Should I save the Boxes?

[wgnrr]

I save the boxes, because it is fun to look at the boxes, and see the price tag on them. The hobby shops that are long out of business, and the prices that I wish still existed! The Bachmann, PCM, and BLI boxes are no-brainers, as they are good quality, and don't deserve to be thrown out. I always keep the MDC and Athearn BB boxes, just because I have the room to store them.

On a side note, I also keep the boxes to my Walthers buildings too. I take the front of the box, and frame them on the wall across from the layout. They look nice, and show the many structures on the layout as what they were meant to be built.

I wish I would have saved my boxes from my first buildings--ADM Concrete Grain Elevator and Walthers Meduca Cement. Anybody have them??...

Phil

[grayfox1119]

As you can see from the replies Ken, the large majority of modelers prefer to save the boxes for very sound reasons. If you don't have a closet, an attic, a garage ceiling storage area, a basement, then you might try one of the storage units that you can place under a bed...that is all wasted space now anyways, just dust bunnies live there, kick them out, they don't pay rent. If you have the $$, rent a very small storage unit, use your mom and dad's attic, etc. there is ALWAYS an answer, seek and you shall find.

[da_kraut]

Hi Ken,

I posted a similar question a few months back.  After careful consideration and evaluation of my situation (going from two bedrooms to a single bedroom apartment) the decision was made to get rid of all the boxes.  Instead two wooden boxes were made from high quality 5/8 inch plywood lined with thick foam.  The foam is the yellow material found in car seats and similar applications which holds the locomotives side by each gently even while in transit and the wood is both glued and screwed together.  This saved a lot of space and is also practical for in this instance none of my engines will ever be sold. 

The freight cars are of the BB type for the most part so they are currently stored in cardboard boxes lined with bubble wrap.

This seems to work quite well for me.

Frank 

[Tracklayer]

I have a friend that's mad at himself right now because he can't get as much for his used train items as he would like because he didn't save the original boxes and containers the stuff came in. Oh well. I tried to tell him way back when he first got into the hobby but he was hard headed and wouldn't listen...

Tracklayer

[cudaken]

Boy Tom thanks for the jab! Have a problem with a few big boys I am marked for life!

 Should I save the brown paper bags the parts come in? I will hang on to the boxes till I get to the point I need a bigger room.

                             Box saving Ken Posting again

[grayfox1119]

Ken, I save all my boxes. I pack them in plastic boxes that you can buy at many stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, etc. They come in many sizes, so you can pick the size/s that best suits your storage needs. Why save them? Well one reason is if you ever need to move. Second reason, is you ever decide to sell any of them, it is very wise to have the original boxes. And a third reason ( for locos ) if you have to return one for repair ( as you have already stated ). Save them up in the attic, or on a shelf in the basement, but in a rubbermaid or plastic container. Cardboard loves to absorb moisture, so if you want to protect the original boxes, you must seal them in containers such as I have mentioned.

[jimrice4449]

I save all boxes for engines for the added resale value.   I've developed a super-slick use for MDC, Athearn BB, etc.   Across the rear of my workbench I have a stack of 8" wide shelves stacked on 5" centers.   I paint all the outside boxes w/ white latex paint, label them, and use them as storage for misc items;  wheel sets, various lengths of 2;56 screws, Athearn running gear parts, KD cplrs, etc.   Makes for a neat arrangement and no rummaging around in a "everthing box".   I glue a strip of 1X1 along the back edge so there's enough of the box protruding to get thumb and forefinger around for extraction.

[BMRR]

I keep all my boxes. I never throw any of them away.

Stan. 

[loathar]

I used to throw them out. Now I'm sorry I did. I don't care about value, they're just handy sizes to have. I use them to store detail parts and such in.

At least keep em till your warranties are up.

[steamnut]

Regarding E-Bay, an original box in good condition will almost always increase the price received - only modestly for most rolling stock, but significantly for brass and other high-end locomotives.

However, I personally keep the boxes only for my locomotives, a few pieces of high-end rolling stock, and my handful of FSM buildings. I've kept a handful of my rolling stock boxes for use as storage for detail parts, etc.

[tstage]

Not a jab.  Not a jab at all.  With his history of locomotive mis-fortunes, he should absolutely keep the boxes for every loco he buys.

But your comment was absolutely a jab...as per usual toward me.

David B

Okeydokey, then...Thanks for the correction.

Tom 

[jwils1]

I save everything.....all boxes, bags, etc.  It helps me identify and remember everything that I have.  I keep schematics, parts lists, warranties, etc., in each box.

Stacked neatly on shelves in the basement (train room) they really don't take up that much space.  And when moving or selling they are great to have.  When we moved I placed each car in its box wrapped and stuffed with toilet paper.  Nothing got damaged!

