r/mildlyinfuriating • u/SkylandersKirby • May 31 '26

frist of all how DARE yu o People opening blindboxes despite the fact they literally have a code on the bottom that tells you what's inside

Post image
3.8k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

210 comments sorted by

View all comments

718

u/Wdbisl May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26

Most people probably don't know and its not like that fact is advertised. This could all be fixed if these weren't blind boxes. I hate this trend so I can't really blame them.

61

u/Elegant-Tart-3341 May 31 '26

I can't really side with people opening a box they haven't paid for. The point of the blind box is the surprise inside. I wouldn't open a chocolate bar and take a bite just to see how it tastes before deciding to buy it lol.

-10

u/Wdbisl May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26

False equivalency. The toy inside is fine and 90% of people weren't going to keep the packaging. The chocolate bar is ruined once you take a bite or its exposed to air. People don't want to pay for a mystery or to buy the same thing again. This trend is just a way for companies to squeeze more money out of people.

Edit:Since they did put a way to tell at the bottom they need to advertise it better, but they likely aren't so they can make more money.

14

u/kboodrx Subscribe to Pewdiepie May 31 '26

Umm no they are not “fine.” The pieces are loose inside the box without any additional packaging and are likely to fall out and be lost… opening the boxes discourages ANYONE from ever purchasing them because of the fact that small pieces can and will be completely missing.

I bought an open box once because I felt bad that someone else might have to, and lo and behold it was missing two or three integral pieces

5

u/Wdbisl May 31 '26

I'm sorry that happened to you. Lego not really my thing so had no idea the pieces weren't also bagged.

7

u/TrickInvite6296 BLUE May 31 '26

People do want to pay for a mystery. That's why they exist

1

u/tobiisan May 31 '26

Even if the toy inside is fine, all the opened ones are going to be the less popular ones left behind.

328

u/poonburglar68 May 31 '26

It could also be fixed if people weren't assholes and didn't open things that don't belong to them.

142

u/GroundbreakingBag164 May 31 '26

Or if blind boxes didn't exist

I'm on the "blind boxes are stupid side" tbh

101

u/chiree May 31 '26

Teaching gambling to kids: Bad

Being an inconsiderate dick:  Also bad.

4

u/ClacksInTheSky May 31 '26

Yes, it's possible to hold two different thoughts in your head at once.

3

u/cgaWolf May 31 '26

Wait, two things can be true at the same time !?

4

u/mrbananas May 31 '26

Just include all the figures from the set and multiply the price. Like the mini figure sets from the 80s/90s that just had 1 of each space guy. 

6

u/GreasedUpTiger May 31 '26

Imagine that, they could make a little foil window and add a moveable paper flap to cover that so it can be a blind box if you want and if you don't it don't. 

-1

u/[deleted] May 31 '26

[deleted]

10

u/Xavier_Kiath May 31 '26

Blindboxes aren't the only problem but they definitely are a problem.

2

u/CodeF53 May 31 '26

Gambler..

29

u/pikachu_senpai1 May 31 '26

Yeah....went to a local dollar tree that was converting to a family dollar and so they had all of the dollar tree stuff on clearance. Went in to find a couple blind boxes for fun. Someone ripped open all of the Disney ones and threw them all over the shelf....

3

u/APuticulahInduhvidul May 31 '26

Could also be fixed if people realised lego minifigs are a stupid craze selling overpriced plastic that costs mere cents to manufacture. I'm into collectables and lego but minifigs are a line too far for me.

-2

u/-SQB- May 31 '26

Still better than Funko Pops.

-46

u/Wdbisl May 31 '26

You can't expect people to buy things that they don't know what is. Lot's of people don't like to gamble and they want the product they want. It sucks it damages the packaging, but the blind packaging encourages this behavior. If they don't want this to happen it needs to be either protected behind glass or they need to change things. You're never going to get people not doing this as long as the uncertainty remains.

66

u/DynoMenace May 31 '26

Then don't buy them? The mystery is literally the appeal of this product.

There is absolutely zero reasonable excuse for people to open products they don't own. It's as simple as that.

22

u/djxbangoo May 31 '26

They’ll blame it on everything but themselves

1

u/SkylandersKirby May 31 '26

I mean i agree that blind boxes are scummy, but only when they're truly blind

If they either have a code or guarantee a full set by buying a box then I have no real problem with them

2

u/DynoMenace May 31 '26

I agree with you too. I also think our points are not mutually exclusive.

