What to do with all the boxes?

With my collection of figures getting larger, storage of the figure boxes and packaging started becoming more and more trouble.
I'm not a speculator, or scalper, I don't keep figures mint in unopened boxes, if I buy something it will get displayed eventually.

So I wanted to ask what do you do with them? Do you keep them, or do you throw them out?

So far I kept all boxes, including the TBleauge body boxes, and the packaging of head sculpts, "just in case". But I'm warming up to getting rid of everything except full figure boxes.

So far, I only kept sideshow, hot toys, DID, and dual-purpose 3rd-party manufacturer packaging(comes with diorama backdrops).

The rest, I tend to recycle into dioramas parts or bin them, and that includes accessories packaging too.

Recycling.... well, the sponge/foam can be reused to pack tabletop miniatures or 1/16 RC tanks, as they tend to have fragile intricate detailing.

For the cardboard boxes, can reused as pillars or walls or supports of existing or new dioramas

I chuck 98% of the boxes. My collection is large, and getting larger. I pretty much only keep the boxes for large (very large) items, or very fragile stuff. I occasionally keep the nicer, sturdier boxes for storage purposes, but the majority get tossed. No room for all that. And since I’m not a speculator when it comes to figures, I don’t worry about “value”. I think of these things like a car: once it leaves the lot it’s already depreciated.

I keep all the boxes.  Not even necessarily for reselling reasons, but because I've had to move house so many times that I feel like having a ready-made safe place to transport certain figures, headsculpts, etc, is helpful. Whatever I'm not using right now I keep in those big clear plastic storage boxes out of view. The only things I have out at the moment are the Hot Toys boxes, which are currently 'on display' in my collection room. I don't have dust-free glass cases yet so for now the art boxes are on display instead of the figures.

I keep them. But I don't have that many compared to others here (12 Figma (1:12), 10 1:6 (that's actually more than I thought, but I have some in their boxes which weren't as interesting as I thought, or are a spare body) and 5 1:12 figures. Most spaceconsuming is the 1:12 tank and its box.

I don't always keep the boxes/packaging of clothing sets, because they're often very basic. The more appealing I keep to store clothes in.

I currently keep em, I dunno, I'm not planning to sell. I like Mark's way of thinking that they depreciate once they leave the lot. Maybe someday it will let me let go of the boxes haha. Some of the art on the boxes are nice though, especially the hot toys.

Eh, I would maybe get rid of the boxes if I had a permanent living space, but since I'm still in a rental property I don't want to take the risk.

csyeung wrote:I currently keep em, I dunno, I'm not planning to sell. I like Mark's way of thinking that they depreciate once they leave the lot. Maybe someday it will let me let go of the boxes haha. Some of the art on the boxes are nice though, especially the hot toys.

That just reminded me about depreciation. One of the sites I regularly order from sells second hand figures, mostly hot toys, and the listed price of these discontinued used figures is about 1.5 - 2 x compared to brand new hot toy figures. So maybe there is some appreciation going on, at least for more sought after figures that are no longer available new. This makes me skittish about discarding boxes. You never know what the future holds and when one might need to exchange figures for food, or heating.

So far, I'm keeping all of mine including the TBLeague body and the accessory boxes, partially in case I want to sell some later on.  I also have a relatively small collection of 5 full figure sets (plus one on PO) and 11 bodies in various stages of character development from almost finished to waiting to start.

I only have 3 or 4 completed and on display, and I use the boxes for storing the unused parts and storing the figures while I'm building them out.

Additionally, we have moved a lot in the past, and I like having a customized container to pack these in for moving. It's nice to have the pre-cut foam and plastic packing in them. (I keep China, small appliance and electronic equipment boxes for the same reason).

I didn't have much space back when I started in the hobby, so I threw all boxes away. Even now that I moved to a spacious house, I already got the habit of discarding them, so I don't care about keep them. Actually, I've reused some of the bigger and sturdier boxes, mostly TBL ones, for storage and organization of tools and some random stuff.
Since shipping from my country to anywhere turns re-selling stuff unviable due to how expensive it is, there's literally no reason for me to hold the boxes.

m76 wrote:

csyeung wrote:I currently keep em, I dunno, I'm not planning to sell. I like Mark's way of thinking that they depreciate once they leave the lot. Maybe someday it will let me let go of the boxes haha. Some of the art on the boxes are nice though, especially the hot toys.

