The Best Display Cases

Finding the best display case that checks all the requirements you have when it comes to displaying your products, collectibles or even art pieces is surprisingly difficult, due to the huge variety in terms of shapes, sizes, materials, locking mechanisms, placement and features. What’s worse, the term display case is broadly used to describe many form factors (especially when it comes to jewelry display) that could be considered boxes, trays or even storage solutions. That’s why we spent a lot of time classifying and structuring our recommendations so that you can find the best display cases by type, feature, materials and also depending on what you want to display: collectibles, jewelry, accessories, art & decorations and even food products.

Our selections keep in mind both home & business users: some display case recommendations can be used both in-store and at home, while some are either fully-professional or best suited for use at home to keep your collectibles and other trinkets organized. Regardless of your intended placement of these cases, you’ll find some surprisingly effective, aesthetic and even creative solutions for your needs within our recommendations.

With over 70 types of display cases covered at the moment, you’ll surely find the perfect one for your needs. We’ll be extending our selections in the near future and keep updating the display cases category on our store with new models, but for now you can choose out of the following:

Didn’t find exactly what you were looking for above? No worries, we’ve organized our display cases selections based on where you want to place them, various important features (lighting, locking, rotating, portability, frameless design etc.) and by size and color so you can further narrow down your options. Of course, you can scroll even further and discover our collectibles section, where we’ve organized display cases depending on what products & collectibles you have in mind for them.

Some showcases were harder to classify, but we’ve also collected quite a few of the best Antique Display Cases, Vintage Display Cases, Modern Display Cases, Museum Display Cases and Shadow Box Display Cases. Although shadow box cases wouldn’t usually be considered classic display cases, they have a lot of utility and look great in many cases.

If you’re a sports lover looking to organize his collection or a store owner trying to display & sell various sports accessories and memorabilia, this display case collection will solve your problem: we’ve neatly organized all our display cases based on what you want to display and most cases are perfectly suited for displaying more than one type of sports accessory. From small, compact and compartmentalized cases you can use to show off baseball cards to large, wall hanging cases you can use to display items such as hockey sticks, we’ve kept in mind every collector’s need. You’ll also notice that single item display cases are some of the most interesting, those for baseball gloves, helmets and footballs in particular,

The variety of objects our customers collect never ceases to surprise us and we’ve gone to great lengths to create assortments of cases that will satisfied their display & organization needs. Action figures, model cars, figurine, dolls…we went through all of them to pick the best collectibles display cases that will keep your collectibles safe and neatly displayed. We also included various guns & military-themed cases in this collection as well. If you can’t find the collectible type you have in mind listed below, do let us know in the comments and we’ll add it to our list. Of course, you’ll notice that some cases (such as action figure display cases) are interchangeable with other case types, such as doll display cases.

1. Blending in with the right styles

There’s an astounding variety of styles when it comes to display cases, but, commercially speaking, your choices are usually one of the following: modern / contemporary, antique, vintage, Victorian or minimalist. Mixed with various form factors and shapes, plus some interesting features (such as curved or frameless designs), you have a plethora of choice on how to outfit your store with display cases.

Of course, the main challenge is blending the right styles of display cases and other fixtures with your store’s visual merchandising strategy and your brand identity. That’s why we’re always available to recommend you the best options and why we have such detailed selections.

2. Choosing the right materials

When it comes to “glass”, your choices are usually clear glass, plexiglass or cheaper plastics. The benefit of glass would be: easily cleaned, premium feel and great visibility over products. The disadvantage is that it’s more costly and more fragile than plexiglass. Plexiglass and other plastic options do vary in quality, transparency and ease of maintenance – depending on the quality, it may or may not scratch easily and it may or may not be cleaned just as easy as glass. Also, there are fewer risks of receiving a product with cracks or other issues when choosing plastics.

For the frame and other supporting elements of display cases, the most popular choice is usually anodized aluminum, which keeps the weight reasonable and lasts for a lifetime, basically. Wooden frames are also popular and may give your store a premium feel, but they do require more care and maintenance over time. Depending on your visual merchandising strategy, you may want a completely frameless design though.

3. Measurements & Placement

To avoid the hassle and costs of returning fragile items such as display cases, you should plan out where everything goes in advance and if items will fit according to your vision. One thing that customers sometimes don’ t account for is the height of various cases – while they might fit great on the floor, there might be height differences between them that ruin a store’s aesthetics. In that regard, we recommend developing and using a planogram for your store before choosing your cases: it’s a great tool that will help you figure out where everything fits.

4. Considering Important Features

One of the most important features you might want to consider is lighting. While many display cases don’t require lighting and offer great visibility – thus you can rely on your store’s built-in lighting – you may want to consider display cases that have LED inserts. Depending on where you’re placing them and the shape of the cases, built-in lighting might be very important to ensure that products are displayed properly. As for light temperature, you can always switch the LEDs inside to achieve the color temperature you need. While there are various do-it-yourself solutions you can use, we recommend choosing a lighted display case if possible.

Security is a common and valid concern for many customers and there are several options to enhance the safety of the items presented in your display cases. Most retail display cases come with lockable compartments and access is restricted from the front of the display case, customers having to rely on a store salesperson to get specific products out (such as valuable jewelry). Some other counter-top cases also feature locks. There are several clever solutions to implement locking into your cases and you can easily find them online.

A popular feature for smaller, tabletop display cases is the ability to rotate. There are some very interesting revolving tower-style display cases available, used mostly for eye-wear, accessory and jewelry displays. What you do have to consider though is the fact that they need to be placed properly and ensure they don’t tip over easily, as customers will be interacting with them.

For more niche features such as tamper-resistant glass, we usually recommend that you seek out a custom display case manufacturer, as the cost and the investment you’re making usually justifies a completely personalized solution.

5. Explore All Your Options

If you’d like to know more about all the types, styles and variations of display cases, we’ve compiled a neatly organized article with over 100 types. The information presentation will hopefully help you decide which selection of cases will fit your needs best:

» 100+ Types of Display Cases

6. Alternatives & Complimentary Solutions

Store fixtures are extremely varied in size, shape, form factor and placement options and you might find a lot of alternatives to the classical, yet costly display cases. From integrated shelving options to display tables and various merchandisers, you should check out our complete list of types of store displays you can use to organize, display and store your products:

» 100+ Types of Store Displays