Boxes are getting me down

This topic comes up from time to time. I keep ALL of my boxes and store only the empty boxes in the attic in Husky trash bags. Never had a problem and they are out of the way. 

Attic certainly before basement.

Attic in trash bags.

Solves two problems:

1- space in the basement

2- hiding the empties from the CEO

Bill DeBrooke posted:

Attic certainly before basement.

I agree, Bill.  My 2026 and its accompanying cars arrived at Christmas, 1951, and between Christmases, they were all kept in my parents' attic until I reclaimed them in the mid-Seventies.  The cardboard (and the rolling stock) were all undamaged.

My parents' house was in Pennsylvania, where summer humidity can give the tropics a run for their money.

--John

Attic

I don’t have room to store all the boxes. Honestly, I don't think having  boxes for items results in easier or more profitable sales when/if you do that. I save boxes for the more expensive items (mostly engines) and pitch the rest. It’s sort of a gamble, I guess. 

I wouldn’t get hung up over saving boxes, though. If you have the room, fine; if not, let them go.  I sell stuff on Ebay and don’t notice any reluctance to purchase my offerings without boxes if the price is right.

I trash all the boxes except for engines and passenger cars.  Boxes take up space that I don't have.

Yes, I will probably get less for items without boxes when I sell them but I don't really care.  My goal is to enjoy my trains now and not to face a hoarder's rats nest of boxes every time I enter the train room.  NH Joe

What I did was to store my boxes in the three foot high space over my bed room celling. You can cut an access trap door through the celling or build cabinet doors through the sky light soffit in the bathroom, as I did.

You will need a ladder to get to them and I stored them in heavy duty builders trash bags and sealed all with duct tape. Use a marker to label each bag and record the contents along with each bags location in the celling in a log book.

Or you can just get the dumpster!   What ever is more fun.

I broke mine down and used contractor size plastic garbage bags. The really nice scale detailed cars are still in their original boxes. The rest are in plastic under-bed storage tubs.

Dave Warburton posted:

I don’t have room to store all the boxes. Honestly, I don't think having  boxes for items results in easier or more profitable sales when/if you do that. I save boxes for the more expensive items (mostly engines) and pitch the rest. It’s sort of a gamble, I guess. 

I wouldn’t get hung up over saving boxes, though. If you have the room, fine; if not, let them go.  I sell stuff on Ebay and don’t notice any reluctance to purchase my offerings without boxes if the price is right.

Having an item in its original  box - many times enhances its "sale ability".  I first learned that boxes have value the time I sold a set in separate pieces - only to have a guy offer me nice bucks for the set box I was about to trash.  Also, consider that my ex-wife once told my children that: "your dad never met a box he would not have a home for.  So, go figure!

Keep the boxes, buy a dehumidifier for your basement, good suggestions to save space from several above. Many of us have changing interests and it seems every few months I want to sell something and start searching for the box. That is why mine are on shelves in the basement, grouped by manufacturers.

How can you have so many items that the boxes would be a problem?

These O gauge and O scale items are expensive and therefore limited in amount produced.

Andrew

 

I keep ALL of my boxes and store only the empty boxes in the attic in Husky trash bags. 

I like this approach - the boxes are all packed up and conveniently ready for disposal when the time comes.

Long ago I quit saving boxes for rolling stock except for engines and quality passenger cars.  I never pay extra for an item with a box.  I think most rolling stock ships better without the original box, engines being the exception. The saved boxes are in the attic above the garage. 

I store them between the floor joist in basement above the layout.  Just cut and screw lath between joists, holds up boxes nicely.  Great for engines with shippers.

falconservice posted:

How can you have so many items that the boxes would be a problem?

These O gauge and O scale items are expensive and therefore limited in amount produced.

Andrew

You must be new to 3RO.

As to being "expensive" and "limited" - they are expensive mostly when new, and it's mostly the locos; after that, the majority are just like used autos (as it should be). They may be "limited", but that can still mean thousands of an item produced, multiplied by hundreds - thousands - of individual items produced by each company, times decades of business done....times millions (net) of customers times multiple transactions per customer over those decades....

