Will it ruin the collectable value if I open the box?

[LadyAmalthea]

So Stranger Things Applejack arrived today from Amazon. I was really looking forward to getting her, and was hoping to keep and display her in the package. But...she was packed in an envelope and the corners of the box were damaged. I was able to smooth them down a little to where I guess it's acceptable. But the most annoying thing is that there is a big, black hair trapped inside the packaging, right over the pony's face!

It just bugs me, but I'm afraid that opening up the package would damage any collectable value she might have in the future. If I had ordered her from Target or something, I'd exchange her, but I'm not sure how much recourse I have with Amazon...I know I can return her and order a new one, and I guess it probably wouldn't have the hair, but I don't really have a way to request it to not be shipped in an envelope again to avoid box damage. I noticed at least one of the reviews complained about a damaged box as well, so I'm guessing this is a common problem.

I know this is a dumb thing to post about, but I know many of you have more experience with collectables than I do, so I just wanted to see what you all would do...open the box and pull out the hair, send her back, or just live with it the way it is?

[slyons]

Well, as far as I've been made aware, as soon as a box is opened it's compromised, so value goes down.  I'm not an expert, so someone can correct me if I'm wrong!
But....if you leave it with the hair, yours might be the only MIB ST Applejack with a mysterious hair from the factory sealed inside!  You can use the 'OOAK' heading in your EBay title 
If it bugs you to much to display her with it though, I would order a new one and send mystery hair Appplejack back.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Yes, opening at any mint in box thing will make it no longer new, even if the box is still present and all tapings on the actual product are there. You still opened the box, possibly removed the tape on the outside.
However, I'm going to take a wild swing and say It's pretty likely that most of the stranger things Applejacks were kept mint in box, considering how quickly they seemed to sell out. As a result of this, I don't think it's very likely that you opening the box to adjust the pony inside will seriously devalue it.
at this point, I think it's much more likely that the box corners are going to be what the values are in the future. The box is a big draw for a mint box collectors, you know?
(I'm doing this speech-to-text as I'm on my phone in my hand is hurt, it's interesting to see how Google interprets mint in box mitten box min inbox)

[LadyAmalthea]

Well, as far as I've been made aware, as soon as a box is opened it's compromised, so value goes down.  I'm not an expert, so someone can correct me if I'm wrong!
But....if you leave it with the hair, yours might be the only MIB ST Applejack with a mysterious hair from the factory sealed inside!  You can use the 'OOAK' heading in your EBay title 
If it bugs you to much to display her with it though, I would order a new one and send mystery hair Appplejack back.

Haha...$X for the pony, but someone's free DNA right inside the box!

That's what I figured...if I open it it's pretty much compromised. Maybe I'll just keep her and open her, but order a second one; that way I get one to play with and a hopefully mint one to display.

Post Merge: September 26, 2020, 05:24:52 PM

Yes, opening at any mint in box thing will make it no longer new, even if the box is still present and all tapings on the actual product are there. You still opened the box, possibly removed the tape on the outside.
However, I'm going to take a wild swing and say It's pretty likely that most of the stranger things Applejacks were kept mint in box, considering how quickly they seemed to sell out. As a result of this, I don't think it's very likely that you opening the box to adjust the pony inside will seriously devalue it.
at this point, I think it's much more likely that the box corners are going to be what the values are in the future. The box is a big draw for a mint box collectors, you know?
(I'm doing this speech-to-text as I'm on my phone in my hand is hurt, it's interesting to see how Google interprets mint in box mitten box min inbox)

That's good to know about the value of the condition of the box corners...this one got pretty banged up. Maybe instead of ordering another one on Amazon, I'll just find one on Ebay that was likely purchased in-store and has a better box. I looked at the Amazon reviews again, and counted no less than 4 people who complained of a crushed box, so more likely than not if I order another one or exchange it I'll just get another imperfect box. I would think most people ordering this pony would be ordering it to keep MIB because that's part of the collectable appeal of it, but I suppose no one packing these things up at some Amazon distribution center is thinking of that.

I've never used speech-to-text, but I always use closed-captioning when I watch TV because I have 2-year-old twins and my house is never quiet enough to hear it (or said twins are napping and I don't want to chance waking them up!) and some of the word combinations that pop up (because I assume it's automated) are quite hilarious sometimes!

[slyons]

Haha...$X for the pony, but someone's free DNA right inside the box!

What a selling point! 

[LadyAmalthea]

Haha...$X for the pony, but someone's free DNA right inside the box!

What a selling point! 

Hey, well I guess if you were planning on committing a crime and pinning it on someone else....

[Taffeta]

Gasp! A packaged crime scene?!

...Seriously, deboxing or breaking the box seal immediately ends it being nrfb.

It's impossible to judge what will be the value point on her going forward, though.

I would either return it or buy another if you are bothered about that aspect. Although I always feel a bit sorry for returned ponies.

It's still a readily available product, at least, so you have that option.

My sister and I got one each - my sister took hers out of the box and mine is still inside. I have debated getting another one to debox but haven't actually done it as yet. I may not. I may just steal my sister's >.>.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Haha...$X for the pony, but someone's free DNA right inside the box!

What a selling point! 

I've seen stranger things.... 

I'm so sorry that was a really bad joke.

[Leave a Whisper]

Only if your planning on selling it MIB much later.

[Mewtwofan1]

Generally, yes. Deboxing does take down a bit of the “collector” value. That’s why moms old holiday and Olympic barbies are still in box. And why she got mad when my younger sister took my other sisters Barbie out of the box.
Ultimately, NIB seems to be the best if you intend to sell her in future, or just brag about “oh look at me I have a collectors edition thing in box!”. But it’s your decision.

[Galactica]

For this particular pony I say NO because you will notice when you open it- that there is nothing that is broken or changed and you can put her right back in the box good as new

Not like the old carded ponies where you basically destroy the packaging to get the pony out


--  Also they just aren't that rare.  Unless you were planning to sell 20 years from now or something.

[banditpony]

Sort of, but right now she's not of much value atm.. and who is to say how much she could be in the future.

If you don't return/exchange her... I'd recommend just being careful on how you open it and remove the tape. A lot of times in 30+ years tape can disintegrate anyway.

But you also have the issue that the box is already damaged... I've gotten people upset at me for that sort of thing that "it doesn't display nicely" to minor damage to a corner.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

But the most annoying thing is that there is a big, black hair trapped inside the packaging, right over the pony's face!

I suppose that could have happened at the factory but it makes me wonder if she's already been opened and looked at before being repackaged anyway.

[Taffeta]

Are we absolutely sure it's not just one of her hairs? Her hair is dark blue, not black, but in the shadow of the box it is kind of hard to tell. I was looking at mine and it occurred to me that that's quite likely.

Honestly, while it's fine to do it carefully, I think that it's better that you remove the tape completely if you plan to open the box. It matters to a MIB collector whether an item has been opened or not, even if everything is in situe. Not disclosing a box opening is kind of like not disclosing a touch up of a pony's eye, or a tiny rehair, or symbol repair. It's better if you're going to do it to make it clear that you've done it, even if you do it neatly.

People often think they aren't going to resell items later on, but in the 22 years I've been here I've seen a lot of people who said they would never sell stuff sell that same stuff. It's impossible to know what the future holds, but it's always good to be open about things that have been done to a pony or an item.

[slyons]

Haha...$X for the pony, but someone's free DNA right inside the box!

What a selling point! 

I've seen stranger things.... 

I'm so sorry that was a really bad joke.

Hahaha made me laugh 😆