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Tique Box Subscription Box Review – July 2014

Haley Faye
ByHaley FayeJul 23, 2014 | 23 comments

Tique Box Subscription Box Review - July

Tique Box is a monthly subscription box that sends a little piece of Portland, Oregon to your door in the form of treats, home goods, crafts, food, and more.

Tique Box kindly sent us this box to review.

Tique Box Subscription Box Review - July 2014 First Look

The Tique Box doesn’t come with informational cards, but they do include a small card with a URL you can visit to see more information. They don’t tell you anyway within the actual box, but this month’s theme is Summer BBQ.

Tique Box Subscription Box Review - July 2014 Items

The Subscription Box: Tique Box

The Cost:  $30/month with free shipping ($34 for a one-time box)

The Products: Sample and full sized products from artisans throughout Portland, Oregon.

Ships to: US

Check out our Local Subscription Box Directory for more locally-sourced boxes!

Tique Box Subscription Box Review - July 2014 FatDog

FatDog Inc Handcrafting Mustard – 9 oz (Full Size!), value: $7

Vance Family Soy Candle in Portland Rose – 2 oz, value: 3.17

I’m not a mustard fan, but I love that this is a full-size product from a small business – this will be gifted!

Candles are something I love to get in boxes. I’m always reluctant to buy them myself, and if I don’t care for the scent they make great gifts! Soy candles are my favorite, and this Portland Rose scent smells very casual and clean. I think it’s my favorite item in this box.

Tique Box Subscription Box Review - July 2014 Card

Wooly Beast Designs Magical Forest Shea Butter Soap – sample, value: $1?

YoshiniG Creative Geometric Animal Blank Greeting Card – value: $2.40

Tique Box Subscription Box Review - July 2014 Lip Balm

Zen Shine Pouty Lip Vegan Natural Chapstick in Coconut Lime – value: $3

The Noble Spice Sweet Black Masala – 1.2 oz sample – value: ?

I smelled this spice mix as soon as I opened my box. It would have been helpful for the attached informational card to give a hint about what it should be used with, but once I went online and realized the box was BBQ themed, I figured it should be used for BBQ/grilling.

Verdict: Overall, I really liked this Tique Box. Local boxes are one of my favorite categories of subscription boxes. The value comes out to about $18, which I can’t say I’m happy with. I like the concept and the products, but I feel like they could do so much more for $30 or $34/month.

What are your thoughts on the concept/products of Tique Box? Have you tried it before?

Haley Faye
Haley Faye
Haley Faye first discovered the wonderful world of subscription boxes in 2012 and began writing for MSA in 2014. Over the years, she has found many subscriptions to love. Now a mom of three, her favorite boxes are ones that dress her kids, help her get organized, feed her family, send her snacks, and offer educational fun for her children.

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23 comments

Ashley

wow, this is my first box with them, and i am extremely disappointed in the value. i love Portland, and we are thinking of relocating there soon, but this box did nothing for me. it looks like a bunch of cheap things they just threw together. i probably will cancel and subscribe to another food box i’ve been wanting.

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Paige

Thank you for this review!

The value of the items is estimated at $20 if you were to purchase them retail. The remaining costs include the materials (box, tissue paper, fun fuzzies), shipping, assembly, personnel, advertising and administrative costs.

We work hard to find unique artisans who create wonderful products and share their craft. Items change monthly and it’s often hard to find some of our creatives because they are new and not found outside of Portland.

Thanks again for your feedback. As a new business, we treasure the opportunity to connect with our customers!

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Stephanie @ Inspiring Insomnia

You’re going to have a difficult time finding and keeping subscribers with such a low value to cost ratio. If you take a look around at some of the successful boxes, you will find that most, if not all of them, have a value that exceeds the cost. And they definitely don’t try to attach value to the packaging, tissue paper, and shipping.

I wish you the best of luck in your new business, but as a subscriber to many different boxes, I can tell you that you need to think about how to get that value up.

Ashley

so, i sent them a message with a link to this review, and this was their response: “Thanks for sharing this review. The review points out that the items in this box retail at $18. It’s actually $20 (2/3) worth of items. For the subscription, the remaining $10 (1/3) cover other costs associated with the box that include the materials (box, tissue paper, fun fuzzies), shipping, assembly, personnel, advertising and administrative costs. We work hard to find unique artisans who create wonderful products and share their craft. Items change monthly and it’s often hard to find some of our creatives because they are new and not found outside of Portland. Thanks again for your feedback. We treasure the opportunity to connect with our customers. If you are unhappy with your product, please don’t hesitate to reach out and we’ll take care of it.” I did not know that boxes actually charge you for shipping supplies wrapped up in the price… is this the norm?!?!?

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Sneaky Burrito

None of the boxes I subscribe to charge you for the crinkly paper or any of that stuff. (It may be built into the cost somehow, like the sub company getting the items in the box for free or a reduced cost.) I’m kind of surprised they admitted that. I think I’d rather have wadded up newspaper than fancy tissue paper if it was going to be cheaper and I’d get more/better items for the price.

Dootsie Bug

I was really excited by the concept of this box, but I’m disappointed to hear about the value. For a box to be worth subscribing to for me, the value has to be at least close or equal to what I paid. If I could’ve ordered all of the products at full size for the same cost, I just don’t see the point.
Hopefully, this box gets better in the future. =\

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Sneaky Burrito

Did they say why they chose this name for the box? I looked at the review title on the main page and had like no idea what was going to be in the box. (I’m not familiar with Portland so I wouldn’t recognize local terms/slang if that’s what it is.)

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Dootsie Bug

I’m going to guess it’s a play on Antique, since that is the overall aesthetic of most “makers” these days.

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HaleyFaye

No, there was no information I could find about why they chose their name!

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Judy

I also just received this box. I had no idea what it was worth so it’s always interesting to see the breakdown here. I liked what I received. I love Portland and have a son living there so I enjoy getting things made there. They did send it priority which wasn’t necessary. I rather it took longer to receive and the contents having a little more to it. I do like to support small companies just starting out so hopefully the variety will improve.

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Sonya

After going over a certain weight limit boxes no longer qualify for first class and have to be sent Priority. I used to own an Etsy store and quickly found that out.

This box seems interesting enough. I love the idea behind these types of boxes but I can never figure out which one to subscribe to. Think I’ll have to see another box before I decide to add this one to the “maybe” list.

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Sneaky Burrito

Didn’t know that (what I was trying to send was a single, rather slim, hardcover book, so probably not over the weight limit).

Sneaky Burrito

One time I wanted to send something and I was OK with it not being priority. Because it was just going across town and I knew it would get there in a day or two anyway. And the machine at the post office wouldn’t let me! For some things (assuming there is nothing flammable), priority is actually cheaper. I suspect these subscription companies get bulk postage discounts, too.

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Kathy

I live in Portland and I do not think that the value is there. I would be very disappointed if I paid $30 – $34 and this all I received. I do enjoy seeing the products that they put in the boxes so that I can seek out new local products to try, but for the price charged more of these items could have been full sized. We are already fans of the mustard, candle and spice, but the other products are new to me.

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Haley

Kathy – It’s great to hear from a Portland Local that you love some of these products, too! However I do agree with you that the value was disappointing. =[

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Kathy

Wow that is so great that your in Portland. I never find locals on these blogs. Hope you have a great rainy day.