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Comments
Specifically, what does it mean about the condition of the box?
If I'm selling though I would rather use BNISB as people clearly have different MINT definitions as alluded to previously.
Then again, how do you know the contents are mint unless you open the box? The it will not be MISB.
Serenity now...
Open the shipping box, you'll be fine. you can always immediately reseal it if you are going for double protection. That isn't going to affect your value really at all
Keeping it in the shipping box as well seems too much already.
Shipping boxes are a whole new level, I have seen people pay very silly money for toys still in factory shipping boxes.
It is not obvious at all that mint refers to the box. That would be NIMSB - new in mint sealed box or MIMSB - mint in mint sealed box.
NIB to me (in lego terms) means the box has been opened, but the contents not used. It doesn't imply the box is sealed, as otherwise it would be described MISB.
Which is why way up there I said there is no exact definition. There are many different definitions of the same thing in use.
Eep, will really have to watch those eBay listings now!
And also remember - there have been cases of people opening sets, putting parts into a resealable bag and describing it as MISB , meaning mint in sealed bag. Which is a correct description of what they are selling. Now it is not manufacturer sealed, but it is a sealed bag so they are not necessarily wrong. Which is why it is always down to the buyer to determine what a seller means by any acronym they use, and preferable ask for photos if none are shown. I have purchased CMF on BL listed as "new,complete" and also "MISB" in the description, and they have come in a resealable plastic bag. It doesn't bother me, as I am a set opener and the seller is technically correct, as they have not used the "new, sealed" option when listing.
I used to collect toys, and there are a few other variations. MINMB (near mint box) being one of the more common ones. Of course, near mint has it's own ranges of acceptability in the different areas of collecting.
But to go back to the above, MISB merely means the box is sealed and contents factory original. It contains no description of the box itself.
Concerning what you're saying about minifigs, it all depends on what is stated in condition. On BL for example if it's stated as new/complete and described as misb it needn't be in factory sealed bag, but if it's stated as new/sealed then it's not ok for it to be resealed.
^ MIMB does not really suggest it's sealed. Mint means it's in pristine condition, doesn't have anything to do with it being sealed. An opened set can be mint as can be an empty box.
Again, different interpretations of what things mean.
As indicated in the bold.
Same goes for a built set, it can be described as mint, but it's clearly not sealed.
^
Yes, but if it's marked as new/sealed, it's clearly stated by bl it's meant for factory sealed sets. That's why resealed must be marked as new/complete. So this is not left open to interpretation.
Same goes for ebay which specifies it needs to be unopened, something a resealed item cannot be.
MISB - Mint in sealed box = meaning the item is presumed in perfect factory new condition inside a sealed box (Of course as so correctly pointed out that is a paradox as it can neither be proved or disproved without opening the box and therefore no longer being MISB)
MIB - Mint in box = as above but the box has been opened and the quality of the toy can be verified. This also means no stickers applied and all documents present and correct
Boxed (sometimes New in Box) = this is normally a toy in any sort of condition with its box, a full description of the quality of the toy would usually come with this.
MOC - Mint on Card = this covers a factory sealed bubble on a card with a perfect action figure inside
None of these refer to the visible quality of the packaging, that is covered by the C rating (Condition), the recognised standard is C1 - C10, with one being rubbish and 10 being perfect.
So you could get a MISB C4 toy, which is to say the item is still factory sealed and presumed perfect but the box has taken a beating or MISB C10, perfect.
In the world of SW collecting both together give you the assessment of quality.
And that is before you open the AFA, UKG or Ugrade can of worms.
But this is only one possible definition used; I have seen other collecting groups use others
- It could arrive in a factory sealed box, and they have wrongly used new/complete instead of new/sealed
- It could arrive in a resealed box, and they have used MISB to mean mint in sealed box, but have resealed the box themselves
Still, there's an easy solution for all this: just ask the seller. :))
As a postscript, the shipping box solution is laughable. This is also as easily imitated and therefore defeated by a huckster as box tape, or shrink wrap on a record. Maybe it just hasn't happened yet.
I don't collect records, so I don't know how many people buy them as investment pieces never to be played, just stored and later sold or as collectables only for the outer sleeve to be looked at and never opened.
From the grading guide you linked to, it seems not that frequent.
But to break it down, I have two main points:
1. Independently grade the packaging and the contents.
2. Have a useful grading scale for each.
And one ancillary: Beware "sealed" product, as scammers can defeat that protection.
As a person who has some experience with a number of collections, I see the same patterns and problems over and over again. Never believe that your hobby is somehow different. It isn't, despite its idiosyncrasies.
For used parts in a set, a grading scale is useful but very difficult to implement unless you examine each part and grade each part separately. I'd want to know what the condition of the expensive parts is, not what an average condition is.
Grading of those has to be approached in a different way.
The only complex part is grading an used set as a whole, how can you describe a set that has half the parts mint and half bitten and yellowed? You can't really make a standard here.
Fortunately I'm not really that bothered about the box condition, so long as it's still intact...
You only did that knowing he couldn't 'abuse' you anymore. ;-)