That just reminded me about depreciation. One of the sites I regularly order from sells second hand figures, mostly hot toys, and the listed price of these discontinued used figures is about 1.5 - 2 x compared to brand new hot toy figures. So maybe there is some appreciation going on, at least for more sought after figures that are no longer available new. This makes me skittish about discarding boxes. You never know what the future holds and when one might need to exchange figures for food, or heating.

You are correct. In the collecting community, these things technically do often appreciate. My own personal view is that I am not a “speculator”; I don’t buy to sell, so when/if I do sell stuff, I don’t over-charge folks for stuff. I’ve sold almost complete box figures (minus heads usually) for what I estimated the entire set would cost minus that part (based on what I paid). I’m not out to rip people off, or take advantage of them for their desire to own stuff. I honestly hate this resell part of our hobby where folks feel the need to financially rape fellow collectors. That’s just my personal philosophy.

I'm pretty sure a well-preserved Hot Toys set would still fetch a hefty price, possibly higher than the original new price, even if loose. This seems more probable, as they don't really re-issue their products (unless it is a handful of uber-popular characters released with the most minuscule of variations), and seem to be working on pricing themselves out of existence. Even Sideshow figures that have been outshone by newer, more accurate, and more realistic Hot Toys ones are often close to their original price (if not much above it -- admittedly, some of the original prices were quite low by present standards). So if moderate (as opposed to extreme) investment is something in the back of your mind, fear not. It can be done, while you enjoy your figures responsively.

I started tossing the packaging of the TBL bodies only last year, and I tossed all the head sculpt boxes just a few weeks ago. Now I'm storing them in plastic clear containers with dividers. That's also where I store loose parts.

I do still keep the boxes of my box sets. Half of my wardrobe is used up by them. Not cool. But I do often lose interest in figures and knowing that I can sell them in the original packaging and cover the initial cost kinda keeps me in this hobby. The transport idea is also a factor.

Good reasoning, Diana, and one I share. But only half of your wardrobe is taken up by them? You're lucky.

GubernatorFan wrote:Good reasoning, Diana, and one I share. But only half of your wardrobe is taken up by them? You're lucky.

Haha! Yeah, my collection is relatively small in comparison to many here. But... it's already one big Tetris game when I need to get to any specific box; I store the parts of the boxed figures in their respective boxes. I rarely change my setups though, so it's only ever a problem when I do want to sell a figure or when I add a new one. Gotta make room every time.

What’s left of my 1/6 boxes are being thrown out this weekend.   Even If I decide to sell them, shipping them loose will save both the buyer and myself a lot of money.

I’m at the point where the boxes themselves have become a deterrent to buying 1/6 figures. I’m tired of dealing with them. That’s why I appreciated how compact the MT Toys Lara Croft’s box was.

Depends on the box, the Tbleague boxes are useful for storage for the figures when I'm not displaying them. The only other packaging I have kept is the Super7 Ultimates TMNT Baxter Stockman box, though I opened the figure.

Another advantage of 1:12 over 1:6 is that the boxes are a lot smaller You can fit 6-8 1:12 boxes in the space of one 1:6.

I’ve recycled or reused (for random eBay shipping) 90% of the boxes from across my 1/6 figure and doll collections. It’s been liberating. There’s an opportunity cost and emotional weight to keeping them as they take up so much space. The only ones I’ve kept are ones where I really like the art and design or the box adds tremendous value. I do a box cull a couple times a year. I’m not a NRFB person though, and I realise this can be horrifying to some. I reorganise using labelled ‘Really Useful’ clear boxes lined and layered with acid free tissue paper.

