Boxes - keep or not?

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KellyP

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#290355 5-Nov-2021 15:07

Kia ora team,

(Not sure if this should have gone under Gadgets, as it is applicable to many items....)

Do you keep the boxes when you buy appliances, phones, gadgets etc? Why? How long do you keep them for?

I'm having a bit of a clearout and I'm questinging the need to do this. I'm been doing it forever but I think it's time to change tack...

I usually keep them for the lenght of the warranty as a minimum but I've kept most boxes in most cases. I also have the tendency to keep old decomissioned gadgets with the box (ie. iPad 1, PS3 phat)

Am I the only one? 🤣

Keen to know what you are all doing.

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#2808076 5-Nov-2021 15:14

I keep the box for about 1-2 months for say things like a toaster, kettle etc.

Laptops and Ipads....forever

TV - kept incase I move

Anything sensitive to moves....keep, else Its off to recycle/rubbish.

Nowdays, the kids get a couple days playtime before its binned.

jonathan18

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#2808101 5-Nov-2021 15:35

I still have the boxes for my floorstanders (speakers), first purchased over 20 years ago! Agree about retaining boxes for laptops; also keep receiver boxes. Boxes of stuff that I think I’ll sell within a few years - phones, smart watches, headphones. Boxes that may be useful for sending stuff in.

Oh, to be honest I retain ALL boxes until my wife makes me throw some of them out! It’s just some like the ones above I have hidden out of sight so they always survive.

freitasm

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#2808112 5-Nov-2021 15:54

I keep boxes for most everything that can be gifted/returned/awarded: phones, routers, storage devices. I don't usually keep boxes for headphones/earbuds because those are supposed to be personal so once I use them I will keep them. Laptop boxes stay around a few of months in case we need for return to base under warranty - same with appliances but after a few months, these go to recycling.

Wakrak

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#2808115 5-Nov-2021 15:58

It depends

- what is the item
- do I have space for these boxes?
- how likely am I to sell this product in the near future or need it if I move house
- can I do without

My last house was a bit of a shoebox and so had nowhere to put em.

vexxxboy

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#2808119 5-Nov-2021 16:04

after throwing a 32" monitor box away and then having to try to find packaging to send it to Auckland to get fixed under warranty , i now keep every box that may need to be returned in the post.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Scott3

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#2808123 5-Nov-2021 16:13

Wakrak:

It depends

- what is the item
- do I have space for these boxes?
- how likely am I to sell this product in the near future or need it if I move house
- can I do without

My last house was a bit of a shoebox and so had nowhere to put em.

Pritty much this for me.

Your space available for storing boxes is going to have a big impact - If you have something like an easily accessible attic, obviously minimal cost / impact to store heaps of boxes.

For most things having a box adds value when you come to sell it. (but not so much for bulky things like TV's, kids car seats etc. - Sale kinda needs to be locally, and little need for any packaging to throw in the back seat of the car)

My house is pritty small, and attics are a pain to get into. So only boxes I have at the moment are my camera / Lens / flash boxes. pretty compact and add value at point of sale. And that kinda stuff I would plan to upgrade now and then, while it still has some resale value. Also kept a bunch of boxes for baby stuff I knew I was going to sell in fairly short order.

Not really viable for me to keep more packaging than that.

I do keep the likes of stands for mounted TV's / monitors to add resale value.

cruxis

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#2808132 5-Nov-2021 16:29

I do keep some boxes if fairly small, Mainly those Items that tend to get upgraded. Things like Graphics Cards, Cpu Boxes, Motherboards, Phones. Expensive Toys.

Boxes for Household Appliances, TVs, I discard.

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MikeB4

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#2808136 5-Nov-2021 16:36

For tech stuff I keep them a couple of weeks to rule out DOA. Some OEMs like Microsoft prefer you send stuff back in plan boxes. For other products the packaging goes into the the recycling or rubbish straight away depending on the recycle code.

ghettomaster

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#2808137 5-Nov-2021 16:36

Nope!

I’ve never had a warranty claim or anything like that rejected over a box. You’ve got to ask what you’re keeping it for. Resale? Not worth the bother. Postal warranty return? I’ll work something out.

If I’ve bought something I’m not committed to, like something from Mitre 10 that I may return, that’s a different story, but that’s only ever short term anyway.

tukapa1

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#2808294 6-Nov-2021 07:24

I keep most of my boxes.

Great for selling and shipping when you upgrade.

andrewNZ

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#2808300 6-Nov-2021 07:46

I take photos of the labels if they have serial numbers etc, name them accordingly, and store them with scans of the receipt.

I keep small boxes for things like cellphones if they might be sold. My last few phones have been mid range and I'm not going to bother selling them.

I keep the box for anything I want to routinely store in it's box for protection in storage.

I used to keep the TV box, but TV's are getting too bloody big now, there's nowhere to keep a box that big, and I'm not moving any time soon.

Everything else, including laptops & white ware, chuck it out. I spent too many years hoarding boxes for stuff just in case. The TV and phone boxes were the only one I was glad I'd kept.

Batman

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#2808311 6-Nov-2021 08:31

limited space, too many boxes, so there is a boxes moving service. high priority keep, as they move down the pecking order out the go.

can't win everything sometimes you throw away a box you need later, and usually you keep a box for 10 years and never need it again.

Dingbatt

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#2808422 6-Nov-2021 10:49

It is the bane of my wife’s existence that I keep the boxes for almost all of the tech I buy. Luckily we have a large attic roof space so that’s where the majority of empties are stored. I find it particularly useful for things like TVs, AV Receivers, Monitors, Computer System Boxes, Speakers that you want to transport or store because the original packaging will provide the best protection.

For phones, earbuds, headphones, tablets and stuff that comes with accessories, the box is kept and the unused accessories are left in the box.

I always include a inkjet printed copy of the receipt in the box for everything from phones to flatscreen TVs because it is often easier to locate the box than find a receipt in my less-than-optimal household filing system.

@Scott3 Pretty is spelt with an “e” not an “i”. It’s doing my head in (the above paragraphs prove my personality type ;-/)

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

andrewNZ

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#2808461 6-Nov-2021 13:16

Dingbatt: Pretty is spelt with an “e” not an “i”. It’s doing my head in (the above paragraphs prove my personality type ;-/)

Pritty sure it doesn't matter. For all intensive porpoises it's the same word. I could care less....

Dingbatt

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#2808532 6-Nov-2021 16:45

Kind of like the difference between pity and petty I guess. Just thought maybe no-one had ever pointed it out to them.

Brown wire, Blue wire, what does it matter? Both start with B.

And I did imply I was pedantic.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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