How the Toy Industry Got Your Kids Hooked on Surprise Toys

For $2.99, you can purchase joy, or disappointment, in the form of a tiny purple egg. Sold in a so-called blind bag, you have no idea whether it will yield a rare collectible or a generic toy duplicated across thousands of other such bags. Some muscle cracks the egg, and out comes a little blue catlike figurine. Its rank is "common." Fork over another three bucks to try again.

These eggs are the brainchild of Spin Master Ltd., the Canadian company behind holiday blockbuster Hatchimals, which is essentially a massive blind bag itself. That $60 egg contains a birdlike creature that pecks its way out of a shell and then, as you play with it, learns different commands. Looking to follow up on its December success, Spin Master introduced the low-cost Hatchimals Colleggtibles earlier this month.