Console Boxes - A Market Report
It never occurred to me to keep my NES box back in December of 1985 when I first cracked the system open. Of course, I was 9 and was not particularly forward-looking, even for my age. I wanted to play Mario and the box was of little concern.
Like most NES boxes, I can only guess that the box, along with the enclosed ozone-depleting styrofoam, ended up in a nearby landfill.
So even though millions of systems were sold, console boxes are not exceptionally common. Finding boxes in good shape, with inserts, is even more difficult. Accordingly, collectors unfamiliar with the console box market might be surprised when they realize how much they will need to pay to make their loose console CIB.
It should be less of a surprise that Nintendo boxes are the most in demand. NES and SNES attract the most attention and will be the focus of most of this market analysis.
In general, boxes for the Sega systems just do not capture the same attention and pricing.
Having the styrofoam and the manuals/inserts also makes a big difference. Boxes alone might fetch between $20-$40. But with styrofoam and inserts, $60-$100 sales are common.
And although I have been happy to keep the site NES Classic free up to this point, I now must discuss it. Apparently buying and selling the box and inserts for the NES Classic (yes it is less than a year old) is a thing.
An NES Classic box plus inserts sold for $49.95!!!! I know - how did you miss out on that? The good news is that you can still get one for between $25 and $54 (please don't).
And in the running for the most absurd video game collectible listing I have ever seen is this listing, for the cardboard box that the NES Classics were shipped in. It can be yours for only $20...oh, but the shipping is an additional $22.40. So what do you ship the cardboard box in...another cardboard box?
Here are some interesting, non-NES Classic sales:
NES Action Set box and styrofoam sold for $69.99.
NES Control Deck and Zapper boxes with styrofoam sold for $102.50 on August 6, 2017.
SNES box with styrofoam and inserts sold for $80.75 on July 29, 2017.
SNES Super Mario World and All Stars box with styofoam and inserts sold for $107.50 on August 17, 2017.