August 18, 2022
BEIJING – China’s top market regulator stipulated that businesses shall not sell blind boxes to juveniles under 8 years old in a draft guideline to regulate the billion-dollar blind box sector.
According to the State Administration for Market Regulation on Tuesday, businesses can only sell blind box to juveniles aged 8 and above after obtaining the consent of their guardians. The guideline is still asking for public opinions.
The draft guideline said that blind box operators should reasonably determine the price of blind boxes based on production and operation costs as well as market supply and demand, and shall not bid up prices.
The price of blind box products should not have a large price difference from that of non-blind box products of the same quality, it said.
Following the news, Pop Mart, China’s leading blind box company, started with a drop of about 5 percent in the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The company said in a statement that the draft guideline is of positive significance and can give a clear direction for companies to operate in a standardized way, which helps the sector create a better business environment.