What do you do with your boxes?

[benhasajeep]

Do you save your equipment boxes? Or do you toss them? Do you keep them even if you don't have room. Or maybe you toss them even if you do have room. I have been cleaning and organizing photo equipment area and well I have a ton of boxes. Now I do have room to store them somewhere else out of the way. But, was wondering if I was the only one to save the boxes, even after years of owning the items. Right now many are taking up space bacisally where they don't need to be for any reason.

Should I toss them? Or go ahead and bundle them up and move them to less used space in the house?

 

[Braineack]

I keep them because every time I ever sell a piece of equipment they seem to be a big deal to the next buyer...

 

[tirediron]

I have every box for every major piece I've ever purchased new (or that came with a box) stored in garbage bags in my attic.

 

[jcdeboever]

I save them too, their pretty

 

[Designer]

I keep mine in a box.

 

[fmw]

You might want to create a collage with them and do some abstract photography.

 

[480sparky]

I keep them because every time I ever sell a piece of equipment they seem to be a big deal to the next buyer...

Yep. When it comes time to sell, gear fetches more when all the factory goodies are included. Box, case, warranty card, manual, desiccant package, plastic wrappers, ........

 

[SquarePeg]

While selling all of my Nikon gear recently I was surprised how many people asked if I had the box and/or were happy when I showed up with the lens in the original box.

 

[Overread]

With some high value goods the keeping of the box is often seen, by the buyer, as a sign that the owner has taken care of the item. As such having a box often puts the price up. That most lens boxes have some form of internal padding it also helps people feel more confident about shipping as well.

You can actually buy (and of course sell) camera boxes on ebay and the like for those who want to have the box to then sell on their own item.


I keep my boxes for my camera gear, don't take up much space and they are there incase I want to sell in the future.

 

[bratkinson]

Like others indicated above, having the original box and all its 'stuffing' will not only make selling a lens or other expensive item fetch a higher price but it will often sell sooner on a site like ebay. As a check, go to ebay and search for your best lens. Then click on 'sold listings' on the left side of the screen. Look at the prices of complete, working lenses with and without box etc. Ignore the 'for parts' items. You'll quickly see a pattern that those with the box sell for 10-15% more than without. The lenses that I sold on ebay also got sold with a buy-it-now on an auction listing, 2-3 days after the item was listed.

If space is at a premium, the box can always be opened up, possibly slitting some tape, and flattened. So can the cardboard inside. Formed styrofoam is a problem, but can usually be spread out to minimize height requirements.

 

[Designer]

We've kept boxes for nearly everything that cost plenty. TV's, sewing machines, computers, printers, etc. When the attic filled up with empty but very sturdy! boxes, we tossed many of them out. Now I have a box for a camera that I traded off last autumn, and nobody to give it to.

 

[480sparky]

We've kept boxes for nearly everything that cost plenty. TV's, sewing machines, computers, printers, etc. When the attic filled up with empty but very sturdy! boxes, we tossed many of them out. Now I have a box for a camera that I traded off last autumn, and nobody to give it to.

Sell it on ebay.

 

[benhasajeep]

Well I guess it's worth the effort to take up to the attic then.