Prices with no box ?

[David Hardie]

Morning all. I store my ep's in padded flight cases. Does anyone have a rough idea when selling something like a Tele Vue Ethos etc how much value may be lost by having no box? Is anyone really really bothered about no box as long as condition is good?

Thanks. David

[John]

Hi David,

It should not make much difference but when buying and selling used but expensive eyepieces, I've found that having the original box, internal packaging, paperwork and original dust caps does make a difference to what you can actually get in practice.

Obviously optical and cosmetic condition is of more importance though.

As to how much of a difference in the price, it's difficult to say precisely. In the case of Ethos and similar eyepieces, the market is not saturated with them so, if it's one that someone is particularly looking for, the impact on price might be small.

 

[Alan White]

I agree with John on this David.
When buying I like the original box etc. but in reality should only make at most £10 or so reduction in price.
You are not really buying the box to use after all.

But as said above, it is all in the mind of the buyer and it does sometimes make a sale harder.

[johninderby]

Agree with the above that not having the original box for Televue or similar price eyepiece only makes a small difference but having the box etc. does give confidence that the eyepiece has been looked after.

More important is that it has the original dust covers. If they’re missing puts me right off and I’ll keep on looking for one that does.

Edited August 25, 2019 by johninderby

[Timebandit]

 

 

Hello. Difficult to say exactly how much an eyepiece price is lost without the box. But in my opinion it certainty effects the value.

Personally if the eyepiece is an expensive one , then I really really like to see the complete package, eyepiece, box ,papers , as I think it shows the previous buyer has looked after their purchase more. Obviously the main concern when buying an eyepiece is the optics and body condition, as eyepieces are know to be scratched by cleaning or dropped. 

But personally I would look out for and more likely to buy a complete package eyepiece, and do pay that bit more for this, but all a personal choice .

 

 

 

[alan potts]

A mate of mine that has Camtech cameras always said a box is worth 10-20 quid, well that would be on a fairly pricey item like a Canon body. Personnally I would say a tenner however if it were a TeleVue I wanted I wouldn't care if it had a box or not, all of mine do have boxes but then that just luck. Oh and many were bought new, the boxes are in big box in the barn.

Also looking at what you have offered so far I am sure they are in top condition.

Alan 

 

[David Hardie]

17 minutes ago, alan potts said:

A mate of mine that has Camtech cameras always said a box is worth 10-20 quid, well that would be on a fairly pricey item like a Canon body. Personnally I would say a tenner however if it were a TeleVue I wanted I wouldn't care if it had a box or not, all of mine do have boxes but then that just luck. Oh and many were bought new, the boxes are in big box in the barn.

Also looking at what you have offered so far I am sure they are in top condition.

Alan 

 

Thanks Alan

[David Hardie]

Thanks all for answers. I just had too many boxes!

David

[Alan White]

4 hours ago, David Hardie said:

Thanks all for answers. I just had too many boxes!

David

Does that equate to:  I have too many eyepieces??

[Paz]

Most of my eyepieces were bought second hand and all of the had the box with one exception... my 31mm Nagler! I was like a coiled spring waiting for one of these second hand for a long time and got beaten on the draw more than once when they came up. So when one came up and by pure luck I saw it on abs within minutes of it going on I  scrambled to message the seller and I wasn't fussy about the box as there were other buyers ready to buy it if I didn't. So my 31mm is excellent condition wise and has caps but no box. I didn't get a discount for no box but I've been very happy with my purchase.

[Louis D]

It makes a huge price difference for eyepiece collectors of rare items like Meade Research Grade Orthos or Nikon Orthos.  For modern eyepieces, probably $10 or $20 difference or a quick sale versus a prolonged sale.

[JeremyS]

4 hours ago, Alan White said:

Does that equate to:  I have too many eyepieces??

This sentence makes no sense whatsoever.

 

 

🙂

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

This means I have one to many TeleVue 13mm e/p's ...

left: 13mm Plossl - centre: 13mm Nagler / Type 1 - right:  13mm Nagler / Type 6.

...and one to many TeleVue boxes! 

[johnturley]

The original 13 mm Nagler was certainly large.

John 

[bingevader]

I'd rather see a picture of the "pristine" EP for sale than worry about the box.

I've seen a few that looked less than "excellent" condition but were promised with all the original packaging.

As someone has already said, the boxes only end up on top of the bedroom cupboard anyway.

I've some 20 year old EPs still with the boxes, I'd be laughing if I added 10 quid to the price.

I know, my EPs aren't premium (but they've been bloomin well looked after)!

[John]

I've seen people actually selling empty eyepiece boxes for the premium brands such as Takahashi etc

I have a few eyepieces that don't have the original box but they are in great condition which is all that really matters

Some of the Explore Scientific and Meade eyepiece boxes are huge - they do create a storage issue themselves

[David Hardie]

7 minutes ago, John said:

I've seen people actually selling empty eyepiece boxes for the premium brands such as Takahashi etc

I have a few eyepieces that don't have the original box but they are in great condition which is all that really matters

Some of the Explore Scientific and Meade eyepiece boxes are huge - they do create a storage issue themselves

That's exactly the problem I had. A whole shelf of boxes take up lots of room!!! Lol

[Roy Challen]

I can see why some people may want the box, perhaps an item 'feels' newer with it rather than without. I'm not at all bothered as long as the condition is good. The best EPs I've ever used were Zeiss CZJs, none of them had boxes, and IIRC I sold them on without boxes.

[LDW1]

Many observers keep their eps in either a case or separate bolt cases all the box does is collect dust, lots of it, on a shelf somewhere else never to be used again !

[LDW1]

On 28/08/2019 at 05:59, John said:

I've seen people actually selling empty eyepiece boxes for the premium brands such as Takahashi etc

I have a few eyepieces that don't have the original box but they are in great condition which is all that really matters

Some of the Explore Scientific and Meade eyepiece boxes are huge - they do create a storage issue themselves

The problem is for most, are we collecting boxes or viewing the night sky on those great seeing nites, if its the boxes its the wrong hobby, lol ! If its the nite sky its out of this world, lol !