The grab bag. The blind bag. The blind box. The loot box. All different names for essentially the same thing; paying for one or more items without knowing exactly what you're getting. The allure even appeals to buying a pack of trading cards. It's been likened to gambling and it's not a surprise to see a connection. While this phenomenon is as old as people trading for goods, it has had a surge in recent popularity due to youtube and unboxing videos where someone will open these items and you get to enjoy their reactions to whatever is inside. So how can you use this tactic for your convention business?
First, let's talk about some of the bad sides to grab bags. I'm sure we've all seen different booths that have big boxes made to look like companion cubes or mario coin boxes or dragon eggs. They cost about 30 dollars and inside is usually an assortment of junk, sometimes a gem or two, that is not worth the cost. You're usually just paying for the box or egg. Which can be worth it for great nerdy conversation pieces. But you don't want to scam anyone and I've unfortunately seen that happen, mostly with the eggs.
There's also dealers booths that will have bags for varying amounts sometimes up to a few hundred that'll put what is essentially more than the dollar amount on the bag from what the items were first priced, but are items they can't get rid of and so it's a deal for the guest and moves product they couldn't otherwise. This is how I first started.
I was selling at a convention where I had not hit my mark with predicting what would sell. So a thought occurred to me; grab bags! I went to walmart and bought a pack of 50 lunch sacks and drew pictures on each bag and put a plush, button, and bell collar in each one and charged $10 each. It was the easiest money I've ever made. I did this at my next con with some plush that hadn't sold at the previous one and they all sold day one. I tried a version of smaller bags with just buttons inside for a cheaper price and they didn't do as good without having a guaranteed plush. So I returned to the plush model. One good thing is with my jellyfish keychains, I have a good way to keep the grab bag cashflow going by keeping this option open so as to not lose out on the grab bag crowd and still make a profit.
You also don't want to over saturate your booth with grab bags. I keep them to one cube or one section and make sure they don't take away from the plush I have. I made this mistake once and now I avoid doing that. I see some artist booths that have many tiers of grab bags and it gets confusing and not only that, but it takes up space that actual product can go that will draw people in. You never want them to take up too much space. Drawing something on the bag or getting colorful or fun bags definitely helps draw the eye in. As an artist in the artist alley, grab bags shouldn't be your business unless you built around them. They should be a good way to make side income and get rid of product that doesn't sell.
End of the day, you want your buyers to be satisfied with their purchases and to not feel they were ripped off. The same goes for the grab bags. Even if they get a show or something they may not like or be familiar with, the experience of opening the grab bag and the lower cost of them is what will still leave them feeling they didn't waste their money. After all, the more cons you do, the more repeat customers you may start to see. You don't want to do anything that'll deter that return business.
There's also dealers booths that will have bags for varying amounts sometimes up to a few hundred that'll put what is essentially more than the dollar amount on the bag from what the items were first priced, but are items they can't get rid of and so it's a deal for the guest and moves product they couldn't otherwise. This is how I first started.
I was selling at a convention where I had not hit my mark with predicting what would sell. So a thought occurred to me; grab bags! I went to walmart and bought a pack of 50 lunch sacks and drew pictures on each bag and put a plush, button, and bell collar in each one and charged $10 each. It was the easiest money I've ever made. I did this at my next con with some plush that hadn't sold at the previous one and they all sold day one. I tried a version of smaller bags with just buttons inside for a cheaper price and they didn't do as good without having a guaranteed plush. So I returned to the plush model. One good thing is with my jellyfish keychains, I have a good way to keep the grab bag cashflow going by keeping this option open so as to not lose out on the grab bag crowd and still make a profit.
You also don't want to over saturate your booth with grab bags. I keep them to one cube or one section and make sure they don't take away from the plush I have. I made this mistake once and now I avoid doing that. I see some artist booths that have many tiers of grab bags and it gets confusing and not only that, but it takes up space that actual product can go that will draw people in. You never want them to take up too much space. Drawing something on the bag or getting colorful or fun bags definitely helps draw the eye in. As an artist in the artist alley, grab bags shouldn't be your business unless you built around them. They should be a good way to make side income and get rid of product that doesn't sell.
End of the day, you want your buyers to be satisfied with their purchases and to not feel they were ripped off. The same goes for the grab bags. Even if they get a show or something they may not like or be familiar with, the experience of opening the grab bag and the lower cost of them is what will still leave them feeling they didn't waste their money. After all, the more cons you do, the more repeat customers you may start to see. You don't want to do anything that'll deter that return business.