An important part of this Japanese New Year's Day custom is they are sold by merchants for a substantial discount, usually 50% or more off the list price of the items contained within. The low prices are done to attract customers to shop at that store during the new year.  Due to their popularity, Fukubukuro tend to be snapped up quickly by customers.  Many stores usually have long lines forming hours before the store opens on New Years Day.

Merchants usually plan what will go into these lucky bags and what the selling price will be months in advance. In major department stores, grab bags are usually themed to specific departments. In other stores (especially smaller stores), many Fukubukuro are often filled with items that relate to the store or think kindly of the customers need. Many stores often include extra items, such as expensive purses (sometimes worth well into the tens of millions of yen), clothing, or vouchers for expensive electronics, all in an attempt to entice shoppers to take a chance and shop at their store. The randomness of such inserts is a reason why Fukubukuro are sometimes known as "Good Luck Bags" or "Lucky Bags."

Fukubukuro come at a variety of different prices. Most are reasonably priced from a few hundred to a few 10,000 yen. However, there are also limited and extremely expensive Fukubukuro available.  Sometimes, lotteries are drawn to determine who will have a shot at purchasing these special limited edition Fukubukuro.

The following video is circa 1997 and shows the lengths people will go through for these lucky bags.  Runtime: 45 minutes