Birchbox as a company is going under, hence the ceo making her “sub boxes are boring/dead” statement. They’re failing in so many areas other companies are thriving and a lot of their problems have to do with recent customer service issues with subscribers. As customer service got worse, people started bailing, as people bailed BB relied more on their online store sales to boost revenue and kinda said “meh, whatever” in regards to issues their subscribers had. I kinda think their boxes are declining in quality intentionally so people will quit subscribing and they can ditch that whole part of the market and focus on online sales of full-sized products.
I made the mistake of signing up the month before they ditched the points program. First box was great, every one after kinda sucked and almost seemed like they were picking products i rated low in my profile. Every month i got at least 2 hair products (i wear a simple bun or ponytail literally every day no exceptions, cannot have hair in my face while i work. i have zero need for 3 different sea salt sprays and 4 dry shampoos). Thank goodness september was my last box.
I’ve just never had so many issues with one subscription. Ipsy sometimes gets a bad rap for repeat items or sending similar items out, but in my experience if you play around with your profile settings, they notice and you’ll get different products; birchbox will just kinda laugh at you. With Ipsy, I’ve gotten a few eyeshadows from the same brand (not color though) or every 2 or 3 months i’ll get a new black eyeliner or mascara (honestly, usually about the time i need a new one so no real complaints there); but with birchbox it was every month i’m getting a dry shampoo, some other hair product, a hand lotion, a mascara, and the only surprise was what the 5th (usually colored makeup) item was.
Ipsy’s points and even Sephora Play (really just sephora) points may work differently and it may be difficult to really assign a dollar value to their points system, but at least they can be used toward a fullsize or deluxe sized product you can choose from a list that is always changing. I kinda prefer it that way, sometimes you can even get a much higher value product for your points with ipsy or sephora-like points programs. I’m sure as heck not gonna spend $40 on a fancy concealer stick i’ve never tried regardless of reviews, even with $40 worth of points (but i could get a lipstick queen lipstick and something else for those points, what if i dont like it type mentality). But if i have 250 points or whatever and i see the super fancy concealer stick on the list of things in the 250 point category, im probably totally gonna go for it if it catches my eye. At least if the goal is to encourage customers to try new things (something im really bad at which is why i do sub boxes, i find awesome stuff in boxes i wouldnt ever have thought to buy if i saw in a store or colors i had no idea looked so great on me), the not quite monetary value points system seems to work best. Like last month i spent some ipsy points on a nice brush cleaner, I’d just been making my own which was kinda a hassle (apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, lemon juice), but having a nice premade handy organic brush cleaner that i didnt really have to pay for and dont have to mix was awesome. if i saw it at the store, i probably wouldnt buy it cuz i can make my own, but for a points purchase/freebie it was awesome and now that i like it i can seek it out and buy it when my freebie runs out.
and then there’s just the plain lack of empathy from BB customer service. Every box or purchase i made had an issue and customer service usually stank about it. Sephora and Ipsy have always been great when i’ve had a problem, quick with an apology and a solution and some sort of compensation for the hassle. Even got a brush from ipsy that had some bent bristles, offered to send it back in exchange for a non-defective brush, they said no worries we’ll just send you a new one and you can keep both. Birchbox simply doesnt care when they make a mistake and they make a lot of them.
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