by Peggy Robin
Here's a little holiday-themed tip that can save you
money and prevent aggravation later on: Save the box!
Let me be clear: I not talking about your basic Amazon
book delivery box. Recycle that sucker as quick as you can. I am talking about
the box for your new iPad or iPhone, or any other electronic gadget that you
know one day you are going to replace with a newer, shinier model.
Why think of this now? Just check the listings on eBay
and you'll see. Any piece of technology for sale will bring in a much higher
price if you can offer it up neatly stored in its original box. The more it
looks the way it did when you first took it out of its brand-name packaging,
with all its accessories snugly housed in their original compartments, the
sooner you will find someone who wants to take it off your hands, when you are
preparing your move up to the next new thing.
Not only will you get a higher price, but you will have
an easier time repacking and shipping off the prize to the next person who will
love it.
This advice applies equally to certain other high-end
toys -- most notably, American Girl dolls and their possessions: the
furnishings, the clothes, the pets, and their toys, too. Addy's doll (yes, you
read that right -- there's a doll for the doll), sells for $18, like new in the
box. Josefina's goat will get you $20. Not only does the Native American doll
Kaya own a horse (Steps High, selling new in the box for $75) but the horse
also has a foal, Flying Sparks, which is fetching $48 used, in mint condition. In
the box!
I know it sounds crass to think ahead to the resale value
of a present before you've even unwrapped it. And it may go against your notion
of the spontaneity and joy in the act of receiving a carefully chosen gift from
a loved one to respond by methodically preserving all the packaging needed to
resell it. All the same, if you can restrain yourself from tearing the paper
off and ripping the cardboard open, you'll be glad you did -- maybe a few years
from now.
If you can think that far ahead, then here's how you
proceed on your gift-opening occasion: First, slide off or snip any decorative
wrapping paper and/or ribbons, being careful not to dent or dig into the box.
An added benefit is that you may be able to reuse the pristine wrapping and the
ribbons. In the process, watch out for adhesive tape that could have been used
to secure the end of the wrapping paper to the box and could disfigure the
cardboard if pulled off in haste. Make an extra efforts to preserve any
cellophane windows. Take note of how any small accessories were fitted into the
nooks or crannies in the package. Save foam or plastic sleeves that will
protect against scratches during re-shipping. Save twist-ties for cords, too.
If there's a manual or printed information that comes with the item, keep it
with the packaging and rely on the online version for your own instruction.
Once you have removed everything you need to make the
device operational, repack the empty box and find a secure storage space for
it, leaving yourself a note in a receipts file, both in your computer and in a
paper file, reminding yourself where you've stowed the box, what it was for,
and when you purchased it.
Very important: If there's someone in your family who
likes to go through closets periodically and get rid of clutter, make sure the
box is marked and labeled, so it won't be mistaken for a worthless piece of
cardboard that is doing nothing but taking up space and collecting dust. And on
that dust-collecting point, here's another practical tip: Seal the box inside a
zip-top baggie, the type with a white space on the front to allow easy labeling
of the contents.
A final word of wisdom: Shut out the voices --whether in
your own head or from those you love best-- who insist that the now-cherished
item will never, ever be sold for money. Even though that may ultimately prove
to be the case, it's still no reason to destroy the box. A hand-me-down gift in
its original box always beats one loose in a bag. So always save the box!
---
Still Life With Robin is published on the Cleveland Park
Listerv, www.cleveland-park.com,
and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.
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