As much as I have enjoyed several of my subscription boxes, there are things I don't like. In particular, I don't have very positive feelings about the way that people market their products. I especially am not a fan of sending out boxes early for review in order to get more customers. The greatest difference between just shopping and signing up for a subscription box is not convenience but surprise. I can buy brands I like that are ethical and natural for less, and I can also set up recurring orders on Amazon and elsewhere. It's much easier to manage than an account with a subscription box, especially since many of these companies make you email and hope they get it in time if you don't want to be charged. So essentially what I am paying for in these subscriptions is twofold - exposure to new brands that I may not have found on my own and the element of surprise.
So with all that said, I was subscribing to Sudsy Box because I like natural soaps. It's not really a big surprise what's in the box, beyond the fourth item and the scents, but I figured I liked the enjoyment of the unexpected box every few months. I already subscribe to Wholly Hemp, who don't operate the same way with deliveries. You get your box the same time every month based on when you sign up and they're usually based on their current stock, so surprise is inevitable. Wholly Hemp also doesn't do a ton of marketing.
I received my last Sudsy Box about a week ago. Sadly it's my last because certain people, and those who don't feel like they need to pay $20 every two months, got theirs almost a month earlier. I'm done with this as a customer. If you want my business, and you want my money, then you simply need to prioritize customers over marketing. Sudsy Box doesn't want to do that, so I will stick to the companies who do, I suppose. (To be clear, it's not that they send boxes out to reviewers. Bloggers get things for free and that's part of the deal, but it's the fact that the marketing strategy of revealing items well before the people who bought them get them - or even have boxes in the mail - feels so greedy.)
