A quick scan of Craigslist reveals a curious market for not just smartphones and computers but the empty packaging of smartphones and computers. On my local Craigslist, a MacBook Pro box — "box only," as the sales pitches read — goes for $19. A MacBook Air box will cost you $15. And a Samsung Galaxy S4 box sells for $10.
This box market seems limited to the smartphone, tablet and computer packaging, and not boxes for, say, televisions or jewelry. Sure, a lot of computer packaging can be impressive in its engineering to fit all components snugly. But $19 for a box? What's going on here? We're hoping you can tell us.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
![A screen grab from a "box only" ad on Craigslist. It's not the only such ad that you'll find.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/841336e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/654x385+0+0/resize/880x518!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2013%2F09%2F05%2Fscreen-shot-2013-09-05-at-4.38.25-pm_custom-07523a5bc38c9cbb41b950c8b4d1ceb83a02537d.png)
/ Craigslist screen grab
/
Craigslist screen grab