Are you keeping the original box? When it's worth it and when it just takes up space
- , by Verpakkingdeals.nl
- 6 min reading time
A tower of empty boxes in the cupboard: which ones should you really keep and which can be flattened for recycling? With rules of thumb for returns, warranty, and resale, and how to store kept boxes dry and retrievable.
At the back of the cupboard is a tower of empty boxes. The box from your phone, from your coffee machine, from the shoes you ordered last year. You don't dare throw them away, just in case you need to return something. Meanwhile, that tower takes up half a cupboard shelf, and you don't even remember what half of it belongs to.
The question "do I keep the box or not?" doesn't have a general answer, but it does have a few useful rules of thumb. Below, we'll go through them: when an original box is really worth money, when it only takes up space, and how to store the boxes you do keep so they're useful.
When the original box benefits you
There are three situations where that box earns its place.
1. The return period is still active. For online purchases in the Netherlands, there is a 14-day cooling-off period. What exactly you need to return and in what condition the product and packaging should be varies per seller and is stated in their terms and conditions; the general rules are explained by the ACM on ConsuWijzer. Practically speaking: as long as that period runs, just keep the box. After that, you don't automatically need to keep it.
2. The product is fragile or oddly shaped. A blender, a lamp, an espresso machine: manufacturers create Styrofoam or cardboard inserts for these that fit perfectly. You can't replicate those yourself without a lot of packing material. If that appliance ever needs to go to a repair shop or a buyer, the original packaging is the cheapest protection you have.
3. You expect to resell it. On second-hand platforms, "complete in box" counts. For electronics, collectibles, tools, and branded items, it visibly affects the asking price and the number of responses. If you resell within a year or two, keeping the box is a zero-cost investment.
When you can just flatten it
For the majority of your purchases, the opposite is true. A box from a T-shirt, a book, a set of mugs, or a pack of batteries adds nothing extra to a resale and doesn't protect better than a standard shipping box. Also, a box that is already torn, has been wet, or is missing its insert is more of a demolition job than protection.
The practical guideline that works for most households:
- Keep: appliances over approximately €100, anything with a custom-fit insert, collectibles, and products with a warranty where the seller requests the original packaging.
- Discard (flatten, with paper recycling): clothing, books, textiles, candy, small accessories, and any box where the product no longer fits because you've thrown away the filling.
- Doubtful case: keep it until the cooling-off period has passed, then discard it.
What you discard, you can later replace for little cost with a standard box. A Cardboard Shipping Box 15x15x15 cm in white costs €1.99 and is ample enough for the vast majority of small appliances and accessories. For flat, small items, letterbox boxes do the same job: the recycled letterbox box A6 (180 x 115 x 28 mm) in a bundle of 100 costs €17.95, the A5+ variant (255 x 160 x 28 mm), also 100 pieces €24.00.
How to store the boxes you keep
A kept box is only valuable if you can find it again and it's still intact. Three things determine that.
Flat, not stacked full
Remove the insert, flatten the box, and slide it upright behind or next to a cupboard. A flat box takes up a fraction of the space and won't crease under the weight of boxes stacked on top. Store the insert in one large container, not loosely in the box: this keeps the stack flat.
Dry and at proper temperature
Cardboard attracts moisture. In a shed, garage, or cellar, a box will become flimsy and musty within a winter, and then it won't protect anything anymore. Store boxes indoors. If there's no other option, place them off the floor on a shelf or in a larger container.
Write on it what it belonged to
This is the step most people skip, and it makes the difference between a useful stack and a pile of cardboard. Use a marker to write on the side of the flattened box: product, month, and year of purchase. If you work with multiple categories, you can also use colors — price stickers in 6 colors, 500 pieces cost €2.95 and can be used just as well as a color code on a box as on a product.
For items that come out of the box but belong together (cables, adapters, screws, warranty cards), a small box works better than a drawer. A black jewelry box measuring 9 x 6.5 x 2.8 cm costs €2.95 and fits in a drawer or next to the appliance itself.