Mint in box....I just don't get it

Laspector

Master Member
I've never been one of those "mint in box/never open it" type people. I just can't do that. If I am going to spend my hard earned money on something you better believe I'm going to take it out and mess with it.

I have this friend who is that way though. He buys all this stuff, never opens it, and it just stacks up in his garage. I'm always on him about "Let's open this up and check it out!" and he is always "No, it is mint in box and opening it decreases its value". Now, this guy is single with no kids and personally, I'm pretty sure he will always be that way. Sorry, but that is just the way it is. He really has no interest in relationships with women (or men), so I'm pretty sure he is happy being alone. So it is not like he is saving this stuff for a college education for his kids or anything. And he NEVER sells any of it. What is the point?

Why buy all this stuff, keep it, never even look at it, never sell it? It's not like most of the stuff is going to be really worth much anyday anyway. It's not like it is limited editions and such. It's just toys and props and stuff. If you are just buying stuff for the resale value, get into real estate or something.

I could never be like that. I buy something cool, the first thing I am going to do is take it apart, rebuild, repaint it, whatever. To me collecting is not about monetary value. It's about how much fun I can have with it. To me the gratification of holding it, looking at it, working on it, then being proud of what I have done is worth way more to me than some odd handful of dollars I might get for it twenty years from now.

How do you feel about the subject?
 
I used to do that with stuff then i went to keeping the boxes in the attic and then i went with throwing the box out lol. Everyone thinks things are worth more with the box but if you're treating your collection as an investment you may be missing the point, I sure did in the 90s when I thought my comic collection would be worth money so i bought up everything i could. The odd thing is video games are worth way more if you have the boxes, at least Super Nintendo, to the point that a loose game is 50.00 while one unopened or in super good shape can go for a few hundred.
 
I quote meyelf from this thread, which applies to collectors too. http://www.therpf.com/f45/priority-own-screen-used-favorite-movie-221822/

Not necessarily. Everyone collects prop items for various reason as there are differents kind of people. For example, I have watched Superman the Movie countless of times, but I do only own the non-prop Hot Toys Christopher Reeve, because of perfectly captured likeness of the overall figure and he embodies the Superman for me out of the comics. But because of space and budgetary constraints, I wouldn't own a real costume or replica or a Daily Planet newspaper prop. On the other hand, I have some Star Trek smaller props, which I acquired over the years to make a physical connection to the show, like a screen-used isolinear chip from TNG, some other production made Iso-Chips and from PIH auctioned system capsule stickers and equipment case sticker. I got a replica of the Watchmen smiley, because I liked the design of the unique blooddrop smeared button, but I didn't like the movie (still want my money back). Some replicas I do own out of pure enjoyment of the movie like Kurtyboy's Sarah Connor Polaroid Photo.

I have the boxes from my HT Superman and eFX Tricorder, but not that from my MP-10 Optimus Prime, too large... no space.
 
The boxes are a big reason i got rid of alot of the ones i had, even packages for action figures that I liked, you seriously almost need a room for the boxes. Companies waste so much space with packaging.
 
One of the best days I had was when I went through an old box of graphic novels from back in the day, and pealed off all the plastic wrapped covers... started flipping through them.

It all started cuz my kid was waiting all weekend for some Hanna Montana 3D concert on TV, and for the life of me I couldn't find 3D glasses for her (red blue). Then I realized I had a Batman 3D comic, and could just get them from there. I paused as I held it the sealed book in my hands... cuz I was still stuck in my mid 90's "DON'T OPEN IT WILL BE WORTH NOTHING!!!" mind-set. But when I realized I would likely never sell them (they wouldn't be worth the hassle) I opened the book and popped out the glasses.

They were WAY too big for her (she was like 6 years old) so I further cut them up...

The next day I started going through all my books and seeing what was behind the plastic.

Turns out some really bad art for the most part. hah.
 
I don't keep boxes. and I don't collect for later value. shoot I bought a master replicas assault phaser. threw the box away right off the bat. later I gave the acrylic display case away. I just wanted the gun..lol It's not really a money thing for me. I just like prop gun's..
 
