Dilemma MOC

[PIGCITY]

Whats your opinion on removing a mail away sticker from the front of a MOC??
Would I be destroying a piece of history, personally it obscures the card image and I'd be happier to have it gone, just interested to hear peoples opinion.

I usually use the hairdryer on thins like this unless there is another trick I am missing

Cheers

 

[robpmarsh]

I tend to leave all stickers on the cards I have....have seen a few horror stories when its damaged the card on removal.

 

[poncho]

Its how it was sold on the shelf back in the day.history for me id leave it as is bud.

 

[edd_jedi]

Personally I see no harm in removing it if you can do it without damaging the card. There have been so many stories recently of stickers being swapped, covering damage, or even being applied from unused reels!

 

[Doomseeker]

I wouldn't remove a mail away or other officially related sticker such as the coin offer as I see those as part of the history of the toy line, but I would be tempted to remove price stickers. Have a look at my thread to see how I removed a price sticker from an A-Wing box

http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=18402

 

[palitoyjunky]

If ur going to do it I suggest using lighter fluid, works for me virtually every time! Just saturate the sticker in the fluid and it should lift off easy, any excess fluid will evaporate no probs

 

[Grant]

Remove without causing harm to the card or box.

 

[Robstyley]

Don't do it man!! :|

 

[Michael Sith]

Stickers don't bother me, as veining and cracked bubbles don't either, all adds to the piece for me.

However, it's up to the individual, and if you can do it with no harm, it's up to you mate, if it's a keeper, then go for it

 

[PGowdy]

Interesting and topical dilemma.
The word "history" gets banded round a lot and for the most part is fairly meaningless on it's own. The question really is how important and necessary part of the collectable's "history" is it? After all, a shop price sticker is part of the piece's "history". Anyone ever removed one of them?
For me i see the original mail away stickers on a card an relevant and important part of the card's history. People actually collect those specific variations with a certain sticker on a certain card and to remove that from the hobby seems wrong to me even tho i hate mail away stickers on mods and would rarely buy one. Some combinations are even really rare. Only a handful known to exist. So what if someone removed one of them, just trying to tidy it up? :? Ugly or not it's the way the cards were original made and intended to be so it's important to maintain that.

So to me it's all relative. Would i remove a shop sticker: yes. Would i remove one of those awful £1.99 stickers from a trilogo.? Yes. Would i wipe the 30 year old dust off a vintage toy? Yes. Would i open a plain, unmarked brown packing box to reveal beautiful MOCs so they can be displayed in all their glory? Yes.

 

[JuniorChubb]

So to me it's all relative. Would i remove a shop sticker: yes. Would i remove one of those awful £1.99 stickers from a trilogo.? Yes. Would i wipe the 30 year old dust off a vintage toy? Yes. Would i open a plain, unmarked brown packing box to reveal beautiful MOCs so they can be displayed in all their glory? Yes.

Never had you down as a 'Yes Man' Pete :wink:

Keep going and you will be managing England one day :lol: :lol:

Back to the topic PC...

I am not a fan of big stickers on cards, I would prefer an obscure toy shop sticker in the top corner to a big round 'free offer' sticker covering the cardback image.
However IMO trading a MOC with an Offer Sticker for one without would be something I would go for before considering removing the sticker myself.

But as recent threads have shown, there is a whole lot of grey area depending on your personal views and what you regard as 'history'.

 

[PIGCITY]

Thanks for all the comments and opinions. So I think it will stay put then, if it does wind me up I will offer to trade it for the same moc without a sticker.
Can't say fairer than that

 

[Paul Armory]

I'd say hell yes if it can removed with preserving the Beauty like the clothes off that Hottie in your GIF

 

[Section 8]

The right choice in my opinion. No problem taking of a small shop price sticker, but some collectors focus on cards with stickers and it's not like you can't go out and get the same moc one.

 

[Pomse2001]

I would say you would be destroying a piece of history, if you do that. I would not do it :wink:

 

[edd_jedi]

I seem to have forgotten to post the second paragraph of my comment :lol:

What I meant to say is that stickers are so easy to remove and replace, all have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Collectors of particular sticker combos are basically wasting their time - there's no way of proving the sticker originated on that cardback. The roll of 200-odd POTF coin stickers that sold on eBay last year is enough to prove that. So IMO a price or offer sticker on a card adds nothing to the history, rarity or value. Just as you can't prove a loose vehicle belongs to a particular open box.