These Tech Mystery Boxes were a MISTAKE

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- We have done a lot of mystery boxes over the years, but today I'm going to find out, are tech mystery boxes actually worth it? - [Ken] No. The answer is no. - Normally mystery boxes are not worth it, right? It's usually a bunch of like return stuff. It's a bunch of stuff that no one wanted to, you know, buy, so they just frickin' throw a bunch of it in a box and give you a supposedly "great value."

Box number one. Let's begin. (fart tooting) Hmm, that's it? All right, very underwhelming. All right, we got a few things in here. - [Alex] (chuckles) What did you expect? - I don't know. Some confetti? (party horn tooting) First item in this box, is a multifunction headlamp.

I was excited for this video until about seven seconds ago. Editing team, can you just rewind to the moment where I open the box and just get like a 300% zoom on my face? That's the way I feel right now. - [Ken] What? - Oh no. - Oh, that is very bright. - Okay, actually- - The flickering. - [Alex] This is gonna be great if you're trying to cosplay as a Cybertruck. (Austin and crew laughing) - Yeah. See?

That's why we need Matt. He's the strap master. - [Alex] So while you're figuring that out I'll give you a little bit of background on this box. So this is called the BREO BOX. They specialize in gift mystery boxes. - Oh. So it's some nonsense you give the friend in your life who you only like a little bit.

That'll be great. (strap clacks) Ow! (Ken and crew laughing) Hey. Oh dimmer? Oh, am I multicolor right now? - Color temp. Color temp. - Yeah.

- Or else am I a spotlight? Sir, come toward the light! (ethereal music) Come toward the light! - I'm still 30. - Oh. Oh. - Hello. It's me. Next up we've got Rocketbook Beacons. So you just put these little orange guys on your whiteboard and you like use the app to scan it? All right, I will say that's kind of lame.

This is a wall outlet shelf-mate. - Oh. - So you unplug your... You take off your existing wall plate and you put a shelf on it? I hope this box is cheap.

Oh, it's all dirty. No wait, is this actually 3D printed? So basically you could run a cable up here, set like a little smart speaker or something. - [Ken] Your Apple Watch. - This seems like a cool thing if you saw it on Amazon, but in reality, if this is more than $5, I'd be grumpy.

Last and maybe least, is a massage roller ball. Whoa. (massage ball buzzing) - Oh, that is very vibrate-y. (massage ball clicking) - Wow.

- [Austin] You wanna put it... Oh yeah, try it on your back first, but I think you're supposed to like roll it on like your arm and stuff. - Oh, as soon as you did that, the entire floor started shaking. I can feel it. - Aah. - [Austin] Wait a minute. I don't know if we should let you have that.

(Alex laughs) - I would not pay more than $2 for this. - It's okay. The problem is that if you've ever used like a massage gun, that's a lot better, because the thing is, while you're holding it, your hand's getting vibrated like crazy. So it's kinda uncomfortable to hold. It's probably better- - [Joanna] You're probably don't have to hold it. - [Ken] Not everyone can afford a Theranos.

- [Austin] (chuckles) Theranos? You mean Theragun? - [Ken] Theranos. - [Austin] Theranos was the scam blood test. - [Ken] Oh, same thing.

- I'm not sure why I decided at the bottom of my thighs that I'm gonna do this. - Oh my god. (laughs) - Yeah. - That's what-. - My thought on this mystery box is that it has, I would be generous and say $25 worth of stuff in it, I'm gonna guess is a $40 box.

- [Alex] (laughs) This box cost us $89. (Ken laughs) - Brother! - [Alex] And they claim that it has a value of at least $100. - $3, $15, (graphics dinging) $10, $5. (graphics dinging) Ugh, this is a hard pass.

This is a 1.5 stars out of 5. That's an ETB box. What is it? A Pokemon shipping label. - [Alex] I pitched this idea to you like months ago- - You did. - and you said, "Okay fine, but you better get me something Pokemon." So I did.

