I know this is probably a touchy subject around here(opening/leaving mic), but my ocd is killing me right now . I have traded/purchased a few things with the intention of opening them. These include: a Marisa Fairborn, unmasked jinx, and flak vs claw. I really got the exclusives intending to open them, but find it hard to open expensive/rare things. The flak/claw I just want outback, but see it is going for good money on the 'bay. I'm not even sure what I'm asking, just kinda wanted to vent my frustration at the situation/my ocd.

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Toys were made to be opened.

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I get the exact same problem, I don't collect or want or need ANYTHING carded. but sometimes I end up with things I haven't gotten around to opening, just to realize they are pretty rare or expensive and I feel like I shouldn't open them, like its almost disrespectful or something to open it. like if this was 100 years old I would never open the package, and if its already sort of rare then I shouldn't destroy it.
ive also had older items I really want that are pretty rare and a little expensive and they seldomly come up for sale, but EVERYTIME I see one come up for auction they are still carded.
and I get to the point where I think ok I would be willing to pay this much for it, but I cant pay that much for it then open it, yet if it was loose I would happily pay just as much maybe even more.

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You have to look deep within yourself and answer whether you're into this stuff because you love toys or because you're a businessman. A lover of toys opens and plays with his toys, and a businessman worries about the next transaction and whether he'll profit from it.

There's nothing really wrong with being either one, but coming to the realization which one you fundamentally are will remove the cloud of indecision plaguing you.

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RELEASE TOYS FROM THEIR PLASTIC PRISONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Another option that may take a bit longer...

Sell the MOC version, buy a loose version. Loose will always be cheaper, so you'll get your toy and make a small profit.

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Open.

The answer is always open.

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If I know in keeping it for me I open it (even to customize more often than not). If I got it because I knew it may be rare, or maybe by the time I opened something it had become rare, then I simply decide - do I want it vs want to sell it? Depending on my choice I either use it or take it straight to eBay.

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A third option can be you just like the feeling of holding a carded/boxed item, or looking at it in your hands. Just like you did when you were a kid in the toy store, in my memory it was kinda mysterious or magic when you got to look at the new stuff from that year, or when you held that one item that you were still saving money for.

So basically keeping a MOC MOC for nostalgic feelings!

(and for the perfect nostalgic experience you'd have to buy a whole certain year of G.I.Joe, MOC and MIB and set it up just like in the earlier toy stores........ )

All that really amounts to is liking packages as artforms, the pleasure of which can be indulged by buying empty boxes so someone else can enjoy the toy, or you can open it yourself and enjoy *two* things for the price of one.

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The only toy I've kept on card recently was a Disneyland 60th Anniversary commemorative Star Wars Droid that a friend picked up for me, and that's only because, frankly, the packaging is more distinctive than the Droid, so the whole thing looks cooler as a display piece being left packaged.

Otherwise, I tend to be a package opener.

I have few carded items. Of the 6 (SDCC USA Sgt Slaughter, SDCC podium Cobra Commander, SDCC Destros, OTC New Hope Luke, Canadian 25th BAT, Hama autographed comic pack #1) 4 have slits I cut down the bubble so I could take the figures out and then put them back in. The BAT is doens't because I have 6 others of it uncarded already. Same with the comic pack plus with the autograph and where it came from (Orlando Joe Con) there are memories tied to it worth more than the figures to me.

I get wanting something MOC. But for me, I want my cake and to eat it too. So those figures on display, also need to be able to come out of their shell for when I want to do something with them.

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As others have said, it's really dependent on what you as a collector want. For my personal collection, I have two (or more) of most items from the 25th run -- one in package and the other(s) opened for use. I wanted this because I really like the look of the items in package and I wanted to give my room a toy store aesthetic.
I'm in the process of moving my collection to its new home, where it will have 12' ceilings, giving me room to display the packaged items nicely while still having room for my main collection where I can reach it to play with our whatever.

As others have said, it's really dependent on what you as a collector want. For my personal collection, I have two (or more) of most items from the 25th run -- one in package and the other(s) opened for use. I wanted this because I really like the look of the items in package and I wanted to give my room a toy store aesthetic.
I'm in the process of moving my collection to its new home, where it will have 12' ceilings, giving me room to display the packaged items nicely while still having room for my main collection where I can reach it to play with our whatever.

If you are talking about modern stuff and you want to open it, just open it. I assure you, there are many other examples of that item still sealed out there and will be for a long time. If you are talking vintage, yeah that requires some thought. Is the package trashed? Can you get another loose example for cheap?

For example, I had a Takara (Japanese) Destro on a badly damaged card. It was faded, warped, creased, and the bubble damaged. The figure was otherwise pristine. That carded figure was worth maybe $20. The loose, mint figure possibly $15. So I opened it. Had the card been in really nice shape, I would just drop the $15 on a nice loose one and keep the other carded.

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