To Open or Not to Open / MOC (mint on card) Versus Loose

[Hemotoggy]

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone else has the same problem I do when it comes to MOTU figures. I don't know if I should open them or not. The collector in me tells me to never open a figure and keep the packaging in mint condition. The kid in me wants to open the suckers up, play with them and display them in my own poses.

Now, I know the obvious answer to this problem is to buy two, one for play and one for keeps. But frankly, its a stretch for me to buy one of each character at $30 each(Toy budget shrinks when you have a family)

I have my MOTUC figures ordered and am currently waiting on getting them in the mail. I've seen pictures of others that have already gotten theirs and I must say I am stoked!!

-Hemo

[Tallstar]

Definitely open 'em. You need to have the figures in your hands to fully appreciate just how cool they are.

[Merman79]

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone else has the same problem I do when it comes to MOTU figures. I don't know if I should open them or not. The collector in me tells me to never open a figure and keep the packaging in mint condition. The kid in me wants to open the suckers up, play with them and display them in my own poses.

Now, I know the obvious answer to this problem is to buy two, one for play and one for keeps. But frankly, its a stretch for me to buy one of each character at $30 each(Toy budget shrinks when you have a family)

I have my MOTUC figures ordered and am currently waiting on getting them in the mail. I've seen pictures of others that have already gotten theirs and I must say I am stoked!!

-Hemo

Hey Sir! Get two of each- These babies are perfect in both.

[JonWes]

Well both the collector and the kid in me tell me to open them. I mean, I feel like - especially with this line - the best way to really appreciate them and all their articulated goodness is to open them and have fun posing them.

[orionpaximusprime]

i'm not a MOSC collector so I say open them... but just open it so that you can slide the plastic holding the fig out of the bubble, remove the fig and slide the plastic back in. Then tack the box on the wall somewhere near your collection thus you get to display both package and toy and don't lose out on the fun of having beastman ride on he-man's back.

[Pixel Dan]

I'll certainly be ripping mine open! I will also keep the cardback, though. I do that with most lines I collect, now.

[adam03]

I`m glad i had the kid in me when i ordered, I got 1 of each 1 for the MOC collector in me and the other for the kids in me to pose on a shelf lol

[AGE]

Keep em sealed

remember THE MOC side is the Dark Side.. and i'm the darkest they get

you open em and they get dusted and disguested

you keep em sealed , think about when you hit 80 .. and your limpin around in the ol walker, mine will be a dragon walker no pun intended, you can go into your MOTU inspired room chill out , pull the dentures out and just max out open a fig and be like.. ISH>>>> these suckers were wicked 50 years ago.. now thats whats up.

for real.. how ever you do it.. enjoy.. MOTU rules and MOC or Loose it's all good to go!!

by the way i'm keepin my MOC

AGE

[Zodac101]

I will be opening mine up..you can count on that!!

When I got the King Greyksull figure I went weeks without taking him out of the box. I mean I opened up the outer box to see what version I had, but still left KG in the box but setup in the castle with the drawbridge down. But after a while I so wanted to see what poses I could put him in.

To me it's much funner(ya I said it) to have them opened and on display.

[Kevin L.]

Buying two of each is definitely easier said than done. Two of each figure per month is just shy of $600 per year on this toy line. Definitely a financial commitment. I would like to have one to open and one to keep MOC but I might not be able to keep up every month. I'm glad I won't be buying any NA/200x figures. I'll be able to use the months those figures go up for sale to hopefully go back and pick up any MOTU/POP figures I missed off of ebay.

[scott metzger]

These things look like far too much fun to leave sealed up.

Free the prisoners!

[AGE]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Keep em locked up! feed em only when they start to cry

These things look like far too much fun to leave sealed up.

Free the prisoners!

[LORD FALLEN ELDOR]

I used an x-acto knife to slice the plastic bubble that way I can put them back in.

[Orko's Hat]

I've tried the MOC thing. Still have all my wave 3 DCUC MOC. And it's driving me CRAZY. It's like a big tease. "Open me...you know you want to..." Every time I look at them, it's always like that. I figure, if I bought the darn thing, I may as well enjoy it. Sealed, sure, they may be worth money in the future. Unsealed, they are priceless because they become truly yours. Besides, all th MOC stuff I've bought on ebay from MOC collectors I have opened up.

[wolfsfang]

Well when I get my Mer-Man in april and my Hordak (whenever that guy gets made) I will certainly be opening them (and my Stinkor and my Mosquitor and my Mantenna and my Leech and my... hmm there are a few I would be willing get methinks).

I have some of my small collection (5 figures) still sealed but that is only because at the moment I have nowhere to display the figures as I am yet to put my shelves up in my bedroom.

Personally I think figures are supposed to be held and enjoyed not just stuck behind plastic for the rest of their lives. Unless of course you plan on selling them later in which case...

[Lioncourt]

Open 'em up!

Plastic prisons are inhumane.

What's the point in having them if you're not going to really enjoy them? If you're conflicted, then the answer is clear/

By the power of Grayskull, I command the figures OPEN!

