BOXES

Geojr posted:

DO YOU SAVE THE BOXES, PACKING, ETC. FORM YOUR TRAINS AND ACCESSORIES?

No. I only saved the passenger car and locomotive boxes. Everything else went in the trash.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THEM - WHERE DO YOU STORE THEM???

I stored only the passenger car and locomotive boxes in the attic.

My attic is well insulated with train boxes.

I'm like the others, I save locomotive and passenger car sets (at least most of them).  I also have a couple of oddball accessory boxes that are useful if you ever ship the accessory, the MI-Jack comes to mind.

Rolling stock boxes get the deep six, not enough space to store them.

I save EVEYTHING that the piece came in.  That way it'll be worth the big bucks some day. <g>

I have a storage unit FULL of empty boxes!    

I save them all.  Although I have a small collection compared to many, since there are only 160 items on my spreadsheet.  Most are in a closet under the basement stairs, though a few are under the benchwork of the layout. 

Having the box and packing is safer when I sell items, if and when we move, and for my wife or daughters to sell or give away upon my passing on.

We've kept most of the boxes which are in totes beneath the room size layout.  Same location as the Christmas season decorations.  Plenty of room.  John in Lansing, ILL

I save everything.  The boxes and contents are stored in the attic of my unattached garage.  It is good, dry storage and I have yet to have any problems storing them there.

A question could be would you keep the boxes if you had the room?  Do you discard the boxes because you place no value on them, or  because you have nowhere to place them?

BTW, I do save all boxes,  Fortunately, I have plenty of room for them.

Alan

I keep every box that everything comes in except for small accessories. Right now everything is in their boxes. When the house is done and the layout is done, then all of the boxes are going under the layout.

I save the boxes for all engines, passenger cars, freight cars and transformers. I do not save the boxes for the detail items and accessories - cars, trucks, busses, buildings, crossing signals, train signals, scenery, figures, etc.

Pat 

I buy small collections to repair/rebuild.  Some come with boxes.  I put them all on eBay and they always sell eventually, for prices ranging from $2 to $60.  In five years of this, I only thrown away two or three boxes that would not sell for something more than my eBay and PayPal fees plus cost of shipping.  The was a 2321 box with inset that recently was bid up to $550.

My basic rule is if it's Lionel (postwar era or prewar), someone will buy it.  What I absolutely can't sell goes on the free table at a local TCA meet, and they are rarely not taken.

I keep mine.  That's what the crawl space in my basement is for. 

-Greg

This topic appears every so often - and I enjoy reading the answers every time.  

Me:  I keep loc boxes, accessory boxes and a few "special-to-me" car boxes.  That's it!  Storage is in the attic.  We have a very moderate beach climate so no issues.

OH!!  WAIT!!  I forgot!  I DO have a fairly extensive PostWar collection.  ALL the P/W boxes that I have are saved and given special attention & treatment.  

Yes!! I save them all, as they stay packed until they are ran. They are under layout, in closets, attic, and hiding places, until I get display cases built.

Joe Gozzo

I save engine,passenger,freight and large accessory boxes,not signals and plastic buildings by MTH,Lionel etc.I have an attic above my train room so there is plenty of room to store the boxes.

Mikey

I began saving all boxes until I ran out of room. Now I only save loco and passenger boxes and even these are a challenge to find space for.  I do save any PW box I come across. 

I just own trains made since 1995.  All my trains are on layout or on shelving. All ACCESSORIES are on layout.

I used to save everthing.  Now only Locomotive,  caboose, passenger, operating, sets, and accessory. If you sell these customers will want boxes.

I have sold quite a bit of my inventory at train shows and it doesn't matter if common freight cars don't have boxes. No extra value.

I save the engine and passenger car boxes only. Which came in handy as I just moved. 

The exception to this are MPC boxes where I wrote inside the flap where I bought it and how much it cost. Also if it was a gift and from who. 

I save all the boxes for everything that i buy that comes in or with a box. I store all of the boxes in totes in any empty space I can find right now but they will be in the attic of my detached garage when I get a floor up there. That way when I kick the bucket and join all the other Gandy Dancers in the yard my daughters will have some method of disposing of all the stuff I have collected over the years. Their problem to figure out what to do with all the stuff I will be gone. Make them work a little for the reward they will receive(HA,HA,HA ).

Saved everything so far, all stored in the attic in plastic trash bags (foreshadowing? ) Almost everything I have was bought on the second hand market so no attachment to the boxes.

Eventually the freight car boxes will get tossed but engines and sets will be saved.

Loco & passenger cars only

I save the boxes and throw the trains away. 

I save all boxes behind the knee walls in Attic where my wife can't see them 

"Save the boxes and throw the trains away" LOL!!!!! Thanks for the laugh!!!

I agree, throw the trains away was a hoot!!!!

I save all the boxes unless they are in bad shape.  It's the easiest way for me to store and find things.  Things without boxes stay on the shelf,  the layout,  or in plastic drawers.   Since the 80's I have always found it much easier to sell things with the box.  For me, with MPC, LTI and later,  it is a requirement.  Otherwise the price drops by 35% to 50%.

For me the box is also a statement of how well it was taken care of. 

Need a box ?  Real, not licensed repros.  What's missing from your collection.   I sell a lot of them.  Send me an email with what you'd like me to watch for as I acquire random boxes.

Current inventory is 50,42,53,3461,494,3360,2321,6561,6414,252,6511,6464-100,151,153,2343C,2353T

I save the boxes because most have trains in them.  Also, if I cycle out the trains on display I return them to their original boxes.

I used to save Lionel branded outer cartons that train stores re-use for shipments.  I realized that was a bit too obsessive.   However, I do save single item outer cartons (like engines) when I get them.

Looks like the "SAVES" are the majority here!

Oh, and I am also a SAVER of all boxes and outer shipping cartons when possible. Stored in my trainroom (spare bedroom) closet and under the layout.

Jushavnfun posted:

I just own trains made since 1995.  All my trains are on layout or on shelving. All ACCESSORIES are on layout.

I used to save everthing.  Now only Locomotive,  caboose, passenger, operating, sets, and accessory. If you sell these customers will want boxes.

I have sold quite a bit of my inventory at train shows and it doesn't matter if common freight cars don't have boxes. No extra value.

 

It may not add monetary value (though I think it may), but it does make it more desirable.  It  may not get you more for it, but it might make the sale. 
Alan

ajzend posted:

A question could be would you keep the boxes if you had the room?  Do you discard the boxes because you place no value on them, or  because you have nowhere to place them?

BTW, I do save all boxes,  Fortunately, I have plenty of room for them.

Alan

I am simply out of room. Otherwise I would save all the boxes.

NO, I don't save boxes. I don't sell trains so I have no need to ship them. When I'm dead I've told my wife that she can do whatever she wants with them although I'd prefer they be put in the trash and not take up any more space in the house.

I have saved every single box.  That’s a lot of boxes.  A LOT!!  They are currently being put to good use, however, as just about all of my trains, buildings and accessories are being stored in them.  

And it sure makes packing/shipping a bit easier as I’ve begun to sell off a good portion of this stuff.  So I’m glad I kept them!

I have saved all my boxes ( probably 1500 or so) Not sure exactly why? They are in my attic, under the layout, in the basement, in the well room, in the utility room, stored at work, etc.. if ever a fire, it would burn for days.

they are from cars, passenger cars, locomotives, transformers, layout accessories and just about everything else. Someday someone may have to sort them all out - I look at it as a way to be remembered- ha!