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Post by sd40dash2 on Jun 30, 2021 6:32:29 GMT -8
I have long gotten rid of the boxes they came in... I would like to use the above snip-quote from he6agon as a jumping off point for a discussion, NOT intended as a personal attack. But Ryan has said a couple of times that he disposes of the packaging his model trains come in. I am a little disturbed by the idea, to be quite honest. Yes, I know some individuals have layouts with enough room to have everything on tracks and ready to go. Yes, I know some individuals (such as Ryan) keep their trains in plastic totes for various reasons including saving space. And yes, I know some individuals run trains at clubs & shows and the totes save setup/teardown time. All of that said, I would like to suggest that anyone who disposes of their model train boxes to please reconsider. Nothing in this world lasts forever, including our homes, layouts and focused interests. Eventually at some point in our lives there will come a time when each of us has to move or change interests and sell our trains. Maybe not today or tomorrow but definitely the next day. I see a small number of auctions on ebay from estate sales and thinning of collections by modellers where the item is being marketed with "no box". I feel this is a big mistake and I never buy these items. As a buyer, displayer, collector and admirer of my models I need their original boxes. Not only does this keep them safe during shipping from the seller to me, it also keeps them safe when not in my display case and when moving to a new residence. And most importantly when my interests change in the future, I will simply put the model back in its original packaging and ready it for sale to the next buyer. Kitbashed and modern RTR cars are highly detailed items that need robust packaging to minimize damage during the lifecycle of the item. Modern packaging is of an excellent grade of quality that will do a great job in protecting the model when it is shipped. This packaging is also designed specifically for the models in question and there is never going to be a better box available. Whoever buys these 'no box' items will likely want its original box but will have a hard time finding it. I'm talking about modern RTR train packaging here, not old blue boxes. Please do not dispose of the model train packaging your models are delivered in. If you don't want to use them while you run the models fine, but then just store the boxes someplace safe and out of the way. Whatever you do, don't throw them out. They're too valuable. |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jun 30, 2021 6:36:26 GMT -8
I save the boxes for the brass stuff. I save the boxes for the locomotives.
It goes downhill fast after that.
Ed
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Post by fr8kar on Jul 1, 2021 6:12:26 GMT -8
I think it's good advice if you don't damage the collectibility of the model. I "damage" every model I get my hands on.
I almost always keep locomotive boxes in case I need to get rid of them. But freight car boxes all get thrown away. If I need to sell one I'm confident I can pack it in a way that gets it to its destination without damage.
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Post by sd40dash2 on Jul 1, 2021 6:30:57 GMT -8
... If I need to sell one I'm confident I can pack it in a way that gets it to its destination without damage.
Apologies Ryan, this will be one of the only times we disagree on something. I am hoping we can have a friendly discussion about this. 
Regarding the point above, I see that in the 'no box' ebay auctions all the time but that only addresses one short segment in the lifespan of a typical RTR freight car.
Once the item arrives here I will need a box to store it in on the shelf. A postal shipping box of the type you describe is much too large and will gobble up precious shelf space. Something comes out of my display case and then goes right into its box, back onto the shelf and then something else from the shelf takes its place. This only works if everything has its packaging.
As a buyer I will not bid on RTR train items without a box and so ultimately as a seller (we will ALL need to sell this stuff eventually) you also lose some bids. I've spoken to a few other modellers about this through the years and none of them will buy such items, either.
Are you perhaps someone who lives in a very small downtown urban apartment or condo where every inch counts? Or do you just simply hate freight car packaging for some other reason?
