AS a giant cardboard box arrived on my doorstep, I felt a rush of adrenaline.
The 11kg box was as big as a suitcase and sealed with industrial-strength tape.
Though I had been expecting it, I had no idea what was inside.
I had jumped on a recent social media trend for buying job-lots of lost deliveries and ordered a Mystery Box from one of the most prominent resellers in this relatively new market.
It had cost me £100 — which could have been a bargain or rip-off depending on what was inside. Incredibly, the items in mine amounted to more than £1,270.
On TikTok, there are around 750,000 videos of people opening similar boxes, with mixed results.
While one user had Adidas trainers and a Ring Doorbell, another had a trophy and pamper items.
One TikTok user shared their unboxing showing a variety of products including a showerhead, natural cleansing footpads, and a handheld vector analyzer. One of the comments was: “I never had any luck with mystery boxes.”
Like I’m sure has happened to most of us, many of my much-anticipated online orders — from designer goods to gifts and even bulk Amazon deliveries — have disappeared in the past.
Last Christmas, I did a big order which included presents of clothes and accessories, and it didn’t turn up.
It was so frustrating, especially having to then spend ages speaking to a chatbot which led me round in circles.
It was so close to Christmas as well, I had no other choice but to quickly head to the shops and grab anything I could find.
Up to eight million parcels are lost or stolen in the UK each year. I have always been reimbursed or the item has been replaced. But what happens to AWOL deliveries?
Enter the Mystery Box industry, built around the parcels that genuinely go missing due to admin errors or coding mishaps and end up at logistics firm warehouses.
While some items are eventually donated to charity or destroyed by delivery firms, many are resold to intermediaries, who repackage them then resell them online.
‘Risk is exciting’
I ordered my Mystery Box from Wholesale Clearance UK. On its website, I searched “abandoned parcels” and was greeted by a page of different-sized boxes. T
he average box was £100, which is roughly £5 per item inside.
It feels wrong that delivery firms and third-party intermediaries are making money from lost items, but I can’t help but feel a thrill as I wonder what might be inside.
And this is why the trend has taken off on social media. Psychologist Emma Kenny says: “Life as we get older doesn’t tend to involve a lot of surprises, so risk is exciting.
“In a world of immediacy, the delayed gratification involved in waiting to find out what is in your parcel is novel. Even if you end up dissatisfied with the result, the experience was fulfilling.”
Karl Baxter, managing director of Wholesale Clearance UK, said: “The parcels we sell in our Abandoned Parcels Mystery Boxes are sourced through trusted logistics partners who specialise in handling undeliverable or unclaimed parcels from major delivery networks.
“We don’t receive them directly from couriers like Royal Mail, Evri, or DPD. Instead, we work with licensed intermediaries who manage large volumes of parcels on behalf of multiple delivery networks.
“We currently have an agreement with one of these firms to take between 1,500 and 3,000 parcels each month, depending on availability. They handle millions of parcels every year through relationships with over 100 international logistics partners.
In a world of immediacy, the delayed gratification involved in waiting to find out what is in your parcel is novel
Emma Kenny
“All the parcels are sold to our customers exactly as we receive them — unopened and unsearched – which is what makes the mystery so appealing to bargain hunters.”
While Mystery Boxes can include homeware, toiletries, gadgets and more, I had requested a fashion job-lot, so hoped I might get a new wardrobe in time for winter.
I grabbed my scissors, ready to delve in. There were 20 parcels inside, all in their original packaging.
Unboxing the parcels revealed high-value items like a Fear Of God Essentials hoodie (RRP £100), a Trapstar puffer jacket (RRP £225), and Protect Ldn sweatpants (£210).
The box seemed to focus on premium brands, with a Sebago leather boat shoe (£150) and a Ralph Lauren polo shirt (£125). I was impressed — it was all designer gear and mostly seasonal.
Personal highlights for me were clog Crocs and a Christmas doormat. It was worth more than £1,270. Of course, I was pleased, but I did also wonder at whose expense I was profiting.
Consumer Champion Martin Newman says: “Consumers themselves don’t usually lose out from lost packages. They are almost always resent the item, or refunded so the financial loss sits with the retailer or courier, not the buyer.”
‘Like a lottery ticket’
New data by MetaPack reveals that UK and European retailers lost £464million this way in the peak shopping season of September to December.
Each mislaid item costs retailers on average around £125 in lost revenue, shipping costs, and customer service expenses.
Martin adds: “The winners here tend to be the intermediaries and social media resellers who profit from the resale.
“When a delivery goes astray and isn’t reunited with the buyer or sender after a set period, it’s classed as unclaimed by the courier or postal service responsible for handling it. These firms, or their warehouse partners, will often sell that stock in bulk to liquidators or resellers, who then repackage and market it online as so-called mystery boxes.
“The reseller makes margins by re-marketing the boxes with the promise of high-value contents.”
Some are simply curating low-value stock, repackaging it, and selling the dream of a hidden iPhone or designer bag
Martin Newman
The market is vast. Wholesale Clearance UK has a turnover of £2.5million a year, and 15 staff at its Dorset warehouse. But Martin warns that you cannot be sure that all of the companies selling mystery boxes are selling goods from reputable logistics companies.
He says: “Some are simply curating low-value stock, repackaging it, and selling the dream of a hidden iPhone or designer bag.
“Genuine postal auctions — like those occasionally run by Royal Mail or courier partners — are highly regulated and clearly branded. But most of the mystery boxes circulating online will have no traceable link to a delivery provider.
“If you can’t see where the goods were sourced or who’s selling them, it’s probably too good to be true.
“Treat these boxes like a lottery ticket — only spend what you’re prepared to lose.”
In my box, everything was in good condition — there is the risk that goods can be damaged — but 50 per cent of it wasn’t in my size and some was not my style.
I’m sure I’ll find a good use for them all, but I do wonder whether some of the less desirable items end up going in the bin, and then to landfill sites.
On the one hand, it’s thrilling and you could win big — but would these goods be better off donated to charity if they cannot be returned to the retailer?
And now I’m left to figure out what to do with a £225 puffer jacket, a designer hoodie, and some questionable dresses.
It’s lucky that Christmas is around the corner, I guess.
