I have been a box addict since my first Birchbox a year and a half ago. When I was younger, I used to send away for samples, and the delight when they came got me looking for something similar in my adulthood. Currently, I have 11 active subs, and have gone through perhaps 20 that I have cancelled for various reasons. I've been a daily MSA reader since the beginning of that time. While Liz and her other reviewers sometimes have different tastes from mine, I have always found their reviews to be trustworthy and objective.
During my experiences with sub boxes, I have been burned, disappointed and let down, but I have clapped and twirled with joy, as well. My fiance has been taken along for the ride, and has even subbed to a few himself. He loves to see how excited I get when they come, and they are a fun way to add to our joy together. This year, though, my excitement hasn't waned, exactly, but I have noticed that I'm not as thrilled as I used to be. It seems that this year, boxes seem to be lighter than before, lighter in value, curation, customer service and quality. Not all of them, but enough.
Is this because more and more people are jumping on the box bandwagon, and companies are struggling to keep up? Is this the result of over eager startups trying to cash in? Do these companies see people with disposable income they are willing to spend on these, essentially, mystery boxes as vulnerable, naive and easy to please with their seemingly empty promises of getting a lot for a spending a little? I, for one, am getting fairly fed up. And it seems to have just started the last few months.
My recent experience with PopSugar's CFDA box was been the wakeup for me. I had such high expectations with such a large, respected company, and got a hodgepodge of stuff that was uninspired and overinflated and felt like they just chucked stuff in to fill demand. I expect companies to overinflate their retail prices, and to some extent, I'm ok with that. I'm less concerned with price and more into the items themselves and the thought and curation behind the boxes. PopSugar is not the only box that let me down, just the most expensive and most recent.
As with everyone else, my hair and skin and size and personal tastes dictate whether I like and can use items. You can't please everyone, and sub boxes are risky. But even without a spoiler, I sub to a box or boxes based on what is promised. A theme or value or quality of items weigh in on my need to squee with delight on a box whose contents I know nothing about. And I am beginning to feel as if I'm being taken advantage of as a consumer. And even with a spoiler, well, sometimes it feels like when you watch a movie trailer and then see the whole movie, only to find that the best parts of the movie were in the trailer and the movie itself sucked.
It seemed that earlier in my box experiences, companies were genuinely trying to please their customers. We can easily take our money elsewhere, and the internet allows for posting of contents and reviews for those on the fence. I feel as if companies sell, say, 1000 boxes, 700 of those resulted in unhappy customers, but the 300 that were satisfied made them their money because the items were cheap and overinflated to begin with. This is not the way to keep people happy longterm, and does not make for a lasting, trustworthy company with a good reputation. If that reputation is satisfactory enough, that brand recognition is enough to suck me in. And suck, many of them did.
So, all of that being said, what are your thoughts? Is the sub box market truly just oversaturated? Is this sub box thing a fad that has reached it's climax and is on it's way out? Or are we, the consumers, finally going to dictate the right way to take our money? Give us good items, live up to your promises, offer great customer service, and have a heart. I have seen enough negativity, much of it unnecessary, in regards to boxes. I am hoping for honest opinions from people that actually sub to the boxes to which they are unhappy. It's ok to vent, as I have obviously just done, but I would greatly appreciate some useful opinions, as the future of my box addiction depends on it. 