Transformers boxes?

[protoform_ironhide]

HI, I am just curious. I went to this website from the transformers news section. Why are the boxes so expensive?

http://www.agesthreeandup.com/main.jsp?p2=shopping/product.jsp&product_id=1535

So I should keep all my boxes and sell them later in the future?

[Shepp]

packages from 20 years ago are a rare find (even rarer if the product was a rarity to begin with), and people often buy them to display or complete a figure/set. because of their rarity and interest among collectors, the boxes and cards get a higher price.

back then people didnt have any incentive to keep things MISB or even keep the packaging at all. which is why the stuff is so rare.

these days the collecting culture is more aware of keeping things intact for future sale, or to keep things more valuable in general.

if you have the space and the desire, by all means keep all of the packaging from the transformers you purchase from now on. but keep in mind that in the future they wont necessarily be as valuable as the ones from 10 to 20 years ago.

for the most part, down the line if you decide to sell a figure, you'll be able to get a bit more money for it if you have all of the packaging that came with it. just as it would be even more valuable if the figure was MISB (Mint In Sealed Box) or MOSC (Mint On Sealed Card).

for me its just too much of a hastle, and i dont have the space.

[agesthreeandup]

There are a few reasons why boxes are expensive.

1 - in the 80s there were not nearly as many collectors of toys as there is now so that means the number of good condition boxes for display purposes is slim. Today there are thousands of people who collect toys to keep them in package so in 20 years it will not be hard to find any of the newer toys in package. As collectors grow up and grow older and die, their kids will be selling off collections because there is nothing else to do with them. It is not worth the amount of space to keep todays boxes.

2 - prices are derived from the cost of the product from the manufacturer. Beacuse these are new boxes, not vintage ones, it is the manufacturer who dictates how much they will cost. When the price is set how much a retailer can buy it from the supplier then a prices if deduced from this. The high cost of the newer boxes is directly related to how much they cost from the manufacturer. Because these are unofficial, the manufacturer can charge whatever they want.

I believe the cost of these boxes is a little high myself. With the Encore figures coming up very soon and it looks like they will all be in Japanese G1 style, why would anyone even want an expensive reproduction english G1 box? Personally I dont keep anything in the box anyway so I have never understood the desire to display toys in the package - a debate that has been going on for years.

My question - What is the point of owning a transformer toy if you can't transform it?

Hope that helps a little bit.

Spencer.

[Shepp]

...
My question - What is the point of owning a transformer toy if you can't transform it? ...




yes, a debate that rages on. though i dont do this, i know of many people that store figures in the boxes when they're not displaying them. boxes do stack nicely, but take up more space. but then at the same time, the stored figures still look impressive instead of a jumbled mass in ziplock bags (such as mine in storage)

[protoform_ironhide]

Thank you for the answer! Holy smokes! Can't believe boxes can be so expensive! But I am not crazy enough to buy boxes for 50ish dollars, god!!! Do you actually have people buying your boxes?! I will keep my boxes from now on, just in case!

[agesthreeandup]

Thank you for the answer! Holy smokes! Can't believe boxes can be so expensive! But I am not crazy enough to buy boxes for 50ish dollars, god!!! Do you actually have people buying your boxes?! I will keep my boxes from now on, just in case!

The Devastator Giftset has a little more perstige than say Nightbeats box. The Giftset does look good in the box because you still see each of the Constructicons through their own little window. Also it come with the styrofoam insert, a method of storing your transformers that is long lost as even all the new giftset type of figures come in plastic inserts. The Styrofoam adds a bit of nostalgia IMO.

Being in the busines, I buy a lot of collections and to be honest, if I am buying anything from Beast Wars on, it really does not make a whole lot of difference for me if it comes with the box or not. To be honest, when I sell them a lot of the times I will through out the boxes myself and then just sell the figure loose in our huge Transformer Case. There are only certain figures that make much of a difference when it comes to boxes. Optimus Primal for example. I would sell a loose one or one with an opened box for the same price. A sealed one would be $10 to $20 more than a loose one but only because it is Primal. TM Cybershark goes for $14.99 sealed box or loose, it does not make a difference.
Trying to figure out which figures will be worth keeping the boxes to can make someone go mad. Throw them all out IMO. That is why I always take the worst box figure that comes into the store for my own collection. It does not make a difference to me, it is inside the box that is important.

Spencer.

[Paradigm-Shift Prime]

packages from 20 years ago are a rare find (even rarer if the product was a rarity to begin with), and people often buy them to display or complete a figure/set. because of their rarity and interest among collectors, the boxes and cards get a higher price.

back then people didnt have any incentive to keep things MISB or even keep the packaging at all. which is why the stuff is so rare.

these days the collecting culture is more aware of keeping things intact for future sale, or to keep things more valuable in general.

if you have the space and the desire, by all means keep all of the packaging from the transformers you purchase from now on. but keep in mind that in the future they wont necessarily be as valuable as the ones from 10 to 20 years ago.

for the most part, down the line if you decide to sell a figure, you'll be able to get a bit more money for it if you have all of the packaging that came with it. just as it would be even more valuable if the figure was MISB (Mint In Sealed Box) or MOSC (Mint On Sealed Card).

for me its just too much of a hastle, and i dont have the space.


Agreed, but this doesn't really explain why knock-off/fake remake boxes are so expensive, which I can only account for with the understanding that people will buy them for that much in order to fraudulently resell them as actual original/vintage boxes, which I see multiple people doing on ebay everyday.

[C_Shewins]

Is anyone else selling these KO boxes? Maybe he is the only one? He got no competition, so he can sell it as high as he wants. That is how business goes I guess? I say he is smart. If you think it worths to get them , then get them. If you think they don't worth the price, then don't get them, just as simple as that. People have different perspective when it comes to pricing on stuff. For me, I wouldn't buy a KO box for that insane amount of money, after all, they are just paper box.

[Nyghtwynd]

I keep my boxes in case (heaven forbid) i ever need to sell them off. They're all piled up in my basement crawlspace, even the Deluxe boxes with the plastic still partially on.

[protoform_ironhide]

I keep my boxes in case (heaven forbid) i ever need to sell them off. They're all piled up in my basement crawlspace, even the Deluxe boxes with the plastic still partially on.
Good place to keep your boxes!

[JLvatron]

My question - What is the point of owning a transformer toy if you can't transform it?

As the voice of morality on this board, I must say there is no moral reason to do so. A Transformer left unTransformed is indeed 1 of the terrible immorals plaguing our world.

[agesthreeandup]

I keep my boxes in case (heaven forbid) i ever need to sell them off. They're all piled up in my basement crawlspace, even the Deluxe boxes with the plastic still partially on.

Good idea. Few things to consider if you keep them in a crawspace.

1 - cardboard and dampness do not mix.
2 - don't leave them on a cement floor
3 - plastic bins are a good idea incase of a flood or rodents. Rodents will make a good nest out of boxes.

These all come because I have no idea what your crawlspace is like. Whenever I hear crawlspace, I think of a dark cement floored area.

Spencer.

[Aernaroth]

As the voice of morality on this board, I must say there is no moral reason to do so. A Transformer left unTransformed is indeed 1 of the terrible immorals plaguing our world.

Free them from their plastic prisons!

[Shepp]

Free them from their plastic prisons!

oddly enough, thats what it feels like i'm doing when i open a transformer (moreso than any other action figures). or cracking them out of stasis. but getting them back into stasis is a bit of a problem.

yes, plastic bins are a must if you want to store boxes. it may also be a good idea to disassemble the box and store it flat if possible. that would reduce the size required to store them