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Do you save the box?
- Thread starter mark2215
- Start date
I have saved the handgun cases from the new guns I have bought. My shotguns, it's hard to justify a cardboard box through multiple moves when I have better cases.
Used guns older than me .... Yeah there was no box that came with them.
Others think differently.
To all the above. I originally kept all boxes. In a cleanup I thought like most of you that there was no point to keeping cardboard boxes, so I tossed them. After 20+ yrs of sitting in my safe, I went to sell my Colt Series 70 Mark IV 1911 that really did have just a few hundred rounds thru it and was bought new ~1976. I was shocked to learn that the "worthless" cardboard box I had thrown out would have garnered another $100-150 when sold with the gun! Oh well!
For doubters, check out some of the S&W forums, collectors pay $100-200 for just one of those "worthless" blue boxes without the gun!
Indeed!
Dennis in MA
NES Member
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This.
I can't think of many guns it's valuable for. I've got a 70's Model 38 Smith that has the original box. Not only is the gun small, I could probably fit the cardboard box in my pocket as well. But it's old and original and in good condition.
I've got to have a stupid box for just about every long gun I've bought. Grrr. Just stupid. I'm in the middle of a basement clean-up, so maybe I'll jettison some boxes.
DarthRevan
NES Member
I keep them because I personally love seeing the designs of old packaging.
Plus I feel like if someone cared enough to keep the packaging they care enough to take care of the firearm similarly.
Plus I feel like if someone cared enough to keep the packaging they care enough to take care of the firearm similarly.
I save the boxes for a particular reason. The boxes were made to protect the firearm in transit. When I move, the firearms go in the boxes, the boxes go in the safe, the safe goes in the enclosed trailer or a locked pod. You can fit a lot of firearms in a safe when they are in the boxes,(and the shelves are removed from safe) and they move without damage. Another move in two years (looking forward to a free state!)
Keeper
NES Member
There are exceptions to every rule, but storing a cardboard box for 20 years on the off chance that it becomes a $100 collectible and you actually sell to cash in? No, thanks. I'm not familiar with that particular box, but I bet it's a bit more interesting than most.
If I did actually have some use for the box, that would be another matter. But, they're mostly junk. I can buy some cheap Plano cases for guns that don't already have or didn't come with one if I move. Parts get stored in more effective drawers or cabinets.
Golddiggie
NES Member
Only save hard/plastic cases/boxes. Any cardboard boxes get shit-canned (or go into the recycle bin) shortly after it comes home. Most of the time, I wait until I've taken it to the range and fired it, but not always. I have enough hard cases for most of my rifles, so it's never been an issue (transporting to the range). I've also never needed to send a firearm back to the manufacturer to get worked on.
tuna
NES Member
If I remember I ask if there is a box, and try to look disappointed if there isn't so I can get a better deal. I usually forget. I don't really care, unless it was something like the one Fencer showed in post 31.
I tend to chuck the pistol boxes in the trash or firepit.
Rifle boxes, I'll save until recycle day, and put them with the cardboard of a neighbor who hangs liberal politician signs on his lawn. Always make sure the firearms logo is visible to all who pass by.
I tend to chuck the pistol boxes in the trash or firepit.
Rifle boxes, I'll save until recycle day, and put them with the cardboard of a neighbor who hangs liberal politician signs on his lawn. Always make sure the firearms logo is visible to all who pass by.
GeorgeMason
NES Member
Cap'n Mike
NES Member
Searching "Pistol Factory Box" on ebay, they are worth a few bucks, especially the plastic ones or the old out of production ones.
pistol factory box | eBay
pistol factory box | eBay
I toss them in the recycle bin for trash. Let all the neighbors see them. 
amm5061
NES Member
I toss them in the recycle bin for trash. Let all the neighbors see them.
Personally I don't like advertising to the local trash that my house has some valuable shit worth stealing in it.
This is what I mean, $170 for a Colt 1911 cardboard box, with 3 already sold at that price. It really is nothing special, but collectors are willing to pay for them.
Colt BOX Pistol Factory 1911 Case Box Vintage 45 ACP COLT 1911 70 80 NATIONAL | eBay
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
I've sold a couple of Remington 870s from the 70s and 80s, and a nice S&W model 13, in all cases with the original boxes and paperwork. The buyers were ALWAYS pleased that they came with original documentation. Presentation is everything.
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In most, but not all cases, a man who will go out of his way to tenderly keep an original cardboard box in pristine condition...
probably treated the firearm even better.
probably treated the firearm even better.
I've always kept the original boxes on the premise that if I ever had to send the gun to the factory for repairs it would be helpful to have a box designed for shipping. As others have mentioned if I ever move it will simplify the process. (It helps that attics are made to store things like this.)
About collector value. Five years ago I had to send a revolver in to Ruger for a rebuild. I put it in the original box, covered that with the nesting box/sleeve that they use, and shipped it off. A few days later UPS dropped off a package. My original gold and black factory box, empty, with a note saying it was a collector's item and they didn't have storage space to keep track of it. Ruger paid UPS to deliver an empty cardboard box! Inside a protective nesting sleeve. Talk about great customer service. I haven't yet, but I really should research the value of that box. We live in a strange world.
About collector value. Five years ago I had to send a revolver in to Ruger for a rebuild. I put it in the original box, covered that with the nesting box/sleeve that they use, and shipped it off. A few days later UPS dropped off a package. My original gold and black factory box, empty, with a note saying it was a collector's item and they didn't have storage space to keep track of it. Ruger paid UPS to deliver an empty cardboard box! Inside a protective nesting sleeve. Talk about great customer service. I haven't yet, but I really should research the value of that box. We live in a strange world.
I'll amend my earlier statement by saying I'd save some boxes. The cardboard from quality firearms: S&W revolvers, Colt handguns, maybe a few (very few) others. Anything else is just junk laying around. A box from a Mossberg 500 or Remington 700 is never going to be worth anything.
