POPSUGAR Must Have Changes + Last Day to Get September’s Box!
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Woah – POPSUGAR Must Have site will be down for an entire week starting tomorrow! If you haven’t signed up for a September box yet, make sure to grab one by midnight PST. (And use coupon code THIRDLOVE to save $10!).
And what do you think they mean by “more boxes”? I’m hoping they expand like Nerd Block has been doing. (I will subscribe to all of their boxes!)
Written by Liz Cadman
All views in this review are the opinion of the author. My Subscription Addiction will never accept payment in exchange for a review, but will accept a box at no cost to provide honest opinions on the box. This post may contain affiliate/referral links. If you buy something, MSA may earn an affiliate commission. Read the complete My Subscription Addiction disclosure.
I agree with Rihanna they should be fixing the payment system because if people are canceling their subs every single month and re-signing up AND on top of that gifting themselves boxes to get referrals to get more free boxes that is just WRONG and cheating the system. I pay every month for a subscription service I like most every month and what I don’t like I swap. I do hope they include more options though that will be nice.
I’m calling shenanigans on the need to be down for a whole week. I’m a software engineer for a major SaaS provider, and there’s no need to be down for that amount of time (unless they’re coding on the fly in the production environment, which would just by beyond ridiculous).
I’m wondering if this is a move on their part to drum up hype and drama. If so – well played, PS – you sneaky jerks. 😛
Not to mention, the site is not even down. I just went (3PM on 9/10) and it loaded just fine for me. I haven’t been there before, so it’s not a cached page.
It’s down now.
Totally agree with you. I work in IT and you don’t bring a site down for an entire week. Sounds to me like they are trying to build up anticipations.
I also work for a large SaaS provider and I couldn’t agree more with every word you said.
If they actually need a week for this, they REALLY don’t know what they are doing.
I’ve got 8 months left on my yearly sub, so I hope they atleast keep the current box type if they decide to add more. I would love a home box. I also have 3 free boxes coming my way because of referrals, so those better not go away. I agree with those who said they are fixing their billing. Currently people can cancel and resub every month using a $10 code.
I read a comment on their Facebook page from a customer (like me) who was not happy with the Fall box. It said something like “It costs a company more money to make a new customer than to keep a customer. You need to work harder at keeping your loyal customers happy.” I would love it if they were going in a positive direction. I kind of have my doubts though since I haven’t had the friendliest customer service reps from them. I’m guessing it’s about making more money, not about improving the customer experience.
Totally true about costing more to make a new customer! I buy boxes with promo codes and deals all the time, so they’re not getting money out of me unless I stick around. Julep is a prime example (they messed up with a promo code and I ended up with 5 months for $16.97 — total — plus they gave a blogger a $15 referral on that purchase). But if I stick around when the five months are up, it will cost them a lot less to keep me because they’ll charge me $60 for three months.
Well, I’m not a Popsugar customer right now. We will see if these supposed changes convert me.
I’m leaning toward more customization myself. I think they have been kind of hitting the mark with quite a few people these days and are most likely doing some well needed revamping.
Hmmm… I went to the website today and was able to see my account. There is nothing on the website about it being down now or in the future. All of this is strange.
I’m happy to read about the changes! Hoping PopSugar is taking a cue from Birchbox, which is now allowing subscribers to customize boxes to some extent by choosing add-ons, specific samples, or picking between a box curated by a partner or the regular monthly box. I’m loving the Birchbox revamp, and and looking forward to the possibility of customizing my PopSugar boxes, too! Imagine we get to choose either a food item or a candle, say — some of us may not get excited over an energy bar or a bag of Ghirardelli chocos, but may be all over a book or a candle instead. Awesome news!
I don’t get it – I was NEVER able to use a coupon code being a subscriber. I tried several different ones but since I was already subscribed, I always got an error code. 🙁
I think they will make boxes to go along with the different sections of the PopSugar website, like PopFitness, Fashion, Beauty. At least that’s what I’m hoping!
If you are like me, my computer remembers my information and no matter how I’ve tried, the PS website always remembers my information, therefore I can’t use the promo codes. However, my husband and I have two different log ins and I believe if I go on his side and use a different email it will work.