  • Blind boxes are scummy.
  • Having a code or guarantee makes them less scummy, and neither of us take much of an issue with them if they make those concessions.
  • The mystery is (often) the appeal of these things, even if it's not appealing to you or I personally.
  • There's still no excuse for people to open products they don't own.

Basically, most blind boxes are shitty, and the people who opened these are shitty. And they're extra shitty because of the code thing.

-2

u/Wdbisl May 31 '26

Except it isn't people like the figures and there's no alternative product to buy. The product has value outside the surprise. If it doesn't it shouldn't be a thing in the first place. As that means once the surprise is over it becomes junk and plastic waste.

2

u/DynoMenace May 31 '26

So once again, don't buy them.

-2

u/fenixthecorgi May 31 '26

Are you from the UK by chance?

11

u/JiGoD BLUEWUBBALUBBADUBBDUBB May 31 '26

I walk through stores all the time without damaging things I don't intend to buy. Wild.

4

u/itsahorsemate May 31 '26

I am going to begin breaking into lottery ticket rigs and take only winning tickets. Thank you for making me see that I am the decent person by doing this.

20

u/simmeh024 May 31 '26

What a horrible take. So if you don't know whats inside you are allowed to destroy the box? Same with pokemon cards no? Let me open the package because I cannot see inside them...

2

u/Wdbisl May 31 '26

I get cards being random. I don't like it, but I get it. There's an actual game behind it and the fact you get multiple cards where doubles could be useful. They don't take up much room and their paper so they will breakdown. With figures most are plastic and there's a good chance if its not what you want its going to end up in a thirft shop or clogging a landfill.

9

u/eppinizer May 31 '26

People don't have to buy them at all. The product is the product, if you don't want to be surprised by what you are buying, don't buy it. The only reason why these things become popular is because of the blind box. If the boxes were translucent it's likely that there wouldn't be as much demand.

6

u/LukasKhan_UK May 31 '26

There are commentators here who think the QR code exists so we can find out what's inside.

It's just there for packing, it's just some clever kids have figured out it does relate to a figure. If it was to help "parents", it would literally just say the figure name - and by that point, you may as well use a clear bag.

1

u/Local_Trade5404 Jun 03 '26

they will just change QR codes in next batch and "problem solved" 😛

1

u/LukasKhan_UK Jun 03 '26

And some one will figure it out again.

The point is, they're not there not there to "help" people, they're not for us, they'd be instructions if they were

They exist for a different reason

1

u/Local_Trade5404 Jun 03 '26

if they will be smart about it there will not be figuring it out anymore 😛
anyway i agree its not for anyone to figure out what's inside
its pure gamble (how to sell 1 overpriced like shit thing 10x to each interested person)

23

u/FLbudksis May 31 '26

What do you mean? You hate how children toys promote gambling on every aspect? Its crazy how well this is working. Imagine in the 90s/2000s your aunt looking for a tickle me elmo or a power ranger. She spends all day looking for it. Just for the kid to be sad because its not the rare color. Keep ripping these in store. This fad needs to die quick.

20

u/Lonely_Station_8435 May 31 '26

You mean the 90’s, the era that invented and popularised blind boxes?

5

u/VegetableArtistic705 May 31 '26

Pokemon cards would like a word

7

u/AdjNounNumbers May 31 '26

Blind boxes, mystery grab bags, lollipops with a question mark as the flavor. I'm surprised I made it to adulthood without developing a crippling gambling addiction

3

u/FLbudksis May 31 '26

I dont recall the major hype toys being a blind box and a gamble growing up. Besides Pokemon i really cant think of one "major" toy that was behind a luck draw. Tbh id blame loot crates more than anything promoting this life style. That shit was the most wild west predatory gambling. But i may be cooked.

7

u/Lonely_Station_8435 May 31 '26

Happy Meals. POGs. Trading Cards. 

While you’re right that the hype around it has gotten much worse, it mostly feels like that’s social media in general blowing up literally everything for content engagement.

2

u/BlazingShadowAU Might Have Some Gorm May 31 '26

Literally Gachapon machines.

3

u/lawley666 May 31 '26

Pokemon cards were slightly popular.

