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Inkflow
December 17th, 2018, 05:01 AM
This issue came up years ago in the computer hardware world: the diehard techies kept the original boxes for their (new) hardware items and software programs. But is keeping the boxes just as valuable for pen collecting? It seems much space could be saved by transferring the pens to either a roll up or zipped case, the kind with individual pockets or loops for each pen. The space savings would be phenomenal, but I haven't done this myself. It seems I would lose a bit of the collector's glee by orphaning the pens from their cases in that way. Maybe when I'm forced to do so, for space reasons. But until, then I am keeping the boxes.

Chrissy
December 17th, 2018, 05:26 AM
I keep my original boxes and packaging for my pens, but I don't keep my pens inside them. I transfer my pens to collector boxes and the packaging goes into a large crate with other boxes.

jodylud
December 17th, 2018, 07:40 AM
I have no intensions of selling the pens I own, soooo... I will keep ornate boxes from expensive pens and maybe one box of a series. For the most part I tend to 'recycle' the boxes and store the pens in protective cases.

ambimom
December 17th, 2018, 08:01 AM
I didn't start keeping the boxes until I bought my first "expensive" fountain pen, a Parker 51, circa 1963 for $30, a fortune to me. I lost that pen on a Greyhound bus but I still have the box it came in. I've been saving the boxes from my fountain pens ever since. I even kept the written sales receipts in some. Those were purchased in pre-Internet years when you had to go to a brick and mortar store and they hand wrote the sales receipt. Yes, that's how old I am! The pens themselves are now kept in a cases for multiple pens.

ethernautrix
December 17th, 2018, 08:35 AM
Like jodylud, I toss the boxes, unless they're especially nice or practical (made of wood and can be used to hold other things). Frequent moves before discovering that there was such a thing as a "fountain pen community" meant that I had no idea there was a collector's market or even second-hand/used demand. I bought a couple of Montblanc limited edition pens, for instance, and tossed the boxes (kept the papers) and didn't appreciate the "limited edition" part. I bought the pens to use them.

NOW, if I were to buy a limited edition pen, I'd probably keep the box. Cos now I know ya nevah know.

But... these fabulous Pilot Custom Heritages? I'm gonna wear these nibs out, so no need to keep the boxes. No one's gonna want these when I'm done with them.

Brilliant Bill
December 17th, 2018, 09:24 AM
Interesting you would ask at this moment.

For some reason, I was keeping all boxes, receipts, etc. This stuff got added to a storage unit I pay for. I recently decided the stuff in that storage unit isn't worth the $700 a year I pay so I've started pulling stuff out and ruthlessly tossing it. A couple of days ago I spent nearly an hour outside between rubbish and recycling bins sorting out all the pen boxes. Later that evening I thought better of the nice wooden box the Sailor King Of Pen came in so I went out and retrieved that; it now holds ink cartridges.

So, now I'm not keeping original boxes and pens.

Next I have to work on the boxes photographic equipment came in. That won't be so easy as UPS won't accept the liability of shipping some expensive items if they aren't in original packaging.

FredRydr
December 17th, 2018, 09:27 AM
Resale of fountain pens is enhanced with original "box and papers." This is true with vintage pens, too. I found out the hard way when I first got into this hobby and tossed out all the boxes and ephemera.

So, unless you have a space problem, stash boxes and papers somewhere (I put them in a covered cardboard box out in the garage) so that when you later surprise yourself by deciding to sell a once-lusted-for pen, you have what you need to get top dollar.

dfo
December 17th, 2018, 09:28 AM
Almost always. I use the boxes to store the warranty information. If the pen ever has a problem, I use the box to send it back. As Fred mentions, the box also adds to the resale value. A few years ago I received a pen from my grandfather that came in a box. The packaging contained things he held to be important. I hope that the boxes and packaging material of my pens will help my son know what pens he has when I am gone. That said, I never purchased a pen with a large box.

I store my pens in a cigar box with added leather slots or in pen cases in the cigar box.

Dan

FredRydr
December 17th, 2018, 09:49 AM
...I never purchased a pen with a large box....
For some reason, the revived Conway Stewart pen company enclosed its new pens in ridiculously huge boxes: inner boxes, outer boxes and whatnot. When it came time to sell my C-S Simpole, the buyer insisted on having all the boxes to close the sale. The box was about a foot and a half long! Luckily, it was a face-to-face transaction at my table at a pen show and I did not have to ship it.

top pen
December 17th, 2018, 10:10 AM
For the most part, I do. I don't keep blister packs etc. However, I've got a growing collection of spare boxes Sheaffer and Parker boxes. For those odd times, I buy a pen without a box. One thing | love to see is faded date stamps, receipts and warranty stamps on pen instructions etc I think it adds a whole nother dimension to a new purchase and in some ways it gives you a glimpse of its history

Pterodactylus
December 17th, 2018, 10:49 AM
I usually do not keep boxes (paperwork) of the modern pens I bought (I might keep exceptional well made ones but this is rare).
I also do not plan to resell something.