[Doug T]

When I sold off my HO to change to G scale I had all my boxes for cars and engines. I would like to believe it helped me get more for my stuff. BB 50ft cars with Kadees do no not fit into the boxes. I had to remove the couplers and place them into a bag in the box.

In G scale I have all my boxes and have them stored under my layout in the basement. I have 12 engines and 75 cars. So  there are a lot of boxes. When I decide to sell them it will help keep them damage free for the next owner.

I will not buy anything without the original box either at e bay or a train show.

[tstage]

You can correct me if I'm wrong, David, but I noted a jab at Ken for his recent locomotive misfortunes...

Tom

[jsoderq]

Back to the original question which was will I get higher prices with the boxes. After 50 years of train auctions I can tell you it is a most definite YES. Some bidders will not buy anything without a box. Even BB Athearn bring st least a 10% premium with the box. In general, in an HO auction, stuff with boxes goes piecemeal at a good price. The unboxed stuff gets dumped in boxes and goes for much lower "lot" prices.  So if you throw away the boxes, you are throwing away money and making it more difficult for survivors to clean up the mess you leave behind.

[IRONROOSTER]

I save them all.  They are handy when you have to move.

Enjoy

Paul 

[pastorbob]

Good Grief, NO!  If I saved every box, it would require a separate garage or basement to store them.  Over 200 diesels, over 1300 freight cars, no thank you.

Bob 

 

[jeffers_mz]

If you have all the boxes, you can sell your trains in them or throw them away whenever you choose.

 

If you don't have the boxes, you have zero options.

 

Never burn a bridge till you have to.

[Budliner]

most people have no clue how to grade a model box but some shelfware is not as bad as you may think. even ripped and torn there is value in the boxes

 

Ken

 

[tomikawaTT]

The few locomotives I own that came ready to run in their own little cocoon of foam rubber with a box around it, I've saved the cocoon and the box.  Same for a few really high end pieces of passenger rolling stock.

The far more numerous things that I bought as kits are stored in other containers - notably some plastic file folder holders, layered and separated by pieces of thin extruded foam.  Only unassembled kits are still in their original boxes.  Boxes for other things, including locomotives I've kitbashed, get used for whatever and/or join the trash stream.

I have an example of "whatever" immediately at hand, the top of the box an Athearn BB hopper came in, sitting on my desk filled with varicolored pens and pencils.  (The hopper itself has been kitbashed into something Athearn and the AAR would disown on sight.)

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[tstage]

Yup, keep them for all those Big Boys and large steamers that you need to send back for reasons unknown....and for BLI units, they are a must.  Also, anything with a MRC decoder might need to be shipped back.

David B

Ahhhh, refreshing words of encouragement once again...

---

Ken,

I keep both my locomotive and kit boxes - whether that be rolling stock or structures.  In the event that we do move from our house, I have something to place the rolling stock in.  Also, I like to keep sprue material for those unexpected filler jobs.

Tom

[selector]

For all engines, yew betcha, but not for anything else.

[EMPIRE II LINE]

Save the boxes, especially the locomotives a highly detailed rolling stock.  I'm in the middle of moving now and although I had some of the boxes it was not enough. I'll spend the next three months repairing what got broken.

I do "G", and save all the boxes, need to rent a storage room Too. So where you at "Bdewoody"

I too is here in the ol' "Hurricane Alley".......Kissimmee....

Byron

[slow train Ed]

kin you remember the other day on ebay $3799.95 save the boxes.

[Bdewoody]

Save the boxes, especially the locomotives a highly detailed rolling stock.  I'm in the middle of moving now and although I had some of the boxes it was not enough. I'll spend the next three months repairing what got broken.

[Robby P.]

I guess you can tell by the answer's that its a yes.  I keep mine for all kinds of reasons. 

[AggroJones]

I've nixed dozens of Athearn and MDC boxes over the years. Only the ones in prestine condition i keep cause they store some of my rolling stock thats not in use.

[Ted Marshall]

I suggest that if you have the room, save them. I do. Like you, I too am an ebayer (therealtedmarshall) and save mine for that reason, buyers want original boxes and pay top dollar for freight cars with their original boxes, especially those Athearn blue boxes.

It seems that die-hard collectors love them and consider them most coveted. When I started out in this hobby about five years ago, I posed this question to the LHS owner from whom I purchased my very first Athearn/Bev-Bel freight cars. He told me that they (the cars) would never be worth as much as they are new and that saving the boxes would amount to nothing less than wasted storage space. Rubbish! He couldn't have been further from correct.

To this day, I regret sacrificing those blue boxes to the recycle bin and wish that I had followed my gut and kept them.

[gear-jammer]

We are keeping the boxes for everything.

Sue