STINGS.inc: Bringing character goods mystery pulls online with Mysbox
Customer
Stings
Shopify plan
Basic
Website
https://store.stings.jp/
Industry
Character/anime goods
Overview
STINGS.inc sells character goods for yasausa-chan (やさうさちゃん), an original character created by @mihorinxza3. Known as "the kind rabbit who's everyone's friend," the character is approaching its 10th anniversary. STINGS.inc started with real-world events and expanded online to reach fans beyond the venue.
CHALLENGE: A fan-favorite experience that couldn't scale online
Yasausa-chan — "the kind little rabbit who's everyone's friend" — has been bringing joy to fans for nearly 10 years. STINGS.inc built their community through real-world events, where mystery pull games were consistently one of the most popular attractions.
When it came time to open an online store, the goal was clear: bring that same mystery pull excitement to the internet. But replicating a tiered prize system on Shopify wasn't straightforward.
The requirements were specific:
- Offer mystery pulls where an S-rank prize sits at the top, with A through F ranks distributed randomly below
- Show customers exactly what they can win, and at what odds, before they buy
- Find something that worked in Japanese, since their entire audience is Japanese-speaking
Searching Shopify using Japanese keywords like 「くじ」and 「福袋」, only one app came up that could actually do it: Mysbox.
SOLUTION: Mysbox helped create digital mystery pulls that seamlessly feel real
STINGS.inc set up a mystery pull system where customers draw for a chance at prizes across seven tiers — S-rank at the top, A through F below, each with its own configured win rate. The structure mirrors what fans already loved from their live events, just delivered instantly through the browser.
A few things made Mysbox the right fit:
- The only Shopify app that could do it: After searching in Shopify App Store, Mysbox was the sole result that offered configurable tiered prizes with percentage-based odds. There was no alternative.
- Japanese language support out of the box: For a store serving an entirely Japanese-speaking audience, this was essential. Mysbox handled it.
- Simple setup, no developers needed: Despite the complexity of their prize structure, configuration was straightforward enough to handle without technical help.
- Support that went above and beyond: The level of responsiveness from the Mysbox team genuinely surprised them. As they put it: "I didn't expect customer support to be this thorough — it's worth upgrading for." Not to mention that the team has a Japanese representative for more complex support requests.
Going from live event mystery pulls to a digital storefront could have been a painful process. With Mysbox, it wasn't.
RESULTS: Exceeded targets with zero friction
STINGS.inc set a clear sales target before launching their mystery pulls — and hit it.
Beyond the numbers, the experience itself held up. The flow from purchase to opening was something we had worried about before launch. It turned out to be a non-issue. Customers completed it without a hitch.
"Customer response was better than expected. I was worried about whether customers could get through the purchase-to-opening flow, but there were no problems at all."
Fans who already knew yasausa-chan from real-world events took to the digital mystery pulls immediately. The trust built over nearly a decade of community engagement translated online — and Mysbox gave them a reliable foundation to stand on.
Moztech's loyalty program
WHAT'S NEXT: Shaping character goods mystery pulls together
STINGS.inc has a clear vision for where the experience can go next — and they're sharing it directly with the Mysbox team.
Their wishlist reflects what makes the character goods market in Japan unique:
- Custom opening animations: The three built-in animation styles are a great start, but the card-flip design currently uses imagery that resembles another brand's cards — a concern in Japan, where customers are highly attuned to intellectual property. The ability to swap in custom designs would make a big difference.
- Tier-based animation reveals: Like many popular social games, different prize tiers deserve different animations. A rainbow effect for the S-rank pull, a simpler reveal for lower tiers — that kind of escalating excitement is something Japanese fans know and love.
- Gacha machine animations: Capsule toy vending machines (gashapon) are a cultural touchstone in Japan. An animation that mimics turning the dial and dispensing a capsule would resonate deeply with the character goods audience.
- Kurapon-style openings: The opening animation used by Kura Sushi's popular Kura-Pon game is a beloved reference point — something lighthearted and immediately familiar to Japanese consumers.
STINGS.inc isn't just using Mysbox. They're helping build what it becomes.
"I'm basically satisfied as things are now. Japanese is supported, setup is simple — it's great."
Ready to bring your in-person experience online — without losing what makes it special? Try Mysbox!