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Doctor Who, One<\/span> Piece, Pok\u00e9mon, Star Wars. Empty product boxes from these popular properties have been listed on eBay for $2,500<\/a> and up. It\u2019s not too surprising to anyone familiar with modern nerd-dom that even the empty boxes for these perennial collectibles would command high prices.<\/p>\n But look what they\u2019re joined by in that elite bracket: a Bottega Stardust Sparkling Ros\u00e9 bottle and box (listed for $8,105), the box for a 1980s Rolex Explorer 1016 ($3,850), a \u201crare\u201d Hermes Bolide box from Japan ($3,450), and a Suntory Hibiki bottle and box ($3,000).<\/p>\n One big reason for this is that buyers are paying big bucks to acquire the original packaging for an item they want to auction off; selling the collectable with an original box almost always boosts the resale price. For high-priced items\u2014a secondhand Rolex Explorer 1016 sells for<\/a> between $19,000 and $52,000\u2014spending a couple grand on an original box is a worthwhile investment. It\u2019s not just collectibles either; even for items like a Dyson Airwrap<\/a> or Nintendo Switch<\/a>, it can make sound financial sense for a seller to track down the original packaging.<\/p>\n There are currently over 160,000 \u201cempty box\u201d listings on eBay (many under $25), and over 140,000 on eBay UK. WIRED requested sales statistics on empty box sales from eBay, Vinted, and Poshmark; eBay declined to provide data, and Vinted and Poshmark did not respond.<\/p>\n There is also an illicit side to this business: Counterfeiters will acquire and use authentic boxes to ship fake products to buyers, hoping to bolster the illusion that the shipped item is real. Sometimes, sellers will ship an authentic box filled with nothing at all<\/a> in what\u2019s known as an empty box scam<\/a>.<\/p>\n A seller on Vinted with the username wildswhim, whose listings include jewelry packaging (Vivienne Westwood, Michael Kors) deliberately avoids including \u201cactual empty tubes or containers\u201d in sales to deter counterfeiters. The seller also frequently describes listings as being \u201cfor props, staging, or storage.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, props and staging: Often, these empty boxes are going to influencers and video producers who use them to decorate their film set. Independent creators and aspiring influencers will use empty boxes, bottles, and packaging to stage their Instagram posts and TikTok videos to give their clips a whiff of the luxury lifestyle.<\/p>\n There are currently over 1,500 listings on eBay specifically for the search term \u201cempty box decor.\u201d Listings include a \u201crare\u201d empty Abercrombie & Fitch \u201cPR box<\/a>\u201d listed for $50 and a \u201crare\u201d empty Fenty Beauty<\/a> \u201cmulti-tier influencer PR launch box\u201d selling for $245. Both of these were originally sent out to select influencers by the companies\u2019 respective public relations teams, indicating that the OG influencers are reselling the items to the next generation of creators coming up behind them.<\/p>\n The Vinted seller tonym528, who is based in London, sold an empty orange Louis Vuitton box for \u00a323 (around $32) this month. He doesn\u2019t ask his buyers questions but suspects that people are using \u201cthose kinds of boxes to show off fake wealth.\u201d Seller MattyHornby, based in York, UK, has resold empty packaging from Supreme, Gucci, Balenciaga, Prada, retailer Selfridges, and skateboard and streetwear label Palace for similar prices per bag or box.<\/p>\n Seller Rafal tells WIRED that the \u201cabsolutely crazy\u201d prices are why he started selling empty packaging (Nike, Apple, Puma, Dior) on Vinted. Seller mariaharris1967 also jumped on the trend. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d she tells WIRED. \u201cI was able to get rid of loads. LV, Burberry, and Herm\u00e8s sell super quickly.\u201d She is one of the sellers who labels empty boxes and bags with descriptions such as \u201cgreat for room staging,\u201d \u201cgood for social media staging,\u201d \u201cdecor, staging, or room props\u201d and \u201c#instagram\u201d to target aspiring creators.<\/p>\n Branded packaging arranged to appear in the shot\u2014but in the background, not as the central focus \u2014in social posts is often used to imply an association with an aspirational brand, says Tama Leaver, a social media researcher at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. Influencers are doing it, he says, \u201cclearly with a view to making those intended relationships into real ones.\u201d<\/p>\n Platforms like Giggster and Home Studio List, which rent out prestaged sets to influencers, are very good customers too. The Vinted seller wildswhim says \u201cthe studios catering to influencers are bulk buyers now\u201d for empty packaging listings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBuying Clout<\/h2>\n
Signaling Success<\/h2>\n