The Cost of a Mystery

So I ordered a grab bag from one of those 'Daily Deal' sites and now nearly a month since I ordered it, I finally get to see what's inside. The concept of a grab bag is not new, and I've ordered from this company before, yet even in this day and age where endless amounts of information is available at a moment's notice, I still have no idea what to expect. The grab bag is probably one of the most pragmatic method of gambling today. There's the old adage "Buyer Beware", but that was probably coined by a pessimist bent on alliteration. Soon, I will be able to find out if if this 'Mystery Bag of Awesomness' is worth the $14.99 + $4.99 Shipping and Handling. If I were to 100% believe the sales speak on the website, then the answer would be yes. The special thing about this grab bag is that in addition to the unspecified amounts of junk thrown into a cardboard box shipped from an undisclosed location to my doorstep, the vessel of choice, or rather the bag part of the grab bag is in fact a back pack. One of 3 styles as a matter of fact, only to add to the randomness that is this purchase. Now, according to the picture, these aren't some child size, dollar store backpacks direct from China made from discarded emergency poncho scraps. These actually seem like genuine, regular sized backpacks, but probably still from China because, hey, what isn't these days? Slight digression. I was over visiting my parents last week and I mentioned to them how I bought something off eBay that would be shipping from China. My sentence wasn't phrased quite like that, so it more than likely sounded like "I bought something from China the other day for a dollar." This led my inquisitive 5 year old daughter to ask, "You went to China without me!?!?" Ok. I'm back. Where was I? Oh yes, the backpack. It was the availability of this item compounded with the fact that it would be 'filled' with the unspecified amounts of junk that made me finally decide to purchase this item in the first place. For a little while now, I've been carrying a small 'sack pack' with me whenever I go out on a day trip. It's simply a nylon drawstring bag with the cording extended to serve as shoulder straps. Now, I know the idea is not new, but with such a simple design, it's a wonder why these things hadn't caught on sooner. I recently picked up a windbreaker/rain jacket that folds into itself and also serves as its own 'sack pack', but I'll save that for another blog entry. So anyway, my pack typically holds snacks for myself and the little one, a bottle of water, and any extraneous electronics and accompanying chargers/accessories either myself or my little one choose to bring along for our adventure. Lately, I've been finding that the sack pack, whereas very portable, lacks the back support a common backpack, especially weighed down with a lot of stuff. One additional thing I'd like to point out is whereas the company would not divulge any specifics, they did mention that should they choose to include a t-shirt in your Mystery Bag of Awesomeness, they ask what size you would like to have and they'll 'do their best' to accommodate. A [possible] t-shirt and backpack for $20? Could be worse I suppose. The general consensus out there is that whatever you discard, you could use as a white elephant gift. Hey, works for me. So, as I write this, my package is currently en route originating from a small town in Tennessee. The shipping details list the weight at 5.5 lbs. Not bad, how much does an empty backpack weigh? Not much. The most basic of backpacks with the obligatory large compartment and [somewhat less obligatory] smaller zippered pocket on the exterior has a shipping weight of (according to Amazon) 9.6 oz. That still leaves over 4 pounds of random stuff that I'll either relish or regift. So what's in this mystery box? We'll soon find out. Stay tuned for my next post to see what I got in my Mystery Bag of Awesomeness.