Blind boxes, as the name suggests, contain different items in identical boxes, with consumers unaware of which specific item they will receive, though there is a certain probability of getting their desired product. This lottery-like marketing strategy easily stimulates consumers' desire to purchase and has become one of the marketing methods attracting youth consumption.

As businesses across various industries have discovered the profitability of the blind box market, many hope to share in the profits. Beyond the initial toys, blind box fever has spread to sectors such as dining, beauty, stationery, and books, making blind boxes ubiquitous in the consumer market. According to a survey, the domestic blind box industry market size was 7.4 billion yuan in 2019, and it is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan in 2021.

While the blind box economy is developing rapidly, some accompanying issues cannot be ignored. Based on media reports and consumer complaints, the blind box market mainly has the following problems:

1. Excessive marketing by businesses, making consumers easily addicted.

Operators employ various marketing tactics, such as collaborating with celebrities, variety shows, and internet influencers to constantly "maintain presence"; using player sharing, discussions, and exchanges to evoke consumers' collection and炫耀 psychology, stimulating purchase motivation and desire; and creating "series" concepts with a hardest-to-obtain "hidden edition" for hunger marketing, where the probability of drawing is often "one in a hundred."

These marketing methods drive many consumers to indulge in the uncertainty and surprise of opening blind boxes, leading to impulse purchases and fueling irrational consumption. Especially among youth, who are curious, competitive, and have immature consumption concepts, they are highly susceptible to becoming "addicted" to blind boxes, with some even buying entire boxes to get a "hidden edition."

In August 2019, Tmall Global's "Post-95s Players' Spending List" showed that 200,000 consumers spend over 20,000 yuan annually on blind boxes, with some even spending millions per year.

For example, in October 2020, a parent told media that their high school daughter had bought many blind boxes mainly to get a "hidden edition" to show off to classmates. Her annual 5,000 yuan in lucky money and allowance was almost entirely spent on blind boxes, but after more than two years, she hadn't collected a single complete series.

Another example: a blind box enthusiast told media that she started buying blind boxes in early 2019 and, by November 2020, had purchased over 300 blind boxes, with 8 of them costing nearly 1,000 yuan each.

There are also players who, to get a limited-edition doll priced at about 999 yuan, bought 500 blind boxes at once, spending over 30,000 yuan in a single purchase. Additionally, a secondary market for "speculating on blind boxes" has emerged, with some rare "hidden editions" being resold for thousands of yuan.

For instance, in September 2019, a Pony Santa Christmas hidden edition blind box, originally priced at 59 yuan, was sold on a second-hand trading platform for as high as 2,350 yuan. This speculative behavior has further fueled the blind box craze.

2. Businesses suspected of false advertising; received goods not matching promotions.

Compared to ordinary products, blind boxes have strong information asymmetry. Consumers can only rely on business advertisements to make choices, making them easily misled by exaggerated product value, fabricated winning probabilities, and color/style discrepancies.

For example, during the 2019 "Double 11" shopping festival, an operator launched a "New Product Premium Gift Pack" blind box, advertising that consumers would receive a new blind box and a set of postcards each month for 12 consecutive months. However, in January 2020, consumers received old models from December 2019 instead of new ones. Many players believed this was inconsistent with the original advertising and suspected deception, leading to group complaints.

Another example: In October 2020, consumer Mr. Hou complained to the Shenzhen Consumers' Commission that the 100-yuan blind box he bought online was seriously inconsistent with the promotion. The promotional images were overly beautified, and the actual doll's skin tone differed greatly from the pictures.

3. Product quality is hard to guarantee; counterfeit and "three-no" products appear.

After opening blind boxes, some products may not meet national safety standards; some may be counterfeit or second-hand; some are "three-no" products without production dates, quality certificates, or manufacturers; and others have quality defects such as scratches, paint peeling, or stains.

For example, in December 2019, the Pudong New Area Consumers' Protection Commission in Shanghai commissioned a professional testing agency to test 10 groups of blind box products from different brands. The results found that 8 samples had "small parts" hazards that could cause children to choke or suffocate due to blocked airways.

