Blind bags are EVIL!!!!! (But brilliant)

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*Jim’s note: At the bottom of the page is the unbagging video and a link to the ebay auction where you can take a shot at winning my doubles.

Blind Bags and boxes. I know you’ve seen them. Even if you’re not a collector, these little mysteries are all over the place. And a ton of different licenses to tempt you with too. From today’s latest pop vulture fad to numerous, nostalgic roads…. one can be hard pressed not to give into the temptation.. at least once. Or twice. Or a million times.

My first introduction to them came by way of my daughter. She became fascinated with the unboxing videos of surprise eggs on YouTube. And apparently MILLIONS of other folks have too. Honestly, I still don’t get the appeal and fascination of watching someone else opening these things but I’m not judging, I just don’t get it. Still, I gotta admit I am fascinated by the culture and some of the prizes inside are pretty darn cute or neat or both.

My daughter really got hooked into the My Little Pony blind bags that led to various other ones targeted to little girls including Puppy and Kitty in my pockets. And now the Animal Jams line from National Geographic. That one I’m much cooler with since it is tied into an interactive online game as well as being a little bit educational. And it’s fun. And that is what it’s all about, right? Right. Oh and the incredible amount of money these companies are making by a brilliant strategy I have to applaud.

Doing the math, with an average MSRP of $2.99 (some much higher of course) and a collection of at least 10 figures in a series (or more) you can see how quickly that covers the cost of a license. But then factor in the odds of getting one of each in one shot are pretty astronomical so multiplies are a given. But of course this leads to lots of opportunities for kids to swap and play that way but man does that get pricey. Bravo to the marketers and makers on that one. My wallet isn’t as enthusiastic though. But then again, I am a sucker for a good clearance deal.

At 50 cents a piece these mini, Generation 1 Transformers blind bags pushed me over the edge. I had to snatch all five that were there. It was only $2.50 right? I mean come on they were like $3 a piece! Heckuva deal! Of course they would also serve as research for this write up and an unboxing video to see how far it could go. Yeah, justifying an addiction is a terrible thing but come on it’s for research right? Right! Plus I NEED a mini Megatron in my life!

As of this writing I haven’t done the unboxing video that is posted below. Non-linear creation, so weird but interesting in a time travel sort of way. And before I get to that let me pose these questions to you all: Are you into the blind bags and boxes? Why or why not? Also if you are what do you do with your doubles? Let me know, I’m truly fascinated with this subject for some odd reason. Perhaps it’s another part of this brilliant design.

Now, Go Play! – Jim 02/15/17

Get my doubles from this post by clicking here! 

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Author: Jim Bumgardner

Jim's Toy Box features programming that is inspirational, uplifting and motivational all the while offering encouragement to those who wish to make the most of this life in preparation for the next.

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