Cardboard gun boxes.

[RHL]

I've been collecting quite a few shotgun and 92 boxes lately and they are taking up a bit of space. I'll hang on to the nice box that the USFA came in since it has a place for the extra cylinder.

 

Is there any reason to keep the big'uns? I plan to shoot all of my guns so I don't think NIB is a real incentive for me and the boxes state that they aren't for shipping.

 

Any other reason Not to recycle them?

[Utah Bob #35998]

I've been collecting quite a few shotgun and 92 boxes lately and they are taking up a bit of space. I'll hang on to the nice box that the USFA came in since it has a place for the extra cylinder.

 

Is there any reason to keep the big'uns? I plan to shoot all of my guns so I don't think NIB is a real incentive for me and the boxes state that they aren't for shipping.

 

Any other reason Not to recycle them?

 

Nope. Pitch em.

[Rye Miles #13621]

Ya never know when yer gonna sell or trade a gun so I always keep the box. Rye

[Major E A Sterner #12916]

I would keep them, There are collectors that will pay a lot of money for a box that they need to fill out their collection.

[RHL]

OK, maybe I'll keep the Winchester box but I'm leaning toward recycling the Stoeger and Puma boxes.

I guess I'll hang on to the Uberti revolver boxes too. They are small enough that when the safe arrives maybe I can store the guns inside their boxes, in the safe. (small safe, this'll be iffy.)

 

Thanks guys!

[Doc Windshadow]

I had my guns appraised for insurance and was amazed when a Colt Ace conversion kit was appraised for twice what it would have been by itself due to its colt box and paperwork this was just a 1960s Ace setup with the wood grain printed cardboard box that colt used back then nothing fancy and while fine almost new condition was in its favor the box seems to be important to some folks don't ask me why.

[Church Key, SASS # 33713]

If you have the space keep the boxes. Now the plastic Ruger boxes, etc. will never become collectors items unless they start changing their colors in a big way.

[Dubious Don #56333]

You get a premium when you have the box. Keep'em!

[Grizzly Dave]

I keep most of them, if I have to move they'll project the guns, if I sell and have to ship, original box inside another box is how they go.

[Cabalero Chuck]

Does the box have decorative printing? Are there any gun specific labels (model-serial # info, ect.).

Is the box in rough shape (tattered, squashed, stained)?

All these aspects could be considered to determine if the box has any intrinsic value.

If you just don't want to look at it, or store it, consider listing it as a "or best offer" and be certain to add enough for your costs for packaging and shipping.

Someone might surprise you with thier feelings about value of the cardboard box.

[RHL]

Does the box have decorative printing? Are there any gun specific labels (model-serial # info, ect.).

Is the box in rough shape (tattered, squashed, stained)?

All these aspects could be considered to determine if the box has any intrinsic value.

If you just don't want to look at it, or store it, consider listing it as a "or best offer" and be certain to add enough for your costs for packaging and shipping.

Someone might surprise you with thier feelings about value of the cardboard box.

 

I had never thought that they could help someone else out. When the safe gets here I'll post something to the effect of "for shipping cost the box is yours."

[Smithy]

I shoot ALL of the guns that I buy, even the few commemoratives. In fact, the one lever action Winchester commemorative that I bought didn't even make it home with its deluxe styrofoam box and oversleave before the box disintegrated. I say unless you are a "financial" gun collector, trash the box and shoot away. Smithy.

[Dakota Brown]

I Keep 'em and all the paperwork that came with it. And when the time comes and ya wanna sell yer gun, it's easier to sell it if it gots the box(and papers)!

 

DB

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

A gun dealer was sellin boxes for five bucks.

I opened my mouth and said to look on ebay.

They checked out ebay and all the old boxes disappeared.

I didnt even git a tip.

Best

CR

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

You get a premium when you have the box. Keep'em!

 

Howdy

 

Yeah, if you read the ads on E-Bay, you might believe this. Practically speaking though, it usually doesn't work that way.

 

Ever try to get a higher price out of a dealer when selling him a gun with the box? It's a different story when they are selling, but not when they are buying.

 

That said, I have a couple of guns that I bought back in the 70's that I have kept the box and the papers. Like this:

 

Model 19 with Box and Papers

 

But frankly, I kept that stuff just because I thought it was cool, I don't expect it would raise the price of the guns if I tried to sell them.

