Opinion: to customize or not to customize; that is the question!

[findlay_pvet]

Alright, so I have a Magic Message Mirror Mirror.  She's not really baity but her symbol is pretty well worthless.
I had a thought to customize her.  Without giving away details, her name would be Through the Looking Glass and she would be Mirror Mirror's twin sister.
Do you think this is a bad idea?
Would I be able to sell her?  Should I just clean her up and sell as she is?
What are your thoughts?

[HavACrumpet452]

I think there's too many of her being baited. It'd be nicer if you just painted her a new mirror. That's just my opinion though.

[Like A Tea Spoon]

I am pretty sure there are a few people willing to buy her as is. I'd always offer up my "baits" since the term "bait" means different things to different people.

For example, I have a High Flyer Winger who looks to have regrind and a blue marker scuff under her cheek. If anything, I'm sun fading her to see if both marks will fade. She might be bait to some, but I plan on keeping her without doing anything to change her. Her hair is uncut and a bit dry, but like I said, I wouldn't change her.

[Wadatsumi]

my windys symbol was completely destroyed. i just painted her a new tree and now i love her even more 
i'm sure somebody will give her tlc 

[Goldilocks]

It sounds like just an average condition Mirror Mirror, she rarely has a good symbol. So I wouldn't bait her.

There are MLP lookalike fakies in this same pose as Mirror Mirror, they might be cheap and easy to find baits instead of this Mirror Mirror?

[hathorcat]

She is your pony to do as you please with of course. But in cases like this if your intention is always to sell her my honest advise would be to clean her up and offer her for sale as she is. If you are keeping her for your own collection and wish to customise then that is one thing but you will probably find other collectors who are happy to add her to their collection as is or with a little restoration.

As others have mentioned MM ponies often have terrible symbols so she may not be as poor condition as you think.

[LadyMoondancer]

I think the idea of using a fakie in Mirror Mirror's pose is a great idea! 

[findlay_pvet]

Alright, well you all convinced me (unanimously) not to customize.

If you are keeping her for your own collection and wish to customise then that is one thing but you will probably find other collectors who are happy to add her to their collection as is or with a little restoration.
As others have mentioned MM ponies often have terrible symbols so she may not be as poor condition as you think.

I actually wasn't going to keep her in my collection either way.  I don't collect MM's because of the symbol issues.  Maybe I'll make my idea out of a spare G3...  I'm not a fakie fan

[Snapdragon]

My take on it goes something like this:

1. It's your pony, the choice is ultimately yours. Your property, your choice, etc! (But that doesn't mean that your choice will be free from judgment, so you may want to keep it to yourself if you bait a Rapunzel or something. )
2. Everyone is going to have different opinions on what constitutes a bait pony. However, most people agree that the standards for bait are higher on G1s, because they are much more scarce than G3/G4 baits, no longer produced, and are 20+ years old. They're just more likely, as a rule, to have some minor flaws related to age!
3. In my (not so humble) opinion, having a symbol-rub on a Magic Message pony, which is a very common flaw, is not a baitable flaw. If she also had cancer, haircuts, etc, then it would be more acceptable, but that's just for me.
4. I do not think many people would buy a MM pony that was completely stock, besides a new symbol. Unless you are keeping her for yourself, I would recommend against baiting her, if only because she would not be likely to sell. If you repainted her symbol and then sold her for a buck or two ... maybe. But there wouldn't be any profit to speak of, so you may as well just sell her as-is.

But again, that's just my opinion, so hopefully you will find a good solution!