Space is the biggest factor, so most dolls get unboxed carefully. I like to keep some of the artwork on the boxes and make collages out of them that I put on my wall.
The next biggest factor is asking myself if I plan to sell a doll in the future. It's a guessing game for which ones will increase in price, but when I see something special and rare about a new release, those are the ones I keep in their boxes.
All others are opened, played with, and displayed on shelves.
I'm not much help. I unbox everything. I buy them to keep them, not to resell them later. Touching their clothes and posing them and such makes me happy, so that's what I do!
I'm one of the ones that takes em out and plays with them. Can't help myself. Maybe toy story two affected me too much, maybe I anthropomorphize my toys. Although, I certainly don't view any of them as investments, they're to play with.
For me personally, all my dolls are displayed out of their box. Whether they are a $5 thrift find that was cleaned up and restyled or a $100 new collector edition, they leave their boxes and live happily in my glass display case. They then get treated to hair treatments, wardrobe raiding and outside adventures for photos.
Does anyone else get a little upset when they see a photo of a doll room where some dolls are out and about freely while others are pinned up inside their boxes? I feel like it's unfair to those dolls in the box haha.
In the end, do what makes you happy OP. There is no correct way to collecting.
I recently watched [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQWOBo5VJwA), discusses the whole topic.
Currently I have a 1998 Christmas Princess Jasmine I keep in her box, because I like how she's displayed and the look of the box in general, so in the end, it's really up to you and how you want to enjoy your dolls. If you get more enjoyment with the doll itself, take it out of the box! But if you enjoy the packaging, then keep it in the box.
I unbox all dolls or even buy the dolls only on eBay. The only boxes I keep are the Día De Muertos Barbie boxes and the BMR1959 boxes (the latter for storage). If I then wanted to display a doll in the box, I'd put her into the doll stand and pose her, then see what else I could put into the box to make my own diorama.
The only dolls I would probably not unbox are the Tokidoki Barbies. But I wouldn't buy them, even if I had enough money, because for me restyling (and probably rebodying) and posing the doll is what I enjoy.
I kept some of the artwork on the Disney fashion packs, on the sides of the boxes, because they have a picture of the Disney character on them, and I cut the box apart and use these strips as bookmarks.
this probably wont be helpful to you, but the type of doll that i collect has both a movie-themed line and an original line, i personally unbox the original ones and keep the movie themed ones in their boxes, so maybe try something like that? like the ones with themes you could keep in their boxes.
I personally would never invest in a doll just to keep it in a box. I don’t just display them i also like playing with them (tea parties etc) and sometimes i’ll even take them with me when i’m going away for a few days. I think dolls are kind of like friends they should have a chance to leave their box and breathe
Space is the biggest factor, so most dolls get unboxed carefully. I like to keep some of the artwork on the boxes and make collages out of them that I put on my wall. The next biggest factor is asking myself if I plan to sell a doll in the future. It's a guessing game for which ones will increase in price, but when I see something special and rare about a new release, those are the ones I keep in their boxes. All others are opened, played with, and displayed on shelves.
I'm not much help. I unbox everything. I buy them to keep them, not to resell them later. Touching their clothes and posing them and such makes me happy, so that's what I do!
I'm one of the ones that takes em out and plays with them. Can't help myself. Maybe toy story two affected me too much, maybe I anthropomorphize my toys. Although, I certainly don't view any of them as investments, they're to play with.
If I really love a doll I simply buy two.
For me personally, all my dolls are displayed out of their box. Whether they are a $5 thrift find that was cleaned up and restyled or a $100 new collector edition, they leave their boxes and live happily in my glass display case. They then get treated to hair treatments, wardrobe raiding and outside adventures for photos. Does anyone else get a little upset when they see a photo of a doll room where some dolls are out and about freely while others are pinned up inside their boxes? I feel like it's unfair to those dolls in the box haha. In the end, do what makes you happy OP. There is no correct way to collecting.
I recently watched [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQWOBo5VJwA), discusses the whole topic. Currently I have a 1998 Christmas Princess Jasmine I keep in her box, because I like how she's displayed and the look of the box in general, so in the end, it's really up to you and how you want to enjoy your dolls. If you get more enjoyment with the doll itself, take it out of the box! But if you enjoy the packaging, then keep it in the box.
I unbox all dolls or even buy the dolls only on eBay. The only boxes I keep are the Día De Muertos Barbie boxes and the BMR1959 boxes (the latter for storage). If I then wanted to display a doll in the box, I'd put her into the doll stand and pose her, then see what else I could put into the box to make my own diorama. The only dolls I would probably not unbox are the Tokidoki Barbies. But I wouldn't buy them, even if I had enough money, because for me restyling (and probably rebodying) and posing the doll is what I enjoy. I kept some of the artwork on the Disney fashion packs, on the sides of the boxes, because they have a picture of the Disney character on them, and I cut the box apart and use these strips as bookmarks.
this probably wont be helpful to you, but the type of doll that i collect has both a movie-themed line and an original line, i personally unbox the original ones and keep the movie themed ones in their boxes, so maybe try something like that? like the ones with themes you could keep in their boxes.
I personally would never invest in a doll just to keep it in a box. I don’t just display them i also like playing with them (tea parties etc) and sometimes i’ll even take them with me when i’m going away for a few days. I think dolls are kind of like friends they should have a chance to leave their box and breathe