Do boxes matter to you?

[Melinda]

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of gutting out a long neglected basement and I've come across a massive pile of boxes from my various pieces of gear. Everything from lenses to bodies to studio lights, filters, etc. It's all been kept for the "well what if we want to sell it someday?" scenario, but it's making me wonder how much the box matters when you're buying a used piece of gear?

I can see the virtue in keeping a box for a body, but would it make an impact for you on a sale if the person said they still had the box for a lens or a filter or what not? I'd love to get rid of some of these boxes as they take up quite a bit of room, but I thought I'd ask the opinion of the other photogs and see what you guys think.

Thanks! :burnout:

P.S. This basement cleanout has yielded a TON of photography books that I'll be getting rid of too. Keep an eye out in the photo marketplace for the thread with all the titles.

[D'z Nutz]

Haha I only keep boxes for cameras and lenses just for the resale value in case someone else wants them when I sell my equipment. Personally I don't care.

[taemo]

IMO it's a question that will vary from person to person but to me it wouldn't be a deal breaker if the seller doesn't have the boxes anymore.

although people might be quicker to respond to an add and trust the seller if they know that everything will be included.

[zakizdaman]

I have boxes for everything I own from my LCD monitor to old lenses that broke and I no longer have. It's a compulsive habit :S

[AccentAE86]

I keep my body lens and flash boxes just for resale. I've sold various gear and people like DEFINITELY like having the original boxes.

BUT... I've also sold things without the box (stuff I've bought used) and it didn't seem to hinder the sale to not have them.

You're making me think twice about holding onto my boxes.

[D'z Nutz]

Haha the funny thing is if you don't want your boxes.... don't throw them out, you sell them!

[Mitsu3000gt]

I keep boxes for everything. Partly because I am super anal, and partly for resale. Also makes a good place to keep the receipt, manuals, warranty card, etc. so you always know where it is. It can also help with an insurance claim if you don't have everything well documented already.

[Go4Long]

yeah...I have the boxes for every piece of gear I own except the 300mm 2.8 which I bought used with no box (for cheaper than the ones with a box that were selling at the same time)

[J-hop]

I think for camera equipment it is a good idea to keep the boxes. My brother is in photography and after seeing how OCD him and a lot of his friends are about their equipment I'm sure they'd like the original box.

For me personally I hate when people advertise as "in original box", don't know why it bothers me, but it can sometimes turn me off a sale as it suggests to me they are trying to dress a used product up as being in mint condition, when its not.

Its like a buying a used car in a private sale, i'd rather test drive a dirty car and see what their lifestyle is like. What sold me on my current car over another one I was looking at was when I got in there was dog hair everywhere and a child seat in the back with a ski rack on top. Indicating to me that this car wasn't some trashed weekend racer haha.

but that is just me, I don't like people trying to dress up used products. If its got a bit of dirt or a scratch on it that isn't going to effect my decision, if I wanted something mint I would be at the store/dealership not talking to you!!

[mboldt]

I just went through the process of throwing away all of my boxes last week lol.

My space was turning into Nikon box hoarders, I wanted the space. I dont feel bad about it at all. Unless I'm shipping it when it sells, which I never do, who cares... Someone is buying it for the gear, not for the box and all that. I have a drawer full of manuals now and that is all.

Gear, unless rare, isn't a collectors item, it's to be used, not kept in it's box.

[KKY]

I care about the price more than the box when I'm buying. That said, I tend to keep boxes whenever possible.

[Roarasaur]

If I have the room I keep all my boxes. And when my house was broken in to and I had all my camera gear missing, I couldn't find receipts for my certain items like my flash. The box I had came in handy when reporting it to my insurance company. Something else to think about if you don't have your products registered or you may have lost the receipt. Now I'm super anal about registering my gear and keeping all of my receipts filed away. But yes, I do keep my boxes.

Havn't really sold any of my gear so I can't say much about that. But a box to me would not be a dealbreaker, just an added plus I would think.

[Melinda]

Alright, thanks guys. I think I'll keep the gear boxes afterall, but probably toss the boxes for my strobes (which are actually quite large) since I can't see having a box for a studio strobe to be very important. That will free up a lot of space in the basement.

[Afrodeziak]

I keep boxes for the majority of electronics.
Tools, not so much.

I think if it's a item that you know down the road, you'll want something newer. ie. camera, ipod, camera, etc, it's worth keeping the box.

If I am buying a used Item from someone and the original box is included, I feel it says something about how much that person takes care of the item.