how do i delete a vip mail box?

Actually, there is no need to mess with the mail folders with Finder and Terminal. Just click on the disclosure triangle next to the VIPs mailbox to expose the list of names. Either:

(1) control-click on each of the names and select Remove from VIPs from the contextual menu until all the names disappear from the VIPs mailbox. Quit Apple Mail then run it again - the VIPs folder should have gone.

Or:

(2) click on each name and any mail within that name. Click on the star next to the name in the mail; the name should disappear from the VIPs mailbox. Sometime, if you deselect the star from the last name, the VIP mailbox would disappear from the left pane, or at the most, left with no disclosure triangle. If that's the case, simply quit Apple Mail and run it again - it should disappear.

Apple support walked me through this problem. Select an email (either incoming or sent) of the VIP. Hover your mouse over the VIP name and select the down arrow. One of the choices will be to delete the VIP. The mailbox should disappear immediately or after you close and restart Mail.

Yup - just right clicking (or control click) on the VIP name in the VIP folders works a treat, to expose the name list just expand the VIP list using the usual rotating grey arrow to the left of the VIP word. Done on macOS 10.12. No need to go hacking around in any plist files or restarting Mail or anything else.

For those talking about VIP list on the iPhone - in the Mail app just hit the blue i in a circle on the right of the VIP folder in your Mailboxes view and the editing there is obvious. If you are talking about Favourites in the Phone app thats a different thing... (and obviously edited using the top right and left controls on the favourites view in the phone app).

Thanks mrfcobf!

This is the answer - just tried it in Mavericks - worked perfectly! - Thanks

Quit from mail, and then do this:

(In the finder, under GO, pull down to "Go to Folder" and enter ~/library)

Another option: hold option key while clicking on Go menu - click library there

Open Mail

Open V2

Open MailData

Delete VIPSenders.plist

Restart Mail

Quit from mail, and then do this:

In the finder, under GO, pull down to "Go to Folder" and enter ~/library

Open Mail

Open V2

Open MailData

Delete VIPSenders.plist

Restart Mail

Voila!

After none of the solutions really yielded results, I tried the following: Click the drop-down arrow on the left of the VIP mailbox; on each of the supposed 'VIPs', I right-clicked and chose option - 'Remove fromVIP'. Voila! The mailbox disappeared! Luckily there were just a couple of 'VIPs' to be removed in my case! Hope this helps.

You should not need an email from the person. The VIP mailbox will be on the right. hi light it and press control delete. Please see the photo I have attached. I have hi lighted the vip box and then pressed control and clicked the mouse. It opens this little menu. Proceed from there.

try right clicking (secondary clicking) on the VIP - there should be an option to delete

From captfred-

You'll have to remove all your VIP accounts. Visit an old mail from each and click the star by the senders name.

This was the only way I could delete my VIP mailbox.

Nice trick, thanks, captfred, I salute you

You'll have to remove all your VIP accounts. Visit an old mail from each and click the star by the senders name.

Beautiful - thanks so, so much! Terminal junkies can cut and paste this into the command line:

rm ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/VIPSenders.plist

I quit mail, deleted the VIPSenders.plist, restarted mail, no dice, still there.

Just to be sure, terminal based deletion shows the file is indeed gone.

$ rm ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/VIPSenders.plist

rm: /Users/jphelps/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/VIPSenders.plist: No such file or directory

However, I noticed VIP was opening as the default folder because I'd had it selected previously. I selected my unread smart mailbox instead, shut down mail, restarted and now VIP is gone.

zphelj wrote:

I quit mail, deleted the VIPSenders.plist, restarted mail, no dice, still there.

Just to be sure, terminal based deletion shows the file is indeed gone.

$ rm ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/VIPSenders.plist

rm: /Users/jphelps/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/VIPSenders.plist: No such file or directory

However, I noticed VIP was opening as the default folder because I'd had it selected previously. I selected my unread smart mailbox instead, shut down mail, restarted and now VIP is gone.

That was helpful. Thanks.

High light the mail box you want to delete press control and select delete........(Magic mouse)

I do not use the right click feature on my mouse. So I have to use the control button on my keyboard, but only once the item you want removed is high lighted

The trick is to exit mail with a mailbox other than VIP selected, then follow instructions. Only took 1.5hrs to figure this out!