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Do you regret deboxing?

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Do you regret deboxing?
jscallon

jscallon

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I want to know your opinions! Are you a deboxer? Do you regret it? Why should I debox/why shouldn't i?

Ive been debating it for a few days, I want to know what you guys do :)
 
Seconding this question! I've also been debating deboxing, but I haven't been able to take that step yet. I'd also love to hear what everyone thinks. :)
 
I've deboxed all of my dolls that I know I'm keeping. The only one I regret deboxing is my Nordic Anna, because I thought she was going to be the last Anna doll ever and I wouldn't have a chance to purchase another one. Lo and behold the new Anna doll comes out and her outfit is adorably green and I love her way more than the Nordic one. I love Anna, but I don't appreciate the colors blue and pink, so her Nordic outfit is kinda meh for me. I also don't like how every merchandising option is of her in her Nordic outfit. She didn't choose the outfit in the movie, it was the only one available. I'm going into my crazy likes and dislikes about that doll...
Anyway, if they end up making a Frozen Fever Anna, I'm afraid I don't think I would want to keep my Nordic Anna because I also don't have SQ Elsa, nor do I have any intention of getting her since I am very happy with my Coronation Elsa. I like to keep my collection as small as possible so as to not take up as much room as some of the other people's collections I've seen. I stick to the dolls I love and I've only completely fallen in love with 4 of the 8 17" dolls I've bought.
 
I don't debox and probably never will. It's not really about devaluing them necessarily, I just know I would regret it the minute I did it. I love the way they look in the boxes usually -- to me that's part of the allure, so I really don't have any desire take them out. I worry it would take away some of the mystery and magic for me. I do love seeing photos and videos of the dolls when others debox them though! Also, I will open up the box to make little adjustments like to smooth down the hair or something minor like that, but I don't really consider that deboxing.
 
I'm new to all this but I opened my aurora and cut off all the tiny plastic ties and the cotton holding her hair. She's still fastened to the box but looks 'freer'.

I haven't touched Anna and Elsa yet as I haven't had chance!
 
I debox all my non-LE dolls and some of my LE dolls (and haven't decided about the others yet). I do keep the boxes for my LE dolls though.

I don't regret it because I bought them specifically for my enjoyment. Many of the times, the doll can't be fully appreciated in the box, like the detail on the back can't be seen, the skirt is compressed, the shoes can't be enjoyed. I also like to swap and sometimes modify clothing for similarly sized dolls to create new looks, and create dioramas.

With some of the LE dolls, they are nicely displayed in the box and I don't feel a real urge to open them (yet). Disney does better in this department than Barbie, IMO. (Then again, Barbie LE comes in a thick outer box-box that protects the inner box, so in that way they're more thoughtful to collectors. I guess every company has its pros and cons).
 
I want to debox mine because one of my favorite things to do is pose them and take pictures- or at least that's what I do with my classic dolls- but I have the same problem. I'm scared of regretting it!
 
I never debox my 17" dolls. I like how they look in their boxes with the beautiful backgrounds. They are also safe from dust. While these dolls can often be better appreciated out-of-box, I would regret deboxing them.

I also keep many playline dolls in their boxes, often for same reasons. On occasion, if I really like a playline doll, I will buy a second one for deboxing. I usually buy Barbie dresses I think would look nice on the Disney dolls and redress them and pose them.
 
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Usually I love deboxing things, I always debox my monster high and ever after high, but I don't debox my LE because I just think they look so much better in the box, for me it makes them more special because they cost more then the other ones, I would never sell any of them mostly because I get way too attached to things, but even so I think they look better in box the way they come
 
I bought some classic Disney dolls to satisfy my need to 'play' with the dolls, dress them etc.... I don't think I could unbox any of my LE simply because I'd be afraid to ruin them but I do occasionaly take off the covers to touch the clothes or adjust the hair (My teenage Elsa had some dust/fluff on her dress that needed cleaning)
 
The only doll I've deboxed is Designer Maleficent... I love Maleficent and specifically bought 2 of her to open one and save the other. The one I opened, I left attached to the base but I removed the plastic cover and cut the backing card off. I have Designer Rapunzel, Jasmine, Evil Queen, Gothel and DFDC Rapunzel and Flynn all still in their boxes hidden away... right next to 17" Snow Queen Elsa and Coronation Anna.
 
Holy moly I would never be able to afford 2 of each doll. I mentionned unboxing to my boyfriend and he freaked out.

I might unbox my "classic" dolls... or store them in those dollsafe clear boxes. Some of these boxes are pretty beat up and I fixed them up with tape... hard decisions!

bXQr06e.jpg
 
I've done both: deboxing and keeping dolls inthe box. I have yet to debox any of my 17" LE dolls, but they are packaged well for display, though I have adjusted hair, arm pose, turned heads, etc. to my own taste on them while keeping them attached to the factory packaging.