That is a long time for a website to be down. It must be a major overhaul. PopSugar coupons are popular which makes me wonder if they are redoing the boxes. I’m wondering if they will offer a box tier of $30, $60, and $90. Or boxes in different categories such as home, fashion etc. I can’t see them getting rid of the original box because it would create a logistical nightmare. They would have to refund everyone that paid in advance including October’s box. Maybe the Kendra Scott jewelry piece was a test to see how well their system works in customizing boxes.
Food is nice to receive, but not if it is being wasted. That could be another place where they could customize. For example the Ghiradelli Chocolates that are coming are free from gluten ingredients, but made on the same line as the one chocolate they carry that has gluten. They do wipe down the equipment in between, but for celiacs that might not be enough. Or the gummies in the LE box that vegans can’t eat. I can see a gluten-free or vegan option being popular. It’s amazing how many items have hidden source of gluten or animal by-products in it.
I don’t know, I might like the changes. I don’t currently subscribe because, although I generally like most of the box contents, I can’t really justify $40 a month on stuff that I most likely wouldn’t buy/don’t need in the first place. (I let myself get beauty boxes because I figure I’m saving that money by not going to Target or Ulta, and I let myself get food and cat boxes because snacks and cat treats are things I would buy anyway. But I would be highly unlikely to buy a scarf, for example.)
If they were to offer a second/different box that was more geared towards stuff I use every day, I’d consider it.
I hate to be the negative Nancy here, but I think the change will be for the worst, here hoping I’am wrong.
I agree, when I heard I almost felt sick. Their box seems to be near perfect now. I don’t know why but I feel like the change will not be good and I am normally a very positive person. On the other hand if they fix the loop hole so we can’t order boxes each month with the discount codes I will be saving a lot of money. :). A week does seem like a really long time to be down, I think they are doing some major overhaul and I bet it has to do with their payment system.
Hmmm. I really like their boxes now. If they change much I’m worried it will lose its appeal. I also wonder if they are also closing the loop holes in their billing.
ugh… whatever they do with the more boxes to come comment i really hope they leave an “original box” option, I love how their boxes are curated now and I would be heartbroken to think that the only subscription box I get month after month could be out of my price range or changed for the worse… this is going to be a very anxious week for me until I know more!
Honestly, what I think they’re doing is changing their payment system so that people can’t use promotional codes to get discounted subscriptions UNLESS they’re actually new users.
I guess I am an idiot, because I did not even realize you could do this. I just signed up and let it take its money out every month and whatever I don’t use, I swap. And happy am I. Maybe I should pay more attention. But honestly, it’s more annoyance than its worth for me. I pay my money and I’m happy with the outcome. I don’t really want to cheat a system that has been consistently making me happy. If that’s what they are doing, then kudos to them for catching something that has been cheating them out of money that is actually rightfully theirs.
I fear for my bank account!
I bet they’ll do different sizes with different price points… I bet they’ll start at $20/month, then maybe $50/month (kind of like Escape and Escape Mini)
I want to think this means that they will start shipping internatinal!!! Oh well imagination is powered by desires….
That would be such a smart move on their part – fingers crossed!
Or maybe a mens box/pets box??? I’m starting to get tired of the boxes getting shipped to me so late though. It takes a couple weeks from a neighboring state – mine hasn’t shipped and some already have their boxes?
Ooo – I would subscribe to the mens and the pets box. This week-long wait is going to kill me! (And I’m in the same boat with you on shipping times. I still haven’t received a shipping notification email).
I received a shipping notification Friday, with an estimated arrival date of 9.17 — I’m only one state away!!
I got an email saying my box was on the way…. On the 5th! But it wont get here till the 19th. Not a fan of that. The long shipping wait. It took them 5 days after the email to GIVE it to Fed Ex. Though, I will say that I really liked the FFF email. Letting me know when my box would ship and to what address. That was nice. Plus, the new French box is going out soon! 🙂
I cancelled Glossybox for a month to try out the Frenchbox, SO EXCITED! 🙂 Can’t wait to see how its curated!!! 🙂
Wow! That is a long time! You know how PopSugar has different categories like fashion, beauty & home. It would be great to see them have a beauty box, fashion box, home box, food box…then people could pick their favorite(s). Exciting news!
Agree – this could get very expensive/amazing!
Agreed! Can’t wait to see their new boxes! I’m hoping for a fashion, home and food in addition to their current mixed box!
How exciting! I hope they do add more boxes, they do such a great job curating the musthave box, I can’t imagine how cool other boxes could be.