Things could be different up here. I've never bought a NAPA Gold, since I get the same Wix at a very competitive price. So, I can't say how our NAPA Gold are packaged; they may very well be different from those in the States, or perhaps it varies by part number. I know at my Wix supplier (they have a giant wall of Wix, rather than the normal Canadian giant wall of Fram), there is a mix of boxed and shrink wrapped Wix filters. My last 51515 was shrink wrapped, while my G filters have been in a box.