So I think we've all seen a lot of these "For Display Only" SNES boxes, titles ranging from games like Super Punch-Out to Earthbound.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Earthbound "For Display Only" box is the size of a traditional box and not super-sized correct?

How much are these worth?  About the same as the regular retail boxes?  Do "for display only" manuals and carts exists as well?  If anyone can help out please educate me...

That's a question I was asking myself too. I'm no expert on the subject, but here's what I observed so far.

I think there are cartridges "not for resale "(Thanks Dan), like TMNT IV, but the cartridges are not combined with a "for display only" box (Correct me if I'm wrong). I never heard about "for display only" manual.

About value, I must admit I never saw a "for display only" box getting more than the regular box, and Earthbound "for display box", which is indeed the size of a regular SNES box, seems to sell for cheaper than the original oversized box.
But, we can say these boxes are significantly rarer than the original, and maybe some future SNES collecting behaviors will command a premium for these boxes.

I've only heard of "Not for resale" cartridges. I thought the carts were for kiosks, and the boxes were set out for preorders?

i have seen tons of these boxes... typically, they dont sell for much. im not an expert on snes box prices though so i dont know if there is a large price variance. IIRC though, the display only boxes typically sold for less than the "real" boxes. and jone, the earthbound one is definitely the regular size. honestly, i havent seen these boxes sell for more than a buck or 2 a piece in a large lot, but i wouldnt be surprised if someone sold an earthbound cart with a small box to maximize their profits and trick the buyers. in that case, the little box may add a significant amount to the cart value.

edit: dan's understanding is mine as well. i have never seen a manual other than the regular manuals, and i have never seen a cart that was for display only. it makes the most sense to display boxes and demo the games, so the NFR carts and for display only boxes make the most sense to me.

I've seen a bunch of these too, but whenever they appear they only seem to be high prices BINs, like ridiculously high priced ($50+). I was assuming they are probably worth about as much as the regular box in today's market (with Earthbound being cheaper), but I can only guess that they would be worth more in the future like Guillavoie mentioned. Even if a lot have been seen, surely there aren't as many For Display Only boxes as there are regular boxes. I can imagine variant hunters for SNES paying more for them in the future due to rarity, but only time would tell.

I only see 3 on eBay now, Metroid, Super-Punch Out and Earthbound. I've also seen several for other popular titles like DKCs. It also seems to follow the "not for resale" cart trend, i.e. if there was a NFR cart then there's a "For Display Only" box somewhere (like Stunt Race FX). However, I've also discovered some For Display Only boxes that have got to be really rare, because the game is unpopular and not an NFR title (example, Toy Story). I wonder if there is a comprehensive list, maybe I'll try to get them all myself and see what I come up with.

A couple years ago there was a guy that had tons of these all of which were brand new and unfolded and he sold them in sets of 20 or so for about $25 or $30. He probably sold 50 sets of them. They're really not that hard to find and generally don't go for much.

i can remember from a couple years ago... sellers would list never been unfolded display boxes in big lots. sorry, i cant remember titles, but there were at least like 25 in a lot. they wouldnt sell for much, but i remember tons of them being on ebay back then. there is definitely less display boxes than retail boxes, but im not sure how many people will collect them. they arent really variants in the fact that they were never released, but all of the people who collect nfr carts, i would assume would be the same type of people who collect the display boxes. however, the boxes are definitely not even close to being as rare as the nfr carts.

Yeap this is true but that stock has long since dried up and the prices have changed. The newer collectors never had a shot those. So they buy them when they see them and many people bought just one set and aren't selling them. I too bought some sets of these but who knows where they are now. I think I sold one of the Earthbounds seperate but can't recall for how much a few years ago. $30 perhaps?

Anyway you won't get crazy money but I'd expect way more than the ~$1 a box people bought them for back in the day.

Yeah besides, how much was F2 or SE two years ago

I hear you guys loud and clear, they were sold in lots for uber-cheap back in the day. If buyatari bought some sets, I can only imagine other people horded some as well. I don't think SNES collecting is anywhere near its peak yet so maybe when a bunch of new SNES guys hop in they'll be worth something significant.

I'm not buying these to resell, I'm buying them to collect anyway if I can get a decent deal on em.

Ha, what a coincidence, this guy has exactly 25 unique titles (couple of dupes) as you guys mentioned. I bet he got one of those lots back in the day, let me see how much he wants for his set. Interestingly enough, he has a DKC and DKC2 "For Display Only", but he doesn't have one for DKC3... wonder if that game came with one?

Does this guy had every possible "for display only" box in large amounts, of just a few titles?

The lots he sold were of 20 or 25 different titles.  All the lots were the same though.  I don't know if there are any titles which he didn't have.