Most of my pens are vintage pens and most (almost all) came without the original box/packaging, paperwork.

But I do not care about that stuff, this has no added value for me.

In fact I would not pay a single Euro more just for a box or paperwork, as I‘m a user not a collector, it‘s the pen that counts.

KrazyIvan
December 17th, 2018, 11:53 AM
I'll just leave this right here.

44312

Pterodactylus
December 17th, 2018, 01:23 PM
I'll just leave this right here.

44312

Yeah, but the real question is would you pay a premium to have a old cardboard and a old sheet of paper in addition to the pen?

How much more would you pay for this little paper add-ons?

My personal answer is as said above, I would pay nothing extra for it (but I would not toss it away either, if it comes with it fine, if it comes without it also fine).

FredRydr
December 17th, 2018, 02:05 PM
It was my understanding that the OP is not asking whether he should pay extra to buy a pen's box and papers, but rather, whether there is good reason to keep them in the realm of the fountain pen hobby.

Pterodactylus
December 17th, 2018, 02:22 PM
It was my understanding that the OP is not asking whether he should pay extra to buy a pen's box and papers, but rather, whether there is good reason to keep them in the realm of the fountain pen hobby.

True, but as the discussion evolves it might be a valid additional question if some would pay more to have it or not.

Old vintage ones I would not toss away but would not pay extra.

And a monetary bonus is imho the only really reason to keep such things.

I remember my grandparents seem to have kept many original packages independent of the goods they bought.
The basement of their house was full of packages of all kind.
Some answers I got when I asked for the reasons were: what if I have to bring it back for repair, warranty,... might be needed for transportation later,..... I can put it back when I do not use it for a while,......, the packaging belongs to the product,.....
Maybe the times were different in the past and people valued things (including the packaging) more, for me it looked always a bit like a hoarder mentality.

calamus
December 17th, 2018, 03:25 PM
I always keep all packaging at least a month in case I get a defective pen and need to return it. Then after that, if it's a nicer pen, I keep the packaging because I know that eventually it will enhance the value of the pen in case I want to sell or trade it later, or a descendant does. I've been around long enough to have seen first hand how stuff that cost me next to nothing and threw away years ago would now fetch hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Empty_of_Clouds
December 17th, 2018, 03:30 PM
I've kept all the packaging from modern pens (3 Pilots and a Lamy 2k).

Vintage pens that I bought that came with boxes (often for different pens) - I kept the boxes when gifting or selling the pens becuase to include them would have increased the shipping cost considerably.

Custom made pens tend not to come in special boxes, although my Chris Yoke dip pens did (o I kept those).

azkid
December 18th, 2018, 08:56 AM
I will start pitching Safari and Metro boxes if I run out of room. I figure it adds slightly to resale value for vintage so I keep those.

kulnet
December 18th, 2018, 11:50 AM
I always keep all boxes and paperwork when purchasing a pen as invariably I will eventually sell the pen to buy something else anyway.

Marsilius
December 18th, 2018, 09:02 PM
I keep the boxes of my more notable (expensive, vintage, special edition, or nice box) pens. But I have some that should probably disappear. I did NOT keep one of those new Conklin boxes that had white "satin" and looked like a coffin.
I am not a fan of those boxes that look like old froufrou jewelry boxes, with fabric that your can't remove, but if the box is nice or useable, I keep it.
Save for my Bulkfiller case which holds the tools and an extra nib, they are almost all in a separate box, one that I open and clean out spider webs from time to time.
I sometimes feel like just tossing the lot, but have always been glad I didn't.

Chrissy
December 19th, 2018, 02:20 AM
Even if you don't keep your old pen boxes for the pens that came in them, in the interest of recycling, they can still come in useful if you sell things (like pens) on ebay, or if you send pens as gifts to others.

