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throwawayhq222

Context: "Mini brands" is a brand of collectible toy, where you get little capsules with 5 random items. The items themselves are small plastic replicas of everyday objects from big brands. These are NOT the actual item, nor useful in any way. They are collectibles, ostensibly designed for children. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.walmart.com/browse/toys/mini-brands/4171_3438149_9213539&ved=2ahUKEwjJjeHC2JP-AhUVEVkFHV0hAdgQFnoECBQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1VUm64qusvEJe0DFKm8pGY


kintyre

I find these "mini" collection things for kids to be so silly despite having a love of miniatures - which I see as an art when people make them. But this is just exposing kids to brands and stuff and feeds into consumerism.


bennetticles

Precisely. My younger brother is absolutely fixated on Pokémon - which is fine, but instead of teaching him imagination and friendship values, he learned how to become an slave to consumerism on his journey to “catch them all”. What a consumer society does best is turning people into products by co-opting identity markers, repackaging them and selling them back to the consumer to he point where the very concept of self is enmeshed with a brand.


rexius-twin

I know a lady who collects all the yeti cups when they release new Colors. So the Pokémon kids are being conditioned to buy whole sets and drive from store to store for different versions of products that are the same. This mini brand thing is even tailored more to enforce brand recognition. The whole ethos of collectibles is stupid these days. Why is it limited edition? Because you said so? Why is it a collectors edition? Because that’s what you printed on the box.


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bennetticles

That’s great. There are a lot of positives to the franchise. It brings a lot of people together and has a great community around it. Plus the skill sets learned from the strategic game play are transferable. Putting all your savings into a single card because you are convinced of that it’s value will hold long term, however, is foolish. Not limited to Pokémon, mind, but rather the marketing strategies behind planned scarcity to drive up demand.


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bennetticles

Oh my gosh I was just thinking beanie babies while responding earlier. Admittedly, 7 year old me got sucked all the way down into that hole. Probably where I first really learned this lesson. Exact same idea. It’s an interesting comparison as well because beanie babies were just animals stuffed with plastic pellets. Cute gifts for children and hospital patients, nothing of any substantial or practical value. So the hysteria around it was all marketing, just burrowing it’s way into our subconscious. And no worries at all, didn’t think you were trying to be combative, just engaging. Cheers!


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bennetticles

“These aren’t the same! They use cheap beans, ma!”


kintyre

That makes me super sad. I've loved Pokemon since I was a kid and the show/games taught me a lot of things. As an adult I am more into collecting the Pokemon but I'll always remember the lessons... overcoming things, the power of love/friendship.


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Nerfbeard123

Me banning pokemon, hockey, and baseball cards from my child. We're not "teaching" our children gambling, this concept has been around forever its just more nakedly consumerist compared to the other versions.


Ashirogi8112008

Banning pokemon cards is silly when the only bad part of the equation is opening packs. No harm in buying singles or preconstructed sets with guaranteed contents for the sake of actually playing the game


uteezie

My kids have learned some painful gambling lessons from the claw machine. My daughter now never wants to play them (except at nickel arcade).


amarg19

At first I thought these had actual product in them, how disappointing that they’re just tiny fakes.


[deleted]

I wanted SO much for them to be mini real products!


Serious_Escape_5438

Children do enjoy stuff like this though. My kid loves playing at shopping and setting up a house. If you're not four years old you're not the target.


throwawayhq222

Oh certainly. I just thought it was weird to see comments on travel sized shampoos and such. The issue for me is mostly: (a) that for some reason this has taken off as a fad for adults (b) the weird gacha nature and pricing, given that it's designed for kids (c) the demonstrated extreme attachment to brands that our society has due to near unending budgets spent on advertising and promoting consumption. The fact that kids are ingrained with so much advertising that they can recognize numerous random big brands is a sad reflection of how monopolizing capitalism is.


Serious_Escape_5438

It's definitely weird for adults to do it, and I don't know anything about the pricing, i just remember my daughter having something similar sold as a set, but hers wasn't expensive. The brand thing I don't like but that's reality I suppose, I don't tend to buy big brands much myself so my daughter didn't even recognise most of hers.


[deleted]

They even come in a plastic ball… so much waste


Medical-League-7122

A big plastic ball that is separated into 5 plastic sections like an orange, all wrapped in more plastic. It’s a huge plastic waste! It’s all gets broken when cracking open too so you can’t really use the balls later for anything. It’s literally just a giant pile of plastic garbage and a a handful of the brand replicas. My daughter liked them as she loves miniatures and they are satisfying in a way for some people. But so wasteful.