- I think Mystery Box, I think Pokemon cards. Okay, we got some... (soft intense music) What? That's it? So we've got one Miraidon tin, and then we've got a 3 Pack Blister of Paradox Rift, two of them. That's it. I think that this company probably paid $30, and I'm being quite generous with that.

- [Alex] Okay, well, congratulations! It costs 35. - Actually... (Alex laughs) Wait a minute.

Okay. All right. I got a Ferroseed. What the (duck quacks) are you? - [Joanna] I mean it's basic, but this, I got a Gimmighoul. - Oh, that's not basic, that's a fricking alt art. That's a really good pull. - All right.

Well- - This- - [Alex] thank you PokeNest. - PokeNest, very solid. I'm absolutely striking out. But that's not PokeCaves or whatever's fault because- - [Alex] (laughs) PokeNest. (laughs) Poke cave. - PokeNest, PokeCave.

I only buy my Pokemon cards from Rare Candy. Ding. I'ma just lock that one in at 3.5 stars.

It makes me nervous that that box looks like it weighs absolutely nothing. Is there anything in the box? Is it a box of air? It says it weighs 8 ounces. (box thumping) What? (Ken laughs) - Oh, that's mine.

I was looking for this. - [Alex] Oh. - We'll be right back after we find where Ken lost the mystery box.

(object dings) - [Alex] This next one you may recognize. (box thumps) - Oh goddammit. Plug... Okay. So, basically I did a video, buying all kind of stuff from Plug Tech, and one of which was a mystery box that had a whole pile of chargers and nothing else.

Someone from Plug Tech reached out, I actually think it was the CEO, and said, "Hey, we're gonna work on this." And they did a bunch of videos, used my face in a bunch of thumbnails. Fair play Plug Tech. (hand thuds) Three, two, one.

Hey, there's a charger. I need more of this in my life. But all right, one charger. Sure. And one Plug Tech PopSocket for your laptop.

(crew laughing) - Thank you. - But then the thing I'm a little more interested in is this, which looks like a phone of some kind. iPhone 11? Does have a screen protector already applied, which I assume is one of the Plug Tech ones. It is in, I will say, kind of rough condition.

It's not terrible, but it's definitely like a little bit on the scuffed sort of side. Let me fire this up and I'll see how it works. It launches without a password or anything. That's cool. Let me plug this in 'cause it is...

Oh well, (fanfare music) I'll plug it in using my Plug Tech charger. (cell phone chimes) There we go. 1% charged. Wow. Impressive. You shipped it to me with 1% charge. Got it.

Battery health wise, 82%. Okay, 82% battery is low but acceptable. I'm gonna guess that this phone, if I was going to buy it in a non-mystery box, is probably like 160 bucks, something like that. And of course Plug Tech is gonna add a bit of extra money because it is a "mystery product," and it comes with a screen protector, and it comes with a pop socket, and all this kind of nonsense.

This costs $180. (graphics whooshing) - [Alex] Ah, very close, but no cigar. It was a $200, (intense music) limited time only, Happy Father's Day mystery box. (chuckles) - "Happy Father's day. Here's a random phone, Dad." "What is it?" "I don't know." This is like for a dad that like, yeah, he's your dad, but like he went out to go get the milk and then it took him a few years to come back, and then you know, the relationship was a little weird at that point.

And then you have a lot of deep-rooted issues that you're still working through in therapy, but you haven't really quite gotten there. Well, this is the phone that you get him. No, this is a 2 star. (graphics zap) Not it.

All right, next up we have The Curiosity Box by Vsauce. I actually am gonna be a little bit biased in this one 'cause I'm friends with the Vsauce gang, and Corn Dog Willy would never leave me astray. The Curiosity Box used to be quarterly and like 45, 50 bucks a month.

