Sealed or Unboxed?
How Packaging Affects Value
Three model cars against a white background: on the left a cream-colored Simca 5 from 1936 in its cardboard packaging, on the right a two-tone BMW 503 in a transparent display case, in the foreground a beige, visibly played-with Mercedes taxi without packaging.
Open it, or keep it sealed? Throw the box away, or carefully fold and store it? For many fans, the model simply has to come out of the box and into the display case – only then can details be admired and vehicles compared directly.
At the same time, original packaging has clear advantages and a noticeable impact on value. It proves that the model is complete and untouched, protects it from dust and scratches and makes storage easier. And it can increase the value: a flawless model in an undamaged box – the condition known as mint & boxed – can easily achieve two and a half times the price of an unboxed miniature. If the box is missing or damaged, the selling price often drops significantly. This is especially true for older toy models. Mass-produced models were usually opened and played with – for an estimated 99 per cent of surviving miniatures, the original boxes have been lost. And with blister packaging such as that used by Hot Wheels or Majorette, the packaging is inevitably damaged when opened. Some collectors therefore buy two copies: one stays in the blister, one goes into the display case.
Today's collectable models are much more likely to retain their original packaging and be in good condition. The models are often bought as collectibles from the outset, and so are cared for and treated as such. This has had a stabalising affect on thier second hand value. Though more ubiquitous than it once was, however, the original packaging has not diminished in its significance: it is part of collecting culture, often elaborately designed and sometimes a desirable collectible in its own right, occasionally even difining the visual identity of the brand itself.