Taking up space, but one day very useful, sim racing hardware boxes are both great and frustrating objects to keep. Where do you stand on this age-old question?
To keep or not to keep, that is the question many a sim racer poses themselves after buying new equipment. Be it a new monitor, fresh PC element, sparkly wheel or untouched pedal set, everything you buy today comes in a box. If not two.
But with so much cardboard, Styrofoam and packaging included with your new products, unboxing is not necessarily an easy process. You may be rapidly set up with new equipment, but that often leaves a floor covered in mess. So what to do with your empty sim racing boxes?
Plenty of hardware to pack up into boxes.
That being said, clogging up a large amount of space in my bedroom, the boxes were not long for this world. Ready to pull the trigger at any moment, had this change of circumstance not arisen so soon, I may have been transporting a collection of sim racing stuffs in tea towels.
But moving is not the only reason one should keep a hold of their boxes with many a case to prove why chucking is typically a bad idea.
However, a quick scroll through second hand hardware listings and you will see that those bits of kit with boxes and packaging included tend to command a higher asking price than their rogue counterparts. As a result, should you decide to make a change to your rig, ensuring you can get as much money back from your purchase as possible is then money you can inject back into the hobby. Circular economy, am I right?
Now, a warranty to be annulled for failure to send a bit of old cardboard is rare. Typically, those companies requiring you to send hardware in its original box make sure you know before hand. However, sometimes it is best to be safe rather than sorry.
With all that in mind, one question remains. How do you feel about sim racing hardware boxes? Are you a keeper or a chucker and why? Let us know in the comments.
To keep or not to keep, that is the question many a sim racer poses themselves after buying new equipment. Be it a new monitor, fresh PC element, sparkly wheel or untouched pedal set, everything you buy today comes in a box. If not two.
But with so much cardboard, Styrofoam and packaging included with your new products, unboxing is not necessarily an easy process. You may be rapidly set up with new equipment, but that often leaves a floor covered in mess. So what to do with your empty sim racing boxes?
Why To Keep Boxes
The reason I ponder this question now is because I recently went through some changes in my life requiring me to relocate. As such, a whole heap of tech I had purchased not six months prior had to be taken down, put away and lobbed into a small econobox on the way to its new home. Whilst typically, I do not care for keeping packaging, this time around I am happy I did as with each replica wheel fitting into its own insert, the process was far smoother than any move I had done in the past.Plenty of hardware to pack up into boxes.
That being said, clogging up a large amount of space in my bedroom, the boxes were not long for this world. Ready to pull the trigger at any moment, had this change of circumstance not arisen so soon, I may have been transporting a collection of sim racing stuffs in tea towels.
But moving is not the only reason one should keep a hold of their boxes with many a case to prove why chucking is typically a bad idea.
Investing In Sim Racing
"Investing in sim racing tech? You must be mad," I hear you cry. Well, yes. By no means am I saying that like a limited edition Pokémon card, your boxed Logitech G920 or Thrustmaster TH8A shifter will suddenly be worth millions of your chosen currency.However, a quick scroll through second hand hardware listings and you will see that those bits of kit with boxes and packaging included tend to command a higher asking price than their rogue counterparts. As a result, should you decide to make a change to your rig, ensuring you can get as much money back from your purchase as possible is then money you can inject back into the hobby. Circular economy, am I right?
Preserving Your Warranty
No doubt the most valid explanation for spending 99 per cent of your life in despair, trapped between towers of cardboard is to retain valid warranties. In fact, sometimes if you choose to send kit back to the manufacturer for repairs or replacement, posting said equipment in its original box can make the difference between a friendly business transaction and a void agreement.Now, a warranty to be annulled for failure to send a bit of old cardboard is rare. Typically, those companies requiring you to send hardware in its original box make sure you know before hand. However, sometimes it is best to be safe rather than sorry.
With all that in mind, one question remains. How do you feel about sim racing hardware boxes? Are you a keeper or a chucker and why? Let us know in the comments.
