What to do with all the boxes?

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.

I have trouble with TBLeague bodies though. As soon as I take them out of the boxes I can no longer tell which is which exactly.

Also it is one thing juggling figure boxes, but I also have a bunch of huge LEGO boxes and even more smaller ones. And I also like to keep boxes of my electronics, which I do end up selling eventually.

Oh, I didn’t mean the boxes that individual bodies come in. Those are useless. I meant the boxes that an entire boxed figure with accessories (like Lady Death, Vampirella, etc.). Those boxes that come with bases are large and sturdy, and once I chuck all the foam, there’s plenty of room for bagged up accessories. Easy to put a label on those as well.

Bodies, figures, head sculpts:

So far I keep all empty product boxes. To save space, they lie in a large moving box in a place where they don't get in the way. But I don't have that many either and only slowly started using Phicen about 6 years ago, and more intensively for about 3 years now. So I don't know if I can keep all the product boxes forever due to space limitations.


Clothing, shoes, equipment:

Each item of clothing is individually packed in a new ZIP bag. And small parts and shoes are in small transparent sorting boxes with many small compartments. If necessary, I label the sorting boxes, e.g. for hands and feet (which Phicen Body they belong to). I also keep some small parts for the diorama equipment in ZIP bags and these bags in transparent boxes (without compartments), belonging together according to subject areas (and labeling on the outside of the box). I usually dispose of the packaging of the small parts in the garbage immediately after sorting.


New items in original packaging:

New items stay in their original packaging until I want to use them or resort them. Everything is stored in a closed cupboard in a cool, dark adjoining (secondary) room. So I try to take care of and protect my collection in the best possible way.

I keep all the boxes as complete as I can because when someone bring their kids come to my house then I will packed all the heck of my action figures to protect them from those kids