The concept of buying something without knowing what it is until you open it is exciting but quite risky at the same time. It has become an online sensation for some people as they take videos of themselves unboxing these mysterious blind boxes. It creates a great excitement for both themselves and the audience. These blind boxes are usually in collaboration with games, movies, characters or themes and they are great for those who love to collect.

The thought of having randomization in products is not something new, in fact, it already existed back in the late 1800s. It used to be called “bulk vending”, which is basically having a machine that holds a large unsorted collection of a particular product and then dispensed at random upon purchase. Examples of that could be gum ball machines, sticker machines, capsule machines and candy machines.

@Ekaterina Belinskaya / Pexels

I remember there used to be a bouncy ball vending machine inside of Old Navy at Coquitlam Centre. Whenever my mom had to go shopping with me at the mall, I’ll ask her for 25 cents and get a colourful bouncy ball to add to my collection. It didn’t make me dread the mall that much because I had something to play with while my mom strolled down the aisles.

In Japan, the most famous vending machine type would be the Gashapon or Gachapon machine. The word “gasha/gacha” is the onomatopea for the sound of cranking the knob on the machine. It is a capsule toy machine that dispenses different toys that are contained in a capsule. Bandai, the Japanese toy making and video game company, is internationally known for its capsule vending machines.

Pop Mart / daxueconsulting

Recently, there has been a new variation of this and it is the blind boxes. Instead of having to go and crank the knob on a vending machine, you go into the toy story and purchase a sealed box. You can choose from different themes or collections, but you don’t know exactly which one is inside the box. If you are lucky enough, you might even get the limited edition.

This is a video of a YouTuber unboxing Harry Potter themed blind boxes:

In a positive aspect, you can anticipate and be surprised by your purchase. In a negative aspect, if you don’t get the one you wanted, you might end up spending more than what you have planned, which can lead to some undesired consequences.

@Pezibear / Pixabay

Last December, my friend came over to Vancouver for a short visit and we bought each other a blind box as farewell gifts. It was from a Chinese mythology theme of the twelve zodiac animals in collaboration with Nanci. She got the Rat and I got the Rabbit. I think blind boxes are fun. I don’t necessarily need to collect all of them in the collection series. I am happy with which ever one I get because they are all so cute.

Next time when you don’t know what gift to buy for a friend’s birthday, maybe try and get them a mystery blind box for a small surprise.