Short answer
Keep the box if the figure is an exclusive, a grail, or something you might sell one day. A figure with its box sells for more than the same figure loose. If it's a common figure you'll only ever display and you're short on space, flatten the box or recycle it.
The rule
You don't need every box. But plenty of collectors who went on a box purge wish they'd kept a couple. Keep the boxes that are worth something and recycle the rest:
| If the figure is | Do this with the box |
|---|---|
| An exclusive or a limited release | Keep it. Flat in storage, or leave the figure sealed. |
| A grail or a high-value figure | Keep it, with the plastic tray and every insert. |
| Something you may sell in a few years | Keep it. Complete in box is a lot easier to sell. |
| A common figure you'll only ever display | Recycle it. Not sure? Flatten it and decide later. |
| Part of a wave with a Build-A-Figure | Hang on to it until the BAF is built. Parts get thrown out with boxes all the time. |
When the box is worth keeping
Resale is the big one. Buyers pay more for a figure that's sealed, or opened but complete in its box. A loose figure has to prove it still has every hand and head, and a lot of buyers won't pay full price for that.
Pulse, store and convention exclusives are made in smaller numbers, and later on, the box is part of what people are paying for.
The box and its tray are also the best protection that figure will ever get. If you move, or rotate figures in and out of storage, the boxed ones come through fine.
And some boxes are just great to look at. Retro cardbacks, anniversary packaging. If you love the art, leave the figure in it and put the box on the shelf.
When you can let it go
Space, mostly. A boxed six-inch figure takes several times the shelf space of the same figure standing loose, and the boxes of common figures pile up fast.
If you'll never sell it, the box is protecting a resale value you don't plan to use.
And if your only storage is a damp basement, a hot attic or the garage, the box is going to mold, fade or warp anyway. A ruined box isn't worth anything, and it can take the figures next to it down with it.
How to store the boxes you keep
- Flatten it. Open both end flaps, slide the tray out, and fold the box along its original creases. Keep the tray. Without it the figure can't go back in.
- Use a lidded plastic tub. Stand the flat boxes on edge, like files, with nothing heavy on top.
- Throw in silica gel. A few packs per tub keep it dry. Swap them when they change color.
- Keep it inside the house. A closet in the part of the house you live in. Not the attic, garage or basement, where the temperature and humidity swing all year.
- Keep displayed boxes out of the sun. UV light fades printed cardboard. For your best boxes, a clear protector case with UV filtering is worth it.
Sun fading is slow, and you can't undo it. Museums limit light on printed materials for exactly this reason, as the Rathgen research lab of the Berlin State Museums explains in its work on lighting.
Do not lose the accessories
A loose figure only holds its value if it's complete. Before a box goes in the recycling, put the extra hands, heads, weapons and effects in a small zip bag. Write the figure and the year on it, and keep all the bags in one drawer.
Keep track of which figures are boxed and which are loose, too. In Legendsverse you can mark every figure as boxed (MIB) or loose, and as displayed or in storage. You can also set a default condition, so every figure you add gets the right label. Later, when you sell or insure the collection, you already know what's where.
A note on value: Today Legendsverse records new eBay sales for DC Multiverse, Mafex and Marvel Legends. It watches eBay listings by the UPC of each figure. When a listing ends in a confirmed sale of a new figure, that price is recorded. Used, loose and lot sales are left out. When a figure has recorded sales, its market value is the average of its most recent day of sales. A figure with no recorded sale counts at its retail price. Your collection value is the sum of the values of the figures you own, and it is free on every plan. So the value you see is for a new figure in its box, and a loose one usually sells for less.
Questions
Are action figures worth more in the box?
Usually, yes. A sealed figure, or an opened one that's complete in its box, sells for more than the same figure loose, because the buyer knows nothing's missing.
Does opening a figure ruin its value?
It lowers the resale price. It doesn't ruin it. An opened figure that's complete and back in its box still sells fine. And if you're never selling it, opening it is kind of the point.
Can I put a figure back in its box?
Yes, if you kept the tray. Re-boxing is a great way to store a figure. Just never sell it as sealed.
Where should I store action figure boxes?
Flat, in a lidded plastic tub with silica gel, in a dark closet in the house. Not the attic, the garage or the basement.
Sources
- How collection values are calculated: the Legendsverse FAQ.
- Light damage to printed materials: Rathgen research lab, Berlin State Museums.
- Marking figures as boxed or loose: Legendsverse knowledge base.
About this guide
I'm Alejandro Medina, and I build Legendsverse, a checklist and collection tracker made only for action figures. The catalog numbers on this page come straight from our checklist and update every day. Everything else links to where it came from.
