Here’s a fast search. Yes, it includes products, but if you look closely you will see how many successful auctions feature boxes only. Or boxes and other packing/manuals.
The obvious answer would be to fake someone out, but over and over and over again? There’s a lot of fishy weird auctions but here’s history on one… bidders don’t seem to be high volume scammers. Nor this one.
Are there a bunch of Apple box collectors out there?
That’s… weird. I’d assume you’re trying to rope in people who don’t read closely but I saw one iPhone 3GS box sell for $122 and the buyer left positive feedback on it.
I think there was a discussion about this before and it was speculated that these auctions for empty boxes could be some kind of money laundering scheme.
For those that don’t want to follow the link; It’s a story about how popular Apple branded crap is in China, and how the logo is stolen and used on unrelated products. In this case, it’s gas stoves with the iPhone logo on them. They even have counterfeit Apple stores there.
I dunno, but I have kept a couple of mine - the damn things are GORGEOUS! Apple’s product boxes are more nicely made than most of their competitors products.
Because they’re distinctive and usually contain good stuff in them.
I suspect that you’d find Tiffany boxes for sale, too. The better to package your cubic zirconia ring in and sell to some poor schlub trying to impress his girlfriend without actually spending all that money at Tiffany.
They’re more likely to be found at flea markets than on-line, and Tiffany’s been known to send people in to flea markets to look for sellers there, too.
Apple does design some excellent packaging. I like everything from the minimalist design to the little “fssh” of escaping air when the lid settles onto the box.
I’m going to guess there are people who want to keep their i-devices in the original packaging and have somehow damaged theirs. A couple of people I know might be that way. I had a really hard time throwing away my iPod box. It was so smooth and solid, like an actual product, not just packaging. Wish I’d known there was a market.
Are they looking for fake Tiffany boxes, though? We generally follow the first-sale doctrine in the USA, meaning that I sure as heck have the right to sell a legitimate Tiffany box.