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Should I Reshrink??
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NMilty
Active Collector
Posts: 96
Joined: Feb 27, 2008
Last Visit: Aug 02, 2026
Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:31 am
I apologize if this has been covered before, I could not find a recent discussion on this topic in the search feature.
I have many older shrinkwrapped items that literally the shrink is disintegrating upon touch. Examples are modules and box sets and Grenadier miniature sets. The question is this. Should I reshrink these to protect the items or will that permanently damage the collectibility of the items. Are they worth more in original shrink that is torn and hanging on by shreds.
I personally like the look of a nicely sealed and protected item versus one that is held together by dirty and torn 40 year old plastic wrap. I know that I can just stick them in a poly bag to protect the item with the ratty shrink, but again this is not a great look for collection display.
Before I touch them I wanted to reach out to make sure I wasn't making a huge mistake.
burntwire brothers
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Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:47 pm
The only time I ever remove shrink is if the item can easily slip out of it without tearing more shrink. Otherwise I leave it on and bag the items to prevent further damage. I personally never re-shrink(don't own a machine) as buyers will probably avoid buying once they think you are re-shrinking.
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Night of the Black Swords
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dbartman
Sage Collector
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Last Visit: Aug 05, 2026
Location: Ohio, The land without sun
Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2020 1:03 pm
As burntwire said, leave the original
SW
on the item and bag it in the closest sized bag that will work. That will help to preserve the
SW
from degrading further. Re-shrinking is a bad idea. Bags work perfectly fine and won't give the perception that something shady was done. If the
SW
really detracts from the item, then maybe it's better off without it. That's a personal decision to make.
red_bus
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Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2020 2:00 pm
Personal decision this. Me, I tear off that old stinky plastic. That way you can appreciate the item (open it and read it) ... you are not here forever, worth having a look at stuff.
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stylean
Prolific Collector
Posts: 263
Joined: Jan 14, 2010
Last Visit: Feb 28, 2026
Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2020 6:52 pm
What burntwire said.
I’ve opened a couple
SW
items here and there as a way to verify other items purchased in a lot, curiosity, or just too much to drink one night and regret each.
Value wise, probably safe bet that even ratty shrink is gonna fetch better price than opened, as long as you can’t get the item out of the wrap then put it back.
Personally, on some stuff it adds to the character. I really dig modules with the KB price stickers on them, or any other retailer really. Trying to collect a
SW
copy of something from a bunch of different retailers adds a whole new level of insanity.
Not sure what your hang up on displaying might be but I polybag everything then use packing tape to seal the bag and fit it. You have to be careful taking stuff out of the bag this way but if you are bagging it I assume that’s not a regular thing.
Edit: box set in a life magazine size bag taped up. Adds a bit to the reflectivity under direct light but displays fine (enough for me that is)
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stratochamp
Sage Collector
Posts: 2024
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Last Visit: Jul 04, 2026
Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2020 8:56 pm
The reason that shrink wrap existed was to cheaply protect the module (or box etc.) from wear and hold the contents inside. If your ratty shrink wrap is doing none of the above, why keep it? Because the valuation will go down the moment that ratty shrink wrap is removed, people will say. Well then, haven't we arrived at the crux of the issue, that shrink aficionados have so driven up the price for items that the presence of cheap shrink wrap so dramatically effects the sale price. It is Orwellian that items in shrink wrap are (currently) selling for 3x (or more) what items not in shrink wrap sell for, in many cases regardless of the actual condition of the item. The actual value of (original) shrink wrap is that one can easily tell that an item is complete and has not been written in. The down side is that items in shrink wrap are unable to be checked for staple rust and bending (if they are inside boxes). While I expect prices to keep rising on TSR collectables, I think (hope?) that the shrink curve will flatten out (pun intended), items will be judged on quality of their condition, not the presence of shrink wrap, but until that day comes NMilty, from a financial perspective, leave the ratty shrink on and toss it in a polybag.
Shrink is not a condition
Tszii
Prolific Collector
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Posts: 928
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Last Visit: Aug 03, 2026
Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2020 8:01 am
2c
There are great ways to protect items without reshrinking. You can do most of those with the deteriorating shrink you have. If you are reshrinking for display purposes, dont
people love picking the stuff up and looking at it. Sealed boxes are only great for our memories and imagination, others wont exactly feel the same way.
Sir Kill Alot
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2020 7:21 pm
stratochamp wrote in
Should I Reshrink??
:
... leave the ratty shrink on and toss it in a polybag.
I would sometimes get items that greatly exaggerated their condition while still in shrink. After giving the person a rough rating on eBay, I too would sometimes bag it and mentally cross the seller off my reputable list. When 30%+ of the shrink wrap is off, it serves no useful function at that point.
- SKA
Waynes_Books
Active Collector
Posts: 68
Joined: Aug 28, 2019
Last Visit: Sep 09, 2024
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:07 pm
Reshrinking, I can't think of a good reason to do it. Too many other better options out there nowdays.
I used to reshrink in my early days for inventory storage protection. Always put my business card inside. Still had folks emailing me asking if it was original shrink. With my card inside? Soon thereafter I found good cheap plastic bags to protect stock. Now it's easy to reinspect the contents as needed.
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