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What do you guys do with your transformers? Do most of you open them or no? I don't plan on selling them, but who knows in another 25 years. I need advice please.

I have only 5 genuine Transformers and they are all out in my living room, available to look at and play with anytime, all the boxes and any accessories I didn’t care for all tossed away. But then, I’m not really a collector. I see them more as souvenirs or conversation/inspiration pieces, a couple are gifts…things I can handle and which remind me of nice people or times or which fire my imagination. If that’s what Transformer toys mean to you too, then you’ll probably have a hard time leaving them in their boxes anyway, so open ‘em up and enjoy!

ON THE OTHER HAND there’s no denying that keeping them in pristine and especially unopened condition will add to their value, should they be a model that becomes desirable to collectors in the future. Even the Optimus Prime I was given just a couple of weeks ago…he may be only two years old, a ROTF model, but while tooling around the Internet trying to find some explanation for why his electronic eyes flash green (it’s eco-friendly Optimus! “I speak English/je parle Anglais” AND I’m sensitive to Earth’s environmental concerns!), I’ve already found him listed for almost twice his original asking price on some sites (kind of a rip off IMO considering that my friend found him on sale at Zellers for LESS than the original asking price). Here’s another example from my personal experience: a different toy, not a Transformer, but somewhat related, that I bought just about 25 years AGO now for under 50 bucks? Just found out that according to some fan sites it’s worth 700 now, or it might have been, if only I’d kept the box and all the accessories and the toy itself better protected for the past quarter-century. As it is, I’m sure it’s worthless now to anyone but myself, and that’s fine. I never bought it for resale in the first place. However, if that sort of potential rise in evaluation caught your attention and is important to you in any way, shape or form, well, I’m sure an actual collector could advise you further on how to best handle your toys for maximum returns in the future. Sometimes, putting plastic covers on your couch and not letting people sit on it, CAN be a good thing…

Of course, you could always do what some people I know do: buy two of any figure they particularly like, one to open and play with, the other to squirrel away in the ‘serious’ collection for possible resale down the line. Best of both approaches, perhaps.

Open! I have a few I keep in boxes, but not much. G1 Original Optimus Prime. Still doesn't have the stickers put on just to keep that MIB appeal. I have some Takara Encore G1's I keep in the box unless I am going to take some pics or something.

Everything else.....out for display. I would rather enjoy them then just look at them through plastic. Nothing against keeping them MIB though to those that do. I don't have that kind of will power nor that much room to keep em all in the box.

I guess it depends on if they are like limited release or something like that. I got the PE-11 at TFcon and was questioning if I should open it, but then I said heck it's too cool not to play with! That's my logic, they are transforming toys and how else can you transform them unless you take them out to breathe! Plus you can always display them on a shelf and stuff in either forms.

Open what you want to open , i have a fair few boxed not for money purpose just simply i liked them in the box's.

I would never keep an all misb collection i dont know how some people keep there Generations in boxes .

I have taken mine out of the boxes and played with several of them (mostly with Armada Unicron, he even watch movies with me, lol). Though I do what I can to keep them in good conditions so I'm careful with how they're handled.

Open. You have to let them breathe!

Open them, after all you can't transform them in the box!

I open mine carefully so that I don't damage the packaging. I have all the boxes stored away. Even though I am a collector, at the end of the day, they are still toys. They were meant to be played with. Another good reason to open them is that some of them have batteries in them. Over time, the batteries die and will eventually start to corrode and leak, destroying the toy you were afraid to open.

I guess the real question is, are you collecting because you enjoy the hobby passionately, or are you an investment collector who is going to hold onto them for a few years only to cash them in for a profit?

I open mine but keep the boxes/cards... I love that feeling of the first transformantion and I like having the boxes around to check out the characters bios and stats (especially to show my 10 year old as he is starting to show real interest in Transformers) As for resale, loose versions of rare/desirable molds still fetch a pretty penny