Opening MIB! ❤

[MightyRose]

So....opening MIB/MOC!
Do you do it? Have you done it? How does it feel?
I have never had the opportunity to open a vintage MIB pony  but if I had a MIB pony that wasn't incredibly rare I think I would open it!
I actually don't like the look of ponies when displayed MIB/MOC. I purchased the whole set of 30th anniversary ponies and tried to display them MIB but couldnt do it...
I opened them and it felt amazing! 
I'm just curious what other people's experiences have been

[SpookyTrees]

I fully intend to one day purchase a MIB and open it. And I will enjoy every second of it. 😍

[Ponyfan]

I wouldn’t be able to open a G1 MOC/MIB pony. I usually keep all of my new ponies MOC but I did buy two sets of the Wave 2 baby sea ponies so I could play with them and use them in pictures and keep a set MOC.

Ponyfan

[mlp4me]

So....opening MIB/MOC! Yep, the age old question.

Do you do it? Not unless I have to, MIB, MOC I would NEVER open, nor ones that are in baggies. As an adult the G1 boxed ponies I have come across have needed to actually be put back in their boxes. I've made interior cards for them to be placed on. I'm the opposite of an opener, I'm a preserver.

Have you done it? OH, you bet I have, as a child of the 80's... I had 10 ponies, all would have been opened on whatever special occasion they were given. I had on boxed and carded.

How does it feel? I do remember one pony in particular, Sun Glider. I got her from my aunt that lives out of state, so not only was I happy my aunt was there, but the pony was even more fantastic because of this.

[ponycake]

No, I haven't, even with the set of sparkle ponies I have barely hanging on their cards. They're much more special to me how they came originally than being a regular loose pony that we have plenty of. I also would not sell to someone if I knew they were going to decard.

[Pinkie21]

I have a couple of MIBs that I won’t open.  But I’ve gotten a couple of MIB’s that I HAD to open simply to revisit that feeling of nostalgia. 

[ColdRuru]

I wouldn't do it.
And because I LOVE to play with my ponies, I simply don't consider to buy any MIB pony or in card or in a bag.

BUT I loved to open my 35th ponies, as they can fit again in the box like nothing happened after. With THIS kind of box, it's just perfect for me, and the ponies aren't rare/costly enough to make me feel bad about the open box

[pikkupapupata]

It would really depend on the pony (and I only collect G1s), and I don't even know what criteria would be enough for me to go ahead and open it. I would be so conflicted, wanting to experience opening a pony since I missed their prime and never got to when I was a kid, but also wanting to preserve the condition and appreciate that it's survived +/- 30 years in the package. I just don't know!

The 35th Anniversary ones provide a nice middle ground for me. I have one of each in their boxes and I don't intend to open them, but I also got a second Minty to open and keep on display. It was a lovely experience. 

[darcisan]

I have a couple Rubbermaid tubs full of MIB g3s ... I want to sell them as I haven’t taken them out in years....  but I can’t bring myself to take them out of the boxes to sell, even at the buyers request...  I’d rather send them off and let someone else make that choice. 

[Taffeta]

This is a bad subject and usually ends up getting locked by the moderators because people disagree on it so broadly.

I don't intend on getting into a heated debate, but there are people for whom MOC items are grails.

My feeling is that if you don't understand MOC collecting, that's fine. But there's a difference between not liking MOC and destroying it.

If that doesn't make sense, imagine your personal grail pony or item. Imagine someone taking scissors to its hair, scribbling over its body and then shoving it away in a cupboard because they'd had their kicks with it.

That's how it feels when you collect MOC ponies and see people glorifying in their destruction. I mean, I hate piggy ponies, but I'll sell one if I find it. I've never cut a pony's hair before, but I'm not going to cut off a piggy's hair because I don't like them and I;m curious to know what it would feel like to do it to a pony. Ditto Takara ponies. Ditto anything. My point is, just because you don't value or like something doesn't mean someone else wouldn't treasure it. If you have MOC ponies but don't like them, it's better to sell them to someone who does and get the loose ponies. That way you make 2 people happy and nothing gets destroyed.

As someone who collects UK MOC ponies, which are much rarer in general, a decarded pony may mean removing something permanently from the community. So I feel very strongly about this.

If something is still in stores, that's different. They're still being made and thus taking one off card does no particular damage. But with old stuff? Nope. I don't debox G3 now either.

That's my perspective. I won't defend it or argue it. In simple terms, a pony is a toy. It doesn't need rescuing from it's package and it doesn't care if it was never played with. But people have feelings and grails and hopes and taking something precious from someone else is not in my view something a collector should do. Yes, we can all treat our property as we like, but that doesn't mean we always should.

I have been here long enough to see several decarding collectors who swore they were never going to sell and therefore it didn't matter ultimately sell up on ebay. Between them they took about a thousand MOC out of the community, and prices have gone up as a result. All these things for ten seconds of bubble tearing fetish which really means nothing unless you're a child in the eighties or nineties because none of us can recreate what we thought and felt then when we brought a pony home from the store (or wanted to).

[RoseNoire]

Hm, I don't think I'd like to take a pony out of its package. I prefer to keep it in there.

[Aadra310]

I had G1s as a kid and remember opening a few but I wouldn’t do it as a collector for a couple of reasons...

The good feeling/memories/nostalgia factor of opening a pony is really short lived.  For me, the packaging is a big part of the memory so that excited feeling of a new pony lasts forever if it stays MIP.  Carrying it through the store, waiting anxiously in line... introducing my new pony to all my toys... It’s really my whole childhood that I’m associating with ponies and a few seconds of opening one can’t magically recreate that time (at least not for long).  The anticipation is better than the event, so they say, and I find that to be true in this application.

It’s pretty expensive to open even a “cheap” pony.
I would argue that there are no “common” MOC except maybe some ponywear.
And if you weren’t around for G1s in stores or never got one new, you are not going to be able to create the kinds of memories others talk about with as they play in their childhood room with scraped up knees from failing off their bike the day before taking in the new pony smell!  Perhaps you have similar memories but with another toy line!

So, I advocate for not opening because it would ultimately be very anti-climactic.  I will be opening the 35th anniversary ones with my daughter, though!

[brightberry]

I would be forever tempted and tortured, but I don't think I would.  I'd just end up with a torn card and possibly stained pony. 

Now that I think about it, I don't even remember opening them as a kid.  I remember combing fresh pony hair and the scented stickers... but I think the actual opening was more of an annoying obstacle I had to go through to get what I wanted.  I did keep the back cards to read over and over again and never liked the brown cardboard and tears on the front of the card.

[Wildshadow]

I'm opening up my G2's when I get my shelves ready, since I bought them when they were still being made and intended to open them, but time got away from me then. So I haven't opened them yet also most of my G3's are going to be opened as well.

I use a box cutters to open up the new things I get cause I need to save the boxes and cards most of them are on, since they have details on them that taking the plastic bubble off will ruin.

I have one G1 MOC I wanted to open because she is already bad inside of it but it's Coco Berry and the smell is still permeating the packaging and the shipping box she came in, so I can't get rid of either

[darcisan]

I would be forever tempted and tortured, but I don't think I would.  I'd just end up with a torn card and possibly stained pony. 

Now that I think about it, I don't even remember opening them as a kid.  I remember combing fresh pony hair and the scented stickers... but I think the actual opening was more of an annoying obstacle I had to go through to get what I wanted.  I did keep the back cards to read over and over again and never liked the brown cardboard and tears on the front of the card.

Same... opening the box was never a memory of mine.  Memories were of the play and personalities of them I imagined.