The Energon Pub

Alright, i just ordered a 10th anniversary soundwave. as a 15 year old collector without a job, getting a premium figure isnt exactly a daily occurrence. My biggest question is- should i open it up and display the figure once it arrives, or should i keep it in package? im pretty new to collecting, so im not too sure what qualifies as a figure worth keeping in mint condition. ive seen people keeping figures in their boxes ranging from target exclusives to masterpieces. any thoughts from more experienced collectors?

Mate, to be honest, this is the sort of decision you have to make yourself.

All of us can give you our opinions based on our collecting habits.

You have to ask yourself, "how do I want my collection to look?" Would you prefer your shelves to be filled with out-of-the-box figures in various poses? Would you prefer your shelves filled with boxed figures. Are you hoping that keeping them MISB will see them appreciate in value as time progresses and you can re-sell them for a profit?

For me, my collection, they're all out of box except for one figure, MIB 1984 Optimus Prime (even then though I have subsequent reissues and variations of him out of the box). I free them because ...
A) - I'm just not a believer in MISB/MOSC
B) - Lack of room (boxes take up a lot of space)
C) - I can walk into the TF room any time and grab a figure and play with it.
D) - It just looks good walking in and seeing shelves filled with various figures.

But at the end of the day, it comes down to you and how you want to build your collection.

Regardless of which way you go, welcome to the forums and as the collection expands, feel free to share it with us!

JustARandomGuy wrote:Alright, i just ordered a 10th anniversary soundwave. as a 15 year old collector without a job, getting a premium figure isnt exactly a daily occurrence. My biggest question is- should i open it up and display the figure once it arrives, or should i keep it in package? im pretty new to collecting, so im not too sure what qualifies as a figure worth keeping in mint condition. ive seen people keeping figures in their boxes ranging from target exclusives to masterpieces. any thoughts from more experienced collectors?

Dude, if you are just starting your collection, there is absolutely NO POINT on keeping anything sealed. If the goal is to make money, better invest instead of buying toys. If you want to collect Transformers because you love Transformers, open that baby up. Transform it. Feel it. Enjoy life!

Here's a figure I wanted for so long but it was (and still is) too expensive on Ebay. Like, 250$-300$ minimum shipped, sealed or not. It's the Toshiba HD-DVD voyager Movie 2007 Starscream. It was an exclusive Japanese freebie that was given to you if you bought a Toshiba HD-TV with a HD-DVD player. It also came with a HD-DVD of the first TF Bay movie. All for the low, low price of almost 10000$ counting taxes and such.

Well, someone fount it for me on Mandrake brand new, sealed, for only 100$ shipped! So I bought it and here's what happenned once I got that very premium figure that is worth around 300$ sealed:
















So satisfying!

You have to wonder if you are buying to invest or to transform your toys.

If you want to invest, than there are other and better ways. The collectormarket is very fickle and the rule of thumb is: only what costs a lot now will be worth more later.

This is a retail figure that was available everywhere. It wont be worth that much more later. Figures worth keeping sealed are G1 figures still in their original sealed packages. There are so many loose out there that the only reason to buy a brand new one is to keep it sealed and have it increase in value. But a new toys like this doesnt really have ay set rules. its up to you.

But like I said, if your goal is to make money out of it, then there are less risky ways.

Also, its a real bitch to try to sell figures when the time comes. People will want to get it as low a price as possible and the market might be oversaurated so once you factor in shipping and your riginal cost, you probably wont make much money out of it.

Just my point fo view of course.

Burn wrote:Mate, to be honest, this is the sort of decision you have to make yourself.

All of us can give you our opinions based on our collecting habits.

You have to ask yourself, "how do I want my collection to look?" Would you prefer your shelves to be filled with out-of-the-box figures in various poses? Would you prefer your shelves filled with boxed figures. Are you hoping that keeping them MISB will see them appreciate in value as time progresses and you can re-sell them for a profit?

For me, my collection, they're all out of box except for one figure, MIB 1984 Optimus Prime (even then though I have subsequent reissues and variations of him out of the box). I free them because ...
A) - I'm just not a believer in MISB/MOSC
B) - Lack of room (boxes take up a lot of space)
C) - I can walk into the TF room any time and grab a figure and play with it.
D) - It just looks good walking in and seeing shelves filled with various figures.

But at the end of the day, it comes down to you and how you want to build your collection.

Regardless of which way you go, welcome to the forums and as the collection expands, feel free to share it with us!

I hate sounding like a copy cat, but I agree almost word for word with Burn. The only MiSB items I own, I also have loose versions of to display.

My only added advice is: if you choose to open (wich you should) be very careful and keep the box as pristine as you can. Store it in a place where it will be protected. If you ever do choose to sell, having a almost mint box can sometimes be almost as good as a sealed box.


Enjoy soundwave, and welcome to the boards.