My Geek Box Review: April 2015

I think this was the April My Geek Box, but it may be March since getting from the UK to US takes forever sometimes. I have to admit that I was so disappointed with this, but mostly because I had high expectations. My Geek Box only recently started shipping to the US again and I've seen some of their boxes and wanted to sign up so badly. I noticed they often included candy and British candy is hard to get here, especially now that we're not allowed to have Cadbury, and they also tended to heavily gear themselves toward British stuff like Doctor Who and Sherlock. I feel like this stuff is sorely lacking in all the geek boxes I get, so I was really excited when this arrived. Sadly it wasn't great British fandoms, but mostly more of the same.

I will say that the shirt is pretty nice and the design is great. Although I'm inundated with Avengers, I understand that every box is kind of capitalizing on the movie release right now, which makes sense. Hopefully they'll all do the same when Doctor Who returns in the fall.

Companion Tees Review: April 2015

I may have said this before, but Companion Tees is the best subscription ever! They always send perfect shirts, whether in their monthly grab bag or in the monthly subscription like this one. Since their monthly grab bag, for me, includes three shirts, I get that one in a box, but the regular subscription comes in the TARDIS. :)

GeekMeBox Review: April 2015

I was already planning to cancel GeekMeBox, mostly because I have too many of these and I haven't found anything to really hook me with this one, but then they announced that April's box would include Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, so I stayed on. I'm not sure it was really worth it, but it wasn't terrible, either. I can't really say anything negative about GeekMeBox, but I just don't feel like there's anything really unique about them, either, and they're more expensive than others that offer basically the same thing.

The first two items were a Hulk POP and some Legend of Zelda socks. I really like these items, but I think we have this POP. He's a bobblehead, though, so we may not. I do love that there are figures in the GeekMeBox subscription, because I get really tired of the kid-friendly stuff that isn't transferable to adults in some of these boxes. At least figures can be collected by someone at any age.

Fandom of the Month Club Review: April 2015

Fandom of the Month Club, for those who've missed it, is a jewelry/accessory subscription box that caters to nerdy fandoms. It's all for less than $15 a month, which is pretty amazing. This month's fandom was Harry Potter.

Recently, Fandom of the Month Club had new boxes made rather than their old padded envelopes and the owl image comes at the perfect time!

Geek Fuel Review: April 2015

Sadly this wasn't my favorite Geek Fuel box, because it's all about superheroes. For me, superheroes and superhero movies are a perfect example of too much of a good thing. I enjoyed the first Avengers movie and even kind of liked the early X-Men movies. I didn't even mind the first Iron Man and actually loved the original Spiderman. My husband is definitely the comic book geek here, but I never minded seeing the movies with him because even when they weren't great, they were generally entertaining. But now I am just so, so sick of them. There seems to be a new one every month - and they rarely offer anything different. We will be seeing Age of Ultron, but even my husband - who has followed the Avengers since he was a small child - didn't care about seeing it later. We went to the midnight release for all the Harry Potter movies and Spiderman and Lord of the Rings and, of course, Star Wars, but he just figured he had to work Friday morning. However, we have both gone to work on no sleep from a movie before, but it's too much. You can't stress about every movie and Marvel, like Disney, just doesn't know how to give people a second to breathe. The dilution of excitement comes from the fact that they have movies every month or two. Part of what made the others exciting was that they didn't.

ANYWAY, long story short, the emphasis on superheroes in this month's Geek Fuel subscription box felt the same way. I'm getting so many Avengers items and I just don't care enough about them. My husband doesn't care enough, either, because again, too much of a good thing.

Companion Tees/Once upon a Tee Monthly Grab Bag: April 2015

I don't remember how I found Companion Tees originally, but man am I happy I did! Each month, I get two shipments from them: a Whovian shirt and a three-shirt grab bag that is a mix of Whovian shirts and plain old geeky stuff from Once Upon a Tee. This month's grab bag is AMAZING!!