Yeah, boxes - like locusts.

Mostly, with me, once a piece of rolling stock is out of the box, the box goes. Locos and sets, no. To the attic. I do not store equipment in the attic, just boxes.

My layout is 500 sq ft it creates a huge out of sight storage area underneath. Plenty of room to store all my boxes

We have the same problem.  Hundreds of empty boxes and no place to safely store them.  Plugging up the whole layout.  Have to move dozens every time I need to access anything under the layout. HUGE PIA. 

There is a different approach to this problem.  Everyone knows that their trains are worth more if they are in the original box when it is time to sell.  Therefore, instead of dealing with all the current problems discussed on this site involving non working, wrong paint, bad sound, I have decided to throw out the trains and keep the boxes.  Now all those guys that need boxes when they go to sell can come to my 'boxes are us' store.

Think I am joking?  Well maybe.

I  L O V E   this Thread!!!  Yup it comes up from time to time. Ive met folks who need to store stuff in and under and atop bathroom cabinets;  in closets; stuffed in smaller rooms throughout the house. Guess their priority is to collect, not reject.

banelson posted: ...snip...

1. Would it be a mistake to trash boxes for cars other than engines? ...snip... Thanks, Ben

Yes.

Well, I'm only one person, but for what it's worth, I like buying trains in their original boxes. Other things being equal, I will always buy the train with a box before the one without a box. I just think it's fun to get something new (or new-to-you) and take it out of its box. It's like Christmas! Many on this forum proclaim that they have matured beyond having fun of this sort, but not me. And I suspect I'm not alone.

So I keep all my boxes, but I flatten them and store them in plastic tub(s) (just one so far, but will be starting another soon). Flattened, they're just a stack of cardboard, and you can get a lot of them into a small space. I have reconstituted a few, and they were just fine. Since I already have an inventory of my collection, it is trivial to add a note of whether I have a box, whether it has been flattened, and what number is on it (since that is not always the same as the number on the car).

nickaix posted:

Well, I'm only one person, but for what it's worth, I like buying trains in their original boxes. Other things being equal, I will always buy the train with a box before the one without a box. I just think it's fun to get something new (or new-to-you) and take it out of its box. It's like Christmas! Many on this forum proclaim that they have matured beyond having fun of this sort, but not me. And I suspect I'm not alone.

So I keep all my boxes, but I flatten them and store them in plastic tub(s) (just one so far, but will be starting another soon). Flattened, they're just a stack of cardboard, and you can get a lot of them into a small space. I have reconstituted a few, and they were just fine. Since I already have an inventory of my collection, it is trivial to add a note of whether I have a box, whether it has been flattened, and what number is on it (since that is not always the same as the number on the car).

Nickaix, I think your idea of flattening the boxes and then, if neessary, reconstituting them later, is a great idea. That saves a lot of room. I'm going to do it. Thanks, Arnold 

Most of mine have foam or plastic inserts, stuck with keeping the box in its original shape.

hokie71 posted:

Most of mine have foam or plastic inserts, stuck with keeping the box in its original shape.

Good point. Maybe break down the boxes for train cars and accessories, but not engines because of the need for the foam and inserts.

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

nickaix posted:

Well, I'm only one person, but for what it's worth, I like buying trains in their original boxes. Other things being equal, I will always buy the train with a box before the one without a box. I just think it's fun to get something new (or new-to-you) and take it out of its box. It's like Christmas! Many on this forum proclaim that they have matured beyond having fun of this sort, but not me. And I suspect I'm not alone.

So I keep all my boxes, but I flatten them and store them in plastic tub(s) (just one so far, but will be starting another soon). Flattened, they're just a stack of cardboard, and you can get a lot of them into a small space. I have reconstituted a few, and they were just fine. Since I already have an inventory of my collection, it is trivial to add a note of whether I have a box, whether it has been flattened, and what number is on it (since that is not always the same as the number on the car).

