Obsession Confession

I have a confession. 
I am obsessed.  I am obsessed with monthly subscription boxes!

This is one of my favorite trends.  I love the idea.  Getting mail and surprises presents are two of my favorite things, so of course I would love subscription boxes.  They are the best of both of those things!  
I've tried many boxes and I would love to try some.  It can be overwhelming trying to decide where to start with them.  So here I am going to break down some of my experiences with the subscription box trend.


My obsession started in Late 2012-Early 2013 with my first subscription. 

The first box I ever subscribed to was Birchbox.

It was so long ago I honestly can't remember how I even heard about Birchbox, but to my knowledge the were really one of the first monthly subscription box.  To me at least that was definitely true, I had never heard of the trend until then.  At the time I was still in college and it was a really fun mail day when my Birchbox arrived.

All in all I'd give the box a 7/10..It really introduced me to a lot of beauty trends and companies I otherwise would have never known about.  Since then, there has been many other similar boxes that have popped up, such as ipsy, and while I've never personally tried ipsy I have always heard great things.  I've considered joining many times, it's pretty inexpensive also.
At the time I was doing Birchbox it was also fairly inexpensive which was helpful to a full-time art student.  I can't speak for ipsy but I would recommend Birchbox if beauty boxes are your thing.  I haven't subscribed in the last 3 years, but I'm sure they've only grown and improved over the years.

Would I re-subscribe? I don't know, possibly one day.  I'm less interested into beauty products at the moment though.  I could see it making a really good gift for someone though.

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A couple years later I moved on to my next box subscription.
That box was Club W, well back when the company was still called Club W.  It is now known as Winc.

I've always loved wine.  From when I first started to even drink anything alcoholic, sure there was the whole red bull + vodka phase when your in high school, but wine was still there.  In part probably due to my sister.  She usually always had wine and she is who I would drink it with.
So when I found a subscription box that would deliver wine to your door every month for a pretty reasonable fee I was sold.
It's great to try different brands that may not be in your area, and when you join you take a taste survey that lets the company help you decide which wines to get in your box. Every month you are a member from then on they give you suggestions, but you can pick which ever ones for the month that you want. So helpful and fun!
I would give it a 10/10, because it's wine and I love wine.

Would I re-subscribe one day?  Yes! I've been wanting to go back to this one many times, so possibly next year. Check out Winc for yourself and tell me what your favorite wine is.  

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Shortly after that one, the boyfriend and I wanted to subscribe to a box that would be good for the both of us.  (Yes, I pulled him into my obsession web.)

That's when we discovered Globe In
Globe In is a fantastic box fun by a group of people that do something amazing for artisans around the world.  Every box comes with a handwoven basket in various colors and then the basket is stuffed with other things from artisans around the world.  Not only do you get to support and learn about these fantastic makers you save money-about 40% than if you would pick something up at a store. 

Every box has a different theme, and the products in the box all revolve around that one theme. 

I would give GlobeIn a 9/10- It's fairly pricey, but the quality of the products makes it worth it.  Everything we have ever received has been used so not only are the themes fun, they are full of practical products. 

Re-subscribe?  Yes! I would love to go back to GlobeIn, and the only reason we canceled our subscription for the time being was so that we could try out some other boxes.  I look forward to going back to GlobeIn though. 

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After GlobeIn, we switched to a much more specific themed box.  

We love board games.  I always have for as long as I can remember, but I've gotten Richard into them quite a bit also.  We host many a game-night at our house that last for hours into the wee hours of the morning.  For that reason, we wanted to try out a board game subscription box.  There were a couple, but the start with we tried Game Box Monthly.  It was the cheaper one of the ones we were interested in and it had good reviews. 

When you join, you tell them what board games you currently own so that there's no chance of you getting something that you already own.  I really liked that, and that was actually another reason as to why I chose them.  From that list, I'm sure they can also deduct what type of games you really like. 

From what I could tell through various social media stalking, I don't think everyone got the same game as others each month but some did.  We liked our subscription with them, it introduced us to a lot of games we never would have heard of otherwise, and games I still have yet to see in stores, so that makes it feel like I know something others don't. 
All of the games were also fun!  Which was a great plus.
I would give them a 6/10..while we really enjoyed it, we only ever got card games from them.  And two of them were fairly similar.  In that aspect, we were hoping for something a little more diverse.

Re-subscribe?  At this point, I would say probably not honestly.  There are other boxes out there that I think I would rather try.

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We mainly canceled Game Box Monthly because I wanted to try Board Game Bento. 
Everything I read and saw on Board Game Bento really made me want to try them out.

Board Game Bento is more expensive, but you get a lot more for your money also.  You usually get 3 games, and they do send both card and actual board games.  Sometimes they also include expansions to the included games and little company themed accessories.  While for the moment they have stopped the accessories, the games are usually all solid. 

I would give Board Game Bento a 9/10..if you love board games and have the money to try it out I would say to do it!  There's really only one way to figure out if you like something.  They do themed boxes every month, so you could even wait until a certain theme seems interesting to you. 

They also are really good at sending out newly released games, or games that are going to be released soon.  So you get to try them out first in a way.  Many of the games we've gotten I have never heard of, but as we go out to different stores I've noticed certain ones beginning to pop up.  So that's really fun.

Re-subscribe?  We are currently still subscribed actually, we have been talking about taking a little break in the near future though.  Just to try something else, as we tend to do.

