FYI Serendipity by LLB Subscriptions – November Box Canceled

ByLiz CadmanNov 22, 2016 | 77 comments

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Due to inventory/vendor issues, the November Serendipity box has been canceled. If you are a subscriber you will automatically get a refund for this box, but if you'd like to instead extend your Serendipity subscription by one box, you can do that as well.

Here is the full letter sent to subscribers. (Thanks, Anya, for sharing this with us.)

Dear Serendipity Subscribers,

We want to let you all know how much we appreciate your patronage, your patience and your anticipation of our November Serendipity box. Unfortunately, we are about to give you what we are calling the second November surprise (the first one occurred on election day).

As you know, we scheduled to ship our November Serendipity prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. This box was specifically a holiday themed box, and therefore it was important that we ship it early enough to ensure that you had time to use and enjoy its contents. Unfortunately, October and November have been difficult months for a couple of our vendors, and consequently for us as well. At this point, we are still waiting on two holiday themed items to arrive. What showed up today (three weeks late), was not their Christmas version, so it is not going to be sent out in a box that we promised would be Christmas themed. Because the holiday season is well on its way, and because we can’t guarantee when the last two items will arrive at our distribution center, we made the difficult decision this morning to cancel this month’s shipment and refund your money. As bad as this may be, we feel it is better to cancel than to ship out a box that is incomplete and ultimately disappointing.

You do not have to do a thing UNLESS you don’t want a refund. If we don’t hear from you by the 30th, we will automatically process a refund for the November Serendipity box. However, if you want us to do something other than refund your money, you can contact us and choose one of the following:

If you have a pre-paid annual Serendipity subscription, we will be happy to:

1) Add a box to the end of your current Serendipity Subscription

If you have a month-to-month Serendipity Subscription, that has already been charged, we will be happy to:

1) Move your November Serendipity to the January Serendipity

Please send a note to [email protected] and let us know your preference, we will be happy to take care of this for you. Again, please note that if we don’t hear from you by November 30th, we will automatically refund your November Serendipity box.

Again, our apologies for the delay and ultimately canceling the November Serendipity, but we do appreciate how wonderful you all are while we grow and work to provide you with the best products, the best curation and the best service possible. We appreciate your patience and your support. Not only of us but your support of all the wonderful businesses that are represented in our boxes. Because of you, we're able to help women entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and flourish. We believe in this with our whole hearts and we know you do to. On a side note, we will be hiring a “Traffic Manager” in December and he/she will make sure that vendors do what they commit to doing, so this doesn’t happen again.

Thank you,
The LLB Team

Check out our Serendipity reviews to learn more about this subscription.

Starting at $9.99

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Serendipity by LLB

3 overall rating

1 Ratings | 0 Reviews

Serendipity by LLB will include five to seven sample size (sometimes full-size) items that don’t have any theme attached at all, just great little finds that we wanted to share with all of you. In fact, the collection may even seem a little quirky at times, but that’s the nature of true serendipity... read more.

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Posted in Subscription Box News

Liz Cadman

Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!

Read More By Liz Cadman >

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77 comments

Michelle

I just realized I never received my refund for this missing box. I did the “do nothing” option, because I preferred a refund to the option of extending my annual subscription. Looking at my billing info on their website, I think they did extend my sub, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT THEY SAID THEY’D DO! I’m pretty sure it’s illegal for a business to lie about refunding money…

Elizabeth

Reached out to them in November (didn’t get the initial email but I am on this site every day so chanced upon this post) asking what was going on. Nothing. Wrote them back a few days ago. It bounced. Sent another polite message via Facebook Wednesday. No response yet, but they’re updating their page so undoubtedly someone has seen it.

No refund, no contact, no box(es). Seriously, what is going on? Liz, have you heard anything at all? Frankly, my patience is wearing very thin. I’m an understanding person, but am having a hard time with trying to be sympathetic, considering the above.

Kim R

Hi, I emailed them yesterday asking if there would be a January Serendipity box and the email response I received this morning said it would ship out on or before January 20th. Fingers crossed, we shall see!

