Action figure collection inquiry
 

I've been collecting since 2008.

I still have many in the packaging, I love collecting and keeping some figures in the packaging, because 1. they look good in the packaging or 2. they are either are very rare figures to find. 3. they don't make them any more.

However, collecting comes with limited space. I've been running out of space to place my packaged figures (closet, shelves, containers) space is getting very tiny.

my question is for a non-trader/seller collector does it really matter if figures are kept in the package or not? and do you open all of your figures.

I have many since 2008 that are still in the package yet i'm still kind of afraid to just open it. (sounds crazy)

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

I personally open every figure I buy. It's more fun to display them and pose them and such. Seeing as it's mostly all 4" scaled figures, space is never an issue.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

I open one of each (if they're my taste), but I always get doubles or triples of the best for possible trades. That's usually where I'm running into storage problems lol, even with bins of opened figs it's getting out of hand.

My suggestion is that if you display your packaged figs, sort them into groups you'll display them in and keep them boxed together. This way when you change displays, you can just replace the box in the closet (or wherever).

Right now I have a room in the house, it's filling quickly and I only collect 3 lines! Lol

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

I personally open everything now, I used to collect everything on card, but after collecting that way for many years I completely ran out of room. And let me tell you, the day i decided to open all of my MOC MOTUC or the day i opened all my MOC Marvel legends... they were glorious days.

Now I open 95% of my collections, i may keep doubles of my favorites on card, or ones that are super duper rare, or older toys that i find for dirt cheap that are still in box or on card.

This way i can keep my cabinets filled and its easier to rotate what I have out on display. Its a lot easier to store loose figures are well.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

I only have one detolf display case and whatever I want displayed, I'll open. I keep my unopened collection in a bin and they'll have to wait until I decide to display them. If it turns out they have no place in my display case, I'll sell them off. But lately I've been tight with money, so I have to let a lot of them go. :(

I love opening my figures when I get the chance!

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

Everything for my own personal collection is open.

That said I do watch for deals to buy extras of things to sell at local conventions.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

I'm a hoarder. Yup said it.

I open the ones I like. Set them free. Trying not to buy multiples and trying to be pickier. Trying.

I have not made money on my collection. It is the hunt. Not the sale afterwards.

Enjoy the hobbie. Enjoy the hunt. Enjoy the figure. Life is short.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

Over the years I've found that a lot of the figures that I thought were really valuable and could sell for a nice amount really haven't skyrocketed in value. So more and more I find myself opening them to get a little extra fun from rearranging my shelves and changing their poses. I still keep some MISB, but only figures that look really slick in package and that seem like they wouldn't display well (or stand up, lol) outside of their little plastic bubbles.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

I'm with Dinga on this one. I collect for fun. I have no patience for business and have no intention of reselling these guys. I do buy doubles of the figures I deem essential (He-man, Predator Arnie, AO Batman, NECA Turtles etc). I don't have enough display space though, so I rearrange my displays and rotate my figures. Nothing beats seeing a completed team of heroes (or viallains) on your shelf.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

Absolutely for me too (though my collection is purely Star Wars and not nearly as eclectic).

I collect for me, not for my grandkids. I open and enjoy them and display them when I'm not forced to store them due to space constraints.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

Set them free if space is tight and you enjoy displaying them that way. Keeping them MOC doesn't guarantee any financial return in the future anyway.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

the only thing good about keeping them moc is it makes them easier to sell...i would always prefer to buy moc over loose...but they all get opened anyways :)

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

If you buy simply for investment for the future, keep in packaging. As for myself, it's for me so I open them and have the occasional in package stored away.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

Yeah if you are in it to one day sell them its best to keep them in the package. They will always be worth more mint on card or in box. About 90% of my collection is open and I find it hard to not open the rest. There's just some items that look cool in the package. After seeing the vintage Star Wars toy store pictures on Rebel scum I really want to do a section that looks like a toy store. Another New Year project! Happy New Year to all!

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

This is my favourite discussion thread in these forums for a long time and I seldom feel moved to post anything that isn't an action figure sighting.

Seriously, seeing the points of view of other collectors elucidated here helps me understand how I can end up scouring multiple Wal-Marts, Targets, TRUs and even LCBS's for select figures and always come up woefully short.

This is just my considered opinion and I'm not looking to speak for anyone else or to denigrate anybody in a mean-spirited way, but I really believe that if you're buying TRIPLES or more of figures in the direct market (with possible exception of army building, I suppose), then quite frankly, you are acting to the overall detriment of the hobby.

