De haber conservado el embalaje, habría evitado la incidencia.

This is a formal, more condensed way of expressing an unreal condition in the past.

• De haber conservado el embalaje... = Si hubiera conservado el embalaje...
• In English, it works a bit like Had you kept the packaging...

This structure is common in:

• formal writing
• customer service language
• legal or administrative Spanish
• written notices and reports

In everyday speech, many speakers would more naturally say:

• Si hubiera conservado el embalaje, habría evitado la incidencia.

So de + infinitive here is not a different meaning, just a more formal style.

Because the sentence refers to a completed action in the past that did not happen.

• haber conservado is the perfect infinitive
• It means something like to have kept

Compare:

• De conservar el embalaje... → if one were to keep / in the event of keeping
  This sounds more general or hypothetical, not clearly about a past completed action.
• De haber conservado el embalaje... → if he/she/you had kept the packaging
  This clearly refers to a past unreal condition

So the perfect infinitive is used because the speaker is talking about what should have been done earlier.

Because this is a past counterfactual conditional: it talks about a result that would have happened, but didn’t.

The usual pattern is:

• Si + pluperfect subjunctive, conditional perfect
• Si hubiera conservado..., habría evitado...

In this sentence, the first part is just shortened:

• De haber conservado..., habría evitado...

So habría evitado is the conditional perfect, used for an unreal result in the past:

• would have avoided

This is the standard tense combination for this type of sentence.

Spanish often omits the subject pronoun when it is understood from context.

So habría evitado could refer to:

• usted
• él
• ella

and sometimes even a more general implied person, depending on the context.

For example, in a customer service message, it may be addressing you politely:

• De haber conservado el embalaje, habría evitado la incidencia. = Had you kept the packaging, you would have avoided the issue.

Spanish does this very naturally, whereas English usually needs the subject stated.

Embalaje usually means packaging, especially the materials used to pack and protect an item.

Depending on context, it can include:

• the box
• protective wrapping
• padding
• original packing materials

For an English speaker, it is often best understood as:

• the packaging
• the original packaging

It is broader than just box.

A few related words:

• caja = box
• paquete = package/parcel
• envase = container, packaging for a product itself
• embalaje = packing/packaging materials, often for shipping or protection

Not usually in the English sense of incident.

In Spain, incidencia is very common in:

• customer service
• shipping
• technical support
• administrative language

It often means:

• issue
• problem
• complication
• claim-related problem
• delivery problem

So in this kind of sentence, la incidencia is probably some specific problem that arose, for example:

• a return problem
• a shipping issue
• damage claim trouble
• a processing complication

This is one of those words where the closest literal English equivalent (incident) is often not the most natural translation.

Using la incidencia suggests a specific, identifiable issue, probably one already known in the conversation or context.

So it implies something like:

• the issue
• the problem in question
• that problem

If the speaker said una incidencia, it would sound less specific:

• some issue / an issue

In customer service or official communication, la incidencia is very common when both sides already know what problem is being referred to.

Yes, it sounds quite formal and written.

The features that make it formal include:

• de haber + past participle
• the vocabulary incidencia
• the overall concise, impersonal tone

It sounds like something you might see in:

• an email from customer support
• a complaint response
• a logistics report
• terms and conditions
• an official explanation

A more natural everyday spoken version might be:

• Si hubiera guardado el embalaje, habría evitado el problema.

That version is less formal and more conversational.

Yes, in many contexts you could, but the nuance changes slightly.

• conservar = to keep, preserve, retain
• guardar = to keep, store, put away

In this sentence, conservar sounds a bit more formal and fits well with official language.

Compare:

• conservar el embalaje = retain the packaging
• guardar el embalaje = keep the packaging / save the packaging

In everyday speech, many people would probably say guardar:

• Si hubiera guardado el embalaje...

In formal written Spanish, conservar sounds very natural.

It exists in speech, but it is much more common in formal writing than in everyday conversation.

A native speaker would absolutely understand it, but in normal speech they are more likely to say:

• Si hubiera conservado el embalaje...
• Si hubiera guardado el embalaje...

So as a learner, it is useful to:

• recognise de haber + participle when you read it
• know that it is a more formal equivalent of si hubiera...

You do not need to use it often yourself unless you want a more formal or polished style.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate conditional clause, followed by the main clause.

• De haber conservado el embalaje,
• habría evitado la incidencia.

In Spanish, when this kind of clause comes first, it is normal to separate it with a comma.

If the order were reversed, the comma might often disappear:

• Habría evitado la incidencia de haber conservado el embalaje.

So the comma here is standard and helps mark the introductory condition clearly.