The first shirt is "I Geek, Therefore I Am." A. I love this because making the already geeky Descartes even geekier is awesome and B. I love the franchises featured. You have Star Wars, Sherlock, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Firefly. Um, yes, please? LOVE THIS.

The next shirt is a Whovian one and it's awesomely inspirational. I agree, too. So the Doctor can show up anytime, because I'm ready. I already have a bag packed. :D

Finally, I couldn't be more excited about the last one. I saw this design and actually sent it to my husband as an image because I loved it so much. It's hard to see in the picture, but it says "Still Waiting for" and then there are nine things: screwdrivers (sonic, of course), acceptance letter (with the Hogwarts seal), super powers, magic balls, minions, pet dragon, perfect neighbor, cake, and Season 2 (with the Serenity). This is perfect.

My Geeky Goodies Review: April 2015

Geek subscription boxes can be tough, because these days, everyone seems to want to be part of geek culture. It's ironic, since most of us who grew up geeky were tortured about it for years, only for it now to be the thing to do. So there are a variety of boxes and they all tend to be similar, but there's something really special about My Geeky Goodies. (I would say this goes for Geek Fuel, too). Take out things like Custom Fan Box, which is customized and therefore going to appeal to you since it's based on your interests and not random themes, and Collectible Geek, which is a more expensive collectible box, and you're left with several mystery geek boxes in the $15-$30 range each month. How do you stand out then? I think it's easy for My Geeky Goodies, because they advertise as a box FOR geeks BY geeks - and they mean it. 

A lot of people love Loot Crate and that's fine, and from a casual observer's standpoint, there may not be much of a difference between something like that and My Geeky Goodies. In April, both boxes included a shirt, a value item in the $10 range, and some filler. But for me, as a hardcore nerd and gamer, there is a dramatic difference - and it comes down to something very simple: curation. 

I've had a hard time explaining this, but I am going to do it this way. My parents and in-laws don't really know or care much about my interests. I don't mean that in a bad way, but we're all people living our own lives and I don't really know much about theirs, either. When the holidays come, unless someone asks for something specific, there's a lot of generic gift giving happening. Beyond gift cards (the savior for when you have no idea what to buy), we tend to shop on a superficial level. My dad likes to garden and my mom likes taking baths. That's kind of shallow, but I know I can pick up some gardening supplies and bath products and they'll probably like them. I can't, however, select specific seeds. My mom collects these weird wooden figure things and birdhouses or something, but I couldn't tell you which kind or which ones she has. And it's the same for us. They know I play video games. They know I love Harry Potter and Doctor Who and Game of Thrones. If you asked my parents to name a house in either Harry Potter or Game of Thrones, they wouldn't have a clue. (My dad could tell you about Tom Baker, since he got me into Doctor Who as a child, but he didn't even know it was back on.)

How does this relate to geek subscription boxes? Well, it relates a lot, actually. A set of Game of Thrones magnets or a Harry Potter luggage tag is something my parents would get me for Christmas. It's fine, but they don't have a clue what the different magnets mean or what 9 3/4 is. Last month, Geek Fuel sent a dragon glass arrowhead. My parents would NOT buy this, because it means nothing to them. It means a great deal to me, though, as a fan. THIS is the best way to explain the difference in curation. I feel like the people sourcing items for My Geeky Goodies and Geek Fuel get it; the people sourcing for Loot Crate are not appealing to fans, as much as they're appealing to generic concepts and franchises. And really, superficial enjoyment of popular franchises is, for me at least, the absolute antithesis of geekdom. Again, it's a slight variation, but little bothers me more than corporate greed. 

Game Box Monthly Review: April 2015

For two months now, I have received awesome tabletop games - and played none. I admit it's not entirely because of the move, although I swear that's most of it. Most of my free time has been spent cleaning, packing, organizing, etc. The other reason is that I've been playing a lot more video games than normal, which is already something I do way too much of, so my free time has been depleted even more!

Anyway, Game Box Monthly has now sent two amazing games I need to play and probably won't play until July! This month's is really intriguing. Stones of Fate is a memory-based strategy game. 

