Vintage Collection Damage?

[whitetama14]

Hey all, long time member of the site. Registered when I was 14 haha. Anyway, I have a vintage collection containing P1's, P2's, Digimon, Mothra, Ocean, Angelgotch, Devilgotch, Santaclautch, Osutchi/ Mesutchi, etc. all sealed from 1997ish. They were kept in a cardboard box prior to being placed on a shelf in 2019. My question to everyone is this: Should I open them all up to save them from corrosion? I imagine a good number of them may be heavily damaged due to leaked batteries. Of course, breaking the seals make them no longer MIB or new. Struggling with what to do. I figured I would ask here

 

[KuchipatchiPod]

In the end the main question is why you are collecting them. If you just enjoy having them, and personally are more comfortable knowing they are not damaged, then I would say go ahead and open them up. The worst part about it, though, is that you risk stripping the screws as the old JP models have REALLY tight screws.

If you collect them for the sake of turning a profit and selling them later, or if you enjoy just knowing they are NIB, keep em closed and let the batteries do their damage. If they're never going to be opened anyway, the corrosion is just part of the the, uh, value XD

 

[whitetama14]

In the end the main question is why you are collecting them. If you just enjoy having them, and personally are more comfortable knowing they are not damaged, then I would say go ahead and open them up. The worst part about it, though, is that you risk stripping the screws as the old JP models have REALLY tight screws.

If you collect them for the sake of turning a profit and selling them later, or if you enjoy just knowing they are NIB, keep em closed and let the batteries do their damage. If they're never going to be opened anyway, the corrosion is just part of the the, uh, value XD

Thanks for the advice. I'm still incredibly torn. Sounds like risks either way, lol.

 

[Bentobuff]

Thanks for the advice. I'm still incredibly torn. Sounds like risks either way, lol.

Honestly, I'd open em up, but before I did I'd order a bunch of vintage replacement screws just so after the deed is done you can ensure you don't have stripped screws.
I'd rather ensure they're mint and working in case I want to play with them at some point, rather than in a risky condition.

 

[Maskutchi]

If your point is to sell later, as a buyer I prefer new but open boxes which show me there is no corrosion in the battery compartment. Some people may prefer otherwise, but I prefer it to be checked since I want to play them.

Having said that the few Tamagotchi 1997 devices I have purchased unopened had not started any corrosion. Some as recently as this year. It always surprised me as other brands can be very corroded by now. It makes me wonder if Bandai used better quality batteries? As the years pass corrosion will happen eventually though.

I second having extra screws on hand just in case some get stripped. Also, I would open the boxes from the bottom flap rather than the top.

 

[whitetama14]

Thanks all, I don't plan on selling these. I plan to keep them displayed on my little nerd shelf as seen above. However, the option to have them working and being able to run them is appealing. I am sure regardless if there is corrosion or not, some of the packages will be hard to keep mint. Do you guys know where I can get those spare vintage screws from? Thinking about tackling this project in November when it isn't so hot. The other thing is if I do find corrosion and leakage, it's going to be a mess trying to salvage them/ clean them up.

 

[TheTamaNest]

You can buy replacement screws and supplies to help with this venture at Japan You Want. I’m sure there are other sources, such as ETSY that are state-side if that is better for you.

 

[Maskutchi]

The other thing is if I do find corrosion and leakage, it's going to be a mess trying to salvage them/ clean them up.

As mentioned I haven’t had to clean an actual Tamagotchi yet, but I have cleaned corrosion from other vpets and it really was not too hard. Of course it depends on how bad it is, but I have successfully cleaned corrosion off with a combination of plain cotton swabs (for chunky bits) and cotton swabs dipped in alcohol (for the more stuck on stuff). Also if there was an especially bad area I have used the striker portion of a matchbook which I cut off the matchbook and folded in half and rubbed on any bad areas (similar to using sand paper). The striker bit is long so you can keep folding the strip to a fresh area as needed.

It sounds like you are leaning towards opening them up and I support you

 

[sahara]

As mentioned I haven’t had to clean an actual Tamagotchi yet, but I have cleaned corrosion from other vpets and it really was not too hard. Of course it depends on how bad it is, but I have successfully cleaned corrosion off with a combination of plain cotton swabs (for chunky bits) and cotton swabs dipped in alcohol (for the more stuck on stuff). Also if there was an especially bad area I have used the striker portion of a matchbook which I cut off the matchbook and folded in half and rubbed on any bad areas (similar to using sand paper). The striker bit is long so you can keep folding the strip to a fresh area as needed.

It sounds like you are leaning towards opening them up and I support you

Using the matchbox sand paper is extremely good advice! thank you for this!