What to do with upgraded parts?

[Shockwave 75]

Recently I've been thinking about clearing out some boxes I have taking up space, but a few of them have parts in them that have been upgraded. By that I mean parts that have been replaced by upgrade sets. Like, I got the big set for Gen Selects Black Zarak, so I now have his old upper thighs and guns left over. Now I can probably find a spot for his old guns, but I'm never going to "downgrade" the figure, so his old leg parts are just kind of taking up space. The simplest solution seems to be to just throw them out, but the collecting monster that lives in brain rebels against that idea.
What does everyone else do with old upgraded parts?

 

[LordGigaIce]

Maybe put them on eBay? There are always customizers looking for extra parts.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

If you ever intend to sell things off, keep the old parts. Some collectors might want the toy as original as possible.

Otherwise, yeah, selling them for spare parts is probably best.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I bought a Universe Roadbuster that had an upgrade kit installed. I assumed I would prefer it that way, and the price was an absolute deal, but then I found out that the upgrade head doesn't fit quite right in vehicle mode. I don't know what the seller did with the original head, but it was not included.

If you ever sell your Black Zarak, somebody's going to be happier if you include the original parts. If you are absolutely certain that you'll never sell it, then sell those parts to a guy who wishes his Black Zarak came with the original parts.

 

[Destron D-69]

I'd just bin them. If you aren't going to sell it, they wont be needed, and if you are going to sell it -just sell it to somebody who doesn't care if its stock.

those people exist in the same imaginary space as all these 'would-be' buyers who do want the stock parts. it's all speculation. but yeah, throw them up on ebay I guess.

BlackZarak missing everything but shins $99.99 XD ..or has ebay gotten better since I last looked lol

 

[Haywire]

You know what would be cool? A website like Bricklink, but for Transformers parts and accessories.
(For those who don't collect Lego, Bricklink is a site that both catalogs every Lego piece from every set and provides a platform for members to sell those pieces individually. It's a pretty solid source for both parts and information.)

I can't imagine how much work would have to go into it, since Transformers parts aren't nearly as consistent as Lego, but it would be a cool resource for customizers and fans trying to restore incomplete figures.

 

[lastmaximal]

Transformerland and TFU serve that purpose for me currently, but something organized differently (perhaps accessory-centric) and a bit easier to navigate would indeed be welcome.

 

[Sabrblade]

Transformerland and TFU serve that purpose for me currently, but something organized differently (perhaps accessory-centric) and a bit easier to navigate would indeed be welcome.

Transformerland does have an extensive directory for accessory identification.

 

[lastmaximal]

Ah, there, excellent.

 

[Agent X]

And poor TFUdotInfo hasn't been updated in how long?

EDIT: I checked, and it updated back in August. Last one before that was 2022, and they don't have anything after 2016.

 

[Sciflyer]

If you ever intend to sell things off, keep the old parts. Some collectors might want the toy as original as possible.

Otherwise, yeah, selling them for spare parts is probably best.

100% this. I am in the same situation, and I just keep the original parts in the event that I want/need to sell the figure(s) in the future. Plus, I usually shy away from upgrade sets that make returning the figure to factory specs too difficult (a la pushing out pins, cutting things, etc.). Just my 2 cents.

 

[Cybersnark]

You know what would be cool? A website like Bricklink, but for Transformers parts and accessories.
(For those who don't collect Lego, Bricklink is a site that both catalogs every Lego piece from every set and provides a platform for members to sell those pieces individually. It's a pretty solid source for both parts and information.)

I can't imagine how much work would have to go into it, since Transformers parts aren't nearly as consistent as Lego, but it would be a cool resource for customizers and fans trying to restore incomplete figures.

Or customizers looking to complete a figure cheaply (I'm not gonna buy a whole-ass Voyager just to get a spare head).