Removing stickers & price tags

Hello all,
I've been wondering about the should you/shouldn't you when it comes to removing stickers on card boxes and cardbacks.

I've previously collected Sega Game Gear games which had card boxes, many would have an old fashioned price label or reduction sticker. After some thought I decided to remove them and I have to say they did look a lot better for doing so, more like they'd just come from the factory.

I just wanted to hear some views as to what is deemed "good Star Wars" practice.

I actually like the price stickers left on if they're there already; adds to the the items history. I actually like seeing where they were sold and what prices they were sold at... might be just me though.

I hate it when a sticker is stuck right over a lovely picture of a figure. I don't mind if its to the top of the card back as I agree it adds a sense of history especially if you know the store.

Leave them be. It adds character and history to the item

I have to say I do agree with the keeping them on for history and memories, but also I keep thinking that if it were a museum piece I would want to see the item as it was made not as the shop that sold it decided it should look.
Thanks for your input guys

Love seeing those carded Yaks, Luke stormies and pop up R2 with the big yellow £1.59 stickers on, especially when graded......oh for a time machine sigh.

I'm not a fan of price stickers - they ruin the look to me. They can be interesting though - like a palitoy card with a U.S. price tag, but to me, while being interesting, even that ruins the look.

Remove them if they bother you. Just be careful as sometimes this can cause tearing and damage.

SAVORY100 said:

I actually like the price stickers left on if they're there already; adds to the the items history. I actually like seeing where they were sold and what prices they were sold at... might be just me though.

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Definitely not just you, price stickers are a huge part of the puzzle and help us piece together which products were sold in which locations, the prices they were sold etc etc

I've removed a few boring ones (US TRU, Kay Bee etc) in the past (before I knew any better) but the results really vary and you have to be quite fortunate to get them all off 100% cleanly every single time. Most times you end up with a litho tear or worse which makes the sticker removal attempt pointless and annoyingly makes the overall appearance of the figure worse imo.

All said and done I would advise against removing them, you just never know if you are wiping out a piece of interesting history all because you want a cleaner looking card..

I'm in the remove them camp myself, as they tend to look grubby and unsightly. I disagree with Joe on how interesting or important the data on the price stickers is, and think that retail pricing of items is already readily available (for example in Argos catalogues and vintage adverts).

Also you have to remember that many, many SW cards and toys were given as presents for birthdays or xmas and so the price stickers were removed way back when. Boxes and cards look nicer and cleaner without them.

Bonsai_Tree_Ent said:

I'm in the remove them camp myself, as they tend to look grubby and unsightly. I disagree with Joe on how interesting or important the data on the price stickers is, and think that retail pricing of items is already readily available (for example in Argos catalogues and vintage adverts).

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An appreciation for stuff like price stickers comes with time you newbie! ..Seriously though (and no disrespect meant) see how you feel after you've been collecting for another 5 years or so (Just don't remove too many in that time!)

I can say without a doubt that price stickers have been extremely useful and have been a huge part of my research for Trilogo.info. European stock was on the go almost all of the time and by studying price stickers, myself and other Trilogo collectors have found out where they were distributed, where they ended up as overstock, the prices they were sold for in different countries and we've even discovered and proved that they were sold in countries that nobody even knew they reached!

One of the coolest things about price stickers though is simply the nostalgia they evoke in other people. Imagine removing a price sticker from a figure that originally came from a tiny little independent toy store that some other collector would LOVE to own because it was their childhood toy store..it wasn't just the big chains like Argos that sold the toys after all.

It's all about the memories at the end of the day and the price stickers play their part in recreating those.

Just ask Jorn how he feels about Norwegian price stickers

(PS: Even now people remove price stickers from gifts..I mean who wants to know you got their birthday present in a 50% off sale The fact that they were often removed back in the day has nothing to do with them being removed by a fussy collector that *needs* a clean card nowadays..at least imo!)

If it is danish price stickers then please leave them on the cards and boxes, I collect them :lol:

I think the stickers should be there, it is a part of the story

I say ,

Leave them on , collecting has become too clinical, there is a crease , there is a bit of dirt , oh no the world is ending ! :shock: Star Wars was supposed to be played with , enjoy them

And if you collecting moc , get the best you can afford

On a side note, does anyone have any figs with Jon Menzies price stickers? I know a few people were on the look out for some a few months back and just wondered if anybody was successful. If anyone has one stick a photo up so I can be jealous.
I'd love a Jedi card with a JM pricetag to go along with my JM Jedi poster (jeepers, thats a lot of J's)

I've never been a fan of stickers and have always taken mine off but as I've managed to get them all off cleanly I've re-stuck them on the back of the card in a lower corner. It feels like the best of both worlds to me as I keep all the information but don't need to look at them when viewing the items from the front.

You do have to be very careful removing them however and there really is no guarantee that you won't tear the top paper layer at some point so just remember it's always a risk.

Ian

I like em but as mentioned in an appropriate place ie top right or left-basically not slap bang in the middle of a classic MOC background picture :!:

Original price stickers can b v nostalgic and as said can provide important history as to when and where a particular item was sold.

I have removed price stickers in the past if they were in the wrong place or just too big and ugly etc. There are methods one can use to remove price stickers cleanly without tearing the box or card surface :wink:

I can see both sides of the coin on this one but as a slightly off the wall thought, vintage price sticker = a reasonable chance its not a Toy Toni when buying ROTJ?

I do think there is a alot to be said for an appreciation of a cards history though, I currently only have 2 MOC and the only thing mint about them is the figure, one is unpunched but has a price sticker and the POP removed and the other has a crushed bubble creasing ect. Not to say I wouldn't buy something case fresh but the well loved look seems a good place to start.

I like price tags tells a bit of a story