I’ll start by saying, when done well, mystery boxes are great. The issue is, most of them aren’t done well. But I’m here to tell you whether I think they’re worth it, so let’s weigh it up properly for argument sake
For those who don’t know, mystery boxes are when a customer pays a set price to receive a mystery football shirt. This concept appeals to a lot of people, so it’s no surprise that mystery boxes generally do quite well.
These customers normally don’t mind paying a little extra for the “surprise” aspect attached to not knowing which shirt they’ll receive through the post. Mystery shirts generally are for the casual buyers, rather than actual collectors. Normally they’re bought as a gift for someone else and that’s where they work well.
New Shirt Boxes
Adult Collectors
From a collector’s point of view, most new mystery boxes normally aren’t good value for money. You often find shirts from M&M Direct or the CFS clearance section in these boxes. This means if you’re paying £40 for a mystery box, you’re likely to receive a shirt worth less than that.
Children's/ Youth
Where there is a good fun market for mystery boxes in in youth/ child sizes. These can be new kits from teams kids love and they love the experience of opening them (mainly because of all the surprise videos on YouTube). You can shop my children's mystery shirts here where I make sure the shirts are all major clubs.
Here is an example of a recent shirt box
Vintage Shirt Boxes
This is exactly why you don’t see many collectors buying mystery boxes, unless they’re from trusted sellers including, of course, Casual Football Shirts. You can shop vintage mystery shirts here. In these boxes you’ll get a shirt that isn’t readily available, it’ll be value for money. THAT is a good mystery box. These can help add to your collection or give you a shirt that you many never have thought of owning.
I can see the appeal of the surprise element. It will feel like Christmas every time you get a mystery shirt delivered. But if you just plan to wear these shirts for 5-aside or just lounging about in, you’ve probably overspent.
So, as always, it’s totally up to you whether you’d like to buy a mystery box. I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’m just here to give as much guidance as I can, so you can hopefully make an informed decision.