"2022 Tiger Year New Year KFC Robot Cat Zodiac Blind Box Doll Ornament Accepts Reservations, Expected to Ship on the 15th, Hidden Tiger Head Hat Price Is Temporarily Undecided!"
On January 4 this year, KFC and Bubble Mart jointly released the blind box rush wave has not yet passed, Qin Yu saw someone in the circle of friends released a new blind box rush information. In the previous rush to buy, Qin Yu spent 100 yuan to buy a "Coke doll", and now the price of 6 sets of blind boxes "end boxes" is about 600-800 yuan on the second-hand website, while the single price of the "hidden model" is generally around 800 yuan, almost 8 times the original 99 yuan "package + blind box".
Coincidentally, before the KFC blind box was sought after, the series of toys sold by Shanghai Disneyland also triggered a queue to buy, and the original price of 219 yuan of Lingna Bell plush toys once bid nearly 2500 yuan online.
Buying a useless toy at several times a premium, is there really someone "taking over"? The reporter interviewed several consumers to show up.
Heartbeat Player: Enjoy the process, but unconsciously spend money
On New Year's Day this year, KFC's WeChat public account posted a tweet officially announcing the release of a blind box package with Bubble Mart on January 4, confirming the news that Qin Yu had previously heard in the WeChat group where blind box enthusiasts gathered.
According to the introduction of the tweet, the series of blind boxes contains 6 regular and 1 hidden version, the ratio of regular and hidden parts is 72:1, and a total of 263880 copies are issued, of which 3665 boxes are hidden. Consumers can purchase a 99 yuan package within the specified time every day to get a blind box. In addition, the event also has 500 399 yuan "end box purchase" qualifications, but the purchase qualification is only 10 copies per day, which is very difficult.
On the first day of work in the New Year, Qin Yu arrived at KFC near his home at 7:30 in the morning to "make an appointment" and was told that "there is no limit, but it must be purchased between 10:30 and 23:00 on the same day" He can only rush to work at the company first, and prepare to try it at a nearby store. Who knew that the first day of work in the New Year had a long meeting time, and when I arrived at the store at noon, the package was sold out. He then rushed to two stores further away to inquire, but he could not buy it.
"In the afternoon, some people on various social platforms have posted blind boxes, and even some people have put together a whole box." Qin Yu immediately opened the second-hand platform, and sure enough, he was able to search for a lot of "spot", the price of the ordinary model was between 100-150 yuan, and the hidden model was generally above 600 yuan. After the hot search, the "value" of the hidden model was once close to a thousand yuan. Qin Yu then spent 100 yuan to buy a "Coke doll" in the same city in Shanghai, "finally catching up with the 'sunbathing process' in the WeChat group." ”
The "Hidden Model" is more expensive than the "End Box"
In Qin Yu's view, whether a blind box is worth buying has three indicators: appearance, quality and quantity. "KFC is already a pop culture symbol, and as a co-branded style, this series of blind boxes is more brilliant." In Qin Yu's view, it is very creative to skillfully integrate KFC's signature products such as hamburgers, fries or cola into the design of blind box dolls, which is obviously more brand-identified than the rumored New Year's blind box "robot cat" series. However, the quality of the joint model is average, and the number of issues of more than 260,000 is comparable to the number of bubble Mart festival products, which is not small: "When this wave of wind passes, the price falls at about 50 yuan, and I will buy it." ”
"I value the buying process experience more than the final result." Luo Yanjie, who met Qin Yu in a blind box WeChat group, pays more attention to experiencing the "excitement" of "snapping up", "searching" and opening the box. Luo Yanjie's "pit" was snapped up 3 years ago, with a national limited edition of 100 pieces, and the sale time was 00:00 a.m. "Because the price is thousands of yuan, I hesitated slightly when paying, and the result was that I sold out in less than 30 seconds." At that time, it was obvious that the heartbeat was racing violently. ”
With the rise of blind boxes, Luo Yanjie became a loyal enthusiast, she once opened 10 blind boxes at a time, "every moment the box is opened, it is an emotional roller coaster." In her view, from a limited edition rush to a second-hand platform search, the purchase process itself has become a unique experience, but once "emotionally invested", it is easy to "spend money unjustly": "Some styles you may not like so much, but after investing so much emotion, it is like drilling the tip of the bull's horn to spend money to buy." ”
Pro: A minority that people love and hate
The blind box that Qin Yu and Luo Yujie missed will generally be purchased directly from the second-hand platform to "unpack the box". And these "mysterious people" who seem to have resources in their hands are a special group of other players who "love and hate".