Many years ago, before I ever owned a Montblanc pen of any type, my OH placed a BIC ballpoint in one of my nice pen boxes and, as a little joke, wrote about a famous white topped mountain on the outside of the packaging. He gave it to me on Christmas morning. The little joke backfired in a way because it spurred me on to sell almost all of my pens on ebay, and use the money to buy my first Montblanc Meisterstück ballpoint pen. I never looked back and regularly sell off some pens and inks in order to buy others. :)

Now I'm getting older, I still sell off pens and inks, but I tend to not replace them so much. When I'm no longer around I hope that all of my pens (and maybe even some of their original boxes) will be loved by others as much as they have been loved by me. :)

catbert
December 19th, 2018, 07:19 AM
I keep everything. Fortunately, most of my vintage pens came without boxes or papers.

Linger
May 23rd, 2019, 06:51 AM
I keep everything. Even the original boxes of my shoes...

Deb
May 23rd, 2019, 10:13 AM
I have a fairly large box of boxes that have come my way in lot purchases over the years, which sometimes enable me to match a vintage pen with the appropriate box. I keep the boxes for all the new pens that I buy, knowing that one day I will feel it is time to pass them on. Much nicer for the new recipient to find them in the original packaging. There's the odd occasion when a buyer will ask for the pen to be sent without boxes to save on postage cost.

Titivillus
December 22nd, 2019, 10:51 AM
It depends on two things; quality and how fancy the packaging is or whether I think I’ll sell the pen. The biggest package I have had was to the Rockwell Duofold. It was a small leather suitcase that had the pen and a folio of Rockwell pen ads. Probably 2’ x 1’ x 8”.

As for regular pens, again back to the top of it is a forever pen then no.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

FredRydr
December 22nd, 2019, 12:05 PM
It depends on two things; quality and how fancy the packaging is or whether I think I’ll sell the pen....
Do you recall the glass box of that Tibaldi fountain pen and ink bottle? That had to be the biggest PITA packaging dreamt up by a modern pen company (perhaps tied with Conway Stewart's triple giant box within a box within a box).

guyy
December 22nd, 2019, 02:32 PM
I have a mint BCHR Wahl #2 with box and papers. I only paid $20 bucks for it, which is about what i would have paid for the pen. I would have kept on walking had the seller been asking for a premium. The market for dinky BCHR ringtops with #2 nibs isn’t that strong. It’s just a cardboard box and a slip of paper. The only thing interesting about it is that there was a ribbon on the box. I don’t know if the ribbon came from the jewelry shop that sold the pen out Wahl.

In general, i prefer to buy pens without boxes. I will pay nothing extra for box and papers. They add almost nothing to my enjoyment of a pen but take up precious space.

Titivillus
December 22nd, 2019, 04:03 PM
It depends on two things; quality and how fancy the packaging is or whether I think I’ll sell the pen....
Do you recall the glass box of that Tibaldi fountain pen and ink bottle? That had to be the biggest PITA packaging dreamt up by a modern pen company (perhaps tied with Conway Stewart's triple giant box within a box within a box).

Yes ! After I pressed reply I remembered the glass box... with the die cut pieces of cardboard and inherent fear of dropping!!

hope the pen is still working great for you. That is one pen on my “regret selling” but at the time it was the only way to find some other purchases...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

FredRydr
December 22nd, 2019, 05:25 PM
Yes ! After I pressed reply I remembered the glass box... with the die cut pieces of cardboard and inherent fear of dropping!! hope the pen is still working great for you. That is one pen on my “regret selling” but at the time it was the only way to find some other purchases....
No, long gone. It was awfully pretty to look at, but as a writer it was just "okay" so I sold it to buy a vintage something-or-other. The glass box made it a bear to resell online and ship, but I put it on my table at a pen show and it was snapped up.

Cayce04
December 23rd, 2019, 06:06 PM
The outer box of the Churchill is the perfect size for holding paper. I've long got rid of the threee Churchills but still have the green outer boxes that now hold paper and other bits!

FredRydr
December 24th, 2019, 10:11 AM
It depends on two things; quality and how fancy the packaging is or whether I think I’ll sell the pen....
Do you recall the glass box of that Tibaldi fountain pen and ink bottle? That had to be the biggest PITA packaging dreamt up by a modern pen company (perhaps tied with Conway Stewart's triple giant box within a box within a box).
It took a while, but I found a photo of a Tibaldi Iride with its glass box, though the supporting cardboard and purple ink are gone. Clearly (pun intended), this would be a keeper box to enhance the pen's resale value, but I was unwilling to ship mine because I feared the glass panels' joints would not survive no matter how it was packed.

https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/642/123861/63022418_1_x.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&version=1529516457

pajaro
December 1st, 2020, 09:42 AM
I used to rip the package open and discard the box right away. Since I saw that some people like the boxes I have kept a few.

