I don't think its a matter of keeping or throwing away the boxes. My local Balenciaga boutique used to supply the boxes, but stopped in the past 2 seasons. When I asked why, I was told that shipping costs for them from Balenciaga were halved if they got the bags without the boxes.
I love ordering from A/R and today I received another bbag. The bag itself is perfect but I was a bit disappointed not to received the Bal box. I was wondering if anyone who has purchased with A/R had received boxes or not. Let me know.
I didn't get the box because they said they were out of them, but they did send me an email asking if I would like to have them send a box once they get them back in.
I asked for a box last time I made a purchase w/ AR.... so I did get a box. I don't think they would send the bag in a B box by default. So if you want one, you should definitely ask for it.
They also don't send receipt with the shipment either. I had to call and ask them to mail one to me. They said they usally don't do it to prevent international customers from having to pay add'l taxes.