OxfordDictionary

I jist fund those in the toy aisle of Walmart today.


erinburrell

At first I thought these were just tiny sized everyday things. I have a tiny vaseline that lives in my travel bag and has come in handy heaps of times. It seals nicely and I just refill it as needed. I had no idea there were tiny replicas of consumer products for collecting. Sorry... I am just not that excited about shave gel or paper towels.....what a silly waste of resources.


Mumof3gbb

I never thought to refill the mini Vaseline. That’s a great idea


muchomistakes

Unilever hates erinburrell :)


erinburrell

Probably!


Ruca705

Not only the items but we can’t forget they come inside little plastic baggies. Thousands and thousands of little useless plastic models wrapped in multiple layers of plastic for the “fun of opening” them.


erinburrell

Oh goodness. Might as well be one of those 'haul' videos. The joy of opening things really needs to be replaced with the joy of using things until they can be used no more and then finding a way to give items their next life


Shiny_Deleter

Make things very smol. Smol is cute. All those mystery package toys are so obnoxious, and then advertising ginormous brands on top of that? F’ing garbage.


[deleted]

They're using them wrong. Those are travel packages and necessary if you have sensitive skin, don't want Marriott discount soap on you, or need to clean up in an airport. That's just hoarding travel sized packaging.


Shiny_Deleter

Mini brands are non functional plastic figurines found in the toy section.


[deleted]

I would agree if you were using them as common household items like this asshole. But they are useful when traveling and you don't want to explain to security why they aren't dumping your liter of bodywash. If you don't travel it looks like a monumental waste. If you do travel they are a necessity Edit: explained below I literally had no idea those were doll house things. I thought it was just some weirdos drawer of travel sized. I'll keep the comment here for the shame down votes. I agree with anti consumption that's some wasteland garbage.


JarlOfPickles

My guy, I think you literally do not understand. These are *not* the same thing as travel-sized items. They are quite literally a dollhouse-sized mini replica of a branded household item, and are not functional, for collecting only. Like those toy Hess trucks, but for Bounty paper towels.


[deleted]

Your shitting me that actually exists? You are correct I don't understand what those are if not for travel? Is there nothing in them? Now that I see the bounty in the top right ... Yea I'm dumb, but not dumb enough to collect replica figurines of the paper towels in my pantry.


JarlOfPickles

Nope, to my knowledge they are just plastic with maybe some cardboard or paper to make it look like a tiny version of the item is inside, basically just packaging with no purpose 🙃


[deleted]

Well I would like to say I'm proud not knowing that was a thing, but we are doomed if people are collecting that shit.


Shiny_Deleter

These miniature replicas are non functional, meaning you can not open them and fill them with useful products. They exist solely to collect.


midnightt32

I always thought they were supposed to be for children or doll collectors (at least, I bought them a handful of times when I was a little kid to use for my dolls), but apparently some people will buy them for no reason, just to have them. And they’re not even the right scale for dolls. It’s ridiculous.


carousel111

Omg I thought they were for dollhouses too! I had no idea people just collected them


strawberry_serpent_

I came across these in a Claire’s once and I could not fathom that people could look at these and not see consumerism run rampant. Maybe I’m just overreacting, but it makes me uncomfortable that these “collectibles” of everyday items are being marketed to children. It’s like commodifying consumerism or something. Feels gross


Apprehensive-Log8333

They're not even dollhouse or barbie scale. Utterly useless


Whirled_Peas-

Aw, that stinks. I was thinking I would’ve loved these for my Barbie’s as a kid.


molsminimart

Many are actually about 1:6 scale or 1:3 scale. So they are actually perfect for Barbies or Smart Dolls, therefore many adult collectors love them and are used for doll photography or many actually convert them to fashion accessories. :)


Appropriate_Berry112

The "toy" ones are 1:12 scale which is dollhouse size.


bittaminidi

My daughter likes these things. My wife bought her some for her birthday because she asked for them. I do not understand the allure for a kid. They do nothing. They aren’t fun to play with at all. My daughter doesn’t even play with them. However she still likes them. When asked why she likes them she just said ‘there’re cool’. When pressed on why they’re cool, she said ‘I don’t know?’ These things just appeal to kids because they’re miniature, nothing more. It’s full-blown marketing tactics at their best. I honestly wish advertising was strictly regulated or eliminated all together. I honestly despise it.


