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AMA | The Blind Box Video (Patreon)

Published:
2024-11-29 19:27:45
Edited:
2024-11-29 19:31:11
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:
AMA

Content

You can use coupon code BRAINTREON to get 20% off the sticker sheet mentioned in this video.

Anyway, if you have any questions about this project, leave it in the comments and we'll answer it in the aftershow we record next week!

Files

how this Japanese doll hijacked the toy industry

Get 80% off with Hostinger's Black Friday deal at https://hostinger.com/answerinprogress Use the code ANSWERINPROGRESS for an additional discount! Have you seen these baby dolls or little green guys on your social media feed? They are called Sonny Angels or Smiskis. They're some of the earliest examples of blind box toys and their recent popularity has led to an industry valuation of $41.8B. In this video, Sabrina explores how Pop Mart drove these toys into the mainstream, dives into the science and economics behind their success, and takes an honest look at the industry and its potential harm. SUPPORT US ON PATREON https://patreon.com/answerinprogress SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER https://www.answerinprogress.com/newsletter SOCIAL MEDIA Sabrina Twitter: https://twitter.com/nerdyandquirky Instagram: http://instagram.com/nerdyandquirky Melissa Twitter: https://twitter.com/mehlizfern Instagram: http://instagram.com/mehlizfern Taha Twitter: https://twitter.com/khanstopme Instagram: http://instagram.com/khanstopme CREDITS Produced by Sabrina Cruz Video Editing by Joe Trickey Motion Design by Sabrina Cruz Sound Design by Joe Trickey Special Thanks to Abi, Mxmtoon, Gabby, Jade, and Rhose MUSIC Epidemic Sound. Get started today using our affiliate link. http://share.epidemicsound.com/answerinprogress TIMESTAMPS 00:00 in this economy?! 00:49 in before "these are just pokemon cards" 01:00 what is different about blind boxes 01:49 who is buying a seinfeld blind box 01:52 a reasonable experiment? on this channel?! 02:19 how blind boxes work 04:10 letting ethics get in the way of science 04:37 you just know Elsevier hates to see me coming 04:57 why adults are started buying toys 06:20 why companies are leaning in 07:11 why no one can stop this cycle 08:51 is that the scientific method i see 09:28 can u tell i forgot the histogram plot option existed? 09:42 quantitative AND qualitative data, we're cookin 10:17 local woman discovers that people like chaos 10:38 i probably should've done this sooner 12:17 this better not awaken anything in me 14:06 the dichotomy of blind boxes 14:40 maybe blind boxes are just harmless fun 15:07 or maybe they're part of a bigger problem 15:30 closing thoughts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to the joke under the fold! Here's a classy one for ya: It looks like they're releasing a surrealist painter line of Sonny Angels. I'm hoping to grab a Salvador Dolly. Leave a comment with the word DOLLY to let me know you were here ;-)

Comments

Milian Ingco

note: i got the secret one in like 3 tries but kept pulling after that and i dont know why question: sabrina, what languages / frameworks do you use to make the websites? and did you learn coding mostly for AIP or did you learn it beforehand?

Claire Lin

oh dear. i fear that seeing sabrina’s smiski’s with that cherry blossom bonsai tree is going to singlehandedly be the reason why i buy 10000 blind box dolls. has sabrina bought more blind boxes since the video, and if so, can we see pictures of them?

Richard Tang

How did Sabrina gain the confidence to film in public with others walking around? Also, what does Sabrina have against the flute figure? But in all seriousness, what is it like filming in public like that scene where you're in public transit? How do you manage with all the people walking around?

Okello

This might be more of a general question for the whole team, but I have noticed Sabrina does it more often. How do you film yourself and edit mid sentence to a new location/setting? Do you record the whole section twice and choose where to cut or do you have a pre-planned cut?

Hope

Can the patreon see the secret brain? Also I rewatched the curiosity journal video recently - how much feedback have you received on it, and are you at a point where you’d feel comfortable releasing a new edition? Finally, did you find any differences between unique blind boxes versus branded ones? (Pokemon versus the dolls you referenced)

Tyler Holewinski

hi! first just wanted to say how happy i was to see the brains get turned into a sticker sheet ☺️ i’m really interested in the mention you made about buying the toys as a social activity— in the sense that because of the manic energy of being with friends you maybe made different purchasing decisions. Do you think that these boxes are more popular in-store rather than online because of that? is the “shopping” of the toy just as much of a product as the toy itself? would this influence the types of places that they would be sold (malls, etc)? (also super unrelated but is there any plans to release new shirts? i missed the 1M drop and im so sad about it 😭😭)

