According to 'Yueniu News', a young man from Zhejiang, Xiaoyu, who was born after 1995, achieved financial independence during university through the trend toy business. After graduation, he engaged in full-time blind box operations and managed to earn 300,000 yuan (about RM170,000) annually by mastering the 'blind box shaking' technique.
"Whether it’s a brand-new full set of boxes that just arrived or replenished single boxes, I have to shake each one individually so I don’t miss out on the popular styles." As he finished speaking, he quickly walked to the shelves, picked up a whole row of blind boxes, weighed each one in his hand, and carefully shook them to feel for component positions—his movements skillful and unaffected by those around him. In less than half a minute, he finished a preliminary screening of the entire row of blind boxes.
At a local blind box store, Xiaoyu has been standing here day after day for nearly three years. He keeps a constant watch on the shop’s group chat for restock notifications. Whenever there’s news of new stock or replenishments, he arrives at the store as soon as possible and basically checks in almost every day. Arriving at the store in the afternoon, he stands there for four or five hours straight, staying from the busiest hours until just before closing time, and on weekends, he’s practically there all day. He pays no attention to ordinary consumers’ annoyance or strange glances: "For them, it’s about buying happiness and a surprise; for me, it’s my livelihood."
It is understood that Xiaoyu’s journey into trend toys originally began with sneaker trading. In his freshman year, he spotted an opportunity in the sneaker market and borrowed 10,000 yuan (about RM5,700) from his mother as start-up capital. During his three years at college, he made over 300,000 yuan. In 2021, as the sneaker market cooled, he gradually let go of shoe trading and smoothly transitioned into the lower barrier, higher turnover blind box market, becoming a professional blind box player.
In his daily operations, Xiaoyu constantly monitors the market trends on platforms like QianDao and Dewu, targeting whichever series is hot or whichever style has the highest markup. Every day he waits at stores, repeatedly shakes and screens boxes, keeps track of price fluctuations, and manages sales and deliveries on second-hand platforms. Although it may seem easy, behind it is years of accumulated experience and time investment. His efforts have helped him secure a foothold in the trend toy market, and with his 'blind box shaking skills', he has carved out a livelihood of his own.