It depends on the item. If it's a high-end figure (MP, good quality 3rd Party) or one that's important to me (i.e. all of my top 3 favourite TFs were bought around the same time/as a personal celebration of some pretty significant positive life events) then I usually store them in their boxes when they're not on display so it's a bit more important, but most of the time I prefer to buy loose and cheaper. If I'm getting a new/resealed 'normal' TF then I open them myself and just keep the card-backs so it's not a big deal.