Heard of mystery boxes already and do you like to gamble? Well, you do not have to be a gambler to get an airsoft mystery box because they are far better than common gambling.
Mystery boxes are adored among the airsoft community and it can be seen through their popularity, especially on youtube. The question is, however, whether are they worth the time and money that an average airsoft player has.
Airsoft mystery boxes are totally worth it, but you still need to be aware of expectations because there is a certain logic behind these boxes and it is not a complete mystery, as a matter of fact, they are predictable to some degree.
They are a fine choice for beginners and advanced players but their primary point is to make you excited no matter who you are!
I have made some research on these and concluded what the odds are of unboxing something expensive that can actually earn you money and what are the odds that you are going to leave empty-handed.
Another thing that I am about to show you is what items you can expect from which kind of boxes. The statistics are based on the experiences of 20 people because I alone could not speak for it only my own experience due to the randomness that is involved.
Let’s begin with some basic questions where I explain how they work ( the logic behind them) and continue with some data.
What are airsoft mystery boxes and how do they work?
Airsoft mystery boxes are packages that may contain high-value guns, gear, or accessories that come with a fixed price. We can find this concept in many fields, I bumped into mystery boxes in FPS PC games and they worked as a charm making tons of money for the marketing team because people just could not get enough of them.
PC Players would sometimes get a high-value skin or a gun that would be worth $100 and they would only pay $5 per box and yet, sometimes they would purchase multiple boxes and spend 100$ to only cover 20% of the expenses by receiving items from purchased boxes.
However, the way they work in airsoft is not anything like they work in PC games and there is not a single chance that you are going to lose money!
My first thought was well If I purchase one I have a chance to win money or to lose it but fortunately this is not how it works because if you could lose money, the companies that sell mystery boxes would lose money as well.
People do not like gambling with these things to the point that they are going to spend $50 and possibly lose it all, in that case, no one would buy mystery boxes and instead would keep buying intended guns, gear and accessories.
The logic behind mystery boxes
You can choose between different sizes and prices but you can only gain items that are more worth than what you have paid the box for. For instance, if you buy a $50 mystery box you will gain a couple of items that together exceed the value of $50 and it can be a tiny difference of like 10-20$ or it can be a big difference and you can get a $150 priced AEG.
So, this is what the mystery means, in other words, the only unstable factor is what item you are about to unbox but the value is always higher than what you pay for.
In case you open something expensive for only $50, you are a big winner and this happens quite often believe it or not, but mostly for other people (just always).
But there must be a catch, doesn’t it? The catch is that you do not choose what those items are going to be, so even if you win in a pure value, you might not need that accessory, gear, or gun because you already own it, do not like it or something else is the reason.
How to get the most out of mystery boxes?
First buy the guns you really need
This is one piece of advice that I have for you if you are a beginner and have not yet purchased a primary gun and the gear that you will need for actual field games. It is always smart to first intentionally get what you know that you need and will use before venturing into the magic of mystery boxes.
The odds that you are going to get from a box exactly what you intended to buy intentionally are so slim that you may be rather the first human to colonize Mars. If you get 3 pistols and 3 tactical slings followed by the patches, you certainly won’t be equipped for a battle.
Buy them if your collection is low
If you plan to build up a collection and it is something that makes airsoft exciting for many people all over the world, then mystery boxes may be exactly what you need. Sometimes you will get something that will pleasantly surprise you and you will be forced to try out a gun that you have not been thinking about trying before, to realize that it was exactly what you needed in your collection the entire time.
Buy them as gifts ( birthdays, surprises)
If you have a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a cousin, or a friend that has an incoming birthday or it is Christmas time, you will know why mystery airsoft boxes make so much sense.
Tip: You can also surprise yourself, you can look at this as a gift for yourself because you will have no idea what is inside before you unbox it.
Find people who need the stuff you do not
By unboxing many mystery boxes you will start getting the stuff you do not really need ( mostly talking about patches, slings, vests, and cheaper pistols and guns) and those items are great for beginners or for people who do not already own them. If you have such people (and there always are such people) in the fields, you know that you can help them with this.
This guy doubled the value he paid for, pretty good if you ask me.
What do mystery boxes contain and the odds
There are many combinations that will surprise you in mystery boxes but I will share a few combinations from previous experience with $50 mystery boxes.
Mystery box number 1. – This one contained a package of Co2 cartridges, a tactical sling, patches, and a $50 Co2 pistol.
Mystery box number 2. – This one came with BBs, a tactical sling, a speed loader, and an M9-A1 Co2 pistol which is also priced at around $50.
Mystery box number 3. – This one came with a battery, sling, smart charger, and an m4 Elite Force AEG. ( This was not my box unfortunately and the guy was lucky)
The odds for a mystery box to contain an AEG was 1:20
Other guys did not report in detail, but 4 of them got the AEGs and they were certainly in profit of around $100 which means that they did not only get the money they spent back but also doubled it in earnings.
I have never purchased a $200 mystery box but I know guys who had awesome experiences with it.
The box contained a beautiful custom blowback pistol ( think it was priced around $100), stickers ( they always put stickers or patches in there as you can see), silicone oil, and an m4 that was worth around $150.
I prefer to get intended stuff instead if I am about to spend $200 on airsoft gear but you can get a box if you feel up to it.
No matter what you get, you always get back the value, so you do not lose money.
If we want to conclude what is the real value (per average and without big luck) when you purchase a box, then it is 35%-45% free added value to you from what you have paid for (counting the lower priced boxes like those of $50 or $100) and around 20% added value to expensive boxes like those that cost $1000.
The boxes come at many costs but the most usual ones are those that range between $50 to $1000, so if you buy one that costs $1000 you would win around $200 additional value in items, $50 box would result in like $20 additional value and the $100 boxes would result in $40 added value and you have a chance to win even more with all mystery boxes if you are lucky, however, are those items the ones you actually need? If not, perhaps you can resell them.
These are the most common mystery boxes on the market
Airsoft GI mystery box, Fox Airsoft mystery box, and Evike mystery box
The dark side of mystery boxes
Now after mentioning how they work and what beautiful stuff you can get from them I must also mention that there is a dark side of mystery boxes that I must reveal.
Sometimes the manufacturers put the guns and the gear that they could not sell in a store because they were not popular or did not meet the expectations of customers.
From the manufacturer’s point of view, this is a great way to get rid of the stuff they can not sell for any of the given reasons but must make space for other cargo in warehouses. It is not in their interest to keep stuff for too long to collect dust and they need to cycle the cargo on regular bases.
This does not mean that the stuff you receive in boxes is broken or malfunctioning but just that they probably could not sell it in a regular way. It is also important to mention that they do sometimes put valuable and popular items in there too, and in the end, it is a kind of a gamble for what you get.
I do not complain about this because it makes sense and if you have already collected the stuff you need and now want to collect other cool stuff with a chance to make more money with it in value, it is a good pick anyways and no one is scamming you.