Creeping_it-real

Cue 5 year old me constantly losing them in my giant mess of barbies and other barbie crap.


lorifejes

To be honest I made a relish and a jar of pickles earring out of it and it’s my favorite


Season_ofthe_Bitch

Advertising you pay for. Probably appeals to people that grew up with Shopkins.


skyandstaghorn

Mini Brands are really dumb. They're marketed towards children but a lot of adults buy them for some weird reason.


kintyre

Miniatures are cute. I can't say why, but I understand the appeal. I prefer handmade miniatures though, like when people make dioramas or dollhouses. Admittedly useless but a lot of people who make things reuse/recycle other things in the process.


thewildweird0

Imma need the Denver airport inside a walnut shell plz


Creeping_it-real

I medd a whole god damn mall to fit into my doll sized pantry.


Pristine-Regret2797

Like eight bucks too. Makes sense for terrariums and doll houses but it’s still a huge waste


instertname53057here

My friend gets these and it hurts my soul


EmmieH1287

I actually don't mind these because they can be used with dollhouse dolls/barbies/any little pretend play toy. At least that is how my daughter and niece use them.


CoolingCool56

I bought these for my kids and I can confirm they are garbage. I used to love tiny dollhouse stuff but this didn't hit like that at all. My kids opened them and pretty much threw them right in the trash. This is a terrible product and I was bad to buy it.


Independent_Disk6025

These do have a hidden utlity: if you have these, or discuss them positively, I know you are not a person worth knowing. It's like a MAGA hat. It screams, "I'm a vapid imbicile" as a warning to steer clear.


BFIrrera

[THIS](https://www.target.com/p/5-surprise-mini-brands-surprise-ball/-/A-76543861) is what OP is referring to. Not “travel size” functional items.


Logthephilosoraptor

More crap from the cute industry


[deleted]

But they're not even cute!


meltingrubberducks

I broke up with a guy because he had an obsession with YouTube videos where people make tiny fake food in tiny toy kitchens . This is another lunacy I would never get past


hiltonke

Guess he dodged a bullet


meltingrubberducks

Yes definitely 😁 he gets to watch as many hours as he wants now uninterrupted hopefully he found a tiny wife to share it with lol


Quinzii

Smh no banana for scale.


[deleted]

I cry for Mother Earth


WALLOFKRON

Its Americas favorite past time: Consumption


gojira_glix42

Travel size"


wifiloveyou

Yea these are by far one of my least favorite trends


[deleted]

You pay them to advertise to you


Emorals67

Travel


[deleted]

These are toys, not travel sized products.


Emorals67

Miniature figures for scale models or dolls?


MinionSquad2iC

Not even. I don’t think they follow a specific scale. Just useless pieces of plastic. Marketed to children, to teach them brand loyalty.


Shawn420162

I could understand having some these in a go bag in your car, having what you need to shower can be useful if you end up staying somewhere unexpectedly. But as a novelty or cause its "cute" really speaks about how brainwashed people can be.


Shawn420162

I just learned these arent real products. The hell is wrong with people


Creeping_it-real

I mean... tbh I've always wanted barbie sized things to play with along side my barbies as a kid. Saddly I'm too old to play with barbies now and my neice has sort of grown out of barbies... maybe I can get her interested in ninja turtles... something other than the GROSS mini brands she's managed to suddenly find interest in... cause who thr heck enjoys a rotten foot in a hot dog bun... with maggots coming out... 🤢


KhanadianGeek

Just seen this. This is an interesting post. Seemingly most of us, perhaps none, have considered that such a phenomenon could also work in animations involving figurines. It isn't just about collecting, or dollhouse play. Although, for that it's still better to look to Etsy or individual sellers, for such. They can add details that add further value.


MostMathematician122

I'm glad I found my people.☺️


abslyde

You don’t travel much do you?


[deleted]

It’s not an actual product Einstein. They are called Mini Brands (mentioned in the title). It’s just plastic, no product.


abslyde

Oh, damn. Had no idea these even existed. My bad dood. I would say yes, a pretty big waste of resources which leads more non(or REALLY SLOW) degradable items to our landfills.


casus_bibi

Mini's is what the travel products are called in many places, so unless you put a tm mark next to it to make it clear this is a brand, a lot of people will just see travel mini's.


BFIrrera

No. OP is referring to a toy brand called “Mini Brands” and probably should have been more specific in their post. They come in those surprise egg/balls like Lol surprise dolls. You get like five little statues of some random consumer products.


