Penguin-keeper
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I just wanted to make this thread in order to round up common collecting terms that newcomers might not know.
A number of Tamagotchi fans at this point in time are older collectors and have naturally picked these up over time, but the brand's current resurgence means that there are now newcomers to toy-collecting who don't yet know what they mean, and not knowing these things can potentially make buying used Tamagotchis (and other items) a bit daunting.
Some common jargon terms that you might hear are;
Displayed - An item that has only been on display, and which may not have been used beyond that; Beware that a loose electronic item could potentially be non-working, because if it was unboxed and then immediately displayed with the battery-tab still in place, it may still have old batteries in it that could have corroded the battery-contacts
IB - In Box (Note that this does not necessarily mean that an item is unused - just that it has the correct packaging for the item, which may or may not be the packaging that that specific unit originally came in.)
Loose - An unboxed item, which may or may not also have previously been used
Mint - The best condition possible; This usually refers to cosmetic condition, and it is possible for a mint, never-removed-from-box electronic toy to be non-working due to corrosion caused by the included batteries
NIB - New In Box
NIP - New In Packet/New In Packaging
NM - Near Mint; Rarely, it can also mean "New, Mint", so pay close attention to other details if you encounter this term
NRFB - Never Removed From Box
NRFP - Never Removed From Packet/Never Removed From Packaging
NOS - New Old Stock; This usually refers to new items found in storage at a retail location long after their original release, and it is possible that they might not work due to corrosion caused by the included batteries
NS - New, Sealed
ONO - Or Nearest Offer; A trading term used when someone is flexible about their pricing
OOB - Out Of Box (Note that this refers to the condition of an item, rather than to the collection of a person who collects loose items, who might sometimes be called an "out-of-box collector".)
Playwear - Noticeable wear-and-tear on an item, due to being played with by a previous owner
Played-with - A used item that might have some wear-and-tear from being played with by a previous owner
Spares/repair - A term used to describe a non-working item that may or may not be salvageable by an expert user, and which might only be useful as a parts-donor for other units; Japanese sellers will sometimes use the term "Junk" to mean more-or-less the same thing
Unused - A second-hand item that has not been used or played with; This may be used to refer to an unboxed or untagged item that has only been put on display
Used - A second-hand item that has been used by its previous owner(s), and which may carry signs of this use
VGC - Very Good Condition
WHY - What Have You; A trading term used when someone is looking for something non-specific (Usage example: "Will accept [Specific Item] in exchange, or what have you.")
These are just the most common terms that I can think of, and it's far from a complete list. Please feel free to contribute anything that I've missed or forgotten, including regional and dialectal variants that myself and others may not know; Since TamaTalk has members from around the world, this also includes non-English terms, but please be sure to also explain their meanings in English.
A number of Tamagotchi fans at this point in time are older collectors and have naturally picked these up over time, but the brand's current resurgence means that there are now newcomers to toy-collecting who don't yet know what they mean, and not knowing these things can potentially make buying used Tamagotchis (and other items) a bit daunting.
Some common jargon terms that you might hear are;
Displayed - An item that has only been on display, and which may not have been used beyond that; Beware that a loose electronic item could potentially be non-working, because if it was unboxed and then immediately displayed with the battery-tab still in place, it may still have old batteries in it that could have corroded the battery-contacts
IB - In Box (Note that this does not necessarily mean that an item is unused - just that it has the correct packaging for the item, which may or may not be the packaging that that specific unit originally came in.)
Loose - An unboxed item, which may or may not also have previously been used
Mint - The best condition possible; This usually refers to cosmetic condition, and it is possible for a mint, never-removed-from-box electronic toy to be non-working due to corrosion caused by the included batteries
NIB - New In Box
NIP - New In Packet/New In Packaging
NM - Near Mint; Rarely, it can also mean "New, Mint", so pay close attention to other details if you encounter this term
NRFB - Never Removed From Box
NRFP - Never Removed From Packet/Never Removed From Packaging
NOS - New Old Stock; This usually refers to new items found in storage at a retail location long after their original release, and it is possible that they might not work due to corrosion caused by the included batteries
NS - New, Sealed
ONO - Or Nearest Offer; A trading term used when someone is flexible about their pricing
OOB - Out Of Box (Note that this refers to the condition of an item, rather than to the collection of a person who collects loose items, who might sometimes be called an "out-of-box collector".)
Playwear - Noticeable wear-and-tear on an item, due to being played with by a previous owner
Played-with - A used item that might have some wear-and-tear from being played with by a previous owner
Spares/repair - A term used to describe a non-working item that may or may not be salvageable by an expert user, and which might only be useful as a parts-donor for other units; Japanese sellers will sometimes use the term "Junk" to mean more-or-less the same thing
Unused - A second-hand item that has not been used or played with; This may be used to refer to an unboxed or untagged item that has only been put on display
Used - A second-hand item that has been used by its previous owner(s), and which may carry signs of this use
VGC - Very Good Condition
WHY - What Have You; A trading term used when someone is looking for something non-specific (Usage example: "Will accept [Specific Item] in exchange, or what have you.")
These are just the most common terms that I can think of, and it's far from a complete list. Please feel free to contribute anything that I've missed or forgotten, including regional and dialectal variants that myself and others may not know; Since TamaTalk has members from around the world, this also includes non-English terms, but please be sure to also explain their meanings in English.
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