Worth saving gear boxes?

F

firehawk

Veteran
Do you guys save your original packaging?
Warranties are expired.
Seems it would be a nice touch when reselling later. Might bring more money. But is it worth it?
Boxes take up space.
I don't intend to sell my gear anytime soon and I'm trying to thin out and move.
Plus if most small businesses are crushed then who will be interested in buying your nice gear with original packaging anyway?
 
Last edited:
firehawk said:
Do you guys save your original packaging?
Warranties are expired.
Seems it would be a nice touch when reselling later. Might bring more money. But is it worth it?
Boxes take up space.
I don't intend to sell my gear anytime soon and I'm trying to thin out and move.
Plus if most small businesses are crushed then who will be interested in buying your nice gear with original packaging anyway?
Click to expand...


I do not but I’ve also never sold gear.

When buying pre-owned, I am not influenced by the seller having original boxes.

I vote to ditch the boxes, unless within return window.
 
I never keep boxes even for products under warranty. I cannot imagine doing it apart from a few items where the value is in the box too. I bought a couple of those Shure SM58 anniversary mobs in the special finish and it has a pretty box so that I’m keeping, plus the occasional box where the packing is protective and sensible. The rest I routinely have thrown away. I sell old stuff sometimes on ebay and if somebody is buying old gear I don’t think they even expect the packing, expensive or cheap?
 
If you have plenty of extra space, ok, but otherwise don’t let the stuff you own own you.

FWIW if I sell something valuable like a camera, I’ll ship it in a used or knockoff Pelican case zip-tied shut (and have bought a couple like that as well). That’s worth more to me than some cardboard.
 
I bought and sold a lot of used electronics (P&S cameras, Pocket PCs, iPods, and iPhones) on eBay in the early to mid 2000s, and items with the original box definitely sold for more than items without it. I remember seeing $20+ listings for empty Pocket PC boxes, presumably intended to enhance the resale value of used gear for people who threw their packaging or weren't the original owner. Things might have changed though.

I've kept most of my gear's boxes, but I also have comparatively little gear.

It's nice to have your original TV & computer monitor boxes when you move, but that only works if you have garage rafter or attic space.

If someone is selling used gear with the original box, I assume that they're the original owner, and even if they're not, it's at least a good indicator that they didn't steal it.
 
'I save them. On ebay I'm swayed if the original box is shown. If the seller is as nuts as I am about equipment details, maybe that carries over to condition. 'ahmm... yeah.... me too...'
 
Been selling used gear on ebay since the early 2000s. While some may not be influenced, the stuff I've sold with original packaging consistently sells for the amount I would like it to more often than the ones were the boxes or manuals have gone missing.
 
With some exceptions, like cards, I keep my boxes. As a matter of fact, while cleaning out my Mom’s storage building behind her old house before she moved last year, I found the box for my first Betacam that I bought when I was 21. It’s been sitting in there for 23 years... And of course the camera is sitting in my gear closet in my office enjoying retirement for the past ~17-18 years.
 
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