Hot Wheels Collectors, need some input please.

[cntryislandboy]

Long story short, we are expecting our second child so my man room is going in boxes and the attic for a couple years. If I pack all my hot wheels and other similar items it well take several boxes and probably most of the space I have available. However if I open them and wrap them in say a paper towel I can probably get almost everything in a box or two. I know this will cause them to loose value but just how much? If we are talking selling them in 15 or 20 years from now. Are we talking selling them in package for $10 and out of package for $5 or would it be more like $10 and $2. I know it's hard to predict how this will go, but any ball park ideas from someone who deals with these more than I do would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Also for anyone who has had to pack there collection of items away for a long period of time. Did you take photos or scan all your card for insurance purposes in case something were to happen. I'm thinking of doing this for the sake of insurance, but also because these items are probably going to be stored for a LONG period of time.

[tylerrules09]

By opening them you are losing 90% of the value. My uncle used to have a hot wheels shop and it is almost impossible to sell them once they are out of the original package.

[cntryislandboy]

That's what I was afraid of, I was just hoping to be abel to save some space.

[tylerrules09]

Sell them then, a lot of them are very valuable and could fetch large sums. Plus you'll have money for the new baby. Congrats on the new baby also!

[cntryislandboy]

What I have I've gotten in the last couple years and it's mostly stuff I like (minis, camaros, jeeps, and subarus). So with this in mind my guess is that they are going to be so mass produced that they probably won't be worth much. So I might just try to dump most of them and keep the ones I find special for my personal collection.