I have deboxed a full set of Designer Villains for the purpose of enhancing them to fill in the gaps of where I thought the Disney Store fell short. Some received more changes than others: Designer Cruella got red shoes; Designer Queen Grimhilde got shiny gold shoes, a ruby necklace, and a glass goblet; Designer Maleficent received a blackberry scarf; The Designer Queen of Hearts got a red ribbon for her hair and a red-and-white rosebush; Designer Mother Gothel got black gloves and a swirling gold bracelet; and Designer Ursula received an aqua blue shawl. I have no regrets in deboxing them or my other villain dolls. :)


Shivatopia's Disney Villains Halloween 2014 by Shivatopia, on Flickr

I have also deboxed a few of the DFDC sets: Snow White & the Prince, Aurora & Prince Philip, Rapunzel & Flynn Rider, and Aladdin & Jasmine. Again, no regrets at all, as they were for the same reason that I deboxed the Designer Villains: to enhance what was already there. I wanted to restyle DFDC Snow White's hair and repose the set, I wanted to make a cloak for Prince Philip (as well as fix Aurora's headband, though that can be done without actually deboxing), I wanted to give Flynn more suitable pants and also his satchel, and I have not yet addressed what I want to do for Aladdin.


Disney Princes (Shivatopia) - 01/01/2015 by Shivatopia, on Flickr


DFDC Snow White, Aurora, & Rapunzel by Shivatopia, on Flickr


Disney Fairytale Designer Collection - Snow White & Prince Ferdinand 1939 - Dancing 05 by Shivatopia, on Flickr


OOAK Designer Aurora and DFDC Prince Philip by Shivatopia, on Flickr


DFDC Aurora & Prince Philip #0483 by Shivatopia, on Flickr

I must echo the sentiment that one should only debox a doll that you fully intend to keep forever, and there should probably be a reason for you to debox them, because one you cut a doll free from the packaging, you can't really put it back the way it was.
 
I recently bought a deboxed Anna and I can't keep my hands off her! I love posing her and can't wait for spring to take her out for a photo session. :) But now I'm debating whether or not freeing my other LEs. :p
 
I deboxed Ariel because her tail is so perfect and in the box it's just weard. I think she even looks nice if you only cut of the 2 plastic things in her tail because you can't see how pretty it is in the box. well that is my opinion. and i've seen someone taking his/her LE dolls to disney. and the pictures were amazing!! I think her tail is the only thing that is not pretty in the box the other dolls are amazing in their boxes with the beautiful backgrounds!
 
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I would never debox any of my dolls, because I really love how they look in the box.

Sometimes I just wished they would pay more attention to the background. For example, the background of the last LE Anna doll looks very blurry and stretched out.
 
Seeing Shiva's photos always brings a tear to my eye.

I'm down the middle - I debox some of the 17" and all of the Designer Collections (save for few from the first set I haven't gotten around to). I really don't regret it for any of them - they're all gorgeous and I love that I can pose them and give them more life. If the in-box pose is really good I'll leave it be, but most times I'm not too big on it and end up deboxing for the sake of reposing them. Also some of them have gorgeous clothes/accessories that you can't fully see the detail of unless you debox (Snow Queen Elsa's cape, Tiana's shoes, Wedding Rapunzel's veil, etc). Haven't deboxed any male dolls and I don't think I will simply because I feel like they're rigid no matter what.

Like others before me have said - only debox if you intend to keep. They still hold value when deboxed (like the de-boxed LE Rapunzel that went for 700 on ebay...), but it's less than the in-box value almost always.
 
I always debox my dolls. For some reason I can never last longer than a week leaving them in the box, but if I need to, I can rebox them to look exactly like they were in the box. I tried this with my aurora because I wanted to see if I could be able to do it if I ever wanted to store her. Either way, I debox my dolls because I love taking things out of boxes, it feels like opening presents! And my room doesn't have any space for all those boxes, and it's hard trying to rearrange items so it doesn't looked cluttered. Another reason is that I feel like I enjoy a dolls beauty out of the box since I can pose them or even do phot shoots with them.
 
I plan to debox all of mine for the same reasons, because of the beautiful details you can't really see in the box, to be able to really see the fabric and details better, and also because displaying them that way takes up so much less room. I don't ever plan to sell them so to me, it's a shame to keep them in the boxes.
 
Shivatopia, can I just say I love your collection! I love all the little touches you've added, and Aladdin is cracking me up back there :) The restyling of Snow White's hair is also really beautiful.

I will probably end up deboxing mine someday. I love doing photoshoots with them, and I feel like if you're careful when you take them out you can at least display them on the stand inside the box.
 
I LOVE deboxing all dolls except my 17" because they're so big. I did debox Aurora and regretted it. I also deboxed the new Cinderella but she just looks great out of box so it doesnt matter for me.
 
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