Nickaix, I think your idea of flattening the boxes and then, if neessary, reconstituting them later, is a great idea. That saves a lot of room. I'm going to do it. Thanks, Arnold 

This makes ZERO sense You still have to deal with the styrofoam insert AND keep track of what insert goes to what broken down cardboard box.. If you're going to throw the insert out, it makes zero sense to  save the box. Nick

I have 10 engines and over 250 pieces of rolling stock. I save only the engine boxes.

Bill DeBrooke posted:

There is a different approach to this problem.  Everyone knows that their trains are worth more if they are in the original box when it is time to sell.  Therefore, instead of dealing with all the current problems discussed on this site involving non working, wrong paint, bad sound, I have decided to throw out the trains and keep the boxes.  Now all those guys that need boxes when they go to sell can come to my 'boxes are us' store.

 

Think I am joking?  Well maybe.

Bill,

From the photos, it appears that you have more room in your box storage room than I do in the entire layout room.  You even have extra space for old computers.  Now, those will be really valuable in their original boxes.  Lucky you.  NH Joe

I'm keeping the engine and passenger car set boxes, pretty much all the others are going once I get the shelves up.

dkdkrd posted:

Between joists, under tables in the basement, closets here, there, everywhere, in the attic....

I'm in there somewhere.  Guilty as charged.

My biggest concern is a visit by my home insurance agent or the local fire marshall!!!!  After all, what we're really dealing with here is.....k-i-n-d-l-i-n-g.

Or, at the very least, it takes us to the brink of qualifying for a reality episode re hoarding!!!???......maybe?  At least for some of us?

BTW...flattening the boxes and storing them in a tub is a great idea, I gave it about 30 seconds of thought once.  But, it's the turkey 'stuffings' I couldn't figure out how to retain......You know, the Styrofoam, cardboard 3D jigsaw puzzles, vacuum formed sheet plastic clamshells, etc., etc. that cradle the product....and give the cardboard box some form.    So, for those who flatten boxes, what do/did you do with the guts? 

What a conundrum!

KD

I flatten the ones with no guts, the others I keep as is.

Balshis posted:

Bill DeBrooke posted:

Attic certainly before basement.

My parents' house was in Pennsylvania, where summer humidity can give the tropics a run for their money.

--John

You think PA is humid in the summer, you should see SC.............lol

New Haven Joe posted:

Bill DeBrooke posted:

There is a different approach to this problem.  Everyone knows that their trains are worth more if they are in the original box when it is time to sell.  Therefore, instead of dealing with all the current problems discussed on this site involving non working, wrong paint, bad sound, I have decided to throw out the trains and keep the boxes.  Now all those guys that need boxes when they go to sell can come to my 'boxes are us' store.

 

Think I am joking?  Well maybe.

Bill,

From the photos, it appears that you have more room in your box storage room than I do in the entire layout room.  You even have extra space for old computers.  Now, those will be really valuable in their original boxes.  Lucky you.  NH Joe

You never know when you are going to need a pre Y2K computer like a KAYPRO, Commodore or a Trash 80.

Yeah, and a black and white tv too.

falconservice posted:

How can you have so many items that the boxes would be a problem?

Let me put it this way. I stopped counting my pieces of rolling stock a long time ago. Somewhere around eleventy-twenty or so.

Bill DeBrooke posted:

There is a different approach to this problem.  Everyone knows that their trains are worth more if they are in the original box when it is time to sell.  Therefore, instead of dealing with all the current problems discussed on this site involving non working, wrong paint, bad sound, I have decided to throw out the trains and keep the boxes.  Now all those guys that need boxes when they go to sell can come to my 'boxes are us' store.

 

Think I am joking?  Well maybe.