TSherbs
December 1st, 2020, 10:49 AM
I tend to keep them because they make mailing the pens a bit safer and easier. But I don't have that many pens. The boxes all fit in one night-stand drawer.

jar
December 1st, 2020, 10:55 AM
Some yes, some no.

bunyip
December 1st, 2020, 12:53 PM
New pens, generally yes. Old pens, most definitely yes if the packaging is original. This is principally for resale, for which someone else will eventually take responsibility so I am not sure it is really helpful (they may sell everything in a single lot for someone else to work out). The pen boxes sit inside large boxes in a corner of the workshop.

Linger
December 6th, 2020, 05:55 AM
Yes, all of them. Some of the packaging is beautiful enough to keep it for that sake alone. Kanilea for example. But especially the Japanese ones. Namiki and Nakaya and Hakase foremost. These paulownia wooden boxes are great. However, i store them all in a big plastic box in the garage, and i don’t take them out to look at them, so my argument is somewhat flawed. But in case i want to sell one in the future, it greatly helps to have all original packaging.

An old bloke
December 6th, 2020, 09:55 AM
Some yes and some no. I'll keep boxes for vintage pens, and the boxes of the more unique pens I may buy, but not (usually) the box for a less expensive, utilitarian, mass-produced pen. Then of course, there are those pens (a Diplomat Magnum for instance) I carry specifically to give away if someone wants to try a fountain pen.

I should add that the Diplomat Magnum is an outstanding pen for a price comparable to that of a 'school pen'. I'm happy to have and use them, and that is why I give them to possible fountain pen converts.

BoBo Olson
October 13th, 2021, 06:44 AM
I only have a few display case pen boxes. I only bought a few new pens. My 200's didn't come in real boxes, just litte cardboard sleeves...all but one, which I think came in a box. Those I saved in I'd learned on the com, that one got more money if one sold such a pen. Most of my used pens didn't come in etuie's either.

:crazy: In 1970/71, I didn't keep the box my P-75 came in. I knew how it worked; one squeezed the gismo, so tossed the box and the unread description. So it was some 40 years later I discovered my P-75 had two cartridges buried in the box....and I could use cartridges in it. Now I can use a converter also.

Watching a German Antique and curiosity sale show, learned one needs a garage just for all the packaging of what you bought for better prices when re-selling it.....helps to never have used the item either.

Sailor Kenshin
October 13th, 2021, 10:54 AM
Anyone want some pen boxes for the cost of postage?

guyy
October 13th, 2021, 01:37 PM
I only have a few display case pen boxes. I only bought a few new pens. My 200's didn't come in real boxes, just litte cardboard sleeves...all but one, which I think came in a box. Those I saved in I'd learned on the com, that one got more money if one sold such a pen. Most of my used pens didn't come in etuie's either.

:crazy: In 1970/71, I didn't keep the box my P-75 came in. I knew how it worked; one squeezed the gismo, so tossed the box and the unread description. So it was some 40 years later I discovered my P-75 had two cartridges buried in the box....and I could use cartridges in it. Now I can use a converter also.

Watching a German Antique and curiosity sale show, learned one needs a garage just for all the packaging of what you bought for better prices when re-selling it.....helps to never have used the item either.

Such absurd fetishization of packaging. How likely are you to come out ahead by renting space to realize slightly higher prices on your junk? You’d probably be better off just pitching the packaging. Of course, then you wouldn’t have the abstract satisfaction of possessing a still shrink wrapped uninked LE Whatever Deluxe you’ve never seen.

molly09
October 16th, 2022, 09:53 PM
yes I keep everything, they can be recycled (https://artltdmag.com/can-you-recycle-marker/) and used for a lot of things

Carpio
June 9th, 2023, 11:42 PM
Hello,

I don't own many pens, and most of those I do own are 10 a penny pens of very little value (I still cherish them though), so there really isn't any value in keeping the boxes, as the majority of my pens are in a large pen case (capable of holding 48 pens) and I have no intention of selling.
That said, I now know what I wish to do, by way of pen collecting. I intend to collect a specific vintage pen brand, and from a buying perspective, I would like to have original boxes wherever possible, but I wouldn't say no to buying a pen in 'bubble wrap' as long as the pen was nice.

Carpio

BlkWhiteFilmPix
June 10th, 2023, 05:21 AM
I keep the boxes of my more notable (expensive, vintage, special edition, or nice box) pens. But I have some that should probably disappear. I did NOT keep one of those new Conklin boxes that had white "satin" and looked like a coffin.

Keeping most boxes and paperwork is a plus if the time comes to sell the pen.

LOL about the coffin box quote. The boxes did come in handy when I sent the pen to Yafa for repairs.