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My comic dealer told me to not collect expecting them to be worth money but because I enjoyed them, sadly i got into the mindset that caused all the problems when the companies found out we were buying all the variants covers and they really didn't have the huge amount of readers they thought.
 
The figures that I collect, I take them out of the box, put them in my display case and throw the box away. They are there for me and others to see.

As for comics, when I was heavy into collecting, I would buy the normal issue for reading and the variant for collecting. Most of my variants are only worth a few bucks more than the cover price now but I do have most of the Civil War sketch variants done by Michael Turner which are worth a bit more and a Witchblade #1 signed by Turner and the rest of the creative team and a few other rares that I have for safe keeping. Nothing worth crazy $$$ but at current value would pay for a small getaway for a few days.
 
One of my very good friends, about 70 and retired, has been collecting an assortment of things for most of his adult life. The entire upstairs of his house is completely full of unopened (and still sealed) plastic and wooden models of all types, collectible figures spanning 40 years, various sports card sets, model trains in both full sets and individual cars, just a ton of stuff. And none of it is displayed, just all stacked up against the walls of each room, sometimes stacked out 4-5 rows deep. He does on occasion build a model, but we're talking one maybe A YEAR, while he sits on thousands of unopened kits. I've asked him before why he bought all of those just to have them sit, and he always says either a) they were a good deal or b) they were 'neat'. He still buys kits and pieces when he comes across them, adding to his horde. I think he maybe looks at it as a future investment for his son, who ironically has little or no interest in that kind of thing. I suppose he's right
I think I've got him to sell me one kit in 15 years, but it's enjoyable enough just to go over and wander through his collections.
 
I get it, but I don't believe in it.

If I buy something manufactured 'recently', its to display and play with whenever I feel like (peew peew, whoosh, boom, or growl etc :lol). I want to touch an item, pick it up, look at it from all angles etc, not just a dim view inside a sealed box. It's the fun of it that matters :D

That also applies to vintage stuff. I've sometimes bought vintage mint in box items for a pretty penny, say something from my childhood I haven't seen in 40 years or something, only to unseal it immediately for play and display. This is quadruple fun, and warms the cockles of my heart to no end :)
 
I usually take out stuff to display but put the boxes away in storage.
Sure it is not about keeping it mint on display, but if the day comes to pass stuff along and sell it, I think about the next collector down the line. They might appreciate the box coming with the item, even if I have played with it a little and it is not mint. So it is no sweat off my back to just store the box away out of site.
 
Well, this thread made me laugh xD! I am collecting toys from Toy Story, and there had a been a lot of vintage stuff I have bought... When I bought them I was like: "okay let's just display with the box, it's mint", and when I had the box in hands, I was like : "AAAH NO WAY! LET'S OPEN IT"! I just can't help it!! It's nice to have the toy in your hands and be able to handle it and stuff! So yup, totally understand your point Laspector!

To be fair, I'm always surprised when I see a toy "mint in box" from the 80's. That means someone collected them like this since the 80's haha xD
 
Well....i just bought a superman comic on the net....Apparently some first issue or such thing, The auction has been on the news a lot apparently but i never watches them anyway.. Got the comic home,....was reading it when eating breakfast and spilled orange juice and marmalade on it, some of the pages are now glued together and when i tried to open them up with a knife i sliced a long tear into it. The story was pretty good and i enjoy reading it in the bathroom.
 
Well....i just bought a superman comic on the net....Apparently some first issue or such thing, The auction has been on the news a lot apparently but i never watches them anyway.. Got the comic home,....was reading it when eating breakfast and spilled orange juice and marmalade on it, some of the pages are now glued together and when i tried to open them up with a knife i sliced a long tear into it. The story was pretty good and i enjoy reading it in the bathroom.

:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol
 
Contec:
Dear Conny, have someone ever told you, that sometimes you can really be evil, my friend?

Well....i just bought a superman comic on the net....Apparently some first issue or such thing, The auction has been on the news a lot apparently but i never watches them anyway.. Got the comic home,....was reading it when eating breakfast and spilled orange juice and marmalade on it, some of the pages are now glued together and when i tried to open them up with a knife i sliced a long tear into it. The story was pretty good and i enjoy reading it in the bathroom.
 
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