It's OK to be a Pack Rat!

The SDB is really useful. It allows you to store items safely without placing them in a shop or gallery. This way the Pant Devil or any other nefarious Neopian can't steal your hard earned items. When you are carrying an item it is exposed to danger, but in your SDB no one other than you can touch, or even see it. You can search your box, although the search does have some limitations. You can search by type of item, which is very useful for collecting.

Sure, you could sell all of your items off and make some quick NP. Depending on how long you've used your SDB and how much stuff you've kept, you could have hundreds of thousands of NP just waiting to be turned into cash. No one mentions the emptiness that occurs afterwards, as you look into your giant metal box and see nothing but a few books and healing potions. That paintbrush can't make up for the omelettes, candy, and plushies you've just sold off. You'll find yourself going into your box and hearing the hollow echo of "Didn't I used to have a squishy brain wrap in here?"

Instead, why not take pride in the clutter of your SDB? You can use it as a starting point for collecting all sorts of things. By now you're sure to have lots of items with common themes, like doughnuts, hot dogs or jelly food (hmmm, I'm suddenly hungry). Maybe it's lipsticks or broken toys; it really doesn't matter what you choose to collect. Just pick a few things and keep going! While you can't show off your SDB in the same way you can as a gallery, using your SDB doesn't cost anything either. Don't forget the old adage - NP saved is NP earned. Do you really want everyone to know about your Lupe plushie obsession anyway?

The best way to collect is to look at what you already have, and go from there. If you have a lot of Lost Desert stuff, look at what others there are, and begin hunting for bargains. Even if you're not all the way to pack rat status, there are certain items that will get your attention and you'll feel an interest in. Those are the best items to collect, since you'll find them interesting and fun to have. Don't collect because someone else says this is the best item. Do what YOU like so that you enjoy it.

Another benefit of being a pack rat is time. Those advent calendar prizes almost all go up in price with time, along with many other items. I found that some items that I won or bought years ago and threw into my box were now worth twice as much, or even more! I found a copy of a book that somehow became incredibly rare and worth thousands. Sure, there was also plenty of junk, but someday, that too may become prized treasure.

If you really want to keep your box size to a minimum and make a profit, keep cycling items in there for six months to a year. It's unlikely you'll lose NP, as most things stay the same but a few lucky items will go up in price as they aren't released as often or more people want that snowbunny. Watch the price of advent calendar items from previous years as everyone wants to buy Christmas items in December. Hold onto Halloween items until October when people are in the spirit of the holiday and willing to pay a premium for items. Just remember to add things to your box, not just take away. If you don't, you'll have an empty metal box and nothing to use on that quest or to sell on a rainy day.

Another way to profit from your box without selling off everything is just sell the items you have multiples of. You don't need 10 ummagines, but keeping 1 doesn't hurt. If you do this in phases you'll be able to stretch your income out over time, which is helpful if you're not good at budgeting yourself. You can do it all at once for a quick increase in cash as well. As far as selling things, there are plenty of good guides on how to choose prices, so I'll let the experts speak on that.

Another way to clean out some of the excess items is the trading post. You've likely gathered items in bunches, so why not get rid of them that way? If you're familiar with the system, you may be able to get items you've wanted and trade with other collectors. Or just help someone else on their way to becoming a pack rat.

Don't just get the avatar and abandon the spirit of being a pack rat. Keep your bottles of sand, burnt food and unused furniture. You never know when you'll need it! The ability to say "I've got a huge collection of Nimmo related items" is great bragging rights. Your safety deposit box isn't just some metal storage crate. It's a place to put everything you've loved, or might love in the future, so that it won't get bought or stolen away.

Embrace your collector, the one who wants to make sure you have as many different Poogle items as possible, or the one who thinks organic food is a great thing to stock up on when the price is right. Think of how much nicer it is to walk into your box and see the shelves stocked full with all sorts of things, rather than the hollow sound of footsteps and a few scraps on the shelf, waiting to be sold off. Most importantly, enjoy your SDB hoarding. If it isn't fun to hunt down items, find deals, and then stash them away, go play Turmac Roll instead.