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Post by fr8kar on Jul 1, 2021 7:15:27 GMT -8
... If I need to sell one I'm confident I can pack it in a way that gets it to its destination without damage. Apologies Ryan, this will be one of the only times we disagree on something. I am hoping we can have a friendly discussion about this. Of course! I understand this point, but it does not apply to me. If I need to sell my models, I will find a way. I use ebay to buy not sell models. Once upon a time I enjoyed lots of free time and little extra money. I would custom build and/or paint models to increase their value and offer them up for bid to get the most out of them. Now the scenario is reversed and I have little free time. I build for myself only and don't concern myself with the value of the models beyond what they mean to me. If you mean after I die someone has to sell the models, then join me in the afterlife and watch this stuff get tossed in the trash. Nobody in my house but me sees the value in any of it. I suppose my daughters might give the stuff away, but nobody is going to bother packing and selling it. Including me. It is true that I don't have a lot of space for the models, but that will change in the next few years since my daughters move away for college in six weeks. I'm not in a hurry to take over their rooms since I'm sure they'll be back for breaks, the summer and maybe awhile after they graduate. But eventually I'll have more space. Instead the reason I pack the models the way I do is for transport. I don't have a layout, and despite the fact that I'll gain at least one bedroom to build models in a few years from now, I don't see having anything substantial to run trains on for many years to come. That is besides having Free-mo modules and partipating in weekend long and longer setups. For those events I have to travel anywhere from a few miles to several hours. Some of the packaging that models come in now works well for repeated opening and closing. The vast majority does not. It's easy to break these delicate models simply putting them in or removing them from the packaging. Then there's the fact that models get modified and can no longer go back in the packaging without making changes to the packaging. That isn't always possible especially with molded packaging. And I have a lot of kitbashed and scratchbuilt models that simply don't have boxes. I've had to construct packaging for most of my models so I can transport them safely. It made sense to use the transportation packaging for storage. So bye-bye boxes and hello Container Store! The box these came in won't hold the model anymore:   No way to stuff this back into clear plastic Evergreen sleeves:  And if I have to make custom boxes for these, I might as well do the same for everything. A lot less to keep up with. |
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Post by sd40dash2 on Jul 1, 2021 7:37:36 GMT -8
[off topic] Sorry to hijack my own thread but gawd those models are amazing LOL.[/off topic]
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Post by valenciajim on Jul 2, 2021 2:55:01 GMT -8
Those are nice models.
I have been keeping my boxes, for the reasons stated. One concern though is whether large stacks of boxes create a fire hazard. 90% of my boxes are stored under my layout.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2021 10:56:24 GMT -8
I for one will not purchase items that do not have an original box specifically because when I have done that in the past, the sellers were too careless and the items arrived damaged.
I don't pay $50 per freight car to have to repair damage, so I now categorically refuse to buy anything that comes without a box. Go ahead, throw the boxes away...I won't be buying it later.
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sd50f
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Post by sd50f on Jul 9, 2021 11:57:01 GMT -8
I broke down all my old Athearn and Model Die Casting boxes years ago and put them in the recycling bin. If I ever get around to selling off trains, they'll go on a table at a swap meet with a little sticker telling someone the price. After all, those old cars had, what, 10-15 parts on them? Might lose a stirrup here or there...
I laughed years ago when every second complaint was about how you couldn't put train cars in the Athearn boxes without the couplers not fitting. "Why do they make them so small!?"...well, they make the boxes to sell the train car, not to store the train car. But now with train cars coming with 200 parts on them, it might be a good idea to keep the boxes around.
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Post by riogrande on Jul 9, 2021 13:23:54 GMT -8
I laughed years ago when every second complaint was about how you couldn't put train cars in the Athearn boxes without the couplers not fitting. I found if I removed a coupler from one end of Athearn cars, they will fit, albiet tightly. |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jul 9, 2021 13:34:04 GMT -8
Just use a longer Athearn box.
Ed
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Post by riogrande on Jul 9, 2021 13:36:44 GMT -8
Those 86' Athearn auto parts boxes should work for some... oh wait, I sold most of those in their boxes.
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Post by ncrc5315 on Jul 10, 2021 18:42:31 GMT -8
I for one will not purchase items that do not have an original box specifically because when I have done that in the past, the sellers were too careless and the items arrived damaged. I don't pay $50 per freight car to have to repair damage, so I now categorically refuse to buy anything that comes without a box. Go ahead, throw the boxes away...I won't be buying it later. When the apartment complex I used to lived in, became infested with bed bugs, all of the boxes went in the dumpster, along with with a 50 year collection of Allis Chalmers and John Deere memorabilia, books, etc. Paper/cardboard is a great place for those creatures to survive and be shipped in. I guarantee, if you ever get them shipped in, your attitude towards boxes, will change in a hurry. |
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Post by bnsf971 on Jul 11, 2021 13:26:43 GMT -8
I save the boxes for the brass stuff. I save the boxes for the locomotives. It goes downhill fast after that. Ed What he said. |
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Post by schroed2 on Jul 12, 2021 3:07:14 GMT -8
I save the boxes for the brass stuff. I save the boxes for the locomotives. It goes downhill fast after that. Ed What he said. about the same here. Additionally, I keep the Moloco RTR Boxcar Boxes and the folding boxes that come with resin car kits since they make great project boxes for me... I actually tossed out most of my boxes when I was moving my MR stuff out of my parents house more then 25 years ago. I have moved it at least four times since then and NOT regretted the decision. I kept my fathers collection in its boxes when I moved it to my place after his passing two years ago (so I can compare...). As I am not interested in a lot of items from it, I will see how it sells... So what do I do ? I have built up a collection of wooden drawer sets from Ikea (Moppe, Fira and some other names that fit in my Ivar shelves...) for storing my rolling stock. If I need to transport it (moving to a new place or putting it into storage when the cellar gets flooded like five weeks ago and of course taking some of it to Fremo meetings), I use paper kitchen towels (cheapest edition from my local supermarket WITHOUT printings on it) to wrap the piece and to fill in the rest of the drawer. Eight of the wooden drawers (that can be stacked upon each other without damage to the contents) fit into one of the well known Ikea blue shopping bags (which I have purchased all over Europe and Asia...) and the weight of the filled bag is light enough to be lugged over stairs...the wooden drawers also provide a higher level of protection against water, insects etc. then any kind of paper box. As for selling, my stuff routinely gets modified and weathered, so it is (in my experience) only interesting for the kind of people that do NOT care about boxes. I have seen cars like that sell for good money on ebay, too... |
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Post by packer on Jul 26, 2021 5:54:58 GMT -8
No layout, so I keep my boxes. If I modify a model, I’ll modify the plastic case if I need too.