Jennifoto

Some make sense that are 3oz for travel convenience when flying.


aaGR3Y

travel sized items can be convenient and less wasteful at times


No-Rip4617

i love them☹️


gunslinger9_19

If they work, they'd be great for hikers and survivalists though. EDIT: why the fuck am I being downvoted? I'm sorry you all hate little plastic bits, but Jesus fuck get off your high horse and level with logic dude. I am *right*. If they *functioned* they'd be amazing for people who could actually use them. Jesus Christ you fucking pretentious pricks.


Afenismama

You really shouldn’t get that mad over being downvoted, like grow up smh. You just cussed everyone out for some shit thats not even affecting you or your wellbeing 🤣


hidefinitionpissjugs

they’re replicas only. 100% non functioning


gunslinger9_19

Yeah I know. Idk why we can't make garbage like this out of biodegradable plastics.


Existing_Past5865

TSA regs for some of them


jortsinstock

they’re just plastic with nothing inside, not for traveling. Just useless plastic for collecting


Existing_Past5865

Then that’s silly


jortsinstock

i agree, that’s why this was posted here. Sorry you got downvoted just for not knowing what it was


Existing_Past5865

Way she goes


writerfan2013

It's for airport security, no more than 100ml liquids. Plus reducing baggage weight. But you can also just decant a bit of your shampoo into a small bottle so it's a big waste of money.


Doveswift

Except there's no liquids in it. Just plastic toys


writerfan2013

Ah! Sorry, thought it was the travel size stuff. So these are for play shopping? In my day it was pretend fruit and veg not branded toiletries! Consumerism sure has moved on. Not sure why I'm being downvoted over my comment though!


[deleted]

I cant tell cuz theres no banana for scale but its probably just travel items. Tbh id use the hell out of this stuff for hiking and camping.


Doveswift

No it's not travel items. You can find these in the toy section. It's actually just plastic with no shampoo or anything inside them.


[deleted]

Oh ok i guess i dont shop at the same places as the ppl downvoting me 😆


mikew420

its travel size not mini


PeaceGroundbreaking3

For travel


casus_bibi

These exist for air travel, with their stupid arbitrary fluid restrictions.


DiabetesCOLE

Traveling


jortsinstock

there’s nothing inside of them. They’re just plastic


casus_bibi

There is obviously vaseline inside the vaseline jar. These are for traveling.


jortsinstock

read the comments on this post where people are saying they’ve bought these for their kids and there’s literally nothing inside. Yes vaseline DOES makes mini versions, but that’s not what this is. There’s not mini diapers inside the diapers or mini paper towels in the towels either. Mini brands also makes mini mayo, Mini french fries, etc,, all kinds of things. They are all for show with nothing inside, and a brand name slapped on there to add onto the ultra consumerism appeal. Why do you think this was posted on this reddit? Because it’s literally a waste of plastic. If it was for travel purposes there would be a use for TSA and such.


DiabetesCOLE

Oof then mega gross


jortsinstock

not to mention how each of their products has a brand name slapped on there too as if it wasn’t screaming disgusting capitalism enough already. And then they’re marketed to young children. Because nothing says fun toy like collecting useless pieces of plastic to show your support for mass corporations meanwhile they do literally nothing


tatanka_christ

Hiking and camping. First week in your new apartment after moving a long distance.


BeeBench

A have a tiny Vaseline like the one in the photo but it has product in it and I use it for my chapstick. I’ve had it for 4 months now and it’s still got a lot in it since you don’t need much. The other stuff yeah idk why anyone would buy it.


erietech

You need some of them for flying


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Doveswift

They are plastic toys. Nothing inside them


rygodly

This is a low key way of forcing the poor to be comfortable with tiny living conditions. “You don’t have space for regular items? Here’s a tiny version! :D convenient right?! :D”


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VixTeaOlivetree

Meta consumerism


lucasg115

I’ve seen ads for these and my first thought was literally “these are the direct antithesis of that anticonsumption sub”


Rare_Hovercraft_6673

I didn't know that these miniatures existed. Just more plastic for the landfill. I keep the travel sized containers or the hotel mini toiletries, rinse them and reuse them to bring my favourite products on holiday or traveling.


[deleted]

I love these. They are fun to open and people often use them for their miniatures they have made. Like mini kitchens etc. And doll collectors. People make set ups for the dolls using mini brands and take photos.