Collectible Geek Review: April 2015 (Assemble)

Since I just did my overview of current geek subscription box offerings, this review comes at a good time. Collectible Geek, for me, remains one of the best simply because the boxes come loaded and the items are high quality. I also have enjoyed their themes immensely (although we will be skipping May, since it's TMNT and we aren't fans). This month's theme is Assemble, which means Avengers for those of you less savvy in the comics world - or those who don't watch movies. 

The first item was a really great Hulk shirt in traditional green and purple. I like the shirts from Collectible Geek a lot. I believe the shirts are exclusive to their box as well, although I'm not 100% sure. Either way, I liked this, including the colors. 

Geek Subscription Boxes: List, Recommendations, and Thoughts

Everyone is very different, so what I consider a great subscription box could be way off for someone else. However, my husband's students asked him recently about Loot Crate, and he had plenty to say about why that would be a waste of the kids' money, but he couldn't remember which ones were the best. We get so many that it often becomes hard to track what comes from who and what's worth the expense. He asked me to make him a list for his students, but I was already thinking of doing that anyway. Recently, BuzzFeed had its own list and I was excited to see some of the great ones on there that don't get as much hype as the others. Instead of a best kind of list, I decided to do a pros and cons  overview - BASED ENTIRELY ON OUR EXPERIENCES AND PREFERENCES. I collect Funko POP figures and I love Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. My husband and I are gamers and he has read comics since he knew how to read. We don't really play Nintendo and we don't have kids. These are the kinds of things that do make a difference, because what we prefer may not be the same as someone who doesn't like the same things.

I'm going alphabetically and I'm also including a few that are geeky in their own right, although not technically fandom-based. I also included a link to a review for each so you can see the items included in the box.

Infinity Crates Review: March 2015

There are so many geek subscription boxes and, like geek fandoms, each caters to a certain kind of person. What is a total win for someone could be an epic fail for another. We like different things and even if you're like me, with a wide range of interests, you may find certain types of items more valuable than others. I love POP figures and collect them, so I feel a box that includes one as a guarantee each month gets a boost over ones that don't. Others don't care about those things, or prefer more variety. Again, it's a personal experience. 

I really loved my box from Infinity Crates last month and was so anxious to get this. It shipped almost a month ago and I was getting worried. It does come from Wales, so that means more waiting, but I was starting to think it had been lost. In fact, I went to the Infinity Crates Facebook page and posted that it had been lost - only for my mailman to drop it off literally five minutes later!! 

Anyway, I didn't love the Adventure theme as much as the Nostalgia theme, mostly because it's a pretty broad topic and I surprisingly didn't receive anything from Game of Thrones, which is a bit of an obsession here. At the same time, I am pretty happy that I didn't, because I have a lot of the POPs from the series and I'd be more likely to get a repeat had it been included. Still, although it wasn't as good, I still truly enjoyed this box and plan to keep this subscription. 

Super Cool New Box: March 2015 (Deadpool)

A while back, I had been looking for a new geeky subscription box, because the big name ones just don't cut it for me. I don't want endless swag; I was looking more for collectibles. I am willing to pay a bit more if I feel like the value is there and it's more thought out as well. 

I came across Cool New Box, who offers a monthly box with a theme like the others, but they also offer Super Cool New Box. This is almost twice as expensive, but is supposed to be super. Like I said, I will usually pay more for better quality and I will try anything once. To be sure, though, I went online and checked out some unboxing videos of Super Cool New Box. The ones revealed were loaded and I signed up. 

At this time, I have to say that Super Cool New Box is extremely far from super. It's the biggest disappointment I've had in a geeky subscription box, because although the quality is better than Loot Crate, the price is too high to justify. I thought maybe there was an error and that I had ordered the regular box, or that the super part hadn't shipped yet, so I contacted the people at Cool New Box just to be sure. They instead argued with me about shipping costs and defended the items, saying that the retail value was correct. I went to Amazon - and I could actually get these items for cheaper with free two day shipping, rather than $20 shipping that takes two few weeks. So sadly this is not only not super, but also overpriced. I guess Cool New Box simply does the shopping for you, but that's not the point of subscription boxes for me and I wouldn't have bought half these items, so it just feels like money wasted. 

