最近天氣已經變得很熱了，不論是晴空萬里、陽光刺眼的中午，還是空氣彷彿凝滯、悶熱難耐的午後，人們只要一走到戶外，沒多久就會開始流汗，讓人難以忍受，這時候，除非有特殊目的，能躲到有空調的室內空間，是人們理智的選擇，至於電力不足的大議題，則被拋到九霄雲外，不想討論。
當我在百貨賣場內時，沒有特別想買什麼，只是單純想在裡面慢慢閒逛，突然又看到了潮玩販賣機，這台販賣機賣的好像是 Sooya Studio 系列的商品，Sooya 是韓國極具人氣的新銳潮牌與藝術公仔品牌，是由插畫師兼人形師 Kim Sooya 創立，以獨特藝術風格和創新陶瓷主題設計而聞名，創作靈感擷取自己家萌寵兔子與貓咪作為原型，作品外觀為標誌性的「半兔半人」造型，我好像有在玩具類展覽，看過這品牌參展，不過，類似設計的玩具商品太多了，我也不確定，不過，能在一個舒服的環境，近距離地欣賞這些潮流玩具，真是不錯。
其實，在大街小巷充斥著的夾娃娃機店，也常有高價的潮玩商品，如泡泡馬特 (POP MART) 或 Labubu 系列，雖然這些夾娃娃機店有著二十四小時的監控，還是常聽到有偷盜案件的發生，之前有個「Labubu 大盜」，單月內在多家娃娃機店連偷 21 隻 Labubu 玩偶，總價值超過 7 萬台幣，由於潮流玩具轉手快及利潤高的特性，近年來成為竊賊鎖定的主要目標。
這部設置在賣場角落的潮玩販賣機，看起來相當醒目，燈光也刻意設計得十分明亮，遠遠看去，就像一座小型展示櫃，我猜，入駐費應該不便宜，但是被偷盜的風險，應該也比夾娃娃機店低得多，那天，我剛好坐在這部販賣機附近休息，大概待了二十多分鐘，期間雖然有不少人經過，但大多只是匆匆瞄一眼，或完全沒有停下腳步。除了我之外，幾乎沒有人真正靠近研究內容，更別說掏錢消費了，也讓我不禁開始懷疑，這類販賣機真的能賺錢嗎？
Recently, the weather has become really hot. Whether it’s a bright sunny noon with blazing sunlight or a humid afternoon where the air feels completely still, people start sweating not long after stepping outside, and it quickly becomes unbearable. At times like this, unless there’s a special reason to be outdoors, hiding in an air-conditioned indoor space feels like the most rational choice. As for the bigger issue of electricity shortages, most people would rather push that topic to the back of their minds and not think about it.
While I was wandering around inside a department store, I wasn’t really planning to buy anything. I just wanted to casually walk around and enjoy the cool air. Then I suddenly noticed a trendy toy vending machine again. It looked like the machine was selling products from the Sooya Studio series. Sooya is a highly popular rising Korean designer toy and art figure brand founded by illustrator and doll artist Kim Sooya. The brand is known for its unique artistic style and innovative ceramic-inspired designs. The characters are inspired by the creator’s pet rabbits and cats, featuring the brand’s signature “half-rabbit, half-human” appearance. I feel like I may have seen this brand before at some toy or designer art exhibition, although there are so many similar designer toy brands these days that I can’t say for sure. Still, being able to admire these trendy art toys up close in such a comfortable environment was actually pretty nice.
Actually, many claw machine arcades scattered throughout the streets also display expensive designer toys, such as POP MART or Labubu series products. Even though these claw machine shops usually have 24-hour surveillance systems, theft cases still happen quite often. There was even a so-called “Labubu thief” who reportedly stole 21 Labubu dolls from multiple claw machine stores within a single month, with the total value exceeding NT$70,000. Because designer toys are easy to resell and can generate high profits, they’ve gradually become a major target for thieves in recent years.
This trendy toy vending machine placed in the corner of the mall looked especially eye-catching. The lighting was intentionally designed to be very bright, making it look almost like a small display showcase from a distance. I imagine the cost of placing a machine inside a shopping mall like this probably isn’t cheap, but the risk of theft is likely much lower than in a regular claw machine arcade. That day, I happened to sit near the vending machine to rest for about twenty minutes. During that time, quite a few people walked past, but most of them only glanced at it briefly or didn’t stop at all. Besides me, almost nobody seriously approached the machine to look at the products, let alone spend money on them. It honestly made me start wondering whether these kinds of vending machines can actually make money at all.