Folks,
Please forgive me if this has been asked before but I’m running into a dilemma with a long history.
How long do you keep those boxes on which your beloved gear arrived? The warranty period? The wife getting fed up of so many? 90 or 30 days? Or as soon as you are happy with the acquisition, they’re gone?
For the first time in all these years I was called a pack rat. Is that the time to recycle?
For things that don’t require special packing I (not as often as I should) recycle the boxes after the warrantee period or immediately if I already have one or two that are identical to it. I keep boxes for heavy speakers, etc. forever. Often the manufacturer can supply replacement packaging (for a nominal fee or sometimes free) upon request.
Good info to know, if mfgs do that. Thanks!
I think it depends on storage options and how long you intend to hang onto your toys.
I keep my cartons in our (dry) crawl space for as long as I own the gear. I tend to buy gently used equipment, and have come around to the point of view that I don’t “own” gear - I curate it. 
Unless you live in a major metro area, having the original packaging is an immense help if you plan on frequenting Audiogon and taking advantage of the marketplace for used equipment.
On the other hand, if you plan on keeping it forever, then . . .
Boxes are invaluable if you ever service or sell a component and/or speaker. I have a dedicated closet for all of mine.
I keep all my OEM packaging for everything whilst I continue to own whatever came out of the box.
I too try and keep most of the boxes - no easy feat living on a small island - NY.
The other option is just to keep any custom made foam. That can be put in a box later.
I’m not sure if fedex or ups claims are in issue if something is damaged in shipping and not in the original box.
I keep all of my boxes. If you choose to sell your gear, buyers love the fact that you have the original packaging.
I’d almost state that non original packaged gear brings less on resale.
I store my boxes until I get rid of the component. Most of boxes are in the attic, some are in the garage. Also it comes in handy to have the original boxes for shipping if you Trade-in a component.
If you have the space keep the boxes. You may not be able to get them if you decide to sell.
If you can get them, some manufacturers charge outrageous prices for replacement boxes / packing materials.
I know but in my case I have some stuff where the manufactures are now gone. I’m getting old…
I keep them forever. If nothing else, having original packaging is a good selling point. There is less of a chance of shipping damage.
Same here… I have a mezzanine level built in my garage where I keep all original packaging / boxes. I would never dispose of any packaging !
When sending back to Quad, they will repack in a new box for $15. That’s service.
Speakers invariably have very specialised packaging and is vital to send by courier, who here insist for insurance on double-skin with a 5cm gap to the component. Most of the other boxes go in the speaker boxes.
I generally concur with the “keep it until you sell it” philosophy - space permitting, of course. Custom made, perfect fit, ease of shipping/resale, etc. Between studio and stereo and HT gear though, I’ve had so many boxes, that I had to keep most of them in the top of my garage which is not enclosed.
One winter a family of squirrels moved in without my noticing. By the next time I checked, they had an interconnected condo development up there with holes going through multiple boxes so the kids could have their own bedrooms, etc. So I had to trash a huge number of them at one point.
And now I’m moving, so I’m going to miss having some of them. The primary one being the one for my VPI Scout. Though it won’t be the end of the world to separately package the plinth, motor, platter, arm and cartridge. Mostly solid stuff.
Sorry, not quite clear, are you going to miss the boxes or the squirrels?
The retention force is not only strong but logical as well in the case of resale and trade in. My garage is 3/4 filled with such boxes, oldest boxes are 12 years, I may be persuaded by the wife to establish a 5 year retention period, being that if I have enjoyed the gear for that long, it’s mostly a keeper, unless the update and upgrade bugs come by crashing the stability of the arrangement. I may be in the minority about this, but I took the Stellar M700 combo as a heirloom piece to pass on to my oldest son or first son in law, will it last to see that? Maybe. I usually pay once and enough for something to be happy for a long long time, but fear of product defect is what makes me keep some boxes longer. Not all. I for instance repurposed two Sprout 100 boxes to hold interconnects, because I like the design of the box and its size. The Stellar boxes, only keeping the white one and tossing the outer sleeves. So my keep criteria has an element of appeal. If the box looks good and sturdy I keep it longer.
The only box of mine missing is for my regenerator. How can you lose a box that big?
It’s curious how audiophiles get precious about boxes, whereas with camera equipment most people couldn’t care less. With lenses it makes no difference to the price or sellability. That said, I have a spectacular collection of camera kit boxes.
I still have all my Nikon lenses boxes, but not the boxes for the body. I don’t even know why.