Sunday Morning Coffee Talk-Too many boxes?

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So I am not sure if you guys are aware but, I love subscription boxes.

You couldn’t tell huh!?

But have you noticed lately that well, and don’t raise your pitchforks, but there are a lot of boxes now circulating in box world.

I mean there is even a box that sends you denim patches! (hehe)

When you Google subscription box 33,100,000 results pop up. When I head over to MSA these days, I don’t even recognize any of the boxes being reviewed anymore let alone all the boxes on instagram.

So I wonder…

Is the market saturated to the point that you don’t even look for new boxes anymore?

And if you do discover new boxes, where do you look to find them?

After 3 years of being a sub box addict, I find myself back where I started and that is with a few (ok we all know it is more than a few) beauty boxes and PSMH.

  23 comments for “Sunday Morning Coffee Talk-Too many boxes?

  1. June 11, 2016 at 11:47 pm

    Now, I mostly discover new boxes when they like my photos on IG or started following me lol…

    • June 11, 2016 at 11:58 pm

      I get weird when they follow and unfollow and then follow again. Talk about getting on my bad list lol i have noticed Instagram is the place to see new boxes!!!

  2. June 12, 2016 at 12:02 am

    I’m feeling this post cuz big Mommy MSA has started reviewing ALL the boxes and I always used them as a compass of sorts. Now it’s just a lot of reviews which is nice but not gonna get me spending $. I just can’t with a lot of these boxes because of their value to me personally (I don’t get caught up in RV). It makes me more picky and I’m looking for something that I can stick with. I don’t have the attention span to sub and unsub things so I try to keep it to boxes that have a long range run of being awesome.

    • June 12, 2016 at 12:35 pm

      I know but there really are no boxes with a long track record besides PSMH. I don’t get caught up in retail either but if the box is really sending you only the cost of what you paid then I can just wait and see what they send and then pick up the few things I am interested in.

      • June 12, 2016 at 5:08 pm

        I agree on that as well. I like the surprise factor but there are some high highs and low lows in the sub box game…

  3. Dayle
    June 12, 2016 at 4:59 am

    I like to live vicariously through reviews, think about subscribing, then don’t. I get so many emails from subs where I did everything but enter my credit card info before I came to my senses when I asked myself if I really need 7 cobalt blue trinket trays, 6 fruit infuser water bottles and 5 bottles of sea salt spray! (Right now I am thinking 12 days of Sub Boxes would be a great song!)

    For me, I want skin care, (and I am excited for my first Adidas). But I can really only use so much skin care right? I have also come to realize that even if my skin does look better, I am not going to know which sample size product made that happen.

    With regard to MSA, I still stalk the sight, but I now skip over many of the reviews, only reading those that I know. Then I come here for my daily (or several times daily) dose of smile! Because with y’all, even if I am not interested in the sub, I know the review will be entertaining! 🙂

    In short, I want consumables, but good, quality, consumables. And I want full size. RV is obviously important, but I also want to find new brands or products that I may not have known about otherwise.

    Love this subject! Thanks for letting me share my 2 cents.

    • June 12, 2016 at 8:08 am

      Thanks! I 100% stalk MSA’s site. I just used to never skip a review. I love to read the comments!

      Consumables is really a great way to put it!

    • June 12, 2016 at 1:05 pm

      Oh sea salt spray! We are definitely doing a 12 days of sub boxes song! I also have been saved a few subs by the shipping to Hawaii aspect. Either they don’t or they charge shipping. So the minute I see a box charges shipping I am like NOPE!

  4. Farmcat
    June 12, 2016 at 5:15 am

    I’m thinking about trying out a new box every month. I found a lot of mainstream to be a little meh lately. This one beauty box they have you fill out preferences and they never follow it. I gave them a lot of chances but I end up having to throwing most and sometimes all of it in the trash. I try to give it away and no one wanted it! When I emailed them not sure how many times they worked that last nerve and go on about RV value. I don’t give a hoot about RV value esspecially when it is just going in the trash!! The true value of the box is whether the customer likes, loves or hates it! I have a bit of a long wish list when it comes to sub boxes I would love to try.

    • June 12, 2016 at 8:11 am

      Ahhh beauty DNA? We can name names here unless you don’t wanna…

      I have had trouble gifting some stuff I got from them…

      • Farmcat
        June 14, 2016 at 10:50 am

        It was Ipsy! I try them for I think half a year. I gotten like 5 things that were not an automatic throw out or give away. And I tried to give away the stuff but no one wanted any of it. So basically that was money that went straight into the trash. All the chocolate I could have bought instead! I still get in foul mood when I think about Ipsy and the money wasted and their responses back. I really don’t care what they think the retail value is. If it isn’t ever going to be used and go in the trash it is worth nothing and I had spent money on nothing! And what really pissed me off I think I only received only two items out of my preferences out of 30 or so items I have received over the months. And I will see on the blogs people receiving what is listed on my preferences.
        I personally like beauty DNA. At some point I need to give it a try.

        • June 21, 2016 at 8:01 pm

          I love this because whatever someones fav sub is, bottom line it needs to be worth it!!!

