SB Thoughts: When a Curator is Scammed

I will not be entertaining guesses to the name of the box. It’s a new box that does not have any reviews. I feel very bad for the owner and feel the message is heartfelt. I appreciate the owner’s honesty in explaining what happened and the difficulties in curating the box. This picture shows how I feel about what happened to the curator.

 

Boo from Super Mario
Boo from Super Mario

That face is directed towards the scammers, not the curator.

********************

Hey Everyone,

Unfortunately (redacted) will be shutting down, effective immediately.
While it was great putting together the first months box, we ultimately lost money due to higher than expected costs. In an effort to reduce cost for each box and turn a profit, we put in an order with an overseas supplier… unfortunately it looks like we have been scammed, and are out a significant amount of money.
With this in mind, we have decided to shut down.
Refunds will come through (redacted) and should be processed in 7-10 business days (we apologize for that duration, that is simply how the payment processor operates).
For those who had pre-paid for multiple months, you will be refunded the original amount minus the first month since that was delivered.
We really apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment, especially for anyone who was looking forward to this months box, or who had ordered this as a gift. Unfortunately we simply cannot continue to operate at a loss, especially after losing a significant amount of funds from a bogus supplier.
(redacted)

 

Sub Bella – I redacted all information that could identify the box. I feel bad for the owner and appreciate the owner’s transparency in what happened. I feel that sometimes I am hard on curators or not understanding of the difficulties in curating a box month after month.  This email shows the human side of the business. The experience above could happen to any number of boxes in the subscription box world.

 

 

What do you think of the email? What is your opinion about the process of sourcing and curating a subscription box? Remember no guessing of the box’s name! Share below and anything else on your mind!

  15 comments for “SB Thoughts: When a Curator is Scammed

  1. Tonya
    October 21, 2015 at 8:57 am

    I can’t imagine sourcing, negotiating, curating, babysitting, etc. all of the items for a box, as well as being creative enough to think of a theme and what items might be included with said theme. Just think how stressful that probably is! And that’s only the first/second leg. Then you have to worry about packaging, box printing, info card printing, everyone getting what they’re supposed to, shipping etc. I’m with you: I admire her for being transparent and shutting down something rather than passing along the “scam” to her customers by trying to keep the box afloat with sub par items.

    For the record, I have no idea what box this is, and do not have an email about it, so I know what boxes it is not. So, I’m truly saying this as an outsider looking in.

  2. Kelly
    October 21, 2015 at 9:31 am

    What a shame, and this sub box business is quite a gamble.

  3. Heat7918
    October 21, 2015 at 11:11 am

    That stinks! I hate scammers… and I feel bad for this curator, whoever it is. 🙁

  4. Artemis
    October 21, 2015 at 11:42 am

    I’m sure that putting together a box, and all the other logistics of running such a company can be very challenging. I do feel bad for the curator, whoever it is, but running any business, large or small, is difficult and stressful. My parents ran a small business for most of my life and I saw firsthand how truly hard it was. They too were once scammed, but it was not so much that it ended their business. It is a shame that this scam was on a large enough scale that it required the curator to close up shop. The email was transparent and I applaud the information given to subscribers regarding refunds. I hope that the curator takes some time to reflect on this, learn from a heartbreaking experience and hopefully go on to start a more successful business venture.

  5. October 21, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    My heart breaks for the curator. It’s hard to start a new business and then to have this happen. Running a small business is difficult. I hope the person finds success in a new venture.

  6. October 21, 2015 at 10:39 pm

    Wow, that is very unfortunate. I had a friend [who really wants to start 80 million businesses] ask if I wanted to start a sub box with her and I didn’t answer, but it was absolutely a NO. I have no interest in dealing with suppliers or angry customers! I do not have the sort of personality it takes to start a business or keep one running. I do also wish these people well.

  7. ~Christina
    October 22, 2015 at 4:07 am

    Unfortunately, in the sub box biz (which I am one- not linking because I’m not here to promote myself), getting the items for the boxes into our hands (and on time) is one of the hardest parts. I decided from the beginning I would only work with US vendors so it would lessen the chance of something like that happening. I have had small, local vendors flake out on me before so, I always make sure to have last minute alternatives lined up.

    All of us who own/run sub box companies really do appreciate you as customers and (most) will do whatever is needed to make & keep you happy. I appreciate when a box company is transparent about their struggles and works hard to make things right. I don’t know which company is referenced above but, I applaud them for doing the right thing.

