Do you save boxes for dolls and accesories?

I keep all my resin dolls my closet inside their original boxes, so I do keep all those. I don't purchase clothes, for dolls of this kind. However, I did purchase wigs, shoes and eye balls back in the day. So, I also kept the original packaging for those as well.

I feel it's easier to store wigs in their OG package because it keeps them from getting messy. It also seems like a safe way to store eyes and shoes. More so the acrylic ones, to keep them from getting scratched. Not all my eyes came with an actual box or package, so I know first hand it's easier for me to keep packing for most of my BJD related items. It's a pain because the larger stuff (like long wigs for my 60+ dolls) take a lot of room, but I rather that than have damage on items I spent money on.

I don't plan on selling my BJD, so that's not a deciding factor for me. I have known and collected these kinds of dolls since late 2003. So, after twenty-three years I can safely say, I'll keep my dolls until I kick the bucket. (:

 

I was thinking of doing the same but the foam takes up pretty much all the space. What do you do with it? I’d like to actually use the boxes for something too instead of them just taking up space.

 

In my experience, there's a limit to how much weight foam can handle before it loses its springy qualities, which is fine for keeping a doll safe in the post, but means the foam isn't of much use afterward. A few of my 70cm+ dolls arrived with their foam already heavily indented by their bodies, in particular areas like the buttocks, heels of the feet and shoulders. I tried to reuse some of the foam for a bench seat, but the springiness was already gone. The foam can perhaps be reused to pad delicate items for postage, but it's not good for much else.
Futons/cushions that come with some dolls fare better as they're stuffed with polyester fibre and can be "refluffed" if they lose their volume.
I tend to throw out the foam that comes in doll boxes, and if I intend on keeping the doll in the box, I'll use spare futons to pad it instead.

 

That makes sense, thanks!

 

I have a space in my closet that I just store them. They do take up space but I don't have the heart to throw them out. I'm a bit of a "dolly item" hoarder so I keep ALL the things.

 

Totally get that! I have the same issue.

 

I keep all doll boxes, but I flatten them and store them stacked in large storage totes. I keep most of the totes in the top of a large closet, but will be moving them to my attic as I ran out of space. I toss out any foam padding as it's hard to store otherwise. I once tried to store it in vacuum sealed bags, but the seals kept breaking and the foam puffed back up. I got frustrated and tossed it all out, lol. I figure that I can make pillows if I happen to move along a doll that originally came with foam padding. I keep any box pillows and just store them in a vacuum sealed bag to reduce the amount of space they take up.

I don't keep any clothing packaging, unless it's a fancy box or good plastic bag that I can reuse for storing something else. If the clothing is fancy enough to have its own box, it is stored in the box when not in use. I keep wig packaging, as I find it the best way (for me) to store wigs that are not in use.

I also usually keep a shipping box for my cats to play with, and trade it out when I receive a new one.

 

I used to keep the boxes, but I stopped.

It was a massive hassle making space for them when I didn't even care about the boxes from a sentimental perspective. I find that it helps me bond with a doll better if I ditch the box and forget about it entirely.

Even if I don't end up bonding with the doll after all, I find that keeping boxes tethers me mentally to the financial cost instead of letting me focus on the more valuable aspect of enjoying my dolls. (They say true richness comes from being rich in experiences, not money, after all )

Given that I don't care about keeping boxes, I definitely would buy a doll without the box, provided I'm without a doubt that the doll is authentic (through COA or otherwise. Outside of Volks, a lot of the dolls I like haven't been copied.)

 

All my dolls so far have been preowned and/or very old so I haven't gotten boxes with any of them but when my 1/4 Baldwin gets here I'm hoping to save his box and maaaybe use it to store spare doll clothes and accessories in, haha.