Lionels Shipping Boxes

IMO there is no collector value in the shipping box. Then again I don’t believe the trains have any collectors value.

I keep all boxes designed for the product.  The carton protects the color box so why not.   One day you may need to put it all back up.  I keep it all because I like stuff I spend $$$ to stay perfect even if it has nothing to do with value or lack of value.  It has value to me because I purchased it new. 

@Mike W. posted:

I keep all boxes designed for the product.  The carton protects the color box so why not.   One day you may need to put it all back up.  I keep it all because I like stuff I spend $$$ to stay perfect even if it has nothing to do with value or lack of value.  It has value to me because I purchased it new.

I do the same when it's not damaged significantly.  The described condition in the original post sounds like it would be more trouble than it's worth to try to maintain some semblance of extra protection, though.

-Dave

I agree with Mike W., Yes, I keep all boxes.....you never know when you might decide to sell...tape em up if you must....

I keep the shippers, I just don't think they have any collector's value in today toy train market.  I keep them in case I need to send an engine out or if I sell it it can be shipped.

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'll get it taped up.

As far as the shipper not having any value.  I guarantee that if for some reason you want to sell a modern era train item on Ebay...the one with the carton either sells faster or for more $$ than the one without.  This is really true for anything. 

@Mike W. posted:

As far as the shipper not having any value.  I guarantee that if for some reason you want to sell a modern era train item on Ebay...the one with the carton either sells faster or for more $$ than the one without.  This is really true for anything.

I buy a lot of trains through ebay.  If I have a choice of buying one with the original shipping box or one without, I will invariably go for the one with the shipping box.  There are a couple of reasons:

• I'd rather have a nice looking original inner box from which to use to display them.
• The original shipping carton keeps it snug for the best protection.
  • If the inner box is in great shape, the train inside is apt to not suffer any damage.
    • Some sellers ship in a box that's too big.
      • It allows the inner box to bounce around in it.
      • There's a much bigger chance the train will get damaged.
  • Should I need to ship it later, I can reuse the shipping container again.

Thanks for the input everyone. I taped up the box last night. It seems the box had gotten wet at some point between China and my house. The bottom of the box is in really rough shape.