Bill 

now that’s what I’m talking about I save all my boxes also if they’re in good shape

I save every good box I have specially Lionel and Weaver  boxes and a few old AHM. I’ve sold lots of rolling stock to a secondhand hobby shop in St. Louis and if you have the original box and good shape it adds at least 5 to 10 more dollars on your item so if you got the room to store your boxes in a safe dry place I would definitely recommend saving your boxes. Plus I will pay more for the rolling stock or engine if it’s in the original box VS no box that tells me what kind of person that is selling the item by keeping the box and the care of the item when not in use just my my theory but most the time when I buy something in the box it’s always in good shape

No basement at sea level & promised the wife no more trips to the attic (infirmity).  We emptied the attic of all stored items four years ago and now use part of my ground level attic (a.k.a storage shed) for the boxes I do keep (loco and passenger in plastic totes). I don't keep shipping boxes as the vermin here love to eat the cardboard glue. I do keep a few postwar boxes under the layout . As to value without the box, that's my daughter's problem when she liquidates. 

The first two boxes I got must have had male & female rabbit genes...

rockstars1989 posted:

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

nickaix posted:

Well, I'm only one person, but for what it's worth, I like buying trains in their original boxes. Other things being equal, I will always buy the train with a box before the one without a box. I just think it's fun to get something new (or new-to-you) and take it out of its box. It's like Christmas! Many on this forum proclaim that they have matured beyond having fun of this sort, but not me. And I suspect I'm not alone.

So I keep all my boxes, but I flatten them and store them in plastic tub(s) (just one so far, but will be starting another soon). Flattened, they're just a stack of cardboard, and you can get a lot of them into a small space. I have reconstituted a few, and they were just fine. Since I already have an inventory of my collection, it is trivial to add a note of whether I have a box, whether it has been flattened, and what number is on it (since that is not always the same as the number on the car).

Nickaix, I think your idea of flattening the boxes and then, if neessary, reconstituting them later, is a great idea. That saves a lot of room. I'm going to do it. Thanks, Arnold 

This makes ZERO sense You still have to deal with the styrofoam insert AND keep track of what insert goes to what broken down cardboard box.. If you're going to throw the insert out, it makes zero sense to  save the box. Nick

Well, if the stuff I buy in came with styrofoam inserts that would be true. But it doesn't

Only the engines do, and there are not nearly so many of those to worry about.

This is always an entertaining topic and one that makes us get aggidda.  I agree with others on saving the boxes our locos come in.  Rolling stock boxes are still a question, in my mind.  However, the biggest PITA are our accessory boxes.  They're big, bulky, all different sizes and shapes, making organizing them on a shelf or shelves, like trying to solve Rubik's cube.    At the train meet on Sunday, I saw a **** Gate bridge in it's box.  I think a Smart car could fit in it.  

The ideal solution would be to rent storage space in one of those facilities.  But that would cut into our train budget.  

Probably the ideal solution for some of us would simply be to buy tissue wrapping paper and some good storage boxes.  Wrap each piece of rolling stock or locos that don't already have a box, label them and place them in the larger box or plastic bin.  

I do like someone's idea of using heavy duty trash bags.  It helps keep bugs and moisture out.  But still, they take up alot of space.  

There's no, one answer.   

Bill DeBrooke posted:

Attic certainly before basement.

 

Agreed, but that also depends on the whereabouts you live - Florida attics would not be as "box safe" as Arizona attics due to  the damaging effects of humidity. I know, not helpful ….. 

I keep them all.  Stored in closets and under the layout.

Getting ready to move.......pitched 72 boxes Sunday! Got them all into O Scale Hauler boxes!  

Trainchief posted:

Getting ready to move.......pitched 72 boxes Sunday! Got them all into O Scale Hauler boxes!  

Had to laugh when I saw this post. You do realize that this photo will cause great angst among many of the forum readers, right? I had a quick visual of hand wringing, sweating and cries of, "NOOOOOOO!!!!"

GeoPeg posted:

Trainchief posted:

Getting ready to move.......pitched 72 boxes Sunday! Got them all into O Scale Hauler boxes!  

Had to laugh when I saw this post. You do realize that this photo will cause great angst among many of the forum readers, right? I had a quick visual of hand wringing, sweating and cries of, "NOOOOOOO!!!!"

That's what I was thinking. All the folks who need a box and can't get one from the manufacturers are crying over this image! 

