Do you save manufacturer's boxes? Does it matter?

Usually keep them - it helps in case I resell something. Sometimes I re-purpose some of those boxes as shipping boxes or gift boxes (those damn toys always comes with an unconventional packaging that make it impossible to gift-wrap...)

 

I'm not one to re-sell things (I usually just give old gear to friends/family, or donate it somewhere), but I do usually hang on to boxes and packing materials at least until the warranty period is up, in case I have to send something in for service. That's only happened once or twice thus far, but it gives one a solid argument against claims of "shipping damage." If I send it to them in the exact same box & packing they sent it to me in, they can't say much about it without making their own material seem inadequate. After that, boxes etc. usually get culled out.

The one exception is effects pedals. I don't have a board (yet...), so they stay in their boxes when not in use.

 

i save certain boxes, especially new stuff (in case of a return), but if a piece of gear is being used regularly enough = i don't need the box it came in.

 

Start doing unboxing videos for YouTube. Without anything actually being in the boxes. They might complain a bit but it's too late by then. You've had the clicks.

 

Depends on the size.
I'm looking right at the boxes to my Radial Engineering Bigshot ABY box & Digitech's Drop.
Those are small however, & fit in the transparent bin full of stringed-instrument accessories.

For a while I keep the boxes to amps & instruments, but eventually I need the space & get rid of them.

The instrument box that I kept the longest was the one to my u-bass, because it was tiny & I used it in lieu of a gig-bag when I took it out to the park.

 

You night sell them, you might have to mail it for service, you might move. It's nice to have the box and packing material if you can.

 

I’ve always kept them. I include them when I sell the gear. Even if it’s many years later. Sometimes it will void the warranty, if you don’t send it in for warranty work, in its original box. You’d be surprised to see how much more an old 60’s or ‘70s pedal is worth, with the original box and INSTRUCTIONS. I keep instructions. Big bass boxes and small effects, even accessories- I keep ‘em all.

 

I do for pedals. Even if I don't sell them, it's comforting lol

 

I try to keep them around, but only because I may want to resell a pedal and I know it matters to some people. Personally I couldn’t care less about original packaging.

 

I have 28 working amps and most of them were bought used, so I have very few original boxes.

 

And some of its former colonies, even!

 

Same here, mostly.
I do still have the original box for a tube-powered mic preamp, and it goes back in that box whenever I stop using it and it goes back into storage. Other than that, I just don't have the space for a collection of empty boxes.

 

I don't and I'm even considering ditching most cases.
One less case = one more bass.
I'm an uncluttered space chaser.

 

I save the boxes/packing my basses come in, so I can ship out basses if/when I sell them.

 

Box hoarder here...

I have all the shipping boxes from the basses I've bought the past 5-6 years. I know I'll end up selling some of these at some point so they are staying for now.

I have a couple of Dillon reloading presses here and wanted to get rid of them, but was talked out of it by other reloaders...

Now Im getting into synthesizers and bought a couple of moog synths...more boxes to hang onto forever...

Than there are all the smaller boxes for electronics and stuff I've bought over the years and kept

Wish i had usable attic space.

 

It's often the best way to store something you don't use often, and I hate throwing out all that fitted styrofoam, knowing it can't be recycled. At least that way I know I'm getting some use out of it before it ends up in a landfill. I don't save stuff like large appliance boxes, but if it's about suitcase size of smaller, and the item is even a little bit fragile, I'll keep it.

 

Once I started selling gear by mail, I needed boxes to ship it in.

At one point, my wife told me to get rid of the pile of boxes in the basement, so I cut them up for recycling. That was a mistake. Small boxes are easy to replace but large ones that hold oversized basses (like an EUB), large keyboards, amps and speaker cabs are hard to get. So I'm back to keeping the boxes the gear arrived in.

 

I'll save one box but only if there's room to store it hidden away.