What do we pay for this one? - [Alex] So it is still quarterly- - Yep. - but now it is $60. - Okay, inflation. That's fine. So we have the Ambigram Escape. So it is a plastic disc. There's a coin inside. So theoretically, if you can get all those balls out of the way, the coin will just slide right through. A one-word hint would be lovely. Force.

(disc thudding) (balls rattling) Nope. Not that kind of force. Okay. It's on a rotational key chain for a reason. - Yes. (disc rattling)

Yeah! (laughs) - Yeah. There you go. - That's a neat little gimmick. All right. I'm having fun with this.

At least this is something that's a little different. What else we got here? An EDC Multi Tool. So you got a bunch of stuff in here. So you can do the average pinky length. Let's see here, is that... Oh my god, it's the exact same length.

I have an average pinky. If the earth was this small, we'll turn into a black hole. The card will melt to this temperature. If the card is solid rather than liquid, then it is cooler than 1400 degrees Celsius.

(Ken laughs) Yep. The thermometer's working. This is in fact not melted, so that's great. - Okay.

- So, this little kangaroo, what you're supposed to do is, you're supposed to hold it out to the kangaroo. If the kangaroo is smaller, you're fine. If the kangaroo is bigger, run! This is the Uranus shirt. - [AlexccccccjdetgjcvceLCLGJNHLUHTCEHRUEEJlvbkfidug] The what shirt? - The Uranus shirt. I didn't stutter. This is the Schwarzschild's radius of Uranus. So if Uranus is this small, run 'cause it's a black hole.

And then here's the equations on how to get to Uranus's Schwarzschild's radius and how Uranus black hole becomes really bad. There's The Body Deck that sounds sus. As you go through, you see more and more or less of the person. (cards rattling) - Wow. - Oh you were a human. - That's crazy!

And last but not least, we have ourselves a book, which is "The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid." - [Alex] When was the last time you went to like an actual bookstore? (Joanna chuckles) (intense music) - You don't have to laugh, Joanna. I used to read.

Preface. The relevance is without question... Oh good luck. (Ken laughs) Oh no, What the... Oh it's got colors at least.

I'm like, I feel pretty good about this. This is goofy, this is funny, and most importantly, (graphics zap) it's Corn Dog Willy-approved. Next up we have the PureGear mystery box. Now, this sounds techy, this sounds encouraging. Let's start out with the PureGear, or sorry, the PureBoom wireless headphones.

Initial impressions based on looking at these headphones, they look cheap. Okay, well, it does come with a little carrying case, which is nice. It's very squishy and soft. That's fine. (headphones clacking) Ah, yeah. - Ooh. - kinda cheap. I mean, let's be reasonable here. They're not terrible. They're quite soft on the sides.

Oh micro USB. (Alex laughs) Nope. Oh they're dead too 'cause they've been in this box for a long time.

We're gonna let these headphones charge for a minute while we look at some of the other items. So we've got a phone case lanyard. But doesn't your phone case have to have a specific loop for a lanyard? I don't think you just put a lanyard on anything, can you? That go inside the case, but then where would it go? I'm not normally a big case guy, but I dropped my phone the other day and I felt peer pressured into getting a case. So you can see on the bottom of the phone there, it basically just kinda like tucks into the case and there's plenty of space. - [Alex] Okay, cool. Yeah. You can do that around your neck.

Hold it as- - I feel like I'm trying to get into a concert and I'm pretending that this is my pass. Whoo! Whoo-hoo! - [Alex] Oh, that was very close to that light. - Well, it didn't hit so it's fine. So there are a couple of aluminum straws. You got a little bendy guy which is pre bent, and then there's a straight one, and then there's a little straw brush.

This is just a smaller version of the lanyard? - [Alex] You keep asking me like I know what's in the box. - I'm asking you because you all are worldly, and you will go out and hang out with the kids these days. You're in touch with what they're doing with their phones or whatever. I guess it's just sort of the same kind of thing but smaller? - [Alex] Yeah. - Then there's another one which looks almost the same except it's chunkier looking. I'm still not gotta do this 'cause I put my phone in my pocket like a civilized person.

