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Japanese Apple Fans Line Up for Annual 'Lucky Bag' Discounts
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They have events like this at Old Navy in America. First you say you size and you then pay $20-$40 for a random bag of clothes that will fit you.
I don't know the US rules. In the UK, if you buy something in a shop you have no legal right to return it unless the goods are faulty or not as described (unless the shop offers to accept such returns before you buy). If Apple sold a bag described as "random Apple products with a retail price of at least £500, and no returns" for £400, and the bag contains what it says, you have no right to return it.
I did that back in 2007
Back in 2007 we stayed in a hotel in Ginza, not too far from the apple store and our kid was too small to overcome jet lag easily, so I was up at a very early time and passed the line forming .. and decided that I still had a chance.
Silliest 5 hours of waiting ... but at least the guy in line next to me spoke decent english ... and since I was pretty much the only gaijin, I even ended up on TV ... the price back then was 52500¥ (440 USD, then) and all the stuff I got was 123690¥ (1042$), but there were some things I really had no use for (i.e. Japanese train schedule software) ... but overall it was great .. i even love the bag that all the stuff came in.
They actually handed out a flyer that explained that the value of the contents of the bag would be at least 120000 of value ... and that you are not allowed to resell any of the stuff (I guess most people did that anyway)
Also, we got a special edition t-shirt, which is just priceless
I can highly recommend this as a fun experience, especially if you have a line mate who lets you get hot cocoa, back then smoking was still allowed in Ginza, but you had to move to a certain ashtray ... and 5 or more h of standing power, which is not easy.
Back in 2007 we stayed in a hotel in Ginza, not too far from the apple store and our kid was too small to overcome jet lag easily, so I was up at a very early time and passed the line forming .. and decided that I still had a chance.
Silliest 5 hours of waiting ... but at least the guy in line next to me spoke decent english ... and since I was pretty much the only gaijin, I even ended up on TV ... the price back then was 52500¥ (440 USD, then) and all the stuff I got was 123690¥ (1042$), but there were some things I really had no use for (i.e. Japanese train schedule software) ... but overall it was great .. i even love the bag that all the stuff came in.
They actually handed out a flyer that explained that the value of the contents of the bag would be at least 120000 of value ... and that you are not allowed to resell any of the stuff (I guess most people did that anyway)
Also, we got a special edition t-shirt, which is just priceless
I can highly recommend this as a fun experience, especially if you have a line mate who lets you get hot cocoa, back then smoking was still allowed in Ginza, but you had to move to a certain ashtray ... and 5 or more h of standing power, which is not easy.
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I for one would queue up 
. That said, as @Kil pointed out - I could see me breaking up a few things on the way out from the Apple store if they decided to put a pair of socks and underwear inside
. That said, as @Kil pointed out - I could see me breaking up a few things on the way out from the Apple store if they decided to put a pair of socks and underwear inside 
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Seriously. For this and other reasons our culture would crush this tradition before the end of the day. Imagine the Internet discussions about people being scammed and robbed.
lighthouse_man said:
Seriously. For this and other reasons our culture would crush this tradition before the end of the day. Imagine the Internet discussions about people being scammed and robbed.
I thought this was a brilliant promotion/idea, until I searched on the net and found a lucky bag opening video from last year. An iPod nano with a load of useless accessories.
I think I would rather pay full price for items I need/want rather than enter a random lottery.
I think I would rather pay full price for items I need/want rather than enter a random lottery.
That's when you have to tell the customer, "tough ****." It would be like trying to tell the lottery you want a refund because you did not win the jackpot on the powerball.
Random tech items would be a very different thing.... these are Random Apple products, and you know that you're going to get at least 1 big ticket item in your bag. It's not like Apple is doing a version of "Let's Make A deal" where you trade in your winnings for a curtain and could end up with a live chicken and another person gets a new car.
You have to have a clue. With no disrespect, it's your mentality that makes this not work in the US.
Yakpak.com used to do this all the time. You paid $25, and you got either 5 bags or 2 pairs of shoes. You never knew what you would get though. They were often samples of things that never got mass produced, or canceled orders. (They make bags under 10 different brand names). I got a really sweet messenger bag that I would have paid around $100 for, and a purse in the mix that was useless to me, but it was fun and worth it.