MarkEl wrote:I’ve recycled or reused (for random eBay shipping) 90% of the boxes from across my 1/6 figure and doll collections.  It’s been liberating.  There’s an opportunity cost and emotional weight to keeping them as they take up so much space.  The only ones I’ve kept are ones where I really like the art and design or the box adds tremendous value.  I do a box cull a couple times a year.  I’m not a NRFB person though, and I realise this can be horrifying to some.  I reorganise using labelled ‘Really Useful’ clear boxes lined and layered with acid free tissue paper.  

Sounds like an excellent, balanced plan. And it sounds like it is working out for you. If you are selling and shipping on eBay, I also assume you are making some money from the hobby, rather than only collecting. And there, more boxes coming in are definitely an opportunity rather than just a burden.

In the past i would dump the boxes. Over the past 10 years i have kept all the boxes.
On the one hand it makes sense to keep the boxes in case i decided to sell.
On the other hand i know i will never sell

In the future, should the future ever arrive, i had plans to display my 1/6th collection with the boxes. Maybe not all the boxes, only the good looking boxes, as some boxes, especially boxes by Hot Toys look stunning.

I keep all my boxes including the brown shipper when applicable. To my collector mind they are part of the product and when (or if) I do get around to selling them off, they usually retain more resale value with the og packaging. And as mentioned, they are really handy if you need to move. And I also tend to store any unused elements from a boxed set like spare hands or extra clothing in them to more easily keep track of where stuff came from. But I'm going to have to figure out another storage solution, my extra closet is already over-flowing and I have more pre-orders on the way!

Annalise wrote:I keep all my boxes including the brown shipper when applicable. To my collector mind they are part of the product and when (or if) I do get around to selling them off, they usually retain more resale value with the og packaging. And as mentioned, they are really handy if you need to move. And I also tend to store any unused elements from a boxed set like spare hands or extra clothing in them to more easily keep track of where stuff came from. But I'm going to have to figure out another storage solution, my extra closet is already over-flowing and I have more pre-orders on the way!

I agree. I never understood collectors who remove all the items and 'store' them out of the box. It would be impssible to remember what came from where. When it comes to Hot Toys figures, some of which ship with too many extra parts, once i have a pose i have happy with, i tent to leave the figure as is, and leave all the extra's that are not being used in the box.

Annalise wrote:I keep all my boxes including the brown shipper when applicable. To my collector mind they are part of the product and when (or if) I do get around to selling them off, they usually retain more resale value with the og packaging. And as mentioned, they are really handy if you need to move. And I also tend to store any unused elements from a boxed set like spare hands or extra clothing in them to more easily keep track of where stuff came from. But I'm going to have to figure out another storage solution, my extra closet is already over-flowing and I have more pre-orders on the way!

Well keeping the brown shipping boxes doesn't take up much more space if you are already keeping the boxes.

I store my boxes in larger boxes so getting to individual spare items in them would be a nightmare. Some boxes are so elaborate in of themselves that it takes 5 minutes just to open them, and another 5 to close them back up.
So any useful item left in boxes I put them in zip bags and label where they came from.

m76 wrote:I store my boxes in larger boxes so getting to individual spare items in them would be a nightmare. Some boxes are so elaborate in of themselves that it takes 5 minutes just to open them, and another 5 to close them back up.
So any useful item left in boxes I put them in zip bags and label where they came from.

I do something similar. I keep the nicer (and sturdier) boxes like the ones TBLeague use for storage. I put additional accessories from boxed figures into zip lock bags with silica packs in each. I number the box and fill it with as much stuff as I can, all while entering the box number and its complete list of contents under the box number. I also remark as to where each box can be found (some are on top of display cabinets, and some are inside storage cabinets). But right now I'm so far behind on this process that I have crap lying all over the damn place. I simply do not have room to store 600 boxes or more. That's just my personal preference. Smaller collections are easier to keep the boxes. I try to only keep the boxes (empty) for things like 1/4 scale statues, or other breakables like the animals (horses, etc.). I rarely keep even Hot Toys boxes, unless it's something too large (or has contents that need to be protected that aren't being used). I chucked the Sideshow Jabba the Hut box because it was massive and put all the additional accessories for him in plastic containers I bought at Home Depot.