Search for KFC blind boxes on second-hand platforms and find many sellers, including both individual styles, "end boxes" for sale, and even "designated styles". However, once the source of goods is asked, these originally enthusiastic sellers will often stop there, or vaguely answer "I have a channel", or simply refuse to answer. On the homepage introduction of some sellers, it is also written "fidelity, the source of goods question is not answered".
The blind box, which has not yet been released, is already on the second-hand trading platform
Luo Yanjie often deals with such "professional players", and she suspects that some of them are "second-hand dealers". Compared with ordinary office workers like themselves, these people have time to keep an eye on the sale time of blind boxes and stock up on a large number of goods. Some sellers also revealed that they will also "communicate with each other" or even "remote transfer": "For example, KFC's blind box, first-tier cities are basically 'second kills', but there are not many people in third- and fourth-tier cities, and they can find people to hoard goods from these cities." The seller also revealed that the technical content of blind boxes, toys and other items is not high, and fakes have long appeared on the market.
In Luo Yanjie's eyes, this part of the people can still be called "players" because "they really know the goods.". "There are explosive models and thunder models in the blind box, and people who are not players or are particularly familiar with the player's ideas may not be able to distinguish the difference." If you hoard a bunch of mines, how can you make money? ”
For such "professional players", ordinary players such as Qin Yu and Luo Yanjie often "love and hate". "Of course, it is uncomfortable to sell at a premium, but after all, they provide a channel to buy, and to a certain extent, they maintain the order of the second-hand market." For the styles he no longer likes or the duplicate styles he draws, Qin Yu will generally exchange and sell with people in the group, and some will also hang up the second-hand platform: "Because of the existence of professional sellers, the second-hand market is relatively stable, and buying styles that you don't like can also sell to subsidize part of the loss." ”
Professional players in the social platforms and WeChat groups, there are always ways to attract the attention of ordinary consumers, and even they are the group owners or "main force" of these WeChat groups. Often some netizens take exquisite photos of the blind box they draw, some people take "punching in" attractions with the dolls in the blind box, and even some people combine these dolls into short video stories. "When these people send out pictures, they 'plant grass' for many people and make everyone want to buy the same money." Luo Yanjie admitted that once he is in a WeChat group with more than 100 people, the "dark competition" is far better than other social platforms: "When you post a popular hidden model, whether it is bought with money or lucky, it can attract the envious eyes of many people, and it will really stimulate people to further consume." ”
RMB Players: The top and bottom of the chain of contempt
Shortly after the KFC blind box came out, Wang Yu posted a full set of blind boxes in the circle of friends. Instead of being a "lucky end box" of just 10 a day, she simply paid 800 yuan for a full set — a person often referred to as a "renminbi player": they usually pay a high price directly for an opened blind box.
"The price of the end box is 399 yuan, in fact, I only bought it all for about 400 yuan, which may save time and effort than going to the blind box." Compared with most of the "student parties" or "workplace whites" among blind box consumers, Wang Yu, 34 years old this year, has basically realized the "freedom of blind boxes" and become a group of people standing at the "top" of the blind box consumption chain. "The hidden model in the blind box, the premium to about a thousand yuan has been very small, which is still acceptable to me." In her view, the consumption process of the blind box is more like a "trap" for the merchant: "If you can't smoke your favorite style, you will be attracted to continue to smoke again, which may be more than the money I directly buy." For example, KFC blind boxes have an average of 72 boxes and only 1 box, and many people spend far more money than direct purchases. In Wang Yu's view, choosing to buy a blind box directly is the same as collecting a handmade, "as long as you like it." ”
The "RMB players" were Qin Yu's "most hated group of people." "On the one hand, because they are willing to take over the consumption, professional players dare to offer high prices; on the other hand, they simplify the fun of the blind box into the consumption process, which not only loses the fun of the blind box, but also makes more people misunderstand the blind box." Sellers who sell blind boxes on second-hand platforms also admit that "we are also attracting RMB players." ”
There are people queuing up all night to buy zodiac stamps, and the postal department has also launched blind boxes Photo: Haishar
However, for the sales status of blind boxes, as long as there is no scene like Disney queuing late at night, sellers of various levels do not feel the need for external intervention: "Staying up late to queue up to buy stamps is love, why buy blind boxes becomes a quirk?" ”