I had to make that decision a few months back when I had to move much of my stuff into a storage unit as I'm planning on house shopping next summer and my current storage options weren't cutting it.  I don't have a lot of high-end stuff as I run postwar and traditional sized stuff.  I keep all postwar boxes as after selling a F3 New Haven AA with the master carton for $4500 (for someone else unfortunately) I cannot bring myself to toss a postwar box.  However most of the postwar I buy comes without boxes as I like to by lots offline, fix it all up, keep what I want, and sell the rest.  So all in all, I probably have only two rubbermaid bins worth of postwar with boxes.

For the modern stuff I have I usually keep the boxes for engines and any car that has detail parts like flatcars with stakes, etc. Williams boxes I find to be way oversized (and most of the ones I had the glue had dried out), so I ended up getting rid of a bunch I had for standard 15" aluminum passenger cars.  Those reduced storage space by about half for those cars.  Accessory boxes, especially for some of the MTH remakes I have of small postwar stuff like crossing signals are way oversized.  I'm mostly an operator over a collector, so when I decide to sell something I can usually say I got most of my original purchase price worth in enjoyment of using it and I just shoot for whatever that item is going for at the time regardless of what I paid for it.

A related story, a year or so ago I bought a collection off a lodge brother who was moving out of state for work.  The deal was I would take the collection home, evaluate everything, then give him 50% of the value so if I sold it I could make a little and if I wanted to keep some stuff it would be worth my time.  Everything was in various cardboard boxes (paper boxes, gift boxes, appliance boxes) so I had trouble fitting everything in my suv, I even had stuff in the front seat and some stuff on the passenger side dash.  His family was helping bring stuff out of the basement and we were in a bit of a rush to load the car so everything was just going in without checking what it was.  Anyway, when I got home I realized about two thirds of the boxes were trains, and the rest were boxes of empty boxes...  The boxes all matched up with stuff that was there, and since we hadn't agreed on a price yet it wasn't like I got cheated or anything, so mostly we just laughed about how much we had to jam stuff in the car when it could have been much easier.  Some stuff though was completely unnecessary like modern era lionel boxes for switches, but half were ripped and none had the inserts, so those made no sense to me to keep.

BobbyD posted:

GeoPeg posted:

Trainchief posted:

Getting ready to move.......pitched 72 boxes Sunday! Got them all into O Scale Hauler boxes!  

Had to laugh when I saw this post. You do realize that this photo will cause great angst among many of the forum readers, right? I had a quick visual of hand wringing, sweating and cries of, "NOOOOOOO!!!!"

That's what I was thinking. All the folks who need a box and can't get one from the manufacturers are crying over this image! 

Oh no not a Weaver Box! 

I buy a lot of my stuff used and appreciate it when it has the original box. I view the boxes a bit differently than some of you do. I guess I view my trains differently too. I run everything I have and try and keep it all in the best original state that I can. I think of it as I'm the care taker of my collection and someday someone else will then be the care taker. From this view point I keep all the boxes so when my collection is passed / sold on the new owner will get that item in it's original box.

banelson posted:

I am trying to decide what to do with my train boxes as they are driving me crazy. It would feel most satisfying to just get a dumpster and be done with them. However, I know it’s a practical necessity to have the original packaging in case I have to sell or ship something.  I will definitely keep the locomotive boxes.  I have questions.

1. Would it be a mistake to trash boxes for cars other than engines?

2. What is the best place to store the remaining boxes? Right now many are in the train room making a mess. I could keep them in the basement (it is an old Michigan basement so we have spiders and higher humidity than would be best), or the attic which is hot in summer and cold in the winter.  Would you go basement or attic?

Thanks,

Ben 

 

you can store them here...………..

lee drennen posted:

BobbyD posted:

GeoPeg posted:

Trainchief posted:

Getting ready to move.......pitched 72 boxes Sunday! Got them all into O Scale Hauler boxes!  

Had to laugh when I saw this post. You do realize that this photo will cause great angst among many of the forum readers, right? I had a quick visual of hand wringing, sweating and cries of, "NOOOOOOO!!!!"

That's what I was thinking. All the folks who need a box and can't get one from the manufacturers are crying over this image! 

Oh no not a Weaver Box!