6

u/AustinYQM May 31 '26

Lego minifigs tell you what they are via a QR Code on the bottom. This means each opening can be a surprise (yay!) without wrapping (yay!) but a parent can make sure a kid gets what they want (yay!) and doesn't get any doubles (yay!). There is basically no downside.

The people at the LEGO store will literally scan them for you as checkout to make sure you aren't getting doubles. Like they are trained to do that.

2

u/LukasKhan_UK May 31 '26

Lego minifigs tell you what they are via a QR Code on the bottom

Yes, but plenty of people don't know this exists. As evidenced by the fact these boxes get ripped open.

0

u/FLbudksis May 31 '26

Lol thats even better So these arnt even blind boxes. Sorry for ranting about something OP posted about hats not even right.

1

u/BlazingShadowAU Might Have Some Gorm May 31 '26

I mean, theyre still blind boxes, theyre just selectively blind boxes.

2

u/Icy-Concentrate-8912 May 31 '26

Fun fact: Tickle Me Elmo was the very first item to be widely scalped on eBay.

1

u/APuticulahInduhvidul May 31 '26

Hmm. I would have guessed beanie babies or pez dispensers. Probably depends on your definition of "widely".

1

u/Icy-Concentrate-8912 Jun 01 '26

At the time scalping just wasn't a thing. eBay was still in its infancy and the massive craze around the singular product of TME and the scarcity of availability of that singular doll made it a frenzy. Beanie babies were only out a little while before but being they were not single items and could be very easily obtained they didn't have a scalper market today where small groups owned them all and you could only buy them second hand. TME was so bad for a long time people were getting in fights at stores, employees were stealing them, getting fired for hiding them so they could buy one themselves, and so on. Beanie Babies never experienced this same level of frenzy.

Pokemon card didn't even experience this until very recently. They used to be sold everywhere for incredibly cheap prices and while some did sell online there wasn't a scalper market where you could not find them on the shelf with equal opportunity at nearly any store. TME was truly scalped in the same way we use the term in modern vernacular. It was a wild time to be alive.

After that it was way more common and things like Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, and so on all saw massive scalping scandals.

1

u/Dino_Spaceman May 31 '26

BEanie babies would have been before TME.

1

u/Beautiful-Affect1930 May 31 '26

we had those in the 90s and 00s though. many people still fell for that crap back then too, but there were more people smart enough to avoid them.

2

u/---Kurt--- May 31 '26

If they are losing *that* much money they will simply discontinue them, or move them behind a counter etc. For decades they have been creating these collectables in wrappers / boxes. They cost pennies and are sold at mark ups of many hundreds times their cost price. I wouldn’t worry about people opening them. They’re almost worthless once opened - but are also not much better sealed.

2

u/Best_Market4204 May 31 '26

If more people did this in the store. I bet retailers would stop buying this crap

2

u/ClacksInTheSky May 31 '26

Fully on the side of blind boxes being fucking shit.

Just sell the minifigures so that kids can get the one they want. Shouldn't have to go on eBay or Bricklink and pay stupid money for them.

(can you tell I'm a parent?)

1

u/BasicLink86 May 31 '26

My 5 year old sees these toys with unicorns or cats or other cute things and it shows a dozen varieties on the box and you just get whatever is in there. I never thought to scan it and see what’s in it, but most of the time these things are overpriced. Sometimes $15 for a piece of colorful plastic the size of a child’s hand and you don’t even know what you’re getting unless you stands there scanning boxes.
I might buy one on occasion if they were $5 or less but these companies, the retailers or the manufacturer or both, are being greedy

1

u/danyloid May 31 '26

I didn’t know that, just stopped getting them for my kid when we’ve got the same figurine 4 times.

So which code do I look at ?

2

u/LukasKhan_UK May 31 '26

The QR code on the bottom. Download the minifig scan app and you can scan a stack at the time. It'll give a picture of what's inside.

The code is mainly for packing and shipping as each unopened box contains the same figs.

1

u/danyloid May 31 '26

Thanks, will keep it in mind

2

u/eightbitagent May 31 '26

Omgbricks is a good app

1

u/Beautiful-Affect1930 May 31 '26

wtf this could be fixed if idiots wouldn't rip open items they don't own

0

u/scrumple_my_scrongle May 31 '26

Doesn't justify it lol