When you buy new smurfs, do you like to keep the Schleich tags on or take them off?
- What are the pros and cons of leaving the tags on?
- Lastly what are your reasons?
Whatever your feelings are on this, there is no wrong or right answer to the question. But dig a little deeper and it may tell you a little bit about what type of collector you are.
In some instances the Schleich tags used in the early 2000’s would leave a nasty sticky residue on the smurf after removing the tag. This would then require you having to wash your smurf in soapy water. Some collectors found that it would also leave a yellow mark on the smurf but I never found this.
I recall reading about one collector who stated that a real collector would never remove the tag. This same person also believed that by leaving the tag on preserved the collectability value of the smurf. The theory was that by trying to keep the smurf as near to its original condition would increase its value.
If you are a keen on taking photographs of your smurfs, you may feel that the tags get in the way and are distracting when trying to capture the perfect shot.
For the majority of my smurfs I have in my collection, I have removed the Schleich tags. I have kept random tags on some of the smurfs over the years more out of curiosity than anything else.
In my opinion smurfs were created to be disposable toys for children to play with. So this is why Schleich have probably designed the tags to be easily torn off and without damaging the smurf.
Then there are always those collectors who buy two of the same figurine, one for display purposes and one to be stored carefully away until it becomes a highly valuable.
Keep on Smurfin
Kath B