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While we were doing some of the other boxes for the two of us I was also still doing boxes for myself.  One that I tried out for a couple of months was Once Upon A Bookcase


Once Upon A Bookcase is a box that revolves around a certain theme each month.  Every box comes with a book-themed phone case, an art print, and other little things that relate to the theme.

Everything I got from this subscription for the 2 months I was a member were super cute.  The phone cases were also of really good quality. 

I would give this box an 8/10, it's not too expensive and all of the themes are really cute

Re-subscribe? I would!  I only canceled at the time because I was thinking of getting a new phone ( I still am) and I didn't want to get too many phone cases before I made up my mind about it.

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I'm an avid reader.  There are SO many book subscription boxes out there, and I knew I desperately wanted to join one of them.  Therefore I picked one and that's the one I tried.

That's how I came to be a subscriber to The Best Damn Book Box
(A box I honestly decided to join mainly for the name..)

I was really excited to join this one.  I love themes and books and it seemed perfect. 

The above picture shows what my first box was.  I was really pleased with it.  There were also no problems in receiving this box.  It was a great first box. 
Everything with this subscription sort of slowly started to go downhill from there, sadly.  There started to be a lot of problems with shipping and getting your monthly boxes when you were supposed to.  It would be less of a problem if it just happened a time or two, because hey, things happen.  I get it.  But this was a constant issue with this box.  For the price of the box it was a bit ridiculous.  Months would go by where I still didn't have my box, but I had paid for 3 boxes and was therefore out over $100 with literally nothing to show for it.

I would still even be willing to forgive and forget the backed up shipping because I try to be positive.  I loved the announced themes, and that's really what made me stay for as long as I did.  Sometimes it wasn't even that worth it though.  The items included would always be hit or miss.  Some items were great and I loved them, like my Game of Thrones wood coaster and magnetic bookmarks.  Others were cheap and just didn't seem necessary.  Like, a cord necklace with a Chinese dragon charm or a "bookmark" with a quote from a book I have never read, is not the included book, and I literally have no desire to read.  I could understand trying to promote other stuff, but it still felt like I was being slighted somehow. 

At the moment, from my personal experience, I would rate them 5/10.  I think maybe they need to get it a little bit more together, or try different tactics.  I wish them well.
The 3 pictured boxes are the only 3 that I actually really liked from them, and I still am not impressed with everything included.  But they are still better than the other boxes I've received from them.
For example, one I was SO excited for was the Beauty and The Beast themed box, and it was actually such a let down.  The "necklace" that was included was literally a piece of twine with some cheap key charm attached.  I mean, I expect a lot more for $40 every month. I know the quality for the price can be done, I've seen it.

Re-subscribe?  No.  I wouldn't.  There's so many other book boxes out there that I would love to try, that I don't think giving this one another shot would be worth it.  I canceled my subscription almost 3 months ago, and I'm still waiting for my last box that I paid for to arrive. 😒

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When I left The Best Damn Book Box I went in a new direction for a change. 
I decided to join Goddess Provisions 

I had followed the company on instagram for months before I finally joined.  Everything included looked so great and useful.  

 I would rate them a 10/10.  I have nothing bad to say about this box.  Shipping has always been fantastic.  It's not over priced, and I don't feel cheated for the products that I get.  I've used everything I've ever gotten from them.  They also have a great social media presence and the owners are great at interacting with their clients.  

If you enjoy things of this nature, and your physical and spiritual well-being I would highly recommend trying this box out.  I'm not disappointed at all.  Plus, every box always smells amazing from all of the goodies inside.  

 
 Re-subscribe?  I still am a subscriber!  But if I did ever unsubscribe for any reason, I would definitely go back!  


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Another box I tried out for a few months, was not for myself.

I'm talking of course, about Bark Box
The box for your four-legged best friend! 

Every box had an adorable theme and was filled with usually 2 toys, 2 treats, and 1 chew...all tying in to the main theme.  Everything was adorable, I probably loved in for that fact much more than my dog did, but she was a big fan too!  She loved getting her boxes, and she came to know exactly when one arrived for her. 

 I would give Bark Box a 9/10.  It was well worth the money and it made my dog so happy.  Plus, I got a kick out of all the themes and products.  Everything was of great quality, my dog is just the biggest destroyer ever.  The toys didn't really last as long as I would have preferred.  Some did though! Which was a nice surprise.  Now, they do have a specialty box for heavy chewers like my dog, but it is more expensive.  At the time I couldn't afford that, while still risking her destroying the products in 5 minutes.

Re-subscribe?  Yes! I look forward to one day going back to Bark Box, and I know Lana is awaiting that day as well! 


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There you have it! Past and current subscription boxes I have tried.  
I doubt I'll ever be rid of this obsession.  There are still many boxes out there I would love to try.  If you have any suggestions I'd love to make that list even longer!  

I have recently subscribed to two new boxes not mentioned, because I have yet to receive them. 
Those are:


Stars Hollow Monthly: I am Gilmore obsessed.  I've been wanting to try this box for so long now, and every time I see a post about a past box I get really mad at myself for not joining.  I am scheduled to get my first box in January so I look forward to making my first review of it. 

Awesome Pack: The newest game box we are going to try out is Awesome Pack.  This company is a little different than others we've done.  You can choose between 2 different subscription packs-1 for families where they included stuff for the whole family and the Big Kid Pack-which is catered more toward adults and big kids.  I'm looking forward to this box and can't wait to review it.





xBrittany