[Wardah]

The only G1 ponies I would feel the need to debox if I ever found one cheap are the Perfume Puffs because their hair does not hold up well to play and assuming the hair is like the fur on the Sweetie Kitties (I once found one in a badly beat up box on ebay while looking for LPS), it feels so good right out of the box. Anything else I would try to trade off since finding a comparable open one is possible.

[DazzleKitty]

Hell no!! Open a G1?!!!! NEVER!!!! I could never do that. Besides if you want a loose one, just buy a loose one, save your self about 70% and leave the mocs for those of us who want to preserve them! Why open a MOC ponythat is 25+ years old, when you can just get a loose one?

This is my thoughts exactly. And I don't understand the "free them!" mentality. They're toys, not real horses. :/

[ravengusty]

And yet toys are meant to be played with not kept forever behind a piece of clear plastic.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question, it is entirely up to the individual how they collect, and what they do with their collection. I understand the views of others and that for the most part they are different to my own and yet I keep my own views because I'd be a hypocrite and dishonest if I didn't.

Icecrystalline certainly has made an interesting thread. I remember a similar thread on the living dead dolls forum, and I'm sure there are collectors of dolls, bears, comic figures that have the same disagreements.