For those asking why Americans don't have that, its simple. Americans don't like losing, especially in todays "everyones a winner" society.
At the local mall in my town, we have this thing every year and the mall buys thousands of bananas and you buy a ticket, and get a banana and theres a sticker on each banana you peel off the sticker and theres a percentage discount and the name of a store. Its fun because theres a lot of bartering between customers for different bananas. All the guys want the gamestop bananas and the females want the ones for Torrid or Kays Jewelers.
Its fun
You Alaskans just get crazy!
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Just in case you're wondering about these "lucky bags" here is the wiki on them
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukubukuro
Another thing to keep in mind is that this ties in with another Japanese tradition, otoshidama. On new years day or the night before, children receive money from adults (parents, grandparents, friends of the family,etc For example, I usually give some money to my GF's nieces). Sometimes the amount these kids end up with alot of money! Also winter bonuses are issued around this time. So you have a bunch of under 18 year olds and older 22+ workers walking around with pockets fresh full of money.
Those bags are seriously EVERYWHERE in Japan (or at least in Tokyo/Osaka).
Just in case you're wondering about these "lucky bags" here is the wiki on them
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukubukuro
Another thing to keep in mind is that this ties in with another Japanese tradition, otoshidama. On new years day or the night before, children receive money from adults (parents, grandparents, friends of the family,etc For example, I usually give some money to my GF's nieces). Sometimes the amount these kids end up with alot of money! Also winter bonuses are issued around this time. So you have a bunch of under 18 year olds and older 22+ workers walking around with pockets fresh full of money.
Those bags are seriously EVERYWHERE in Japan (or at least in Tokyo/Osaka).
How long has this particular tradition been going on for? I wonder how long a calculated business marketing strategy has to run before people start fondly referring to it as a 'tradition'. Any ideas?
People love to gamble. How about a third party offering random Apple bags for $400. The total value of items inside could range from $350 to $999. So you end up risking a small loss of $50. Of course everything depends on the odds of that happening.
You could even sugar coat it by calling them Lucky Rainbow Bags, and give $1 from every purchase to charity. It'll be a tradition soon enough and you'll hear kids on the street saying "..Gee whizz...you got your Lucky Rainbow bag yet mister?"
People love to gamble. How about a third party offering random Apple bags for $400. The total value of items inside could range from $350 to $999. So you end up risking a small loss of $50. Of course everything depends on the odds of that happening.
You could even sugar coat it by calling them Lucky Rainbow Bags, and give $1 from every purchase to charity. It'll be a tradition soon enough and you'll hear kids on the street saying "..Gee whizz...you got your Lucky Rainbow bag yet mister?"
I for one would queue up
What if they were worn by Steve Jobs himeself?
That said, I guess it is the thrill of the gamble, the same reason why people buy trading card booster packs (like M:TG) when it would ultimately be cheaper to just track down the individual cards you want/need.
Odd comments
I'm from the US and see no reason why the concept wouldn't work in the US especially when every other post in this thread is pointing out examples of grab bags, or similar promotions, that do exist in the US! (And for those saying "it wouldn't work", let me guess: that's because other people, not you, would mess it up, right?)
I saw grab bags in stores as a kid growing up in the US. I now live in Japan, where most people don't buy such grab bags, but many do and some end up happy, and some don't. Either way, every year I'm amused when the same story runs and some number of commenters from the US say they've never head of such a thing. It's a grab bag. Really, it's nothing strange...
Hear, hear. Thanks for the voice of reason.
I'm from the US and see no reason why the concept wouldn't work in the US especially when every other post in this thread is pointing out examples of grab bags, or similar promotions, that do exist in the US! (And for those saying "it wouldn't work", let me guess: that's because other people, not you, would mess it up, right?
)I saw grab bags in stores as a kid growing up in the US. I now live in Japan, where most people don't buy such grab bags, but many do and some end up happy, and some don't. Either way, every year I'm amused when the same story runs and some number of commenters from the US say they've never head of such a thing. It's a grab bag. Really, it's nothing strange...