The mystery box auction is a popular, and well received auction phenomenon on eBay. That being said, there are many things to look out for when considering bidding on these items.

Red Flags

The first mystery box auction red flag is that of the 'liquidation center' sellers on eBay. Without mentioning names, there is more than one high volume electronics liquidation center sellers that are selling 'mystery boxes' full of "Gadgets and Gizmos", claiming the contents of the boxes are full of items that are worth "several hundred dollars" in electronic box stores. These auctions never turn out to provide the customer with any semblance of satisfaction.

In the vast majority of the cases, the boxes are full of out dated cell phone covers that have no intrinsic value to anyone that doesn't carry a 5-7 year old cell phone model. What these sellers do is lump their unsellable merchandise into a box, and call it a 'mystery box' to attract unsuspecting bidders. Most, if not everyone that receives these boxes leave negative feedback, but because the sellers volume of sales are so high, that negative feedback is buried in a sea of feedback, and is not adequatetly communicated to the potential buyer.

The second type of mystery box are those that claim to have a fortune of merchandise contained within the boxes themselves. They spend the duration of the auction giving clues and 'trinket' incentives to bid on the box. Many consumers get intoxicated with the idea of opening a freshly mailed box to find a pirate's treasure of merchandise and cash. The problem is, in the vast majority of the cases, if not ALL the cases, the value of the items contained within the mystery box do not come anywhere close to what the buyer paid for it.

Once again, it is only common sense that has to be used to sober the mind of the potential buyer. Why would someone lose considerable profit by selling a box of items they could easily sell separately, and make a much larger profit? It simply does not pass the 'sniff test'. Take the time to look at the feedback of the Mystery Box sellers. Look to see the feedback for the previous Mystery Box auctions. If there is any feedback to that effect at all.

Finally, the last red flag mystery box auction is the one that cloaks itself in the premise - 'my husband, roommate, friend' either, 'moved out, cheated on me, left me, or disappeared', and left all their stuff. The sellers never has time to sift through it all, so they just decide to sell it in a mystery box "for fun". If you stop to think about this for two seconds, once again, it does not pass the sniff test. In any of these cases, even if they were true, who would not take 3 minutes to look at what is being sold, and why not simply identify the contents of the auction and allow people to know what they are bidding on? The answer is simple, they look to gain more, by giving you less to base your bid on.

Bottom Line - Mystery Boxes are a scam on eBay. They are fun to watch, but rarely fun for the high bidder when their ??mystery box?? arrives in the mail, and buyer's remorse sets in. Watch them all you want, but please, no matter how attractive the auction looks, do not bid on these scams. These are money making tactics used by the seller. Making money, means you are losing money.