Everyone has their opinion. You are buying the piece. How much do you value the box? Are you buying it to sell it or display it? I buy to display only, never intend to sell any and plan to own all LE's, I could care less about the box or future value. If I like it and you have it with or without the box I'll buy it. But given two pieces equally or comparably price for shipping purposes I will buy the one with the original box first. Your motivation should determine the value of the box.