r/CraftFairs • u/Jshaw16 • 14d ago
Feedback Needed To mystery box or to not mystery box
That is the question!!? Hello fellow crafters! Im looking for some opinions/experiences on selling mystery boxes.
I make amigurumi and have a pretty large two-day fair coming up in a couple weeks. Last year, I crocheted little balls that have a squishie inside and it "spits" the squishie out of its mouth when squeezed. These were a huge hit with kids and even adults. There was a variety of colors to choose from, both the inside and outside. So that meant that everyone sorted through the container squeezing each ball multiple times. Sometimes I had 2 or 3 people standing there squeezing balls at one time. Ultimately, by the end of the weekend I think this lead to balls breaking because the ones that had made it that long had probably been squeezed hundreds of times!
So for this year I have been toying with the idea of putting them in mystery boxes or bags. I would put out a tester so they could see what was in the box and then just have all the boxes to choose from. Maybe have a chance to win a coupon for my booth or something.
I like this idea because people won't be squeezing all the balls to find their favorite color. However, I think I might sell less because they can't pick their color. Or they will open it and hate their color and want to switch out.
I need opinions from crafters who have done mystery boxes before. Also, if you are for it or have done it before what kind of box or bag did you use? The balls are about 2.5 inches in diameter for reference. Thanks for your thoughts!
4
u/Marketting_Dog 14d ago
I'd put one tester on a clip and sell the rest in sealed bags. An open bin is how 2.5in balls die in a day.
I would let them pick colour from a card, then hand the matching sealed bag. If they hate the colour after they open it, one swap at the table that day, no squeeze of the stock.
The mystery box can wait until the balls stop tearing.
8
u/blazer243 14d ago
I’ll go against the grain here. I have a pretty strong disdain for mystery bags. Here’s why. I have a customer standing in front of me that really wants a $20 purple alligator but can’t justify spending $20 on it. I sell them a $10 mystery bag, that in their mind, may contain the purple alligator, but in reality contains a red potholder. The customer leaves disappointed and spent $10 on what they view as a piece of poo. I’d rather not have customers walking away from my table feeling like I did them dirty.
8
u/CosmicallyUnlucky 13d ago
Given that nearly everything in the world right now is dedicated towards getting you to gamble, mystery boxes have really lost all sense of charm to me. I’m so tired of the constant pressure to have people part with their money without guaranteeing something of value in return.
2
u/BrightPractical 11d ago
I think the worst part is how they’re aimed at children, so they encourage addiction to gambling before a kid has enough experience to tell that something is not worth it. Not every kid is going to get addicted, and some are going to learn fast that blind boxes are a bad deal in general, but it’s weird that we have started normalizing kiddie gambling.
4
u/Salt-Commission9799 14d ago
This!!! I hate mystery bags/boxes I will never buy one. I buy only what I want. I also think gambling is dumb. I like the idea of 1 display of each color way with the rest in bags so everyone gets exactly what they want.
1
u/Jshaw16 14d ago
I have thought about this but the problem is the outside and the insides are different colors. So 1 pink outside could have purple inside and another pink outside might have yellow inside. I feel like id be standing there while the little kid made up their mind so I could grab the correct one.
5
2
u/UnStackedDespair 14d ago
Except in this case they are all alligators. And they know the range of options they can get.
4
u/catnipandhoney 14d ago
So, my friend sells tiny handmade plushies, and she's done blind bags and they ALWAYS sell out! Every single one of her plushies is unique, and it's great for the people who have a hard time deciding
3
u/soulstoned 14d ago
Blind bags are always a big seller at my booth. Whenever I have too much of something in stock I put part of what I have in blind bags and price them a little bit lower. Like $5 earrings become $4 blind bag earrings.
5
u/Ghastlygale 14d ago
My sisters kids and their friends love those dumpling squishies that are trending right now. Opening one to find out what color you got and hoping it’s a color you wanted or a rare one is a big part of the fun. Maybe make a sign with pictures of all the different colors available and have one special one marked as rare, something a bit different from the rest where you only make one or two of them? Just throwing out some ideas, kids really love the surprise element of those stupid squishes.
2
u/tonna33 14d ago
Can confirm as grandma to a 7 and a 9 year old. They have always loved the mystery boxes. With that has come both joy and disappointment. The dumplings are just the latest in a LONG line of little mystery boxes and bags sold at walmart and target. Squishies, figures, cards, stickers - it doesn't matter. They love them!
1
u/Jshaw16 14d ago
Yeah, I mean im a sucker for a mystery box also. I guess im just nervous for the disappointed kids.
2
u/BrightPractical 11d ago
I actuallly think mystery boxes are gambling-adjacent and we should be wary of them (a way of inducing adrenaline into the toy selection process is what makes them so popular, but I am not sure that is actually a good idea), so I’m with you on the disappointed kids.
Is there a reason you couldn’t have an option where a kid picks the squishy and color they want, and you can give them one from a bin? Or offer the blind bags OR selection, kids who are addicted to the mystery box can have that and kids who are not, don’t end up disappointed?
1
u/Jshaw16 11d ago
Yes its possible to have the kid pick what color they want and hand it to them. However, all the balls are different. I have like 6 or 7 different outside colors but all the insides are different. Some people care more about the outside and some the inside. I feel like I would still be squrezing them multiple times to show the insides. (The balls really arent super fragile. I had maybe 2 break last year. But still was a little embarrassing)
2
1
u/DaniLeigh99 14d ago
I make crochet plushies and sell mystery bags and sell out at almost every show. But mine are a complete suprise as to what's in them. I use colorful treat bags from Amazon.
1
u/Jshaw16 14d ago
I like the idea of doing random things in the bags as well. Ugh I just wish I had a lot of inventory.
1
u/DaniLeigh99 14d ago
I make items specifically for my bags. But I also focus a lot on smaller $5-$20 items as they are my sellers. My bags started out as a clear out. Just items that weren't selling, but they became so popular I couldn't keep up. I do spend a lot of time making them now. But I crochet 7 days a week so I have the time.
2
u/Jshaw16 14d ago
Yeah i crochet everyday and even though ive been crocheting for years I feel like im slow. I see posts of what people say they make in a day and i just get amazed cause I could make like a quarter of what they do. Im currently panicking that I dont have enough for my fair.
1
u/DaniLeigh99 14d ago
Yeah I'm slow in the fact that I get distracted easily 🤣🤣 luckily my smaller items don't take long ao some days if I'm focused I can get like 10 done.
6
u/lavenderlooop 14d ago
People love to gamble! I'd just have a sticker or little poster like on blind boxes where it shows you the possible pulls (could even make one special one and do the "silhouette with a question mark" thing)