Igor Matkowski

on the stickers in their shop you can see the secret brain (it's not secret anymore)

Igor Matkowski

I got the secret brain in about 2 minutes and read 5% instead of 0.5% (I was going to buy this brain but last time I paid on a Canadian site they blocked my card and I didn't want it to happen to me a second time they did it because paying on a Canadian site is unusual and they blocked it in case someone stole my card) Sabrina said one time that she like when there is some questions unreleted to video so: 1. would you recommend studying economics 2. do you know any decent youtube competition

Katie Woolf

Have any of you done sports betting and if so have you won anything? PS great video! I never really understood why people would want little trinkets but I think i have a better understanding now

UmbreonLibris

I watched this video with my wife, and she flinched as Sabrina described her exact demographic as the target audience. Then she flinched again at each of Sabrina's examples of nostalgia bait until, at the mention of Squishmallows, she burst out: “Sabrina, shut up!! Get out of my head!” By the way, I loved the use of the white brick wall as the background for the graphic!

Juan

Hey guys, great video again. I wanted to ask if during research you got into “skill based” gambling, where the user can get some sort of edge besides pure chance, do you think that affects our brain differently?

Emily Alice

As someone who has gotten VERY into collecting art toys since COVID (oops...) I thought this episode brought up so many questions that I'd love to see explored in even more depth. Did you find the topic interesting? Would you consider doing any sequels? A part two about blind box toys that are specifically marketed towards kids would be really interesting (and probably troubling...). And I'd love to hear a lot more about the psychology behind buying blind boxes (one hypothesis in the video was that blind boxes simplify decision making as a consumer, but then the process of choosing which blind box series to purchase seemed to take just as much time). TLDR: I do think there is a lot of concerning overlap between blind boxes and gambling / intermittent reinforcement rewards 🫣 And I'm very invested in this topic and would like to know your thoughts on all possible tangents and discussion points 😅

Kim Ho

I have mixed feeling Sabrian used a Pokemon card, as I believe you should have used the OG trading card game (TCG): a Magic the Gathering card. But I am glad you made reference a card has some use. That is, specific to Magic, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, etc, these cards can be used as part of a game, not just collectable. That said, there is a mantra of sorts in the Magic community (most likely in the Pokemon and YGO communities as well): you *never* buy packs to open in the hopes you will get the one you are looking for. Instead, you buy the singles in the secondary market. I am glad Sabrina made the reference regarding economics. While a lot of us think economics is about money, it should be more regarding allocation of resources. And, the one thing that no matter how much money we might end up having, can “buy” back is time. Oddly enough, as I age, I have started to scale back a lot of things that the younger me would have rolled their eyes. As for questions, I only have one: can you provide details on the rarities of the designs? I am trying to figure out how the 10% chance of pulling a common comes into play considering there are 9 designs + no getting anything?

Hope

My main question which is not related to the video: can you share the link to the eyeglasses adaptations you used? Reddit didn’t help and I’m struggling to find them. Additionally if I wanted to share feedback in a not public setting (giving you the right to either listen or ignore without anyone but me knowing) how do you prefer I do that?

Lyndsey L. Werner

My favorite blind box experience is actually a trading card game called dice masters but I’m a sucker for mystery bags at stalls (Comic Con) I like. I think it’s because it feels like a present I buy myself. I don’t know what’s in it but I know it’s from a place I like. (This is how I got my metal set of pirate dice.) That said I do have a history of addiction in my family. So I am very aware of how much I spend on them and when I’m hitting that stream. (I’m glad you were able to only buy two.) Funnily, the real life claw machines are an example of where my addictive behavior hits because I am really good at them, but modern ones weaken the claw for something like 19 out of 20 pulls so I consistently would get the toy to the top and then it falls. (To the point that a worker stared at it in betrayal and went “you should have gotten the last three.”) Sidenote: claw machines over 20 years old don’t have this problem as much. (And the more ethical the people the lower that is set. Some people set it as low as 4 in 5 weakened but yeah, look for older ones guys!) I did play until I got the secret brain! And then I got it twice in a row, which was fun. ☺️ I wondered if moving the claw did anything! (And I did look at the Kobiyashi Maru comments and think. Guys… data…) Huh, I kept waiting for a question to pop up but I know why blind/mystery bags work for me so… yeah. (I do hope you mention the present for myself feeling in the follow up because I’m curious what you think about it, but that’s not really a question.)