One to debox, and one to keep NRFB FOREVER!!!

[Galactica]

So when there is a pony (ie SDCC pony) or doll or toy that I REALLY love -  I tend to try to buy TWO of such items- so I can have one to debox and "play with" or display, and then a second to keep pristine and NRFB. 

I do this. I have a few reasons:
1)  I LOVE vintage NRFB ponies/toys/dolls SO MUCH and if I could reach back in time and buy an extra set of the things I loved best (ponies, strawberry shortcake, Jem) to keep NRFB until now- I surely would!   So maybe I am trying to do my future self a favor..
2) Packaging is often really gorgeous and comes with illustrations and backgrounds- really a perfect little capsule for storing and displaying your item.
3) If you ever change your mind or fall out of love, it is MUCH easier to sell stuff with NRFB stuff than loose stuff.

The problem is that I don't have the $$ or the room for collecting packaging.  And I really don't have the time to sell off a mountain of dolls that I am not interested in anymore. So I am TRYING (with mixed success) to get rid of duplicates, packaging, and trying to not buy new duplicates. 

How about you? Do you keep things MIB for all times? Keep two sets so you can debox one? Or do you toss packaging immediately?  Why?

[banditpony]

Just one for me. If it's an item I know I'm going to keep forever-- I don't need the packaging because I could care less about value and I don't like stuff in boxes. 

Even my htf nirvanas that I got-- I immediately deboxed because they are mine. FOREVER. But... I felt really weird tossing the boxes knowing that there are so few in existance, so I packed them away and they are keeping up precious storage space. Kinda sucks.

Edit to add- I do keep my BJD boxes though-- they are good in case I have to store them away for a bit.

[Galactica]

Just one for me. If it's an item I know I'm going to keep forever-- I don't need the packaging because I could care less about value and I don't like stuff in boxes. 

Even my htf nirvanas that I got-- I immediately deboxed because they are mine. FOREVER. But... I felt really weird tossing the boxes knowing that there are so few in existance, so I packed them away and they are keeping up precious storage space. Kinda sucks.

Maybe you could sell off the packaging?  I bet there is a market for Nirvana packaging
(although I will confess that I recently tossed some vintage packaging (not for ponies but for SSC)

[ponyqueen]

I said debox immediatly; this is what I do with G4s. I have kept some packaging items, but rarely. I'm not really impressed with the box art- most of the graphics seem repeated on the abundance of merchandise available.

Also packaging takes up sooooooo much room! It's the main reason (probably even before cost) why I don't collect MOC G1s.

[Galactica]

I said debox immediatly; this is what I do with G4s. I have kept some packaging items, but rarely. I'm not really impressed with the box art- most of the graphics seem repeated on the abundance of merchandise available.

Also packaging takes up sooooooo much room! It's the main reason (probably even before cost) why I don't collect MOC G1s.

I do admire your resolve- I totally agree that the space is the big thing.  Especially if you have been collecting for some time... even my office at work is getting a bit... full.

[Miniature Sheep]

Saving packaging never really occurs to me; if I really love the design on a box/card, I can always scan or photograph it before recycling it. When it comes to collecting ponies, I always seek them loose so as to avoid deboxing guilt, as there's likely to be another person who'd love to have that pony fresh in their packaging.

[banditpony]

Maybe you could sell off the packaging?  I bet there is a market for Nirvana packaging
(although I will confess that I recently tossed some vintage packaging (not for ponies but for SSC)

I thought about it but... I think they shouldn't be separated due to rarity. I once tried to give away a forget me not box but didn't get any takers... So I did pitch that.

[northstar3184]

I'm a big supporter of freeing the pony/doll/figure (unless it is highly valuable), so I debox.

[ashes]

Usually for limited edition or special ponies, I just buy one and keep it MIB (they tend to be too pricey for me to buy duplicates).  But if it's a regular pony that I just happen to really like more than others, I will buy two - one to debox and one to keep MIB.  I don't really have the space to keep loads of duplicates around either, so I try to be as judicious as I can about it.

[thecakeissisley]

I don't get to buy many ponies/dolls at all, so I'm unable to get two of the same toy just to keep one in the box. I prefer playing and posing my toys and taking pictures of them. Although if I really really like how the toy looks in the package, I'll keep it in the package for a few hours or days (depending on how patient I am) and then debox it. Also, if I like the illustrations/package design, I either keep the whole box, or cut out the illustrations and keep them.

[Flitter]

I never opened my SDCC ponies when I had them but besides them and my SDCC EAH Cerise Wolf everything else eventually got opened.
Sometimes I'm tempted to keep something in box because the packaging looks neat (I actually kept my TRU excl. single ponies in box until I got Photo Finish) but it always comes down to that it'd take less space to display out of box and/or it's more fun to take pics out of box.

[ringwraith10]

I do all of the above. If I can buy two, great -- no guilty feelings either way! If I buy one it depends on the type of packaging it's in -- whether it can display well in the packaging or not. If I do unbox it, I usually save the packaging.

But I would never ever unbox something vintage. The horror!

(BTW, the first time I realized I was a real, serious pony collector was when I bought two copies of the first SDCC pony so I could do this. That was the first time I had ever spent over $50 on a pony).

[Artemesia's Garden]

I really wish I'd bought a second Holly Dash to debox.  I may debox her on my birthday.  I only debox new G4s

[Beldarna]

It kind of depends on how I feel at the moment. I won a mib G3 in a competition once and decided upon arrival to keep her boxed as it was a price. When I finally got first edition Draculaura I decided to keep her boxed, it was before they gave out the second wave of her and she was really hard to get in Sweden. Now I could open her with no problem because I still see that version in stores from time to time but I don't feel like it. The rest of my Monster Highs are out of their boxes. It never crossed my mind to get a second of anything. I'm just happy I get something.

[Katika]

Overall, I'm a loose collector.  However, if I can't buy a new pony off the shelf myself, and she becomes HTF later on and is easier to find MIB, I'll buy her MIB and hang on to her that way until I can find a loose version.  My exceptions are the exclusives that come in boxes (because it seems like a LOT of people leave them MIB).  I carefully cut those boxes open, remove the pony, then collapse the boxes to lay flat and store them.  The ONLY ponies I've managed to leave MIB are Bay Breeze, Rosey Posey, Frisco and Trolley.

I've had several collectors suggest that I'm kind of silly for keeping the more valuable ponies MIB if I prefer to collect loose, since they are *my* ponies and it's *my* collection, but I also have this weird sense of... loyalty? debt? not too sure what the actual feeling is to the community as a whole that won't let me do that.  I feel as though some MIBs are rare enough that they really ought to be respected as the collectables they are and trusted in the safe keeping of a collector with more will power than me   (However, I also bank on the fact that there ARE collectors without the same hang ups that I have out there so that I can one day buy the ponies I won't let myself open as loose, lol)

Please do keep in mind, this is my personal opinion and what works best for me.  I support collectors of anything (non-living, of course) doing what they want with the items that they purchase.  Collect to make yourself happy, and if that means shiny, mint boxes or things you can actually touch, that's fine by me