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Boxy Love


Nessex

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I've come to a bit of a fork in the road, and i know not what to do. I'm calling on my fellow collectors for some advice.

I don't have the worlds biggest minimate collection, but i've amassed quite a sum. Whithout being a total 'completionist', I have almost every Marvel and DC release still in their packages, and a few from various other lines too. My partner and i live in a small apartment, and space is a premium. Most of my figures currently live in boxes that take up room in the closets and storage areas.

I can't bear to get rid of what i have, so i have decided to cut back on what i collect. Still - that doesn't help me with the space issues i already have. I'm thinking it may be time to lose the boxes, and poly-bag my figures. There are, of course, a few boxes i'd never part with. The Giant Sized X-Men set is still one of my favourites, and i know i'd keep a hold of that one - but for all the vast majority, i'm thinking of ditching the cardboard.

Has anyone done this with their collection before? If so, was it hard to part with the packaging? Will I care once it's all gone, or Am i worrying about nothing at all?

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I can't speak for anyone else, but I've never kept the packaging for any of my Minimates. I always open them and discard the packages, because they already take up a lot of space as it is. If money isn't an issue, have you considered renting a storage unit? That would be the perfect place to safely store some of your packages.

Does your partner have anything that needs to be stored? If so, perhaps you two can share a storage unit and split the cost 50/50.

Edited by MinnesotaIceman
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I initially saved all the empty boxes I obtained for some reason. One day, I noticed that they were taking over my closet, so I recycled them all. I had no problems with that and never looked back. But I've actually purged huge chunks of my toy collection entirely every now and again, and haven't had many regrets. I sold almost all of my 25th Anniversary GI Joes, Marvel Legends, DC Universe Classics, and Transformers Classics, as well as many Minimates, 1/6 scale figures, and even a few statues. But that's going to vary from person to person I reckon.

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I find it very rewarding when I open up a big order from Luke's and then recycle the packaging. Looking at the amount of space that the boxes take up vs. the small amount that the figures do is kind of mind boggling.

If you're attached to the art, you could always cut out the side panels or the little bios on the back and keep them in a binder. Either in scrap booking type pages or in baseball card pages. You could keep a ton of art that way and only use a tiny fraction of the space. Or, just scan them into your hard drive and only use virtual space to store the art.

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This thread hurts me. I discarded all my marvel legends boxes years ago when I had boxes of empty packages that cost too much to keep storing. I was paying for storing useless plastic and air.

I dont know why Ive kept all my packaging but I cant imagine getting rid of minimate packaging. Sometimes I stick figures back in them, sometimes I dont see it in forever. But its just as much a part of my minimate collection as the minimates themselves. Ive had it all a long time. Cant imagine it.

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I find it very rewarding when I open up a big order from Luke's and then recycle the packaging. Looking at the amount of space that the boxes take up vs. the small amount that the figures do is kind of mind boggling.

If you're attached to the art, you could always cut out the side panels or the little bios on the back and keep them in a binder. Either in scrap booking type pages or in baseball card pages. You could keep a ton of art that way and only use a tiny fraction of the space. Or, just scan them into your hard drive and only use virtual space to store the art.

Yeah - it's often the art that i'm kind of attached to. I kinda like the scrapbooking idea!

Right now i have a walk-in's worth of toy boxes that have moved through 3 or 4 houses and not seen the light of day. And living in Australia, i doubt that i'll ever be able to sell the figures with the packaging in tact, as postage outside of this country would make them too expensive for most people to justify buying.

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I rip open the packaging and just throw them in bins. To be honest, i collected a few boxes near the start but space got tight (I live in a crappy studio) and once you get rid of the boxes, and breathe that first sigh of relief, you're good. I keep the side panels for my favorite mates and store those in a box.

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Hey Nessex! I used to be in the same boat. A few years ago I used to keep everything MIB. Then, as you have, ran out of room. Didnt want to get rid of the collection, so to lose the packaging was the only way.

I'm not gonna lie, I didnt want to do it. I decided on a few sets that I still wanted MIB. and left those. Once I ripped open a few packages, the rest was a cakewalk. I decided that the vast majority of minimates there isnt much markup on resale and I wasnt planning on selling anyways, so that made it slightly easier.

for the most part, I unbox everything now as I get it, or have time. dont leave much MIB anymore. and I havent looked back.Actually made me feel much healthier about my collection since it didnt take up as much room.

I dont know the exact count of packages I opened...but it was enough to fill up 2 very large black trash backs.

Good luck!

Edited by Ninja Mate
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If i were to ditch the packaging, i'd probably want to bag the mates individually. Can anyone recommend a good type of baggie for minimates?

does it need to be acid-free plastic? Are there particular types that will keep them safer?

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Was thinking about this when walking by the huge amount of boxes full of minimates and misc Ive gathered over the last year alone. I looked up at a bookshelf the has my Maximate Galactus and Sentinel Statues sitting on top in their boxes.

My question to you, Would you consider throwing away the maximate boxes? If not, why not?

Are they as much a part of the product and crucial to keep with the statues lest your product be incomplete? Do the statues not live there when they aren't on a display shelf.

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I generally only keep packaging I consider to be crucial to protecting the product in transit. I've moved enough times to know which toys really need to go back into their boxes.

Exceptions are when the packaging is unique, either because it does a great job of showcasing the product all on its own or because it interacts with the product.

darthvader(silver).jpg

This Vader, for example. I love the way the lightsaber is poking through the blister. I think the gimmick is better than the figure variant. I'm never taking that out.

I can't think of any Minimates packaging that pass those tests for me so they get trashed as soon as I open them. I might keep a few cardbacks here and there but thanks to Ivan and his meticulous archiving of both product and packaging, I'm fine chucking it all away.

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Ah, Toy Fair Vader. That was an extremely tough figure to get back in the day.

As to Arnim's question, the maximate packaging is an essential keep for me because of moving/storage. Those statues are so very fragile that I only trust them in their original packaging when moving them. And even then it's a cold sweat that forms when opening the packaging and removing the styrofoam coffin.

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Was thinking about this when walking by the huge amount of boxes full of minimates and misc Ive gathered over the last year alone. I looked up at a bookshelf the has my Maximate Galactus and Sentinel Statues sitting on top in their boxes.

My question to you, Would you consider throwing away the maximate boxes? If not, why not?

Are they as much a part of the product and crucial to keep with the statues lest your product be incomplete? Do the statues not live there when they aren't on a display shelf.

The Maximates are very fragile ...so fragile that I personally wouldn't dream of displaying them . As many of you know I have a Spidey Maximate which has no box ...it remains cocooned in a heap of bubble wrap & boxes within boxes & rarely sees the light of day ..........utter madness really stupid.gif

-buttheadsmatryoshka *

*big no prize for anybody knowing what a matryoshka is CA07S7EF.gif

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If i were to ditch the packaging, i'd probably want to bag the mates individually. Can anyone recommend a good type of baggie for minimates?

does it need to be acid-free plastic? Are there particular types that will keep them safer?

I use bags like these. I found them at walmart in the craft section. They make them in a bunch of different sizes.

Edited by Ninja Mate
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