MIB vs. MISB Terms . . . .

[star-phoenix]

Hey guys!

I have a rather interesting question that was brought up (well, more of an annoying rant). Since most of you guys collect other things other than cels and sketches (like dolls or toys, etc). I want to hear what your interpretation of these terms mean to you:

MIB - Mint in Box

MISB - Mint in Sealed Box

NRFB - Never Removed from Box

What do these terms mean to you? There is apparently an argument surrounding the term MIB. When a seller lists an item as MIB, on whether it is safe to assume it is "factory sealed" or if the potential buyer should assume the item was opened/unsealed unless otherwise stated. And whose responsibility is it to define the term?

For example: I listed an item a while back saying it was mint in box, and the tape on the box was broken (ie NOT FACTORY SEALED). I received a horrible nasty letter from the buyer claiming that MIB should guarantee a sealed box and how it was clearly opened regardless of the fact that on my original ad, it was mentioned the tape on the box was broken.
My opinion as a collector is, if a seller says the tape was broken and the item is MIB, I would assumed it was opened, if not by them, by someone (otherwise, it would not have been unsealed). That seems rather common sense to me. But, I have been a collector for 20+ years, and I have been trained to always assume the worse in a specific description, and I should otherwise ask before buying something.
However, in my previous case, it was suddenly all 100% 'my' fault because it is always the sellers fault if a buyer does not read the ad.

So, in light of this, how would one prevent a situation like this from ever happening again (is that even possible to do??) and what are your interpretations of these terms?

[klet]

Umm, yeah, you're totally in the right there.

In my figure collecting circle, MIB generally means that the figure is in excellent condition and that it comes with the box. It may or may not have been removed and displayed, but the box has been opened. I personally feel that if there is no further description, the box should be in near mint condition, too. Not everyone feels that way. MISB means factory sealed. So, if someone retaped a box and called it MISB, that would be a no-no. I've never heard of NRFB before, though.

[star-phoenix]

NRFB was a term I became well aware of when collecting Barbie dolls 20 years ago (yessss! I is OOOOOOLD!!! ). Since pretty much all of the vintage barbies came with removable boxes (bottom box + lid covers), you can never say they are factory sealed (unless they had shrink wrap around their boxes, which was something started during the late 1960's in the later dolls). So, a lot of sellers used to say the Barbies were either MIB (meaning mint in their original boxes), NMIB (Near Mint in Box) or NRFB (meaning they were never taken out of their box).
But, in vintage Barbie doll world, NRFB does not mean the doll is mint since MOST Vintage dolls that never had their copper earrings taken out had the dreaded GREEN EAR! So, a NRFB Vintage Barbie would be warranted for a concern of this defect and should always be asked by the buyer if the seller does not mention anything.

[theultimatebrucelee]

As a figurine buyer/seller, the only reason I don't buy or list MIB item is because its actually more confusing to the buyer, in this case breaking it down a bit to the buyer I think would help. when I list figurine for sale its usually MISB or, "figure in prefect condition and not displayed". might also want to list the reason to be more convincing such as opened to verify condition but no space for display so need new home or photo for auction and such. that way buyer won't find fault at box not being sealed and would understand that the figure is still in prefect condition. figurine buyer can be pretty picky sometimes since there are so many copies of the same figures on the market and some collector(especially noobie ones) tends to favor condition of the item over just owning a piece of item itself. although for my own personal collection If I plan on displaying the figure anyways then all I would care about is the condition of the figure when it first arrived to me, If I fine no fault upon examining it close up then box condition/ opened would be irrelevant, at time I'd even go for no box. in fact, just yesterday a figure package arrived to me by UPS deliver box and figurine box half crushed but figure luckily survived..I still contacted the seller letting him know that even though box was crushed figure arrived in perfect condition without problem.

[pixie_princess]

Hehhh. I always love when people act all surprise after they have won an auction and suddenly decide that the auction description was too vague. I typically like to stick with the NRFB tag since most people seem to recognize that, and NEW in the title description. In the message body of the auction I show as many pics as possible and point out anything that could be taken as a flaw.


To me MIB means an item in excellent condition that comes with its box. I would assume it has been displayed, or that perhaps there was buyers remorse. I am not as familiar with MISB, since I've only seen things listed as new or nrfb.

I started collecting and buying stuff on auction about 15 yrs ago, so maybe that has something to do with it.