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Few things evoke as much excitement and anticipation as mystery boxes. These packages promise a surprise treasure, drawing in collectors with the allure of the unknown. Among the myriad of mystery box offerings, Loungefly Mystery Boxes have become popular among stockists. But are they truly worth the hype? Let's delve into the mystery and uncover the truth behind Loungefly Mystery Boxes.
1. What Are They?
In a typical Loungefly mystery box, customers can expect to receive a surprise Loungefly backpack and, depending on the retailer, possibly other related accessories. The exact contents of the mystery box are unknown to the purchaser until they receive and open it, adding an element of excitement and anticipation to the experience.
2. What to Look Out For?
When considering a Loungefly mystery box, it's essential to research the possible 'pulls' or bags available. Some offerings may focus on specific franchises or themes, catering to the preferences of different fandoms. Additionally, keep an eye out for any special edition or exclusive bags that might be included in certain boxes, especially boxes that may include rare or grail bags which adds an extra layer of excitement to the mystery.
Another important factor to consider when researching mystery boxes is the value, how much are they selling the box for? Compared to the value of the possible pulls. Are they guaranteeing the value of the bag you receive will be equal to or more than the amount you paid? What I always find useful is to have a look at the bags currently in stock from the retailer in and around the price point of the box, especially if the mystery box does not include a rough guide or full list of possible bags. This should give you an idea as to what you might expect to receive, for example if there are no bags you like in stock around the box price point, is it worth the risk?
3. What Are the Risks?
As with any mystery box purchase, there are inherent risks involved. While the thrill of uncovering a coveted item can be exhilarating, there's also the possibility of receiving duplicates or bags that may not align with your personal preferences. Also, the value of the bag contained within the box can vary, which may lead to potential disappointment if expectations aren't met. It is always important to remember that unless the bag you received is damaged, with mystery boxes, sales are final and bags cannot be returned.
5. What If You Are Unhappy With Your Bag?
There is always an element of risk involved with purchasing a mystery box, the biggest of which is disappointment/dislike of the bag received. Even though refunds are not an option, all is not lost. Here are a few things you can do:
Research the bag you have received, you may not like it personally but if it's a decent mystery box the bag should be worth equal to or (in a lot of cases) more, than the sum originally paid. The best thing you can do is to have a look for the bag you have on Ebay under the sold and completed listings to get a guide on what to list it for. Then you can sell the bag on Ebay/Vinted (my personal preference) or Facebook and recoup the funds spent.
Often times with mystery boxes a lot of other people have purchased a box and are also unhappy with their 'surprise' and you will find Loungefly enthusiast/selling groups on Facebook where people are offering 'swaps', this can be a good way to get a bag that suits your tastes better without having to spend any more money.
If you do not want to keep your 'pull' then the other option is to gift the bag. Sometimes it's not possible to sell without losing money and there may be no trades available. When this happens the nicest thing you can do is to gift the bag. Someone you know may love it. It can be a hard thing to accept defeat but for me personally, my love language is gift giving, so I would rather see it make someone else happy than it sit on a shelf unloved and gathering dust.
4. My Personal Experience with Loungefly Mystery Boxes
Since venturing into the world of Loungefly collecting, I have purchased 3 mystery boxes from 3 different retailers, each time the element of mystery and the unknown drew me in.
The first box was purchased in 2022 for £39.99 + shipping from Very Neko.
This was my worst experience of purchasing a mystery box so far. As it was my first I had no idea what to look out for and I was suckered in by the possibility of what I might receive.
The bag itself isn't awful, it just wasn't to my personal preference, however Very Neko were selling this bag on their website for £34.99, so immediately I was out of pocket. They did list the possible pulls and this was down to me not doing my research.
The reason why this was my worst experience is because sometimes mystery boxes have a nasty habit of sending out multiples (sometimes 100's) of the same bag, which previously at retail might have been worth equal to the money spent on the box, however now the second hand market is saturated with the same bag and prices plummet down to the £20's with people desperate to try and recoup some of the money spent. This is exactly what happened with this situation. There were what seemed to be 100's of this particular bag and also a Looney Toons bag that was another possible pull from this, and selling them on was near impossible as the market was so saturated and no one wanted to buy them.
My second experience of buying a mystery box was in January 2024 for £44.95 from the now closed down Double Boxed Toys.
For me this was the best experience so far of purchasing a box. After my last time I knew what to look for and DBT was extremely transparent on the possible pulls listing every single bag, the number available and what they were retailing for. This made researching this purchase very easy and I could determine the risk factors. I could see which ones I would really want and compare them to those on the bottom end the ones that were less desirable. This one for me was a no brainer purely down to the transparency.
This was the bag I received, even though its not to my particular taste, there was only one available from the list of possible pulls so the market is not saturated if I wanted to resell and the worth is more than the amount paid for the box, so I has more than happy with what I received.
My most recent experience of purchasing a mystery was April 2024 from LF Lovers for £64.99. This was probably the most disappointing as it had the potential to be amazing. This drop was limited to only 25 boxes and available only for VIP's. I have been a VIP for coming up to a year now and it was the first one I was able to get my hands on.
I love LF Lovers, but the lack of transparency was what let them down with this one. A list of possible pulls would have been ideal to manage expectations. Again the bag itself is not the issue, it's a great bag. Just not my personal preference, mostly because white bags make me nervous!
The bag is currently available to VIP's on the website for £63.79 and these boxes were guaranteed to be of equal value or higher. I'm not going to squabble over £1 but I cannot help but feel a little bit disappointed as this could have been a great opportunity to reward loyal VIP's, and with customers sharing their pulls on social media it would have also been great marketing to entice others to join the VIP programme.
5. Bottom Line - Are They Worth It?
So, are Loungefly Mystery Boxes worth the investment? In my opinion, the answer lies in the journey rather than the destination. There are always going to be risks involved, but the lure of excitement unboxing the unknown will continue to draw me in. Mystery boxes offer a unique opportunity to expand your collection, but you need to go into this experience with an open mind and plenty of research.
Ultimately, while not every bag may be a perfect match, the excitement of the mystery and the chance to collect hidden gems and holy grails make Loungefly mystery boxes a fun indulgence for collectors, with a strong emphasis on indulgence.
Bottom line - mystery boxes are always going to be a gamble, research, research, research and be prepared to potentially lose a bit of money on your investment. With that glimmer of a potential, once in a lifetime pull on the horizon, I will continue to try my luck at mystery boxes enjoying the element of surprise.
Alix,
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