The Energon Pub

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

I open them, and i used to keep all of my boxes inserts etc... then I moved to my house... the boxes started to pile and I found that the space would be better. I keep a few in the box, (but still open them), depending on rarity or if they are special.... over all thought I open... to try to keep my collection size down without regulating my numbers! I just went through and opened a whole bunch of carded figs that I had forever, and just wanted to break them throgh their plasitic prisons!

I open and fiddle with everything. Still, I love to keep some MIB. I do have a rule however. Everything I keep MIB, I MUST have already have it open. Also, the thing must usually be on sale.
The only excetion is if the thing is already in some incredible box already in a cool pose or scene, like the 2007 Deluxe Movie scene pack, or if it will destroy the toy like the Gold Randy. I Keep the Exclusive 1st Ed. TF Prime OP sealed because I will get the normal one anyway.

So, here is the MIB part of my collection.



I also have some non-TF toys I keep MIB for different reason. The Barbie is plenty beautiful in her box. I'm still debating if I should open the Monster High box to start collecting. (I bought 4 of the same because they were at 14$ instead of 50$. Will sell the others on ebay.) And the Applejack truck must remain in box because it way too hillarious by itself and even more so with the Twilight Sparkle cardboard cut-out.

New figures, I open them. If they're super cool, I'll buy multiples of them, some to keep boxed and some to open.

If I get a vintage unopened figure, chances are I paid enough for it that I don't want to ruin the value by opening it. So in those cases I'll usually also buy a loose second figure to display that way, if I want.

I feel the same way as some others have suggested, to me displaying out of their boxes is better plus i display some of the boxes if they are back from the 80's. I do have some that are still in packages, so if your not going to sell it, then just be careful opening the box and display it.

I got two Energon Rodimus. One in perfect condition and used, the other brand new and sealed, in the most pristine package imaginable.
...
Guess what I did?




By the way, I dunnow what all these Youtube reviewers are complaining about. Energon Rodimus is friggin' awesome!

With the TF Prime 1st Ed. crisis, I may never have a second Deluxe OP. So I just open my Comic Con Prime 1st Ed to enjoy the figure. No regrets. He's not rare and will never worth insane prices. The magnet is on my fridge, the box is in storage, and Deluxe Prime OP is in my OP collection, netxt to Voyager Prime OP.

By the way, I'm selling my sealed 1st Ed. Primes figures. Maybe with some luck... (Click on my Ebay icon!)

I open a lot of the figures ive picked up over the years. But since im 37 maybe when I was 20something I started to run out of room to display my figures and many have been unopened to this day as well. I know keeping some unopened harkens back to my younger days when it was very uncommon to keep unopened toys.

I opened all of the toys I ever got except for 1 or 2 I didnt like as much and kept the cardbacks of things like Star Wars and Transformers stuff for a lil while then threw them away too.

Now My Dad always said to me be careful with those toys im giving you, keep the boxes, dont open some of them. "they'll be worth money someday."

I think I laughed to myhself a lot about this but stunningly the old man was proven so right it hurts. course no one was hardly doing it so I never thought it would happen.

Like this Amazing Stories episode in the mid 80s tv show had a bit with a young man who keeps all his stuff in mint shape and drives around all his life until hes an old bum with "nothing" in his life besides a car full of crap he thinks. except.. hes got stuff like action #1 comic, some rare action figure this, an old elite that. and finally hes an old man who proved his folks wrong and got rich off his collection. that story still gets me a lil bit, darn you steven spielberg! lol

and Mark Hamill was the actor who played that role as well in the amazing stories thing.

which gets me back on track, my Dad was right and I was wrong, at least for the old vintage stuff, not the new stuff that everyone has a load of carded and boxed stuff in their garage etc. holy moly, the prices on old carded star wars figures drives me up the wall. at least they were for a while.

And I think that lil life lesson has backfired on me a tad. I tend to think that some of the stuff Ive kept sealed up will at the bak of my mind or hte end of my life make me retire in splendor.

Unlikely though.

More like since everyone is keeping stuff new in boxes ( not everyone but many collectors and casual toy trending scalpers are im pretty sure) the value of them is of course low since the supply is high.

Maybe if we live to be 200 years old theyll finally pay off in some sense

But anyway I enjoy my figures and toys open, though i do try and keep them in better shape than I used to when i was young and played them out. Now I figure if I keep them nice boxed or no but in good condition they might make some other soul happy someday too and that keeps me upbeat.