Another example: In December 2020, consumer Mr. Ruan complained to the Futian District Consumers' Commission in Shenzhen that he bought a blind box online for 9.9 yuan in November, which contained a U-shaped pillow. However, after only 20 days of use, the pillow began to unravel. When Mr. Ruan searched for the operator's information, he found that the pillow was a "three-no" product.

4. Consumer disputes are difficult to resolve; after-sales service needs improvement.

Some consumers report that some businesses "bully customers," only offering exchanges for quality issues, not refunds; others report inefficient after-sales service and delayed handling of issues.

For example, media reported that in December 2020, a consumer in Tieling, Liaoning, bought 5 blind boxes online for 295 yuan. After receiving the package, they found that one product was clearly damaged and two had quality defects. The consumer immediately contacted the operator to request refunds for the three problematic products. However, the operator clearly stated that even with quality issues, refunds were not possible, only exchanges for new spare parts. The consumer refused to accept this.

Another example: In late July 2020, consumer Ms. Li from Hengshui, Hebei, bought a blind box online for 47 yuan. After receiving it, she found it was counterfeit. She contacted customer service to request a refund, and the service said they would handle it, but after a week with no resolution, Ms. Li complained to the Shanghai Consumers' Protection Commission for help.

The China Consumers Association believes that some operators lack competitive products and only want to ride the blind box marketing wave; others use blind boxes as a tool to "clear inventory," gaining short-term profits but losing long-term reputation.

These behaviors not only harm consumers' legitimate rights but also disrupt market order and are detrimental to the industry's healthy development. Operators must strictly comply with laws and regulations such as the Consumer Protection Law, E-Commerce Law, and Product Quality Law, especially in the following aspects:

1) The basic attribute of blind boxes is that they are goods, and operators must bear the legal quality guarantee responsibility.

Whether blind boxes are sold as genuine products or as accessories, they are goods, and operators must bear the legal quality guarantee responsibility. On one hand, they must ensure reliable product sources and complete supply chains, eliminating "three-no" products and counterfeits; on the other hand, they must actively fulfill obligations such as returns, exchanges, and repairs, and cannot use excuses like "gifts" or "prizes" to evade quality assurance and after-sales service duties.

2) Blind box operators should ensure the authenticity of product quality information and protect consumers' right to know and choose.

Although blind box sales involve some confidentiality regarding product styles, information related to product quality and services, such as origin, ingredients, production date, shelf life, storage conditions, safety warnings, price, and "three guarantees," should be fully disclosed, ensuring truthfulness and comprehensiveness. They must not make false, exaggerated, or misleading promotions. Key information such as the value of the items inside, probability of occurrence, and distribution methods should be transparent to protect consumers' right to know and ensure informed choices.

3) Blind box marketing should be moderate, not excessively exploiting consumers' curiosity to mislead impulse purchases.

Currently, blind box sales are booming, attracting operators from many industries hoping to use blind box marketing to increase sales.

However, if operators do not focus on improving the quality of their main products and services, but instead rely excessively on blind box marketing gimmicks to mislead consumers into impulse buying, using shoddy products to fool consumers, it will only generate short-term appeal, quickly erode consumer trust, damage their own commercial reputation, and be rejected by consumers, making it difficult for companies to achieve long-term stable development.

At the same time, the China Consumers Association reminds consumers to have risk awareness and maintain rational consumption concepts:

1. Recognize risks, consume rationally, and avoid blindly following trends.

Consumers should recognize the uncertain nature of blind boxes, be aware of and guard against excessive marketing tactics, and understand that opening a blind box can bring surprise if it exceeds expectations or disappointment if it falls short. They should not buy blind boxes with a speculative or lottery mentality, should not be overly obsessed, and should avoid following trends or competing with others. They should consume rationally and within their means, based on their economic capacity, consumption needs, and interests, with more rationality and calmness, and less blindness and impulsiveness.

2. Keep shopping receipts and other relevant vouchers, and protect rights according to law when damaged.

When purchasing blind boxes, consumers should try to choose merchants with high credibility, good reputation, and complete after-sales service. They should also request and retain invoices and other shopping receipts, as well as advertising information, as evidence for future rights protection. When their legitimate rights are harmed, they should promptly communicate with the operator to seek resolution. If negotiation fails, they can protect their rights by complaining to market supervision departments or consumer associations, or by filing lawsuits in court according to law.

Source: China Consumers Association website

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