Do you keep the empty boxes?

[vaindioux]

Hi

I finally made space in acrylic cases to display my 1/72 armor collection.They were in plastic bins in my (Full) basement. What shall I do with the empty boxes?
I have little room in my home and getting rid of these would create space. But I am always thinking about reselling eventually if I want to get out of the hobby and having the boxes would add value.

Thanks for your input.

Patrick

[tmanthegreat]

This is a problem any collector faces... Unless one displays their items MIB (which is really no fun) one has to figure out what to do with all the empty boxes.

I keep as many as I can, personally. If you were to see my rather small attic, it's packed to the brim with empty boxes for all sorts of scales and items. So are parts of my garage. Some 1:72 companies seem to hold their value better than others. Corgi items seem to increase in value, as do Hobby Master. I've kept all my 1:72 and other scale Corgi and HM boxes and on occasion it has paid off when I decide to part with an item. It was harder to keep the larger 1:18 21c and BBI boxes and a few years ago, I parted with a few. Still, I saved the boxes for special edition items or those few planes/armor that turned out to become more rare. I guess it just comes down to one's preference.

Besides, I've found that the original boxes are better for storing items than placing them in drawers or shoe boxes when not on display, so it pays to keep a few around!

[USCGMK2]

I keep mine in storage. I keep all the rubber bands, twisty ties, and even the bags small parts come in. I bought a few of the extra large moving boxes and put my 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 boxes in there. I figure they would sell better if you keep all the boxes. You never know when you might need some money or something better comes out.

[Dauntless]

1:72 armor boxes surely aren't that big to store. Are they Hobby Master and Dragon boxes?

I keep my boxes if at all possible. I cannot display as much as I would like anyways. I even have the shipping boxes I kept when buying online for any large 21st Century Toys aircraft or armor. You would be surprised how hard it is to find one of those that perfect size. In it's box in a box.
Most in the garage. Smaller items grouped together.

When it comes time to thin out a collection, it's easier to sell, worth more and less prone to shipping damage in it's original package.

Who says you'll ever sell? you never know. Collecting tastes change. Mine have and I've sold off a lot of stuff.
Unless it's a durable action figure or something that you can put in a baggie, any fragile aircraft and armor pieces can break easily.

[[CAT]CplSlade]

In my attic I have a growing pile of empty boxes for the model kits I've been building. Why? I can't put the models back in if I grow tired of them!

I tell myself I want to cut off and keep the covers to display in my man cave yet I haven't done it, and it would be a lot easier than going up into my attic every couple of months.

[dragon53]

I have too many models and the empty boxes that go with them.
I got the Corgi B-17 "Ye Olde Pub" and BF-109 a long time ago, but I can't find it because I don't where I put it among all the other boxes.
I got a second Corgi 1/32 Mosquito for Christmas, but I can't display it because I can't put the first Mosquito in its box because I don't know where the box is.

[cjg476]

I keep mine in storage totes you buy at Walmart and stack them up and put them away in the shed. I never destroy the boxes because they definitely help resale value. All my stuff is 1/72.

[plasticgeneral]

HELL NO!
My collection takes up enough room as it is!

Plastic General

[tparkhere]

YES! Please keep all empty boxes. If you throw them away, you will regret it.

When I started collecting 1/72 armors (and planes), I threw away all empty boxes. I just wanted to display armors (and planes). Fast forward to present, as an avid collector, sometimes your taste and priority changes. If you wanted to sell 1/72 armors (and planes) without boxes, you will not get much for them. If you throw away empty boxes, that's literally throwing away money. I ended up buying all of them again to complete the collection.

Throwing away boxes was the worst thing I had done and I still regret it.

[PanzerArm]

Depends on the item. Fairly valuable things in my collection like Corgi planes and poly-stone figures/tanks will have their boxes put in storage. This is more for the event that they would need to be moved again as opposed to their intrinsic collector's value. I generally do not keep the boxes for the FoV and 21st Century vehicles as those sorts of items are generally pretty comfortable in large Rubbermaid bins. Plus, I don't think I have the space for keeping the boxes for all the FoV and 21st items I have!

-Kevin

[vaindioux]

Lots of different opinions, I love it.
I have decided to keep my 1/72 boxes, they don't take that much space after all. I used to collect 1/18 diecast cars and still have them displayed in a nice glass cabinet (Over 200 of them, 1/18 is big), the boxes were taking so much room in my basement that I threw them all out. I haven't regretted it one bit. I got the cars very cheap at $10 each and would no doubt recover my money when I will resell them.
I also collect 1/72 planes and have all the boxes too.

Patrick

[rmoore456]

I have kept the boxes for my 1/72 planes. For my 1/72 armor I have some still in the box, most are loose but I have the plastic display boxes. If I decide to sell I wonder if it is worth the trouble of matching the box with the tank and putting it back together. I recently sold all my 1/18th and just my 1/32 planes. All were loose except a couple of 1/18th planes. I was very satisfied with what I got. Did I loose money for selling them loose? Maybe, but I didn't see that big of a difference with the ones still boxed.
On a side note of selling. I just sold part of my 1/6th figure collection. All were loose and some incomplete for what came with the figure. I decide I wasn't going to try and match up all the loose accessories to each figure but sell them separately. I still had the boxes for some. Again I was very satisfied with what I got.

Ray