Let's talk about boxes.

aquaman67

aquaman67

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What's the deal with boxes?

I can understand the value of the box with a knife that is being sold as new, or like new. Or maybe even a LE - Special Edition knife or maybe even a discontinued knife.

But does the box really add any value to a used knife? And a knife you intend to use? I am really supposed to keep track of this box for years? I may well never sell the knife.

So how important is the box to you? Have you ever passed on a deal because there was no box?
 
I do not have a box for any of my knives. When I get one, I open the package, take the knife out of the box and toss the box in the round-open-top-container. I've got quite a few out-of-production folders, they are not now, nor likely ever going to be sold, so no value in the boxes at all. Besides, what would I do with them all? Store them somewhere? Talk about being a pack-rat!

Now if a knife comes with a fancy drawstring bag with a company logo, I'll most definitely keep that. Just as the two pairs of Oakley E-Wires I purchased in 92 came with Oakley logo bags, which I keep them in to this day. And those are worth considerably more than I purchased them for back then. And I'll not ever sell them either, classic sunglasses I wear every day.
 
I felt that way about guns that I purchased years ago. Now I see empty Colt handgun boxes selling for hundreds of dollars. I save my boxes, but with a common knife you use, I see little reason to save the box. It is a mindset that you either have or you don't.
 
I'm not a collector, so boxes have zero importance to me.

A couple of years ago I sold a user limited edition knife that wasn't getting used very often. I was surprised to find that I had saved the box, so I shipped it with the knife. The buyer was very unhappy when the box was damaged during shipping, even though the box was never mentioned in the for sale thread. I still offered a refund, but the buyer declined. He did ask me for a new box, and after contacting the manufacturer and dealer I was told that I was out of luck. I would've rather just reversed the deal and re-sold the knife than going through that hassle. I still don't understand the big deal of a box for a knife sold as a user.
 
Some of us just like boxes as we were brought up with boxes and at some time in life we played with boxes or stored them for a rainy day or to get more for our product if we kept the boxes and wanted to sell its contents ~~ if you want to make a few more $$$ you keep the boxes as I know through the years I would like to have now what I have made in the past by keeping the box.!**** Everybody to there own I say.*
 
If the production knife you buy today ends up becoming collectable years down the road, yes, you will not realize as much without the box, original packing, and paperwork, etc. It does not even have to be years, just try selling a CRK for example without the box and paperwork, you will get severely beaten up. Boxes and paperwork require very little space. KEEP THEM! Same with firearms. Dealers/collectors will crucify you on pricing without this stuff.
 
Remember the old Star Wars toys sold in the 1980's? Some of them can fetch upto $5000 if they are pristine in the package. They used to sell for $1.00 back in the day. Same thing goes for the G.I. Joe's and Transformers from the same period. So, typically when you are selling knives to a mostly collector crowd, they want the item as it was from the factory. This includes box, paperwork, etc.

You will always get more money from a collector than a regular user for a knife that has everything as it was from the factory.

When you sell items (here anyway), you are required to list the condition of the item accurately. This implies the packaging which includes the box, bags, paperwork, etc. sure, not everyone cares about the stuff equally. But it does matter to more people than not.
 
Boxes and original packaging (keep it ALL) greatly increase the value of an item for resale. You may not plan to sell it today, but who knows what tomorrow may bring? It costs nothing to keep that stuff - just in case - so why not do so?

ptradeco said:
...Boxes and paperwork require very little space. KEEP THEM!...
Click to expand...

I have a box box. When I do not keep the knife in their original box to start with (typically, my daily users), I gently break down the box, fold it up along its intended lines and place it in a box with other boxes. Amazing how many boxes I can get in one medium sized box.

Of course, any collectible lives in its box when not in use...

JMO. :)
 
Always keep the box and all that it contains. I have lost $$$ on too many deals in the past as a result of being boxless to ever make that mistake again.
 
RevDevil said:
No quicker way to get severely lowballed.
Click to expand...

werd.gif
 
I've bought and traded knives that I didn't have, or they didn't have the boxes to. I use to toss them. That was a long time ago though.

I like the stack of boxes in my closet. I love the old Benchmade boxes. You can see the changes in packaging over the years. Drives me nuts that CRK shipped the first 25s in the old boxes, but now have nice ones.

But what really drives me nuts is buying a $500 Strider and having it come in an unmarked plastic baggie. They could take a lesson from the sweet packaging on a $50 GEC that's for sure.

Save your boxes, you may not want it, but I do! ;)
 
I posted in this very same forum a few months ago that I received a NIB knife in a thrashed box and I was basically told my complaint had no merit. For the knife in question I did not care and I kept it, but my original intention was to let the dealer know that many buyers do keep their boxes because they do end up having surprising value over time and to check the boxes before they ship them out. I have seen many buyers paying top dollar for empty boxes due to the drastic increase in value a knife has if it comes with its original packaging.
 
A few boxes, tossed in the misc. drawer, pouches, yep. I keep the boxes in case I ever need to ship a knife.
 
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