  8. October 22, 2015 at 9:18 am

    I can’t say I’m surprised. We’ve seen this happen multiple times and unfortunately it can happen to the best of us. As someone who is flirting with the idea of starting their own sub box, it does definitely scare me. At the same time though, I would probably be wary of who I ordered from and check out each vendor I am considering. These things just happen; maybe they’ll be back one day.

    • Bad Kitty
      October 22, 2015 at 10:05 am

      I would love an official Beeju Box!

    • October 23, 2015 at 9:38 am

      You are brave! I would obsess over every negative comment. Curating a sub isn’t for me unless it is as a guest curator similar to what Beautique did with a couple of bloggers. I would find that to be fun.

  9. October 22, 2015 at 10:57 pm

    Wow! That’s a bummer. Hopefully they paid in such a way that they can file a claim with the credit card company or paypal or something. I would be interested in more inside information on subscription box companies and the trials they have. New series?

    • October 23, 2015 at 10:06 am

      I don’t know if anyone would be willing to share. Maybe with complete anonymity? I may reach out and see if any curators are interested in sharing their stories with complete anonymity. Lurking curators that are interested can email me at subbellaboxes at yahoo dot com.

      ******************************************

      I received a couple more emails about shipping difficulties.

      “We sincerely apologize for the delay this month. We have been experiencing problems with our E-Mail provider and a lot of our responses have not been reaching people. The box will be shipped out today 10-23-15 for most people. We had many problems with our products not reaching us and we were told by the shipping company that it was due to the season being very busy. This month’s box is going to have the most value, and the next months will have even more value to make up for the inconvenience.” –

      I haven’t decided if I am going to post the box if it ever reaches me. It was to ship closer to the beginning of the month. I’ve been emailing them about the box and am unhappy. I want my money back.

      ***************************************************

      Another email that some may recognize. I redacted the box’s name.

      “We know the feeling all too well…waiting, watching for shipping emails and stalking the mailbox! I often wonder if you have a subscription box opening ritual. Is it torn open as soon as you can cut the tape? Do you wait and cozy up on the couch with your (redacted) in hand? Or do you bring it to the office and make all your co-workers jealous? Either way, it is never my intention to keep you waiting! But, it will be a few more days before you receive your email tracking notification.

      As the curator of (redacted) it has always been my mission to discover new brands and unique products that make opening (redacted) a really fun experience! As much as love partnering with smaller brands, it is challenging for smaller brands to meet the unit requirements and production deadlines. I plan assortments three to four months in advance and it is devastating when a brand backs out last minute. That being said, I had to scramble and find another high quality lifestyle product and I just need a few more days to get everything packed and shipped!

      Thank you so much for your patience!”

      I applaud the curator for being proactive instead of the subscribers wondering what is going on. I love the email. It’s fun and explains what happens. I would have made the above email a separate SB Thoughts except I already did one this week.

      ****************************************************

      And before anyone thinks I am disappointed with the sub box world, I had two great experiences this week. I received something broken from Artistry Gifts and Herbal Bliss. Both resolved the issues expediently.

      My mail route is without a permanent mail carrier because he is out on disability. My mail has been delivered by different carriers at all different times. I am still waiting on my Globein Artisian box. I will be filing a complaint at the big, scary, post office if the mug arrives broken. That will be three broken items in one week.

  10. October 23, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    I need my own post to rant!!!

    There’s a subscription box that also has a shop. We have not reviewed the subscription box on our blog. They are experiencing fulfillment issues since August. Ask me if I knew about that when I ordered in September? No! I was informed about it with my confirmation order. It’s been a month. I sent them an email asking for a shipping update only to receive a cut and paste response that their cs are being required to use. It is from the CEO and states that I need to respond if it is urgent that I want a shipping update, or I can wait.

    I requested a refund. I’ll be imitating it through PayPal on Tuesday if there is no response. What kind of response is that I have to reply again to receive the information that I requested in the first place??? I don’t blame the CS rep because it’s clear that the rep was following instructions.

    Silly me. I thought I would receive a response such as your order will ship in a week or something like that. I can’t believe that this company feels that I would be satisfied in not knowing when my order will ship especially when there is no mention of delay on their website.

    A month with no ship date even remotely suggested. It is unacceptable.

    I should add that I read their FAQ and thought that my order would ship within a week or two if not right away.

    • Heat7918
      October 23, 2015 at 12:26 pm

      That’s ridiculous! They are wasting more of the CS rep’s time with that stupid response…

      So did you order the sub box or something from the shop? Either way, this is unacceptable.

      • October 23, 2015 at 12:38 pm

        The sub box is not experiencing any issues. I ordered something from the shop. I had no reason to think it was not in stock.

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