  5. June 12, 2016 at 8:07 am

    I kept stalking Burke Decor to see if they would have those boxes with full spoilers they promised but they had removed the Burke Box tab so I guess its never going to happen :/ As a sidenote, I see a few Nest soaps and lotions on sale there.

    I would love to see a female verion of Bespoke.

    Sephora’s Sun Safety Kit is online now but I am passing and I am sad about it even after getting Macys version. It was a tradition but the items decreases, the value decreased, and it was not worth to purchase because some of the items I just didn’t enjoy.

    I regularly stalk the Amazon for Save & Subscribe coupons. The best boxes are Curated By Pnut.

    And those are my semi-random comments without coffee this morning!

    • June 12, 2016 at 8:13 am

      Lol I have kitty tuckus on me and so am unable to get coffee…

    • June 12, 2016 at 12:37 pm

      I know! How many pitchforks do we need to raise until they come out with a female Bespoke post!!!

  6. Artemis
    June 12, 2016 at 10:34 am

    Like apps, there is always a sub box for that. It has reached a saturation point for me, where like Dayle, I live vicariously through reviews rather than lots of purchases. I like sub boxes to introduce me to things I didn’t know about, but with so many out there, it all seems to me like the same ‘ol, same ‘ol. And why sub to box A, when box B would have the same items? Also, lately I feel like I can do better shopping on my own with that money. And I don’t like to sub to new boxes without seeing months of reviews – it’s too much of a risk for me. It’s still great fun to get a little something in the mail though!

    • June 12, 2016 at 1:07 pm

      I concur! Too many subs and you end up with way to much of certain things like lip gloss and lotion. After a few less than stellar boxes you do really start to feel like you can do better on your own.

  7. Niblet
    June 12, 2016 at 11:37 am

    Great post! I look for boxes from your reviews & from MSA, and occasionally order a one off box. The thing that bothers me about boxes are the box companies. I see a box, read the reviews, then I wonder if the company producing the box is going to torture me for the next 3 months. I’m tired of box web sites being down, unanswered emails, being billed after I cancelled & super late shipping. Life can be frustrating without having a personal treat turn sour.

    • June 12, 2016 at 1:09 pm

      I know what you mean. I am having that right now with Rocksbox. They mailed the box on May 20th and it still hasn’t gotten here. It takes them a few days to respond and the whole thing is just a pain in the a**!

  8. Sherry
    June 12, 2016 at 11:47 am

    You sooo read my mind! I was just thinking there’s a sub box for that!! It isn’t exciting like it use to be! I love Sisley products but can’t afford… then they come with their own box but…min 6 months! Maybe that’s why I’m not interested??

    I also feel like why subscribe when I can spend less and get What I want?!

    Peaches and petals so far has had the Wow factor… but been with them since beginning…

    Maybe it’s the disappointment month after month of the same ole’…No more wow!!

    I do love getting new to me stuff….maybe there’s not anymore???

    Thanks for this place where ya seem to know what I’m thinking!!

    • June 12, 2016 at 1:14 pm

      I know. I feel bad saying the WOW factor is gone but anymore I really only trust PSMH for lifestyle type stuff. I know I will either get I like or stuff I can gift.
      And yes a 6 month min is ridiculous!

  9. CeciliaA
    June 12, 2016 at 2:30 pm

    I jump around to different types of sub boxes fairly frequently. I was on a beauty kick for awhile and then dropped all of that type of sub for several months and am now back to birch box, julep (3 month pre pay and done), and glossy box (a moment of weakness over the long weekend). I get a lot of different book boxes because I have convinced myself that books don’t count against my box budget. For lifestyle I went back to PSMH (3 month pre pay and done) and signed up for Luxor. I disliked the first several Luxor boxes but have been really impressed with them lately.

    I go to the MSA site about once a day but don’t comment or read many of the reviews. There are just too many sub boxes. I also prefer the review style of this site since there is less focus on the retail value than on other sites. My theory with retail value is if you showed me the products in the box and I would be willing to pay what I paid for the box for them it’s a win. I don’t really care if I get a huge retail value compared to the cost because I think that can be deceptive (there are a lot of things in sub boxes that I would not be willing to pay retail value for).

  10. June 13, 2016 at 10:24 pm

    I’m kind of sub boxed out. Most of my yearly subs expire this month, so this will be my last big month. I think I’ll get about 20 or so boxes this month. Next month I’ll get 7! I’m keeping BirchBox, PSMH, LLB, Serendipity, Ipsy, Play and Fab, Fit, Fun for me. Redline and Tackle Grab (or Mystery Tackle, whichever one is still in business) for my hubby. I’m seriously thinking of trying a planner sub. I love decorating my planner with stickers because I’m mature that way. I saw on another site that there is a new sub box called Caring-Crate! It’s even geared toward people who are experiencing a rough patch. It’s out of Canada and its 39.99 a month + 12.99 shipping!!! I need to post on my FB page that this new box is not mine! Mine isn’t a monthly box and I never charge. Mine is the caring crate and they are Caring-Crate.

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