Do you save your camera and lens boxes?

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Do you save your camera and lens boxes

  • Yes, they help resell value

    Votes: 148 83.6%

  • Yes I am a pack rate

    Votes: 21 11.9%

  • A few, mostly larger, more expensive items

    Votes: 19 10.7%

  • When I remember

    Votes: 4 2.3%

  • As long as my spouse (or other) does not toss them

    Votes: 6 3.4%

  • No don't see the value

    Votes: 5 2.8%

  • No don't have the value

    Votes: 2 1.1%

  • Other please explain

    Votes: 5 2.8%
  • Total voters
    177
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MatthewK said:
Keep the boxes for resale… that and there’s nothing I love more than taking up closet space with a box of empty boxes.

I will say though, the boxes are useful for keeping all the camera/lens "extras" organized, like manuals, cables, paperwork, lens cases, etc.
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Very true
 
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arbitrage said:
For my supertelephoto f/4 and f/2.8 prime lenses I even keep the outer box they were shipped to me in along with the manufacturers box. If I sell them or have to send them for service it is good to have a proper sized outer box to ship in..
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Yep, I had to have my 500/4E serviced becasue the AF motor died. Having the right box helped my piece of mind shipping such an expensive lens.
 
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Just for the record, I too keep my boxes.

However, it's funny - this is really an issue of our own making. I believe very few of us want to keep the boxes, but we all know that it helps resale value. Why does it help resale value? Because the person buying the used gear wants the boxes. Why do they want the boxes? Because it helps resale value when they go to sell it.

Bottom line is that I doubt most of use care one way or another about boxes, but the private used camera market has created a "gotta have the box" loop that we're all stuck in. :)
 
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Steve said:
Bottom line is that I doubt most of use care one way or another about boxes, but the private used camera market has created a "gotta have the box" loop that we're all stuck in. :)
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Yeah, kind of funny how the loop reinforces itself.

I'll tend to keep boxes on higher end new gear but often not for accessories like ball heads, L brackets and the like even with strobes I'll rarely keep the boxes though realistically I don't remember the last time I sold a Nikon Speed Light as I just tend to keep them.

One thing that has helped me break the 'need the box' loop is that I've purchased a few Nikon refurb items directly from Nikon and they're shipped without original packaging. IOW, buying direct from Nikon with the 90 day refurb warranty doesn't get me original packaging (though it does include everything normally found in original packaging like cables, straps, etc.) so I'm not losing sleep over cameras and lenses that I bought directly from Nikon that lack the pretty box.
 
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If you were interested in buying a used piece of equipment, without the box or warranty card, would you be concerned that the item was stolen? Would the box / warranty card alleviate this concern?
 
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RichF said:
I think we all are. Urban myth that they help resale value.
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It appears to be a myth that it helps resale value.
I sold all of my Canon gear last month to KEH (over $7,000) and asked if they would like the original boxes (I had them all) and was informed that the box would not effect the price but they would recycle them if I sent the equipment in them.
( I have kept the Nikon boxes with my new equipment however.)
 
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RichF said:
If you were interested in buying a used piece of equipment, without the box or warranty card, would you be concerned that the item was stolen? Would the box / warranty card alleviate this concern?
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No, because there's no way to know what percentage of camera owners keep the boxes and most thieves don't sell their loot to reputable dealers.

I keep a few boxes in case something needs a repair, but buy a lot of used gear from MBP or KEH and I haven't gotten factory boxes with any of that.
 
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fwiw the reason i don’t save my boxes are 1) i don’t really buy gear with the thought of selling it, 2) i don’t bother with private sales, 3) it takes up a lot of space and i’m finding that saving things that aren’t really important is just clutter
 
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RichF said:
I save nearly all my boxes, including smaller ones for batteries and cable releases. Perhaps I am a pack rat but I think then come in handy when I want to sell used items. The all boxes, expect the boxes for very large lenses, are in large totes in the basement crawl space.
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I used to until we moved. Then I tossed them all. Unfortunately, that also meant I accidentally tossed the OEM foot for my Sony 200-600 since I'd replaced it with an aftermarket.
 
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No. Not enough room to store them for several years “just in case”.

And then there’s the, “Do you really need this?” question that’s hard to answer when the box has been in a closet for years. The boxes from 2016 were unceremoniously dumped while I was out and I didn’t notice for a couple of months. 🤣
 
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RikWriter said:
I used to until we moved. Then I tossed them all. Unfortunately, that also meant I accidentally tossed the OEM foot for my Sony 200-600 since I'd replaced it with an aftermarket.
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I store my OEM foot and hoods in the boxes in case I need to sell the lens or return it to Nikon for servicing in which case I suspect they will want the OEM foot
 
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RichF said:
I save nearly all my boxes, including smaller ones for batteries and cable releases. Perhaps I am a pack rat but I think then come in handy when I want to sell used items. The all boxes, expect the boxes for very large lenses, are in large totes in the basement crawl space.
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I sell things privately not through a dealer who takes margin.
In all the years of selling on gear, its never been an issue, nor have i been asked once do i have the box LOL.

Nice to have the boxes but as i keep my gear for a long while i don't want to store all that clutter.

Only an opinion
 
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I save all mine. There's a whole shelf of them stacked in my closet, which was fun explaining to the movers who are coming to pack up all my stuff in a couple weeks, haha.

I also put accessory stuff in the boxes. So if I bought screen protectors, I put the extra ones in the box for the corresponding camera. Or cables and chargers I don't use for certain bodies. Same for things like OEM lens feet or tools and spare parts for L-brackets. It makes it easy to put the old parts back on or fix things if I know which box they're in immediately.

And when I buy used, I admit that I also lean towards buying used gear that has the boxes still. The box itself isn't really important, but the fact that they kept it indicates they likely thought about resale value and took good care of the lens, too. It's not guaranteed, but it's generally a positive sign.

The downside, of course, is the clutter. But eh. I'm not short on space. And the times I've thrown boxes away in the past, I've come to regret it later.
 
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