Bunnings has sucked me in … and taught me some lessons

August 7, 2026 — 11:59am

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I’m a sucker for all things cute and fluffy – not adjectives you’d typically use when talking about a hardware store. It’s probably one of the reasons I rarely swing by Bunnings.

Type “fluffy” into the search bar on Bunnings’ website, and you get washing liquid, dog beds and rugs. All very practical, but not very appealing for someone who finds enjoyment in impractical things.

One thing (arguably of many) that I never grew out of is my love of soft toys. I have far too many occupying far too much real estate on my bed for someone who has been an adult for nearly a decade. Now, they’ve been joined by Bunnings-branded … bears.

Basically, Bunnings has cracked a code that has allowed it to expand into some new markets. Think: children, collectors … and at least one twenty-something woman who doesn’t especially need anything from Bunnings – least of all, another soft toy with diminishing marginal benefit.

“Blind boxes” – sealed packages containing random collectible items – have been around for a while, but in recent years, they’ve really taken off. Labubus, Sonny Angels and Smiskis are some of the most popular ones globally. Local stores such as Woolworths (with its Disney-themed “Ooshies”) have understood this lure of the unknown for a long time, taking advantage of the psychology driving our decision-making in their sales promotions.

For a while, I thought I’d escaped the hold of blind boxes: none of them really appealed to me.

While blind boxes aren’t technically counted as gambling because you don’t, strictly speaking, lose money (you always get something in return), the psychology works almost identically.

And, arguably, despite ending up with 11 plush bears from Bunnings’ line-up – including some duplicates – I like to think I largely evaded their blind box “trap” and snagged a bargain. Either way, there are several economics lessons I took away from the........

© The Sydney Morning Herald