The Power of the Box

This is a tough subject for me as so far, I'm trying to hang on to all of my boxes.

I myself never purchase anything on the second hand market that doesn't come with the box, just doesn't seem right. I'm sure the box helps resale should I ever find myself in a pinch.

At the very least I'd hang onto locomotive boxes. you can't predict the future. Nothing beats the original box for moving,storing,selling, sending in for repair etc. etc.

A close second would be rolling stock of course.

I would find it easier to part with boxes for structures etc. I'd probably hang on to any command system boxes though.

I'll just sum this up quickly...NO.  Do not get rid of the boxes.  I, myself, would never buy anything without the box it came in.  Some Lionel boxes are worth more than the trains.  I thought I would never sell any of my stuff and here I am selling almost all of it for another scale.  Whoda thought.  Really disappointed my wife...she wanted to sell it all and go to Aruba.  Too bad!!!  LOL  So, if you ever decide to sell, you may be eliminating half of your potential buyers and cutting your price by not having boxes.

Rick

Jeff   Is there ANY other free space - in your attic, behind a wall, a crawl space, under beds, etc?

I would heartily concur about not getting rid of the boxes for many of the reasons quoted above. Eventually 'the next owner' will want the boxes....

Did you ever think of unfolding the boxes and storing them flat?  They take up much less room that way.

Cheers,

Ed

That's a good idea, but all my train boxes have packaging material to protect the trains which you can't break down or fold up. The box would be worthless without the packaging to protect the cars & engines. So that's out for me. Might work for some of the buildings or accessories though?

Normally a good idea and may work with some of the shipping cartons but highly unlikely if we're talking 'manufacturer's' Orange or Purple or...***   BOX!

I have most of the boxes, I'm starting to eliminate structure boxes tho.

1) They are no more valuable than a couple pieces of rolling stock.

2) They are MUCH larger.

3) There are not near as many of them yet they take up considerable space.

4) Most are formed plastic and cannot be collapsed. Some have large foam inserts VS the formed plastic, - Still can't flatten them.

Jeff....

Not that my opinion means anything at all...but let me say I have been at this hobby for a long time.  First a collector and then now a operator.  Even if you have altered your structures or rolling stock, etc.....I would still keep the boxes.  I can't tell you how many times empty boxes have some sort of value to some one.  If there is any way that you can keep them, I would do so.  In my case, I store boxes within boxes...in other words, the larger boxes will sometimes hold a smaller box.  I also have arranged my empties under the layout in such a way that they occupy the available space packed as tightly as I can get them.  Finally, I purchased an outside storage building.  In addition to the lawn implements, the rest of the space from floor to ceiling is arranged neatly with train boxes. 

I feel that some day you will wish you had the boxes...or at least someone else will.

Alan

Alan,

Not meaning to hijack Jeff's thread here, but quick box storage related question.

As stated above, I got big, black, plastic bins and was going to put my boxes in them and then put those in my attic, probably 120-130 F up there in summer with outside temps of -10 to +110 during the year. Would imagine a closed outdoor bldg. could be similar in temps. Just wondering if you had any problems?

Thanks

I put my trains into storage some years ago and ditched most of the boxes at that time.  I packed everything into plastic totes.  I knew this would reduce the value of the items, but I also pay for storage and I feel that I significantly reduced the storage space, so a cost tradeoff.  Since I downsized the trains (sorry I did that), the stuff that I kept I am likely to keep for a long time.  It was weird carrying out all those MTH boxes and styrofoam on garbage night.  The MTH rolling stock boxes are really big with the styro inserts.  If you consider the space a railking boxcar takes compared to the space its box takes, it is very significant over a large collection.  I don't think you would even loose that much value, I see stuff on the bay and the forum advertised without boxes often.  Of course the Lionel postwar boxes are long gone.  Wish I had the original box for the 671.

In addition to the value equation, there is the issue of how well protected an item is if it is packed for storage.  I recently bought a few of the large MTH tinplate buildings and they came with boxes.  They are very awkward to put into totes.  With their styro inserts the items are well protected.  Engines and cars pack very efficiently into totes.  I am considering keeping the boxes for these awkward items.  I suggest considering if any of the items need protection if you would ever have to pack them up.  You may be thinking, "I'll never have to put my trains into storage", but life happens.

We purchased another layout and rolling stock from a friend. Only a few boxes were saved by him but it didn't matter to us. Off we went to Lowe's for boxes and a roll of bubble wrap. Did the trick. Another storage possibility is overhead racks in the garage.

People 'say' company boxes may be worth more than the trains but I haven't heard from anyone who sells boxes alone. Heavy engines will be safer in their formed foam 'cofffins' (in case you have to ship one out for repairs) but the lighter items travel and store well in bubble wrap.

Bubble wrap can be a big problem if used on plastic pieces and stored where it gets hot.  Several years ago Ted Maurer auctioned off a very nice postwar collection.  Nice except the owner had stored everything in  bubble wrap and left it in his garage.  The bubble pattern transferred to the plastic ruining many valuable pieces.

Jeff, run some rough numbers if you're talking modern stuff.  You'll find that box or no box rolling stock (except maybe passenger cars) don't fetch enough to make keeping boxes worthwhile.  The engines and operating stuff boxes are probably the only things that are "must keep".  For your personal storage, taking stuff in and out of boxes wears out the boxes anyway.  Store stuff wrapped in cloth diapers and book boxes.  3/4" plywood platform dollies with good wheels are an excellent way to store stuff under the layout (especially in the basement).

I don't think temperature will hurt them as much as humidity will. Put them in plastic tubs or large trash bags and seal them up. Keeps dust off also.