IIRC when they were sold in lots the first sets had more. Then later on the number of different titles dropped. I want to say the first sets had 28 different then 25 and later on 20 but it has been a long time.

I didn't get the feeling back then that too many people bought multiple sets. Most guys I knew that bought a set only bought one. I always bought multiples of everything I thought was cool back then but I was more the exception than the rule.

Imagine someone buying multiple sets of Xbox display boxes today. That is how I might compare it. People really didn't collect SNES then like they do today.

I sold a "For Display Only" box for Earthbound for $70 and I've seen that one sell for about $70 before I sold mine.

I'd say the price has gone up from a dollar each !

as anything I guess it just depends on the game like earthbound with its cult following... I'd be interested in seeing what one of these would go for if they ever popped up obviously I mean an original and not a reproduction.

So I talked to the guy and the deal fell through, he said: "Also note that I'm probably expecting a premium on the not for resale boxes since they seem to be pretty rare, especially Earthbound."

I just thought they would be cool to have, I'm definitely not the type who is going to pay a premium for them myself. Apparently all of his stuff will be hitting the bay before the summer is over, so keep your eyes peeled and maybe we'll see their true value in this market.

^ Good idea to pass. He sounds hopefull

These used to be plentiful. I remember sellers listing them in huge lots for cheap back in the day.

Necrobump.

http://imgur.com/a/2raow...



These are mine inside of box protectors. I know I got more than one set around 2000 or 2001 but I can only find my folded ones in box protectors. Seeing that Earthbound has gone for $70 alone makes me really glad I didn't sell them to a game shop yesterday (shop clerk balked when I asked for more than his lowball offer).

FWIW, the print quality is not as good as the real boxes. Comparing DKC2, for example, Diddy's shirt and the SNES logo in the lower right are much too dark. I also see "Made in Mexico" on the display box with slightly different size and arrangement of the usual elements but I don't know that there wasn't a retail box variant that had more in common. Every game has a unique barcode that starts with all zeroes and does not seem to correspond with the retail version's bar code.

That said, because there is no real alternative for an official Earthbound or Mario Paint box that you can put on your shelf in-line with other normal-sized boxes. If you don't want to use repro boxes to accomplish this then this is as official as you can get. 

I think the display box for Stunt Race FX will go well with my NFR copy.

GREAT bump, i like these things although they are abundant. Cool collection

They aren't really THAT common today. Remember: This conversation happened in 2009 and by their very nature they are going to be much less common than the retail boxes (stores only needed one display box to sell hundreds of other copies). The main issue I see is that unofficial repro boxes are now commonly available as an alternative to these or original retail boxes. I don't know how that will affect the price but it seems that we have factors pushing both ways (modern scarcity versus new alternatives).

Since bumping this thread, I did some digging and came up with 6 sets of 23 unique box titles plus a 7th Super Metroid box. I never folded up stuff like Pinnochio, Toy Story, and Street Fighter Alpha 2 so they didn't make it in the original pic.

Anyway, I went back to the same game shop last night (Zero Gravity Games) and we agreed to do a trial sale on eBay where we will split things 50/50. I'll try to find their seller ID so I can promote the listing in the auction spotlight but I haven't found it yet. I checked on eBay and I don't see anyone selling a set of 23 like I have, so look for a set of 23 unfolded SNES "For Display Only" boxes coming soon:

01. Donkey Kong Country
02. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
03. Earthbound
04. F-Zero
05. Kirby Superstar
06. Kirby's Avalanche
07. Kirby's Dream Course
08. Mario Paint
09. Pilotwings
10. Pinocchio
11. Star Fox
12. Street Fighter Alpha 2
13. Stunt Race FX
14. Super Punch-Out!!
15. Super Mario Kart
16. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
17. Super Mario World
18. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
19. Super Metroid
20. Tetris & Dr. Mario
21. Tetris Attack
22. Toy Story
23. Vegas Stakes

Next up: I'll try to dig up the seller info from my PayPal account. I recall this being in 2000 or 2001. I also bought box protectors from the seller. I believe it was the same seller I got my sealed "Play It Loud Vol. 1" soundtrack and "Diddy's Kong Racing" shaped soundtrack CDs.

Edit:
Found it. I'm a little disappointed that it's not being sold auction-style to determine the true value. Also disappointed that they didn't use any of the titles as keywords (not even Earthbound). *sigh* Now if I sell one of my other sets it will look like they are available from more sellers than they are and it will also put a ceiling on any price it may bid up to. If it's overestimated then it will deter buyers and I'll never figure out what my other sets are worth.

https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/2015...;

Here is one of my unfolded sets. Lots more than the original picture!
http://i.imgur.com/83RTTw1.jpg...