Do you care about boxes/instructions?

Do you care about boxes/instructions?

  • Yes, I care

    Votes: 77 44.3%

  • No, I don't

    Votes: 45 25.9%

  • It depends

    Votes: 52 29.9%
  • Total voters
    174
msbarnes

msbarnes

Well-known
Local time
12:24 PM
Joined
Jul 10, 2011
Messages
841
If you were purchasing an item to use and not collect, then would you care if it came with a box? If you had two equal options would you pay a little more for a boxed item assuming that all things were equal and that they were both used/opened?

I ask because I recently tried to sell a P6 accessory with a box and the other person asked if it came with instructions.

I shelf my original boxes, instructions, and lens caps for when I want to sell some gear thinking that others would care. There is no harm in keeping this stuff but it does add clutter. However, I do have a thing for Leica lens caps...I find them pretty.
 
I just sold a box and instruction booklet for an M6 that I traded in almost five years ago. Someone on eBay felt it was worth $75. Without the camera, it was worth nothing to me. With the camera, I was glad to have it. I tend to hold on to boxes and booklets. I think I'll be selling my Epson 2200 printer and wish I could find its box.
 
I like the box when I'm trying to re-sell an item. If I know I'm going to keep something for a long time I couldn't care less about the box, instructions, or the dumb little leather pouch that comes with Leica lenses
 
I would not pay more just for the box on an item I plan to use...if it comes with the box, great, I will usually keep it, store it somewhere safe...
Now, believe it or not, I'll take the instruction especially if it's a complicated item...
I have boxes from some Nikon gear and I've noticed people selling them on ebay...most camera gear boxes have Serial numbers on them...I'm not a collector but for a collector does it matter that the numbers don't match...???
 
When I'm looking to buy, I find that equipment that comes with all boxes and paperwork bits tends to be better looked after than similar equipment without the collateral.

When I'm selling gear, I find that when I have all the collateral in the sale, the bids are usually higher and the new owners express more satisfaction upon receiving the items.

G
 
Godfrey said:
When I'm looking to buy, I find that equipment that comes with all boxes and paperwork bits tends to be better looked after than similar equipment without the collateral.

When I'm selling gear, I find that when I have all the collateral in the sale, the bids are usually higher and the new owners express more satisfaction upon receiving the items.

G
Click to expand...


+1

I do appreciate when the original box and manual are sold with a used camera. With the lens, the box would be nice, but the leather pouch along with the lens hood and the front and back caps are the items I will pay for. I do not know if I am paying more for a complete set or really paying less when the seller does not have all the original components.

JMHO and YMMV
 
Never sold. I keep the boxes in case I drop dead and my family might do better with the boxes. Buying, the boxes and instructions are a surrogate for obsessionality which might translate to caring for the lens better, not dropping it, not cleaning it with a neck tie etc.
 
When someone is selling a lens that does not have a case or the original packaging I wonder what kind of a life it has had.
 
Don't care about boxes, but say if I could get a boxed camera for an extra £20 or something, I would, especially if it's an interesting box. I mean, how often do you get to see a DHW Fototechnik or Alpa box? Or even an old Nikon or Pentax one?

If it's for something like a scanner, then I'm unlikely to care.
 
A little more to pay with original boxes and instructions is OK. Just for fun, because I don't buy gear as a collector, but only to use it. Most of the boxes can be lift up completely and folded to a tight cardboard for storage.
What I find annoying and discard are the multiple basic instruction sets of modern cameras which tell you in 20 bad translated languages you shouldn't eat the lens and shouldn't insert the lens cap in your ***
 
To me when the used item comes with the box and other materials it means the previous owner took really good care of it.
 
If I buy from an individual, I do like getting the box and paperwork. From a place like KEH, I will live without the box.
I must have instructions for any digital camera body that I buy.

I save boxes and papers these days for when I sell it (usually within 24 months).
 
I have no interest in collecting cardboard boxes, however - having seen here that most people do - I might now start to keep any packaging I receive in case I ever have to sell something. Selling stuff is never in the plan when buying but it is possible, I suppose, so for a few dozen euros extra it might be worth putting a box on a shelf in the bike-shed (fiets-kelder).
 
I don't need the manual for most cameras, and if I do... I'll download it. Of the 30 cameras I own, none of the used ones that I bought came with a box. Only a handful had manuals.

I buy my cameras to use. If I had boxes and manuals, I'd be tempted to baby them to preserve their condition.
 
I still have my boxes for all my voigtlander lenses & camera's. When I'm not scanning I put my scanners away in the packaging they came in. My house is a dust magnet. If it's a camera I buy off ebay & doesn't come with instructions I usually will find an instruction on line, just so I don't screw it up.
 
I don't really care. I often toss the box the same week I purchase the item once I'm sure it's not DOA. I also tend to download and read PDF manuals before I purchase an item, especially if it's expensive. So I don't have a need for a printed manual either.
 
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