I know that you could easily say that a lot of the 3.75 / 6 inch toylines that most of us collect are actually arguably aimed at adult collectors, but I'm not sure... regardless of the prevalence of videogames etc. with today's kids, I for one am really glad that there wasn't an entire generation of adult collectors around back in the day when we were kids, running around cherry-picking all the chase figs off of the pegs back then.

I mean, how much fun would you childhood toy collection have been if all you had access to was dozens of multi-coloured Iron Man figs with limited articulation and you couldn't find the other characters you wanted.

I'm not above taking a special glee in finding something rare at a Winners and flipping it for a profit, but everything in moderation.

Anyway, in terms of storage... I'm an opener, but I'm an opener whose stuff often spends years in bins before I get around to ripping stuff off of the card. I've moved around a lot for work and there is no point in setting up shelving when you're only spending 12 months at a time in a place.

That being said, I know it sounds obvious and trite , but it never fails to amaze me how much more room figures take up when they're still MOC. I've got literally thousands of 3.75 inch figs and whenever I go through a huge rubbermaid bin and open up a buch of stuff, I'm amazed at how many big plastic containers get freed up for other purposes (or even sale).

Open your toys, pose them up, display them in a fun way... it is way more interesting and fulfilling than taking up lots of room with carded stuff - or even rotating stuff in and out of storage to display other aspects of your collection.

My two cents,

Thanks.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

I totally agree with you there, Dinga :)

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

One problem I have is keeping the packaging once I finally get around to opening stuff. I have a hard time throwing out the packaging, thinking maybe one day I might need it for something? Like what, I have no idea. I have finally gotten into slicing the bubbles off and just keeping the basic cardbacks, but for larger boxed toys I still keep the packaging. I think it is partly that I think, "hey I paid for the packaging too, why throw it away?" as well as "what if I go to sell these one day and someone wants the open packaging? (but why would anyone want that?!)"

Does anyone see value in keeping open packaging? Definitely for premium items like Masterpiece and 3rd Party Transformers I would think, as well as Lego sets I imagine. But what about regular mass-market boxed Transformers? Star Wars vehicles? And does anyone keep their opened Marvel Legends packaging, like those ToyBiz clamshells? I was looking at all the wasted storage I have because of this stuff and wondering if I should just chuck it all.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

I have the exact same problem with keeping the packaging! It's what killing space for me! I started to do what you did though, cutting out the bubbles and keeping the cardbacks. But mostly for the ones that are movie related (3.75", TF), I'm still hesitant to do it for MU for some reason. I really should do it for Marvel Select, the packaging is so huge...

Figures that come with boxes I like to keep for their ease of repackaging (eg. Play Arts, 6" Black Series, and Marvel Infinite Series). I've actually done that for a lot of my older Play Arts figures (FF7AC, FF8...), as I was running out of display space. Heh, I have them hung on a wall, well at least the ones that have tabs for being pegged.

The clamshells I found myself keeping as well. I've been a little more deliberate with the way I open them, cutting a door like opening on the back so I have the option repackage to them. I just wish I did that a lot earlier in my collecting, would be nice to repackage all my SOTA Street Fighter stuff.

Haha, it's like a case of OCD or mild hoarding on my behalf... I'm also curious if there's actually any value in keeping packaging.

Re: Action figure collection inquiry
 

I open >=95% of my toys. I don't play with them like when I was a little kid, but I enjoy posing them quite a bit. I keep the package mostly for storage of collection not on my display shelf.

- Medium sized Lego boxes (over ~300 pieces) are kept because I want the pieces from different sets to be separate.
- Tuck-in flap boxes are kept (ie. 6-inch Star Wars Black, 6-inch Infinite Legends).
- Bubble clamshells are disposed without hesitation (ie. Toybiz Marvel Legends, NECA, etc.)
- Plastic shell on cardboard ... I kept the cardboard and dispose the shell (ie. Hasbro Return of Marvel Legends, Mattel DC, DC Direct, etc.)
- Statue and bust boxes and packaging are always kept.

My action figures without package, when not on display, are wrapped like a mummy with toilet paper and stored in a plastic storage bin. The toilet paper are for absorbing moisture.

You may consider this guy's idea of storing his 3.75 inch figures:
http://www.onepercase.net/2013/10/ar...n-figures.html

How do you guys store your recent Hasbro Transformers? The plastics are so thin and brittle. I don't dare to put them all in a bin because I am afraid that they will break. So, they are almost always displayed... to collect dust...