 

Now if I had something like this, I would definitely save the box.

 

Baby Russian with Box

 

But for any CAS guns that I buy brand new, there is not any point in keeping the box. It is going to take a long time before those boxes might gain any collector's value. I just throw them away.

[Rye Miles #13621]

OK, maybe I'll keep the Winchester box but I'm leaning toward recycling the Stoeger and Puma boxes.

I guess I'll hang on to the Uberti revolver boxes too. They are small enough that when the safe arrives maybe I can store the guns inside their boxes, in the safe. (small safe, this'll be iffy.)

 

Thanks guys!

 

RHL I keep all the boxes separate from the guns. I keep all my guns in theose "socks" in the safe. That gives ya more room in your safe. Just find a good place to keep the boxes. Rye

[Blue Steel Duke]

I only have an opinion on this because I watch Antiques Roadshow on a regular basis. Several times I've heard the Appraiser say "If you had the box it came in, the value would be double"

 

BSD

[Utah Bob #35998]

Whut Diftwood said. If it's going to be a collectible, keep the box. otherwise they'd re fireplace tinder for me.

[Henry T Harrison]

If you deal with a small shop you might want to return any unwanted boxes to them. They are always looking for boxes to ship guns back for repair.

[Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363]

Long gun boxes take up too much space, and usually there's nothing striking about them anyway. They end up on the curb.

Pistol boxes always seem to be much nicer - better cardboard and graphics. A small stack of them in the attic don't take up that much room.

The plastic lunchboxes some guns come in ... haven't figured out a good use for them just yet.

[BlackhawkPaul]

KEEP THE BOXES! When one sells guns, the tag at the shop lsits "BOX" because you get more $$ then. Get the Blue Book of Gun Values and read about this topic.

[MMJ#89586]

I say get rid of um.

[Lone Dog, SASS #20401]

Coupla months ago I came upon a pristine Service Six sittin' on the shelf at Long Hunter's store. It had the box and all original papers from 20-30 years ago. Not a mark on it. Story was the one owner bought it, fired one box of shells and put it in the safe.

 

I had always wanted one since before I was a rookie. More sexy and svelte than the fat blocky GP100 that replaced it.

 

The box and papers swung the sale.

 

Why throw away a thing of value?

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

Keep'em and everything that came with it like paperwork and such. for the reasons listed above.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

I only have an opinion on this because I watch Antiques Roadshow on a regular basis. Several times I've heard the Appraiser say "If you had the box it came in, the value would be double"

 

If you watch Antiques Roadshow long enough, eventually you will realize that their appraisers tend to way over value things. It's part of the appeal of the show. It gets more viewers if the owner of an object has a wide eyed expression on his face when he is told how valuable something is. If you listen to what they say, they talk about how much money something will bring at auction. They neglect to tell you that they are talking about a really good auction, when the economy is good and bidders are driving the prices up to the max. That is not always the situation, not all auctions bring the highest prices. Particularly not in a down economy like this one. Prices tend to be lower. Read up on what has happened to the art market in the last few years. It's easy for them to say the box will double the price. The real world does not always work that way.

 

The Blue Book of Gun Values is not a very reliable source for gun prices either. Where the pedal hits the metal, how much someone is willing to pay is what drives prices. It usually has very little to do with what the Blue Book says.

 

Same with boxes. I keep reading about how a nice S&W blue box will bring $100. Baloney! I ain't seen it. Plenty of times I have bought a nice old S&W and as an after thought the dealer said, oh, it comes with a box too. I get the box for nothing extra. I have a whole bunch of them upstairs, I didn't pay any extra for them at all. And I sure don't expect that a dealer is going to pay me extra if I decide to sell a Smith with the box included. Heck there are even guys who collect the tools that came with the Smiths. But if you want to get any money for them, you first have to find one of those guys. Do you think anybody at a typical gunshow is going to pay extra because the screwdrives that came with the gun are still in the bag? I won't.

 

The only time cardboard gun boxes bring extra money is if you keep it on the market long enough for the right guy to come along who thinks it is worth something. If you need to turn a gun into fast cash, forget about getting anything for the box. It's the law of supply and demand.

 

I like to have the nice S&W blue boxes just because they are nice to have. I sure as heck don't think a Ruger box, or an Uberti box is ever going to be worth anything.