So you use to keep those empty LEGO boxes but are starting to run out of storage and are wondering what to do with old LEGO boxes?
Or you are thinking of throwing them away but want to know if there is a resale market for LEGO boxes and whether it does affect the resale value of a set if you don’t have the box.
Sometimes it’s very hard to do away with LEGO boxes, especially for those rare, expensive, and exclusive sets.
But what can you do with those old boxes if you’ve come to a point where your free available storage space is running out?
In this article, I share with you 5 things to do with your old LEGO boxes, plus other important answers you should know about what to do with old LEGO boxes.
Let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
5 Things to do With Old LEGO Boxes
1. Sell
Yes, LEGO boxes are valuable and there are marketplaces that allow you to sell LEGO boxes.
You can sell them on Bricklink, Brick Owl, or eBay for about 10% of the price of the original set. Boxes for exclusive sets, rare sets, and specialty sets like UCS MF, Taj Mahal & Eiffel Tower can sell for a lot
For example, this is an empty LEGO Boxes Box for Star Wars 8018 Metro Police 6598 Jagged Jaws 8897 on eBay and the seller is asking for $49.99
Here you can also see there are about 290 empty LEGO boxes listed for sale on Brick Owl
Here you can see the seller asking for around $300 for the original Taj Mahal box on Bricklink
So it’ll be a good idea to just sell those empty LEGO boxes for some cash and you might even get enough to buy a few new LEGO sets.
You just need to open a shop to list products for sale and the cool thing is that both Bricklink and Brick Owl allow you to list products for free.
2. Display
Bigger boxes, especially the UCS Slave 1 box art are so good-looking and have great artwork.
You can treat them just like posters and decorate the building room with all the front panels / alternate build pictures over the insulation.
You can also keep them all and use them as background decoration behind your collection and you can even go further and match themes and subthemes. For example, putting Star Wars Republic boxes behind your republic Army, Friends boxes behind Friends stuff, etc.
Also, if you are someone who is interested in history, older LEGO boxes had much more utility and interest than new ones. Old boxes had interesting pictures of kids playing with LEGO plus a range of alternative build ideas that were not ever available in the instruction booklets.
Read: LEGO Display Ideas
3. Have them on the Wall
Having your LEGO boxes on the wall is another nice display idea and a cool way to free up storage space.
4. Store your Pieces
You can put all your pieces in their proper sets and proper boxes, glue them all together, and store each set with its original box.
You can also use them for the storage of bricks, specific parts of sets for which there is no display room, or other storage items like stacks of instructions.
5. Keep Them
LEGO sets tend to increase in value a lot and it’s a good idea to keep the boxes for sets that you think are worth it.
You can keep the ones you think are worth it like those for exclusive sets, specialty sets, theme sets, large sets, rare sets, etc.
6. Keep them as Records
LEGO boxes and polybags can serve as a record of what you bought in case you bought something and forgot years later. This is very likely especially if you tend to frequently buy new sets and it will save you from buying a set twice.
LEGO customer service can also ask you for the code printed on the sticker that seals the box if you call to request a replacement for a damaged part.
They usually do this to verify if they have issues with a particular production line which can help them in narrowing down the cause to prevent further problems and provide a better product.
7. Recycle
You can just recycle your old LEGO boxes if you don’t have enough storage space. You can slice them down, tear them apart and pack them off in the recycle bin.
8. Use them as Building Tray
You can also use the small to medium boxes as a lap tray for building LEGO sets.
LEGO Boxes Storage Ideas
There are many ways you can store your LEGO boxes:
- Keep them all wrapped in strecth folia in the attic.
- Put them all inside each: smaller boxes inside of larger boxes and then put into a great plastic storage bag. This is will help to decrease necessary storage space and you’ll essentially end up with a few large boxes taking up space.
- Keep them carefully sliced open and flattened and then store them inside a large LEGO Store yellow bag and then put it in the closet. You’ll be amazed how many boxes you can store in not a huge amount of space.
What to Do with Lego Boxes That Are Not Intended to Be Torn Apart?
These boxes are not like the traditional LEGO boxes that you just flatten. They are generally used for smaller sets like the Microfighters. So how do you handle it?
You can just slide a knife in and cut the glue to keep the box pristine (but opened) or just recycle them if you don’t need them.
Should I Keep My Empty Lego Boxes?
Yes, it’s a good idea to keep your empty LEGO boxes as you might need them later and there are many things you can do with them.
Is There a Resale Market for Lego Boxes?
Yes, you can resale LEGO boxes on Bricklink, Brick Owl, or eBay.
Are Lego Boxes Recyclable?
Yes, LEGO boxes are recyclable and you can slice, dice, or tear them apart and throw them into the recycle bin.
Does It Affect the Resale Value of the Set If You Don’t Have the Box?
Yes, LEGO sets with original boxes have more resale value than those without boxes.
