Original Fancy Box: December 2013

At some point Fancy decided they want to really make me work for this blogging gig.  If you’re a regular reader I’m sure you’ve been following my odd saga with the Jennifer Love Hewitt Fancy box.  I thought that maybe, the regular Fancy subscription would be exempt from all these screw-ups.  I was wrong.  I have cards without items, items without cards and much confusion.  Harnessing the power of my frustration and best google-fu we’re going to get into the December 2013 box.

We’re going to do this in a slightly different way. 

We’ll start with the cards I got in the box (You will note there are more items than cards).

 

Quay Sunglasses (Fancy Retail: $60.00; Amazon Retail: Average: $39.95)
Verdict:  Miss/On the Fence
So if you subscribe to any Fancy box for more than a couple months you are pretty much guaranteed to get sunglasses and headphones.  I like the shape on these, but the design just seems like too much for me.  I’m not sure if I’ll use them or gift them, but the box they came in is certainly nice.   As is fairly typical for Fancy, the cost on these seems pretty inflated.  I did a search for “Quay Sunglasses” on Amazon and it seems most retail for $39.95.  They do have some other really nice styles that I wish I’d received instead of this one.

Holiday Card by Smock Paper (Fancy Retail: $5.00)
Verdict:  Gift/Hit if it came earlier
So this item was one of those without a card so I did a bit of searching.  I really love the style of it (although I’d never pay $5.00 for one Christmas card).  I only wish this had come in an earlier box so I could have given it out as a gift.  Perhaps the idea was that Fancy was sending us a Christmas card?  Although it’s blank inside so that really doesn’t make sense.  It’s nice and I’ll put it aside for next Christmas.

 

Archipelago Holiday Travel Tin  (Fancy Retail: $15.00; Amazon Retail: $13.00)
Verdict: Gift/Miss
Another item that frequents gift boxes: candles.  I generally love candles and I should love this one according to the description “the rich fragrances of cinnamon clove, mulberry cider and other holiday scents”, but I think those “other holiday scents” are what bug me.  I didn’t care for the scent so I’m adding it to the gift pile.

 

Bib + Tuck Lip Balm?? (Fancy Retail:???)
Verdict: Miss
One of the items with no card is yet another frequent addition to subscription boxes: lip balm.  The logo is hard to read but it seems to say “Bib + Tuck”.  There’s no scent or flavor indicated but it does say its SPF 15.  I tried to search for this on Fancy and there are a billion lip balms and I couldn’t seem to narrow it down so I’m assuming I misread the font.  I love lip balms and typically can’t get enough of them, but the hard to read packaging and no indication of what kind of balm this is leave me flat. 

 

Japonesque Precision Eye Curler (Fancy Retail: $14.00; Amazon Retail: $10.00)
Verdict:  Miss
So this is where I got a card but no actual item.  Just judging by the photo it seems like a pretty standard eyelash curler.  I’m sure it does its job quite well, but I’m not feeling what’s so special about this that it should be included in a Fancy box.  If this was a makeup or beauty subscription I would be more forgiving, but a Fancy box should have things that are unique or interesting.   This is way too pedestrian.

 

Pipe Earphone w/mic by AIAIAI: (Fancy Retail: $40.00)
Verdict:  Hit
Rounding out “the usual crap you get in subscription boxes” theme of this month are the ubiquitous headphones.  As a commuter, I destroy earbuds on a regular basis so having an extra pair is quite useful, but there is nothing special or interesting about these.  They didn’t even come in a fun color (and like most of my box they are also missing a card).  According to their Fancy page, they are “ergonomic” but I don’t really see much difference between their design and my $20 Sonys.  Again, nothing special to see here.

Overall

So I contacted Fancy about my problems with the box, including my missing item.  They apologized and said they’d send out the eyelash curler right away and asked if there was anything else they could do.  I mentioned that I was a blogger and would appreciate if they could send me the links to the Fancy items that didn’t come with cards (particularly the mysterious lip balm).  This was on December 22^nd.  As of yet, I have not received the eyelash curler or a response regarding those questions.

Now I can’t even begin to tell you what I paid for this box since I had leftovers of a gift card, a couple of referral dollars (as always, thank you!) and the gift card money Fancy has been giving me for various screw-ups.  The Fancy retail is $134.00 and the regular retail is $107.95 (not including the lip balm).

If the missing eyelash curler had been a bar of soap, this would have filled the BINGO board for subscription boxes.  Sunglasses, earbuds/earphones, candles, and lip balms are a constant in boxes.   What makes the difference is if they are interesting or compelling in some way.  None of these were and they all came in the same box.

I thought the idea behind Fancy was that it was supposed to send you cool, fun stuff that you didn’t expect or wouldn’t find anywhere else.   An eyelash curler you can get at a drugstore and black earbuds are not exactly “cutting edge”.

I’m also extremely disappointed in their customer service.  I expect that if I pay for a product, I receive it and if I don’t that it is *immediately* rectified.  It’s been over two weeks and I haven’t received my missing product and my questions remain unanswered. 

Fancy, you need to try harder.  Much harder.

 

What do you guys think?  Do I need to give up on Fancy or give them a break?

 

THE BACKSTORY

Fancy Box is a monthly subscription service that curates items that are popular on the Fancy website.  There are a few different subscription options.  They all cost $39 plus shipping (an additional $7.95).

#1 –Fancy box (Original)
This box features a collection of some of the most fancy’d items, curated by the fancy community. Each box includes $80.00+ of products in the categories of your choice. 
The categories you can choose from include: Men’s, Women’s, Kid’s, Home, Gadgets & Media.  It also lets you customize your Tshirt size and your cell phone type.

#2 Fancy Food Box
Each Fancy Food Box includes five or more food products – anything from cookies and chocolates to teas and sauces – along with a selection of tasty recipes and pairing suggestions.

#3 Celebrity Curated Fancy Box
There are seven celebrity curated boxes to choose from.  Each box includes $80.00+ of products.  Most boxes are geared toward men or women though they do include unisex items.

They include:

• Verbal Fancy Box  (This box is more geared towards Men)
• Cocha Rocha Fancy Box (This box is more geared towards Women)
• Tyler Florence Box  (This box focuses on home, kitchen & cooking items)
• Pink Fancy Box (This box is more geared towards Women)
• Jennifer Love Hewitt Box:(This box is more geared towards Women)
• Ashton Kusher Fancy Box: (This box is more geared towards Men)
• Kelly Rowland Fancy Box:  Brand New! (This box is more geared towards Women)

 

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