Whats the point of keeping boxes?

[MatthewH]

I keep all my boxes. Don't know why just feel there important or something. Is there a reason why I should or should not keep them?

[Boettner Builds]

If you plan to sell your sets later the boxes "should" up the value.

I dont keep my boxes though

[Steel Tiger]

I keep all my boxes. Don't know why just feel there important or something. Is there a reason why I should or should not keep them?

You must not own many sets yet, or you have an abnormally large closet if you still have room for both the sets and their boxes. I agree that if you want to sell the set then keep the box, but if you are content with your set you'll probably want to get rid of its box soon. Even so, if you have the space, then I don't see why you shouldn't keep the boxes.

[Malikon]

I'm keeping mine.

But I really only own books, clothes, and music equipment. So I have plenty of room (rooms even) for just Lego.

[MatthewH]

You must not own many sets yet, or you have an abnormally large closet if you still have room for both the sets and their boxes. I agree that if you want to sell the set then keep the box, but if you are content with your set you'll probably want to get rid of its box soon. Even so, if you have the space, then I don't see why you shouldn't keep the boxes.

LOL I have lots of sets... I currently have 55 sets in my bedroom. I break down the boxes though so it doesn't take up too much space. I doubt I will sell them anytime soon (many many years) or ever, but I still feel that I should keep them.

Edited April 1, 2014 by MatthewH

[dr_spock]

I keep some of my boxes because it is fun to dig out an old box nearly 3 decades later. Good memories.

[Freddy Bricker]

I get this compulsion as well. Since I don't flat out the boxes, they come in handy when moving sets around. That's a plus, but they do take up a lot of space. Who knows why I keep my boxes, all I know is that they have their perks.

[KringlesBricks]

I keep some of my boxes because it is fun to dig out an old box nearly 3 decades later. Good memories.

Thanks for posting a set I wanted as a kid...but, never got

Anyways, I kept mine to begin with; but, with so many sets I was buying...I was running out of space. Rather have more room for the actual Legos than the boxes.

[ShaydDeGrai]

For the higher end sets I keep one of each box (flattened out), but only one if I happen to own multiples. I don't really know why, to be honest, it just seems so sad to throw them in the recycle bin. I don't do it to resell kits or anything, as I'm strictly a collector/consumer. Other than the architecture stuff, I don't bother saving the boxes from small (say < 100 USD) kits but something in my twisted psyche just really hates to toss out the big boxes (perhaps it's a sign of latent childhood Lego envy from back in the days when someday owning a $200 Lego set seemed about as plausible as vacationing on the moon).

I suppose the boxes have really become something of a fire hazard in that I've got a pile of them (weighted down by a couple of toolboxes) a little over a meter tall, but I'm still not quite ready to part with them yet.

[Boettner Builds]

I give all of my boxes to my local Independent LEGO store. It's good for the value of his used sets for sale, and he hooks me up a bit!

[antp]

I keep only boxes of the sets that I keep separated and that may have higher value with time (modular buildings and other large sets like that), even if I doubt I would ever resell these.

And I throw away the other ones (city & creator).

From my childhood, I only kept the boxes from Model Team and the Octan station (the only sets I kept separated from my mixed parts, actually).

Edited April 1, 2014 by antp

[Ritsz]

I also keep my boxes, don't know why, but I like to keep everyting related with Lego. I even keep the plastic bags from the Lego stores.

[CroGo]

I keep my boxes in case I want to sell something from my collection. It is much easier to sell a set with the box, plus the prices tend to be higher.

[trippybrowneyes]

I keep them simply because I regret not keeping my boxes from childhood.

But we have so many now, and I keep thinking "There's nothing special about these boxes. They don't have alternate building ideas or the flap with the window."

Currently ours are one box inside of another, but I really want to flatten them at this point.

[antp]

They don't have alternate building ideas or the flap with the window

When I was kid I was I cutting the back of each box : I kept all the alternate building ideas from most of the sets I had.

[Pate-keetongu]

I keep the boxes, and store the smaller boxes inside the bigger ones, and then minfig bags and polybags inside the small boxes. Don't exactly why, some of them look great of course, but probably mainly because human has natural attraction on material. Old boxes are best as they have those alternative model ideas; loved them as kid.

[TheLegoDr]

I keep all of my boxes. There is no real reason to do so. I mainly like the artwork on them, but you can get the same result (on a smaller scale) with the instructions.

However, with probably a few hundred boxes since I came out of my DA, they don't take up that much room. I flatten my boxes and align them side by side against the wall in a corner. Then my childhood LEGO is in a tote that sits in front of that so it compresses them together. It takes up less and a 2x3x1 cube, so very minimal.

I don't know why I keep them though. Just for fun I guess. I don't plan on selling any sets since most sets are purchased for the minifigures. To me, the bricks are a bonus.

[naf]

I started a thread about this a while ago to see what people did with their boxes. They don't take up too much room when flattened, but I decided to recycle them all. There really isn't any point to keeping them, they don't offer any alternate builds or anything. I did keep the boxes for my lego exclusive sets, since those are special and I want to keep them around.

[Andy D]

A few years go I started keeping the boxes because I thought the artwork was great. Then they started to take up too much space so I console myself with just the instruction books and put all the boxes in the recycle bin, there are a few I really liked, but oh, well, no room.

Now I have an interest in the architecture and monuments series. The boxes are much different than the regular LEGO boxes and I rationalized that they may be good for storing something... But what? For now I have those boxes stored, but if I don't use them in a few months... Into the recycle bin. I am trying to not be a pack-rat.

Neatness counts!

Andy D

Edited April 6, 2014 by Andy D

[Legogal]

I don't have enough room in my LEGO Room for the sets and other bricks, much less for the boxes. So out they go into recycling except for a couple of very rare set boxes (MBS, etc.) A large stack of them makes a fire hazard, and cockroaches love boxes. If a friend (who has a BL store) is in town, I will give him what I have now and then.

There are many collectors out there who will buy sets without the boxes, so I would not worry too much about not being able to sell sets without boxes in the future. The price may be a bit lower without the box, but storing all those boxes is not a great idea if you have hardwood floors made of maple, which burns quite easily.

All of the instructions booklets (including multiples for many sets) are stored safely in a container because that is how I identified many of the older sets my son had in the nineties. It is very hard to identify broken down sets from twenty years ago that did not have instructions. But as they say, to each his own.

[Xfing]

I don't really have many boxes, probably only one. I still have most of my Bionicle and RoboRiders cans, though. They take a crapload of space and are not very space-efficient as far as part storage is concerned - polybags are much better. But I'm still keeping them for some reason. RoboRiders lids were also useful since they could double as wheels for the combiner models. Fun stuff. I need to get back the parts I'm missing and rebuild my six RR's.

I don't think boxes are particularly valuable overall, but I would definitely keep around boxes of large and iconic sets such as the widely loved Aquanaut Base, since those boxes tend to have gimmicks of their own.

[B Rick]

I'm keeping mine, although I absolutely don't have room for it really. It's just that I got to this point in my life that I regret not having boxes and packaging from my childhood toys. I remember the boxes being just as important as the toy that came with it...

Now I have all the boxes from my afol days, but it's just not the same ;-) ...yet. Selling is also a good reason. Not that I will sell my Lego anytime soon (read: ever) but people are willing to pay a price for an almost mint box... I know I would if I ever come across a nice box from my childhood toys.

I'm always carefull when I open a box to keep damage to a minimum. Then I'll flatten it out for easy storage.