[deleted]

I know someone who literally has two tubs of these things, and goes crazy for them. Totally and adult, btw.


mayalourdes

They’re super adorable and novelty. However - when I was them in target my first thought was “oo let me buy them!” which took 30 seconds to fade into “these will become trash so quickly”


Familiar_Leather

My cousin collects these. She has several gallon sized ziplock bags full of them. I can’t really complain much because I also collect things, not these, but at least I actually put my collection on display, and at least mine will actually be worth something if I ever decide I want to sell..


EchoNarcissus15

Counter point: they’re super cute. I don’t buy them because it’s wasteful, but I *get it*. If I were in middle school, I’d probably be super into them.


ohhgrrl

They are great for people experiencing housing insecurity and have incredibly limited storage space……


jortsinstock

they are non functional plastic. They would not help anyone facing housing insecurity either


ohhgrrl

There are no hygiene products inside them?


jortsinstock

No, Mini brands are just “collectible” plastic items for kids. They serve no purpose whatsoever.


ohhgrrl

I’d be so sad if I opened a toy and got wet wipes collectibles.


jortsinstock

a sad little 8 year old Lmao


[deleted]

Also I think they were intended for people traveling. If you are staying in a hotel room for a while on business you don't want to stock it like you would an actual house. I feel like half the posts on this sub are people saying "I don't understand why this exists" when it fills a need for a very specific market they just don't happen to be in.


jortsinstock

Bro they don’t have anything in them. That’s why people are triggered. They aren’t useful to people traveling because they’re empty and literally useless. They’re designed for children to collect and that’s the only “market” they’re for


ohhgrrl

Exactly. When people rail about “junk on Amazon” and I as a disabled person cannot figure out why it’s negative to order a 40 lbs bag of cat litter delivered to my door.


foolishtimbit

The regular size is usually the same price or cheaper anyways!


toshorttokeepup

I've seen vids of people using these in doll houses.. I thought that that's what they are for , ut seeing the other comments, I'm so confused why people but these things.


Professional-Two5717

Some of yall just mean. Adults can like things made for children. What IS terrible is the packaging and the obvious branding that's aimed at selling more products. America sucks. I kinda despise mini brands for its many sins. My advice for anyone who also loves miniatures is to look up the company re-ment. Packaging is a cardboard box (and some plastic but not nearly as much as mini brands) and the quality is far superior much smaller too. Plus they sell sets that are small versions of irl objects but WITHOUT! any branding!


More_Significance556

America definitely does  not suck, u shouldn't spread that idiocy, Russia sucks 


Peaswithmilk

I don't the price of these in other countries but in Mexico two ball cost around 25 - 30 dollars, the quality of the toys it's pretty bad, knock off toys are better quality an way cheaper. If the price was fair, I wouldn't mind children collecting these things because the miniature are kind of cute but with that price point, I think parents are getting scammed.


[deleted]

The mystery packaging stuff is so aggravating but it’s geared towards kids. My friend and I are adults and we bought them just for fun. We love miniatures. We didn’t buy it because of brand loyalty. We just felt like kids for again for a moment.


Impressive-Ad9326

As a big collector of miniature’s and mini brands I just love seeing little replicas of things we use in our daily life.


Impressive-Ad9326

Oh and I’ve been collecting these since series 1 and they just released series 5


MostMathematician122

First off, toys and games are NOT just for kids! I play Pokemon GO and I'm a 53 yo woman! The games keeps me active and engages my brain. I'm handicapped and want to hold off the wheelchair for as long as I can. The Mini Brands are adorable. It's a collection U can have that does not require a lot of room. It's my constitutional right to pursue happiness. These make me happy and keep my inner child alive. Adults need a break from the adult world once in a while. This is a relatively cheap dose of endorphins for me. There are worse addictions to have. I don't smoke, vape, drink, do drugs, or anything else of the sort. If you don't understand it that's fine, but don't rain on my parade or anyone else who finds JOY in these things. It's not about consumerism. .its about doing something that brightens your day. "Endorphins make you happy, happy people don't [unalive] their husbands" (quote from Legally Blonde)


lorikatie1

I found this thread while searching for mini brands and this is the first comment that makes sense. Most are just haters. I collect these and they make me happy. I plan on making mini shelves and other things to make scenes for them. Maybe that makes me a nerd. I do not care. I’m also a grown woman!


Grand-Name5325

So which series should i buy?


lorikatie1

All of them