Could YOUR old packaging be worth a small fortune?

How much could YOU earn from your old packaging? Rolex watch boxes could be worth up to £160 and empty Dior perfume bottles have a resell value of £50, research reveals

  • Research reveals old packaging from luxury brands can be resold for up to £160 
  • Empty watch boxes are most valuable pieces, with Rolex bagging the most cash 
  • Empty candle jars also featured on the top 20 list, with old Diptyque candle jars being resold for more than their original RRP

From Tiffany’s little blue box tied up in a white ribbon to the bold red on Nike’s shoeboxes, there is an element of excitement surrounding iconic branded packaging; but have you ever thought how much the boxes are worth when they’re empty?

Money.co.uk has analysed listing prices on eBay of empty luxury items such as shoe boxes and carrier bags of some of the most popular designer brands in the world to find out.

The new research has revealed that Rolex watch boxes are the most valuable old and empty packaging from luxury brands, closely followed by other watch manufacturers including Tag Heuer, Breitling, Omega, and Seiko.

Empty Rolex boxes come in as the most expensive packaging that’s being resold, with an average resale price of up to £160. 

Empty Rolex boxes come in as the most expensive packaging that’s being resold, with an average resale price of up to £160. Pictured, stock image

The Gucci shopping bag has an average resell value of £69 (pictured)

The Louis Vuitton shopping has a value of up to £69

The Gucci shopping bag has an average resell value of £69, while the Louis Vuitton shopping has a value of up to £69

The Most Valuable Luxury Brand Packaging
  Brand  Packaging Type  Average Resell Value 
1 Rolex Watch box  £160 
Tag Heur  Watch box  £149 
Breitling  Watch box  £131 
4 Omega  Watch box  £126 
Seiko  Watch box  £75 
Louis Vuitton  Shoe box  £74 
Gucci  Shopping bag  £69 
Louis Vuitton  Shopping bag  £69 
Nike  Shoe box  £55 
10  Louboutin  Shopping bag  £54 
11  Tiffany  Jewellery box  £51 
12  Dior  Perfume bottle  £50 
13  Diptyque  Candle  £50 
14  Chanel  Jewellery box  £48 
15  Chanel  Perfume bottle  £43 
16  Yves Saint Laurent  Shoe box  £40 
17  Gucci  Shoe box  £39 
18  Chanel  Shoe box  £37 
19  Fendi  Shoe box  £37 
20  Cartier  Jewellery box  £35 

Rolex is renowned for creating collections of prestigious watches, the cheapest watch in the Rolex collection is their Oyster Perpetual which costs £4,100, while the Rolex GMT Master II Ice is the most expensive model range in the current collection with prices starting from £353,000. 

Interestingly, the most expensive Rolex ever sold was Paul Newman’s Daytona which sold for a record-breaking £12.9 million in 2017. 

So, a £160 box that’s branded by one of the finest watchmakers in the world seems like quite the bargain.

Eight of the top 20 most valuable branded packaging are watch and jewellery accessories; the top five are dominated by luxury watch brands, while Tiffany & Co’s jewellery boxes were found to be the 11th most valuable with an average resale price of £51. 

Dior¿s perfume bottles hold the most value and place the iconic beauty and fashion house at the top of this list; as Dior famously sells one of the most popular perfumes of all time, J¿Adore Dior, there¿s no surprise it takes the hot spot. Pictured, stock image

Dior’s perfume bottles hold the most value and place the iconic beauty and fashion house at the top of this list; as Dior famously sells one of the most popular perfumes of all time, J’Adore Dior, there’s no surprise it takes the hot spot. Pictured, stock image

Tiffany & Co¿s jewellery boxes were found to be the 11th most valuable with an average resale price of £51

Omega watch box (pictured)

Tiffany & Co’s jewellery boxes were found to be the 11th most valuable with an average resale price of £51 (pictured, left), while Omega watch boxes have a resale value of £126 (right)

The Most Valuable Beauty Brand Packaging 
xx  Brand  Packaging Type  Average Resell Value 
1 Dior Perfume Bottle  £50 
Diptyque  Candle  £50 
Chanel  Perfume Bottle   £43
Dyson  Styler Box  £35 
Hermes  Perfume Bottle  £31 
Vivienne Westwood  Perfume Bottle  £29 
Cire Trudon  Candle  £24 
Jo Malone  Candle  £23 
Givenchy  Perfume Bottle  £22 
10  Yves Saint Laurent  Perfume Bottle  £22 
11  Ralph Lauren  Perfume Bottle  £22 
12  D&G  Perfume Bottle  £17 
13  La Mer  Bottle  £17 
14  Jo Malone  Diffuser  £17 
15  Balmain  Perfume Bottle  £16 
16  Le Labo  Candle  £16 
17  Neom  Diffuser  £16 
18  Gucci  Perfume Bottle  £16 
19  Neom  Candle  £16 
20  Prada  Perfume Bottle  £16 

The iconic duck-egg blue box tied up with white satin ribbon was inspired by Empress Eugenie de Montijo, the biggest fashion icon of the 19th century, who was once painted wearing a blue gown which acted as the influence for the official colour for Tiffany’s brand. 

The eighth jewellery brand featured in the top 20 list is Cartier, whose red leather boxes could be worth up to £35.

The comparison website also took a deeper look at specific sectors, including beauty, and found that six of the top 10 most valuable beauty packaging were empty perfume bottles, which have a resale value of up to £50. 

Dior’s perfume bottles hold the most value and place the iconic beauty and fashion house at the top of this list; as Dior famously sells one of the most popular perfumes of all time, J’Adore Dior, there’s no surprise it takes the hot spot.