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I glued my favourite figurines

on my desk. Looking at them

from time to time has become

my daily routine.

A statue of Molly.
A s t at ue of Molly .

inter Liu Tianyu caught in boxes with the same design. A se- Booming Market in China
a glimpse of Molly’s gi- ries of blind box toys contains 12 dif- Blind box has become popular
Want statue outside a shop ferent designs. Each set includes one among the young. Collecting figu-
in August 2019 when she was walk- limited edition that only appears in 1 rines has become the most popular
ing through the streets in Beijing. She out of 144 boxes. Buyers do not know hobby among consumers born after
then bought her first blind box with a which figurine they will get until they 1995, surpassing trendy trainers and
Molly doll inside. unpack the box. video games, according to a buying
Though Liu is a student with no As a consumer, Liu thinks that un- behaviour report in 2019 by Tmall,
income, she has spent approximately certainty and surprise are important the largest cross border E-commerce
RMB ¥2,500 (US $380) so far on buy- factors that make blind boxes more platform in China.
ing blind boxes. The 19-year-old girl is irresistible than other toys. The same report shows that nearly
now a big fan of blind box toys. “I probably will not buy the figu- 200,000 consumers spend around
The standard market price of a rine if I know exactly what I will get. RMB ¥20,000 (US $3100) a year on
blind box toy is RMB ¥59 (US $9). Liu The element of surprise in blind boxes blind boxes, and some even spend
now has 41 figurines in her collection is just alluring,” Liu says. RMB ¥1 million (US $155 135) a year
and will keep on buying more in the Uncertainty and surprise also mo- to buy blind boxes.
future. tivate Liu to keep buying blind boxes. “Compared with those who spend
“I glued my favourite figurines on “I am not lucky. I did not get even tens of thousands of yuan or even
my desk. Looking at them from time one limited edition from all 41 blind more on blind boxes every month, I
to time has become my daily routine,” boxes I bought. But the joy I have eve- am just a rookie blind box toy collec-
Liu says. ry time I open the box makes me buy tor,” Liu says.
Blind box toys are figurines packed more and more,” she says.