The positive is that the items are Deadpool, who has always been my husband's favorite comic book character. He has all the books and has always liked Deadpool, although he's a little worn down by his sudden inclusion in pop culture. 

Anyway, here's what I received. The first two items were Deadpool sunglasses and a wallet. The wallet is not made of leather, which is nice, although I can't see either my husband or I wearing a chain. I think we've passed that point. The price tags for the items were still on from Hot Topic. 

Black Box Review: March 2015

I really look forward to getting my box from Black Box, simply because it's so different from any other subscription box. I love that they're customized, but I also enjoy getting presents in the mail that are just quirky enough to feel like treats. 

This wasn't my favorite of my boxes, but only because it wasn't as geeky as my others. I did really enjoy the items in it, though, and I am happy I kept this subscription. I need a little variety in my life!

The first item was a set of lavender incense sticks. They don't smell floral at all, which is good since it's not a scent I generally like. I always like incense, though. 

As you can see, the items are packed in different packaging, which makes opening the box fun all by itself, too! The incense was obvious because I could smell it when I brought the box inside, but I never know what will be in this box.

Awesome Pack Review (Boxy's Version): March 2015

I am such a fan of Awesome Pack. When I first saw this subscription box, I felt like it was meant for me, but then I worried that it wouldn't work because most of the reviews I saw were from families. We don't have kids and we don't play games, outside of online games, with friends due to distance. So I wasn't sure it would end up working, but every month, Awesome Pack just really seems to understand us. 

Since Crafty signed up for her own month, I was pretty excited, because to get the same subscription in a month and have them be so different clearly shows the customization that goes into these boxes. 

Our primary game was Al Rashid. We haven't had a chance to play anything yet, but this is a complex trading game that sounds really intriguing. Since we loved the Road to Canterbury game so much last month, this seems like a good fit, too. One thing I have to say impresses me about Awesome Pack is the quality of the games they include. We've found that the games are always well over what we pay for the subscription and the value of the box is excellent. In addition, after three months, I feel like it grows even more customized and personal each time. I was very happy with our first box, truly impressed with the second, and this one - our third - feels even more like Awesome Pack knows us. 

Awesome Pack Review from Crafty: March 2015

After months of Boxy telling me that I needed Awesome Pack, I gave in. I wasn't sure I wanted to put out the money, but Mr. Crafty agreed it would be something worth trying for the kids.

Custom Fan Box Review: March 2015

I don't get people. I am putting that out there right now. When I first saw Custom Fan Box pop up on Facebook, I thought, "why not?" What can it hurt to order another geek box? They take PayPal, so I could always get my money back if they weren't legit. I really liked the setup from the beginning, because you choose your shirt, then select shows, anime, games, comics, and movies you really like. You will only be sent items from those fandoms, which is awesome. This is basically the geeky version of Wantable!

Now, I am all for startups. I think it's great that more and more people are going out on their own to do something they love. The job market sucks and you essentially spend your life in servitude to someone who makes you unhappy, so I am one to support a startup, especially when they have something to offer. But it didn't take long before Custom Fan Box's Facebook page was littered with complaints. They clearly identified on their site that March was their first month and that all orders would ship by March 31. So it seems like it would be clear that complaining on March 8 makes no sense, right? Apparently not. 

Anyway, I was extremely happy with my first two shipments of Custom Fan Box. My husband and I decided to each get our own, although we mostly had a ton of crossover. We are definitely ordering again for April (both of us) and this time, we only have one crossover, which is Game of Thrones. Otherwise, each of us picked only a small selection of items because we want to see what comes (of course, this also means our Supernatural, Firefly, Doctor Who, and other fandoms are statistically less likely to appear, but I think it's a fun experiment). 

