The Lowdown on Our Top 5 Subscription Boxes

I am obsessed with all things beauty and most things fashion, but what I love even more than those two things is getting a great deal. It is for that reason that I have fallen head over heels in love with subscription boxes. I love being able to get an assortment of things at a steal of a deal, whether monthly or quarterly.

Subscription boxes have completely exploded (in a good way) and have become incredibly popular. What’s so great about them is that you can sample new products or receive several full-size products at a very, very low cost. It almost seems like robbery to be honest, and I just love it!

Before we dive into my five favorite subscription boxes, I want to provide you with a brief history about how these got their start, which was in 2010 with the launch of Birchbox. Birchbox is a monthly beauty sample subscription service that lets customers try out a handful of great sample-size products for only $10 a month. This has been wildly successful because there are so many great products launching all the time and people can’t just afford to shell out the money for multiple full-size products on a regular basis; this way, customers can try out the products before deciding what they love and what they can do without for only $10.

The reason for subscription box success really comes down to three main things: value, mystery and curation. Ranging in price from very inexpensive to relatively expensive, there’s something for everyone and every budget.

The other thing I love about this business model is that there are so many different types of subscription boxes, which I will dive into right now.

1. Stitch Fix $20 plus the cost of clothes. The types of subscription boxes in the fashion world varies tremendously. With Stitch Fix, customers fill out an online style profile and are then sent a box of clothing and accessories handpicked for them by stylists for a $20 fee. Once the customer receives the box of goods, if they don’t like any of the items they can send it all back and only be set back the $20 fee, but if they want to keep any items, then the $20 fee is applied as a credit towards the pieces they’d like to keep and can send back the rest, which is why I love this one so much.
2. Birchbox $10. I’m a huge Birchbox fan because I absolutely love sampling new beauty products and I really love how affordable this one is.
3. FabFitFun $49.95. What I love about this box is that it can’t be categorized as either fashion or beauty because it contains things such as beauty products, fashion accessories, fitness DVDs and more. Delivered quarterly, this box is so amazing because all the products are full-size, which is unheard of and you’re never overloaded with products, as it comes every three months.
4. Glossybox $21. This is yet another box with full-size products, but it includes sample-size products as well. Past boxes have included products from Tarte, Nuxe and La Roche-Posay.
5. Golden Tote $49-$149. The small tote option is $49 and includes two to three pieces of clothing, while the large tote option is $149 for five to six pieces of clothing. The customer gets to choose one or two items they like on the site and are then surprised with the other pieces they receive.

Once again, when it comes down to it subscription boxes are based on value, mystery and curation, which is why they’ve been so successful. Who doesn’t want something amazing that they’ll receive as a surprise for a low cost? Exactly my point. Check out subscription boxes for whatever niche suits you!

Jordan Baer