Do You Keep Your Boxes ?

WAngell · June 15, 2016

I have typically kept body & lens boxes and some others thinking that one day I may want one if I sell or trade something. Interestingly the one box I didn't keep was for the one lens I traded in. With a lot of upgrading this year I'm thinking it's time to get rid of all the boxes including the new ones. They do take up space.

SCL · June 15, 2016

Depends on the box. I found out (to my dismay) that the Leica boxes which came with some of my gear bought years ago, often go for $20-40 in today's market. Insane.

DWScott · June 15, 2016

I always keep the boxes for my photo gear. I've never regretted it. It makes it easier to sell when I want to, and easier to ship for repairs if I need to.

Besides photo gear, the only other boxes I keep are for Apple computers. Every other box goes out. But I keep my Macs for so long, I could probably dump those boxes too.

Sandy Vongries · June 15, 2016

I do save them all, but I have the luxury of a small storage room, what my English friends used to call a Box Room. I don't know if you get any more when you sell or trade, but I do think your items move faster. It also gives (me) the impression that the owner of a lens or camera I might buy was a careful person, particularly if the box contains everything that went with the equipment originally.

Dieter Schaefer · June 15, 2016

I found out (to my dismay) that the Leica boxes which came with some of my gear bought years ago, often go for $20-40 in today's market. Insane.

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Same here.

Nowadays, I tend to keep original boxes.

richsimmons · June 15, 2016

The box, the paperwork, the wrapping, everything. Just traded in a lens and got more than 1/2 the original price. I think it helps.

ShunCheung · June 15, 2016

IMO it is more important to keep the paperwork, but I also keep the boxes. In case I need to ship it (to Nikon or elsewhere) for repair or ship it to a buyer when I sell it, it can be a bit easier with the original packaging (although not absolutely necessary).

There is info in the paperwork as well as on the boxes to indicate whether a camera is gray market. That can be helpful when you sell it.

JDMvW · June 15, 2016

It's really pretty stupid to keep the old boxes, but I do. I think it does help sell the item, if I were ever to sell anything.

"What is it that the camera sellers buy that is half so precious as what they sell?" (apologies to Omar Khayyám)

ShunCheung · June 15, 2016

For example, this is on the box for a Nikon USA D3X.<div>

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dan_brown4 · June 15, 2016

Yes. And, I expect them when I buy used.

Peter_in_PA · June 15, 2016

I keep them all. So when I sold a bunch of stuff a couple years ago, I couldn't find the boxes after our move. Sold everything anyway, no problem... go figure...

Mike D · June 15, 2016

I've sold a number of lenses and bodies to KEH along with the boxes and papers including any unused straps. I always seem to get more than I thought I was going to get because they upgrade the condition a notch. I do take care of my equipment even though some of it has a lot of mileage on it. If the transaction takes place at a camera store, you often get another 10% off any purchase of new equipment at that store.

Andrew Garrard · June 15, 2016

I keep them as best I can. Camera boxes I keep and use when I get the camera cleaned. Lenses, I've folded some of the boxes flat for space. I'm probably about to find whether they'll fold out again, because I'm going to trade some in. I keep the boxes for expensive stuff.

DrBen · June 15, 2016

I keep some boxes for a brief period for the eventuality of returns or repairs. Otherwise they go in the recycling bin.

When I buy used equipment said to be in the original box, that fact has almost no effect on my decision. I know of an

equipment supplier whose parts catalogue lists empty original boxes used for its retail sales. The use of an original box is

no guarantee of how the item being sold has been used and maintained.

A used lens is not like a Star Wars figurine still in the original, unopened box.

I don't live my life thinking about the possibility of enhancing the future sale value of things I bought to use.

bebu_lamar · June 15, 2016

I keep my boxes. I regret that I threw away the box for my Nakamich CR-7a cassette deck.

ShunCheung · June 15, 2016

My problem is more like the other way around. I still have the boxes for some items I have trashed, recycled, given away .... Unfortunately, none of those boxes is for Leica cameras or I could have sold those boxes for a little money. :-)

Robin Smith · June 15, 2016

I keep them, but when buying s/h I really don't care whether it comes in the box, although perhaps it is a very marginal plus (as it is an indicator of the seller's personality). If you buy Leica, you should keep the box, but a battered lens will not get you a better price just because you have the box.

David_Cavan · June 15, 2016

No. They are chunks of cardboard that get in the way.

david_smith35 · June 16, 2016

Yes. And, I expect them when I buy used.

What on earth for? The only thing that's important is the condition of the item - I would rather buy a second hand item in mint condition without a box than a boxed item which is in used condition.

Jochen_S · June 16, 2016

I think more people should bin their boxes. - Boxes might make sense during the warranty period of a monitor / i-mac. But for an average camera that you bought to keep and use whats the purpose? You'll surely find something else to pack it if it needs and deserves shipping to service.

Buying used I'm happier if people sell gear in bags.

I don't know what we all are buying when and for which purpose, but I am not hopping systems by trading in what I had. - I'm earning too slowly to afford that approach. And when a camera becomes outdated like let's say my *istD, which I bought new, I'm obviously wondering what to do: I could sell it for a ridiculous faction of what I paid or keep it and find applications for it where I'll consume it entirely.

Possessions owner relationships sometimes trigger the question: Who is the master and who the slave? - The guy stopping to smoke outside his car, which he plans to resell with added non-smoker value?

Do we need neverready cases to preserve the value of DSLRs that we'll keep 6 years? What is the box adding after that time?

Andrew Garrard · June 16, 2016

<blockquote>And when a camera becomes outdated like let's say my *istD, which I bought new, I'm obviously wondering what to do: I could sell it for a ridiculous faction of what I paid or keep it and find applications for it where I'll consume it entirely.</blockquote>

I'm with you on that. When I switched from Canon to Nikon (when the D700 came out), I had the choice to sell my Eos 300D. I didn't bother, because having a backup DSLR was more useful than the tiny amount of money it was worth by then. I still have it, although whether I get around to IR converting it seems unlikely at this stage; I sold my more expensive Canon lenses. I'm finally ditching some Nikon lenses that I think I'll never get around to using, but most aren't worth much. So much for lenses being an investment.

Brian · June 16, 2016

It's a good question. I keep boxes for stuff on the assumption that it'll be easier to sell with the box, but naturally I have never tested this hypothesis. I do buy and resell regularly so I don't have the problem of a box mountain.

bebu_lamar · June 16, 2016

I don't use my F5 any more and in the rare case where I use film I prefer the F3. So I put my F5 back in the box with all the original packaging and store it away. It's in like new condition. I am sure it has fewer than 5000 actuations.

henryp · June 16, 2016

I just traded a mint condition Apple iPhone 4s and original version iPad Mini, both in mint-condition boxes at my local Apple store. The person who took the trade-ins didn't care one whit about the boxes. All he wanted to know was if they worked and if the screens were undamaged.

Henry Posner B&H Photo-Video

sknowles · June 20, 2016

I have for the last 40+ years or so for a lot of stuff, stereos camera gear, small kitchen appliances, etc. I've found it comes in handy when selling or shipping equipment that the original box is ready for shipping. I still have some boxes from the 1970's. I sold my Mac G-5 in 2010 and was able to ship it and the monitor in their original boxes with all the inside stuff to parts. And yes, one area of the garage is nothing but empty boxes and personal stuff.

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