[Torvik]

I am definitely an Opener! Not even a chance I would leave them imprisoned (and holding their breath in there too! )

[Uki]

Remember Figure Club.
OPEN those bad boys up!

I too will likely either open them in a way to preserve the packaging, or at least save the card back (and maybe the insert also...).

[Eric]

Most stuff I open these days, but for now I'm getting two of each so I can both open and leave packaged.

I think people should do with toys as they see fit, be it opening or not opening or some other third option I'm not aware is a possibility.

[chuc98]

I'm getting selective with which figures I buy two of...He-Man's one of them. One to open and one to keep MOC. Beast Man on the other hand, I only got one of. I'll probably get two of Skeletor and two of She-Ra, pretty much THE main characters I'll get two of. The rest just one.

[SirBushnell]

It's strange, but people don't seem to realize that MOC collecting is no longer a potential financial windfall. The idea was started because kids in the 80s didn't think to keep figures in their packaging... they tore them open and played with them!
Obviously, that led to a lack of supply of carded figures in later years. The supply and demand rule meant that when these came back into some sort of fashion, demand outstripped supply and carded figures rose in value to extreme levels.
Thus, collectors started collecting figures MOC in the hopes that someday they'll be worth the same. But they won't. They can't, it's not possible. Too many collectors have now done this to ever make the supply so limited as to push up the price. Also, most popular toys nowadays go on for quite a while with numerous different lines. That means more choice for the collector years into the future (when you're planning to sell). Why should he/she buy your toy when it's almost definitely inferior in every way (sculpt, articulation, features, packaging) to more recent toys? Just because yours is still MOC? Only if it has nostalgic value (as in, it was the first line of that particular brand) can that possibly be the deciding factor. But are these MOTUC figures the first line of the brand??
If you don't believe me, research toy price trends over the past 5-8 years. Barring vintage figures (for reasons I've already explained), almost every single toy without exception from any major line (Star Wars/MOTU/Mainstream Transformers) has massively devalued - MOC or not. There's just too many of them available for people to pay over the odds.

You can get some sort of financial benefit if either:
1) You get the figures faster than everybody else and sell them immediately. Again, due to the supply and demand rule. People are impatient.
or,
2) The particular figure was short-packed or otherwise rare in the line. This only happens on occasion. You can plan for it sometimes with exclusive figures, but not usually with others (popular female characters, perhaps). This means that if you keep the whole toy line MOC, you might have a small few that have risen in value. But the others will have devalued, so overall you are still very likely to lose money (unless you hit the jackpot with one particular figure).
On top of that, you need to take into account the value of money over time. Your $30 now is worth much more than $30 in ten years. Even if you manage to sell at a slight profit, you'll still have lost out.

Again, this is looking at it long-term. In the short run, you might be able to make some money if you're quick. But most MOC collectors are looking at it to fund their retirement or something. Long-term, you really don't have much chance at all.

------------------------------------

So, all it really comes down to is whether you ENJOY seeing the figure still immaculately presented in its packaging. This is totally possible and if that's what you like, fine. Do it. But under no circumstances should you - these days - keep figures MOC purely because you want to make money on them in the future. Trust me, if it's a mass-produced figure, you are making a TERRIBLE investment! You should enjoy it in whatever condition makes you happiest... and if that means displaying the figure or playing with it, that's what you should do.

Just my advice based on what I've seen. Experts in the industry seem to agree, but take it for whatever it's worth and do what you like.

(When - in twenty years, perhaps - it comes time to sell your entire collection because you have no money left, don't cry when you're getting pennies on the dollar for each figure that you so "lovingly" kept MOC... you were warned! LOL)

[Vorgon]

i got two of each one to open and one to keep moc.if you only got one open them and play with it!!!i have been toting beastman and he-man all over the house i can not bear to put them down and tomorrow i'll be taking them outside for a nice little field trip.

[BCI Guy]

Rip off the bubble, throw it away, slip the backer card in a drawer, don't get any work done because you keep putting He-Man in different poses on your desk.

...At least that's what I did.

[TE-MAN]

OPEN MAN!!!!!!!!!!!! OPEN THOSE PUPPIES NOW!!!!!

sorry it's late here and me and HE-MAN are off to bed
best toys ever!!!

yah, i almost forgot HE-MAN, KING GRAYSKULL AND BEASTY just had an epic battle
on the stairs until BEASTMAN cried......... my bad i need sleep.

[Celticsfan]

I'm also an opener, and I always keep the card backs from all of my figures. I have a storage tote over flowing with MotU, G.I. Joe and Star Wars cards from my toy buying years. I've probably only picked up doubles of a character maybe a handful of times since I started paying for my own figures back in the mid-90's.

Still, I would definitely pick up two of each from this line if I could. I don't think I've ever anticipated a new line as much as I am this one, and to be able to have an awesome loose collection on display in one corner of a room, and then to have a great MOC collection displayed on a wall in the other... too cool.