- [Joanna] And that's why you dropped it. - Hey, what's going on... (grunting) So these are the KikStiks which looks like a little holo foil sort of package. So, you know, I like shiny things. One, two, three, four, five, six. I don't know why, this just looks like a tail.

Like, I don't know why my phone feels like it has a tail now. If I'm watching video, I'm TikToking, you know, as I do, 'cause I'm one of the kids, I can pull my KikStik out and just set my phone. If I wanted to shoot a story, perhaps, a little bit vertical action, this feels like an option, I guess.

And then the last thing I've got here is a car charger in USB-A port with Lightning. I see why they put that in there 'cause they wanted to get rid of it. So let's do this.

Let's go ahead and pair these headphones with my beautifully adorned iPhone. Okay, I'm gonna plug it. It's almost out of battery. But whatever, we'll just give it a try.

(upbeat music) It sounds like you're listening to someone's car stereo from outside the car. So, how much did I pay (glass breaking) for this PureGear setup? 'Cause I'm gonna guess that it was 50 bucks. - [Alex] Ooh, it was 30.

- Actually- - Yeah. - I think we actually got $30 of value. I mean, these are bad and you should give them to your little brother that you don't like very much. But like these little wristlets are fine.

I mean, I don't think I would use one, but I will say my phone looks like it's slaying for sure. I'm not excited about it I guess, 'cause I feel like most of the stuff is not that interesting. But, I mean, this is a lot of stuff for 30 bucks. Like, I don't think you can be upset about this one. Now, I don't know what this is, but it does say Stylin' Online.

Well, as we all know, I am the pinnacle of style an icon of fashion. A beacon of hope to the many millions of style-less people out there who just want some inspiration on how to just pull this fit off. Oh, gaming surprise.

I read stylin' and thought clothes. This is a gaming surprise. Now look. What's the first item? Oh, it's a big one. It's fricking half the box. We've got, first of all, a Halo soft blanket.

This is 100% meant to be sold at like AX or something. (Austin vocalizing) (Austin vocalizes) - [Alex] That's Master Chief. - [Joanna] That was the closest you'd been on key until the... (people clapping) - Thank you, Joanna.

I really appreciate that. I try. No, I thought he'd be a little warmer in person. (crew laughs) Luckily, Master Cheeks is the perfect replacement for Matt and Ken, 'cause he's quiet. Those two never shut the hell up. Is this some Watch Dogs hat? "Watch Dogs 2."

Wait, when did "Watch Dogs 2" come out? Hello, kids. How do you do? I am wearing licensed merchandise from a failed Ubisoft game from 2016. Next up, we got... Oh we have big box here. It's a mug. It says Zombies in Spaceland.

What the hell is Zombies in Spaceland? Oh, it's "Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare." - [Alex[ Oh yeah. - Oh. - This is like one of the, like little like arcade mini games, right? - Infinite Warfare is also like (graphics pops) 2015, 2016? Why are all these things so old? Oh, "Animal Crossing" socks. So Tom Nook took all my money anyways, so I need some socks. Look at how, like, stretched that is.

Do you see how the green on the foot, and as soon as he tried to like wrap it around... (Austin grunts) (Austin vocalizes) There is a "Assassin's Creed" like keychain... Origins, (graphics boing) "Assassin's Creed Origins." These are all, like, legitimate like 8-year-old items. If you're really big fan of 2016 and 2017 era Ubisoft games, this is the box for you.

There's a pin. It is a "Sea of Thieves" pi n. To be fair, this is the only one of any of these games that is still relevant in 2024.

There we go. (upbeat music) I'm a "Sea of Thieves" fan. I'm also a fan of "Watch Dogs 2." (chuckles) I can just look now. There's only one more item.

It's gonna redeem the whole box. It is a lanyard. (plastic rustling) I don't know what this is. I don't recognize any of these symbols.