This month, there was only one item that we both didn't like, so I think that says a lot about Custom Fan Box, as well as about how much my husband and I think alike!

So essentially the March box included the same items for every customer, but they varied for your interests. Everyone got a shirt (which you picked out in advance so there were no surprises there), a Funko POP, a mug, a patch/iron-on, two pins, and either a lip balm or tin of mints. They asked if you preferred bacon or cupcakes, so you got mints or lip balm in the flavor of your choice. For April, they asked for shoe size so I am guessing socks?

Hero Crate Review: March 2015 (Mario)

I will be completely honest. I knew going in to this month's Hero Crate that the hero was likely Mario, and I am not a huge Mario fan. I don't dislike him, but I normally wouldn't buy a subscription box dedicated to him. However, I have heard really good things about Hero Crate and I wanted to give them a try. I've been waiting since they had TMNT last month and I really don't like them and next month is going to be Superman. One thing I really love about Hero Crate is that it is specific to one hero, so you can opt to order only when you want that box. I wonder if, as they expand, they could do two options each month, because it may be easier to retain subscribers that way. I feel like I personally would subscribe if I selected from two choices. Right now, I think this will be one I follow and order only when I love the hero. Since this company is great about customer service and is owned by veterans, I want them to succeed.

KarePax Review: March 2015

Earlier in the year, KarePax was just getting started and they allowed a bunch of bloggers to test them out before they were officially operating. This made a lot of sense from their point of view, because it gave them a few months to get feedback, generate interest and reviews, and best of all, make adjustments if there were any issues. I had tried their subscription box out and loved it. 

KarePax is a really unique subscription service, because they send you a big box of snacks from all over the world, but they also send you comic books. I love this mix. There are tons of snack boxes, including snacks from every part of the globe, but KarePax includes comics and those are hard to come by unless you get them randomly in the geek subscription boxes. The comics you get from KarePax are also indie comics or lesser known titles, so you aren't just seeing more Star Wars comics. As fans of comics AND food, this was obviously a good fit for my husband and me. KarePax is also a responsive company, so they are able to make adjustments (like when we can't eat products because we don't eat meat). 

The first items in the box were chips (well, crisps as they're British) and my husband was SO happy about this - until he realized he can't eat any of the three flavors. One was prawn cocktail (of course - whenever we travel to the UK, we always wonder why anyone eats these), another was roast chicken, and a third was pork. I will say that it's nice that the British flavors source meat from British companies and farms and that they don't load the chips with fake meat made from preservatives, but that still doesn't mean we can eat them! :) I am sure Crafty or her husband will be happy to try these out, though!

1Up Box Review: March 2015

Clearly, geek subscription boxes are a favorite around here! 1Up Box is the cheapest of the bunch and lots of people really love it. For the price, it's definitely better than Loot Crate, although I still feel like I would prefer to pay more for something like My Geeky Goodies. This one is under $20, but honestly, for me, it kind of feels like it. With that said, these things add up and if you wanted a smaller box that consistently has good themes and a few cute items, this is probably the way to go. If you're a hardcore nerd and want a bit more, though, you may find yourself disappointed (again, you at least get a shirt with 1Up Box; I haven't seen any consistency from some of the bigger boxes). 

This month's theme was Villains and there was a poster of corrupted Link. This is a nice poster, although a bit small. It would be really nice if we had offices, but it can likely go somewhere in our nerd room instead. 

Geek Me Box Review: March 2015

There are a LOT of geeky subscription boxes these days. I've found that the ones most people know of tend to be of the lowest quality, filling a box with marketing papers and junk, while the smaller box companies are more consistent with collectibles and shirts. Geek Me Box is a smaller and newer subscription box, but they do include a shirt in every box and they've consistently sent action figures as well, which is nice. 

The March box had a comic book heroes and villains theme. The two pins included were the X-Men and Avengers, which made my husband very happy since these are two of his favorite comics series. We also received a Bane action figure; my husband is obsessed with Bane Cat, so now he has an action figure to put on our cats when they watch YouTube together.