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Post by rounder on Jul 28, 2021 9:00:25 GMT -8
FWIW, nothing turns me off of an ebay auction faster than the phrase "no box". It could be the most detailed, exquisitely weathered example of a roadnumber I've been searching for over a period of years, but if I see "no box" ----no deal.
I don't have enough staging yard space to have everything on the layout all at once, so rolling stock gets rotated out periodically. I don't want to be buying banks of drafting drawers or plastic totes just to facilitate this.
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Post by lvrr325 on Aug 19, 2021 7:27:32 GMT -8
As a reseller I hate buying lots of stuff without boxes because it's harder to sell. I picked up a collection of older decent HO upgraded with metal wheels and Kadees and it all went into a flat and goes to train shows. I picked a few engines out of it and sold those on eBay. The freight cars I just don't want to deal with packing.
I will say though for those who toss boxes, the older stuff seems to do okay laid flat on it's side with minimal packing, so long as the flat has enough stuff in it to keep sliding around to a minimum. But you drop it once, forget it, it becomes a $10 junk box instantly.
I actually save empty boxes and will put stuff in them, particularly the Athearn and MDC boxes, but if somebody wanted to get rid of a bunch of them for high end stuff I'd take that too. I actually re-used an Athearn RTR box for an SD40 high hood I picked up, I had to cut a little of the insert out to fit the hood but the rest fits fine.
The other thing no box does is makes it harder if anyone else comes in to even know what they have to try to sell it. I see lots of stuff listed wrong on eBay because with no box people just don't know. Somebody lost about $50 on a Life-Like McDonalds because they listed it as Plasticville instead.
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Post by sd40dash2 on Aug 20, 2021 14:08:30 GMT -8
The other thing no box does is makes it harder if anyone else comes in to even know what they have to try to sell it. I see lots of stuff listed wrong on eBay because with no box people just don't know. Somebody lost about $50 on a Life-Like McDonalds because they listed it as Plasticville instead. I have noticed this as well. There are more and more of these "no box" sellers every day and in addition to the incorrect listings, the pieces themselves are getting badly damaged from all the packing, unpacking and moving around that happens. You can tell the person took good care of some of the stuff while they were living but if someone tosses the box you end up with these problems. Recently I got a screaming deal on an item that sold to me for about 50 cents on the dollar after languishing for months with no hits. Because of the lack of proper box labelling to inform the non-hobbyist seller, they didn't describe it properly but the photos told me in seconds what it was. I see a lot of this but I am not a reseller and am not looking to significantly expand my collection. Good for the bargain hunter who has time to surf the listings for such bargains. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2021 20:22:50 GMT -8
I for one will not purchase items that do not have an original box specifically because when I have done that in the past, the sellers were too careless and the items arrived damaged. I don't pay $50 per freight car to have to repair damage, so I now categorically refuse to buy anything that comes without a box. Go ahead, throw the boxes away...I won't be buying it later. When the apartment complex I used to lived in, became infested with bed bugs, all of the boxes went in the dumpster, along with with a 50 year collection of Allis Chalmers and John Deere memorabilia, books, etc. Paper/cardboard is a great place for those creatures to survive and be shipped in. I guarantee, if you ever get them shipped in, your attitude towards boxes, will change in a hurry. I keep most of the better boxes inside plastic totes with dessicant thrown in there. There's no way any critters are getting to the boxes. Also, today's highly detailed engines will not survive shipping outside their specially made containers that fit inside the boxes. If you just roll them up in bubble wrap, I bet it would be hard on the handrails or they'd take a permanent set during the time they are rolled up, and it would be difficult not to have pilot damage or you'd have to use an awful lot of bubble wrap and other cushioning. |
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