Oh is it "The Witcher"? Oh it's "The Witcher." You know, I feel like I'm just doing a really (duck quacks) cosplay of someone who pretends to be like, "How do you do fellow gamers?" I would guess that this is actually like $20 worth of stuff, but I'm gonna guess that they're actually gonna charge $40 for it. - [Alex] Oh, it was 55. - $55? Not even the warm loving embrace of Master Cheeks can make me feel better about that. This is all junk that didn't sell at Target in 2016.

That they're like, "Oh, cool, let's throw it in the game surprise box for Austin." I feel like I need a Monster in my hand right now. (laughs) I'm gonna need a Monster, and to have not showered, (graphics hissing) and I feel like I'm gonna really embrace this character.

(tool box thuds) DeWalt tools? Came from New Zealand. This is just a toolbox. (plastic rustling) - Well, they could have just- - Well- - [Alex] Yeah, maybe there's something in the toolbox.

I don't know. - You ordered it! You should know at least somewhat about it! - [Alex] These are mystery boxes! We don't know what's in them! - Brake fluid tester. What else could be inside here? (tool box thuds) It's a brake fluid tester! (group laughing) This is a New Zealand mystery box? A brake fluid tester? (Alex laughs) What? What are we doing over here? - [Ken] Wait, didn't this one cost a lot of money too? (Alex laughs) - Ooh, we don't know. - [Alex] Okay, how much do you think it costs? (chuckles) (tools clattering) - I don't know how much is a brake fluid tester. 40 bucks. I don't know. Wait, before you tell me the price, what was the, like, pitch on why you picked this one? Like, you- - Okay.

So, this was a, like, tech gaming mystery box. (crew laughing) - What? They- - [Alex] And they had different tiers. You know, on the lower end, you get like some games, whatever. On the higher end, you could potentially get like a straight up, like, gaming PC. - I'm so mad right now. So mad right now. - and like a streaming setup.

- [Austin] So, I'll be generous and say 30 bucks. - [Alex] Okay, I will also say that- - You're giving me a lot of disclaimers right now before you tell me what it is. (Alex laughing) - [Alex] I will also say that they didn't ship anything to us for like almost a month. I had to like email them 20 times. - They were out of the good mystery boxes, so they went down to their local hardware store, bought this (duck quacks). - [Alex] We paid...

I don't wanna tell you anymore. (crew laughing) - I'm all ears. - [Alex] We paid $578. (chuckling)

- Sorry, one more time. I thought I heard you say $578, Alex. What was that price? - It is $578. (laughs) (bell dings)

And it was called the "Epic $1,000 Mystery Box." It was supposed to be at least worth $1,000. I'm sorry.

(group laughing) - The worst part is, I gotta change my brake fluid. (group laughing) Hey, it's like $200 to ship stuff from New Zealand, right? (group laughing) Were you like an (duck quacks)? (group laughing) - Like, we put the order in, and we're like, we didn't hear anything, and then we're like, "Okay, we gotta shoot this video." And we're like, "Where is this box?" And so, Alex like, you know, pestered them like quite a bit because we- - [Alex] They didn't even give us a tracking on their package. - I've just spent $570. - Yeah. - And so they probably were like, "Man, this American guy's really annoying. Hey, go down to the shop and go get some $20 nonsense so we can ship it, (tool box thudding) so he's stop emailing me.

"You agree there are no returns in most cases." "You agree that there's no change in content." "You agree that you may receive products you did not expect from us." - [Alex] (chuckles) You wanna see if it even works though? - No! (staff laughing) You know what? I don't wanna see if it works, Alex. That's actually the opposite of what I wanna do right now.

I wanna see how far I can kick it out the back door and into the garbage can, 'cause I'm real, real grumpy. Thank you very much for watching. Please subscribe to the channel. Alex is gonna put us out of business any minute now. (Austin and Alex laughing) (upbeat music)

2024-10-17

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