The blind box glossary: chase, secret, grail and everything else
By Léna, co-founder & Art Director at swap-iit
≈ 4–5 mins’ read
You’ve just joined the blind box community, you see posts like “WTS mint chase, ISO le secret” as if they were in French, and you nod your head pretending to understand? Chill. We’ve all been there. 😌
Here’s the complete blind box glossary – all the collectors’ vocabulary, organised by theme, with examples. Keep it to hand.
Contents
- The basics of blind box vocabulary
- The vocabulary of swapping
- The condition of your figure
- The vocabulary of the hype
- FAQ: Blind box terminology in 30 seconds
The basics of blind box vocabulary
Blind box
The famous mystery box. You pay, you open it, you find out what’s inside. A series contains several figures, but you don’t know which one you’ve got until you open it. That’s the whole appeal… and the whole frustration.
The series
All the figures in a single collection. For example, a Smiski ‘Bathroom’ series or a Labubu ‘Big Into Energy’ series. Your ultimate goal: to complete the series. Spoiler: it takes a long time.
The chase
The rare figure in the series. Much harder to get hold of than the ‘common’ ones. It’s the one everyone is hunting for and which drives up prices on the secondary market.
The secret
Even rarer than the chase. Often not shown on the packaging, released with minuscule drop rates (sometimes 1 in 72, or even 1 in 144). In short, the Holy Grail of the Holy Grail.
The vocabulary of swapping
It’s the sort of language you come across all over Discord, Instagram and TikTok.
WTS / WTT / WTB
The three key abbreviations. WTS = Want To Sell (I’m selling). WTT = Want To Trade (I’m trading). WTB = Want To Buy (I’m looking to buy).
ISO
In Search Of: ‘je recherche’. For example, ‘ISO Smiski Reading’ = I’m looking for the Reading figure from the Smiski series. Often used to say what you’re missing.
The cash adjustment
When a swap is unbalanced (your figure is worth more than the other person’s), the ‘soulte’ is the small additional sum of money that balances out the swap. It’s like when you swap two cards and add €5 to make it fair.
The condition of your figure
Mint / NM
Mint = perfect condition, as good as new. NM = Near Mint, almost perfect. This vocabulary is absolutely essential when swapping online: nobody wants to receive a damaged figure when they thought it was in perfect condition.
Sealed
Still sealed, never opened. For some collectors, a sealed item is more valuable (especially for older or limited editions).
Loose
The opposite: out of the box, ‘loose’. The vast majority of figures that are swapped.
The vocabulary of the hype
The drop
The release of a new series or a limited edition, often at a specific date and time. They sell out quickly – very quickly. Hence the queues (whether in person or online).
The restock
The restocking of a sold-out product. The moment everyone’s been waiting for to finally get their hands on the sold-out series.
The haul
Your catch of the day. The photo or video where you show off everything you’ve just bought. The undisputed star of TikTok.
The Holy Grail
Your ultimate piece, the one you’ve been dreaming of, the one you might spend months (or even years?) searching for. The top of your wish list.
And what about swap-iit in all this?
We’ve had all this lingo in our heads since day one, because we’re part of the community ourselves. On swap-iit, you list what you have and what you’re looking for (your ‘ISO’, your duplicates), the matching system finds you the right person, and the swap is secure, with compensation included if the swap is unbalanced.
We’re launching in September 2026. The waitlist is open: the first 500 people to sign up will receive a lifetime Founder badge and priority access. 💛
FAQ: Blind box terminology in 30 seconds
What is a blind box?
A mystery box containing a figure from a series, without you knowing which one until you open it. The idea: the surprise… and the duplicates.
What is a ‘chase’ in a blind box?
The rare figure in a series, much harder to come by than the common ones. It is often the most sought-after and the most expensive to swap.
What is the difference between a ‘chase’ and a ‘secret’?
The ‘secret’ is even rarer than the ‘chase’ – it’s often hidden (not shown on the packaging) and has a very low drop rate. Whilst the ‘chase’ is rare, the ‘secret’ is ultra-rare.
What do WTS, WTT and WTB mean?
WTS = for sale, WTT = to swap, WTB = wanted to buy. Three abbreviations that appear in almost every collector’s post.
What is a ‘grail’?
A collector’s ultimate find: the one you dream of and sometimes spend months hunting down. The top of your wish list.
Is there a term missing from this list? Let us know, and we’ll add it to the glossary as we publish more articles.