Heather

I never received any kind of letter from LLB indicating any issues, but on December 10 I got the usual “order confirmation” they send out saying my order was being prepared for shipment. Does this mean there is a Christmas box, just a month late? I’m happy but a little confused…

Mary K

Heather, I got the same thing. No, the xmas box is still not happening. They send out the “Thanks for your order” email saying you’ve purchased a year (or whatever term) starting on that day, but charges you zero for it. I presume this is just their way of extending our subs another month with no additional charges. Hope that makes sense.

SimpleComplexity

I received an email along with another email that said that even though I asked for my sub to be extended, they HAD to refund me. I’m not sure why they offered to extend our subs if they HAD to refund us to keep our accounts straight.

Heather

Ah. Yes, that makes sense. Thank you!

darthfabulous

This is ridiculous. I sent a message to get my refund / cancel yesterday, then this morning I got a message in my email thanking me for my subscription and… charging me again?! So now I’ve been charged twice, refunded 0 times. So on paypal, I went allllllllll the way back to early september when I placed the order to dispute the charge, and it wouldn’t let me do it because “the transaction was never completed”. I could just bang my head against the wall.

JenJ

I finally contacted customer service last night after never receiving any email about the November box. I asked for a refund of the box. I did get an apology for not being contacted, and they sent a copy of the original email explaining what happened. I am supposed to be receiving a refund for the box. I do feel I wouldn’t have gotten anything had I not asked for it. Has anyone gotten the refund w/o asking for it?

Karen

fyi, I finally received a reply from Kat at LLB and I asked her for a one month refund out of my six month sub and she refunded right away however she did mention there is a delay b/c she is still waiting for replies from customers.

Anon

I am concerned about what is going on with this company. They are not sending or answering emails, they had one late box and one cancelled box and they are not sending orders for products ordered on the website. If they do not refund the money in the next couple days for the people who chose to get their money back, I will be very concerned . Hopefully, they will be able to work things out and continue to provide the great boxes they have in the past.

Brandi

Like many people, I never received an email telling me that November was cancelled. Then, I tried twice over the course of a week to cancel my subscription. When reading their directions online, it indicated I would be able to manage and cancel per their account page. However, their cancellation directions were to email them. Frustrating, right?

Well, after two emails and a week of not hearing back, I sent a message on Facebook. My message was concise but polite, explaining the two above issues and my wish to cancel. I received a reply of “DONE!!!!” within a few seconds, which was great. I went to reply with a kind Thank You, only to find out I had been blocked.

I was hesitant to give them a second chance before after the bad customer services issues that I had when I was a regular subscriber. However, after this exchange and other issues on the boxes I did receive, I will stay far away from this company in the future.

Maya

Thanks for sharing. What happened to saying “I’m sorry to see you go…” Or “Hopefully you will shop with us again in the future…”
I like the sense of humor in their product pamphlets but I do not want sarcasm or rudeness when dealing with customer service issues.

Kara

Has anyone received their credit yet for the canceled November box?

Emily

I haven’t received mine yet.

Karen

I emailed them three times before receiving a reply from Kat who said she will refund me for November even though they were supposed to automatically refund after Nov 30th. After her reply LLB sent a refund email so hopefully it will show up on my credit card soon

Kate

It says they are issuing refunds if they haven’t heard from you by November 30 so unless you told them otherwise you should see the refund sometime after today.

Kara

Thanks!

Christina

Liz, just an FYI, I came to your site to see if there was a delay in the serendipity. Found this post very helpful. I thought too WHY didn’t they email me? Well checked my email and for some reason it went into my junk folder 11/22/16. It has NEVER done that before. I was thinking this may be what happened to others. I have gmail, and they are part of my contacts but VERY strange it went in junk.

Emily

Eh, I wasn’t that excited about getting a Christmas themed box, personally. I don’t mind extending my sub.

Katie

I am so disappointed. This was supposed to be my first box. I subscribed ages ago and i have been eagerly awaiting my first box. 🙁 I also did not receive this email, which concerns me because do they even have me in their database as a subscriber?

michelle

I’m a prepaid annual subscriber and I also never received any email about this. I’m in the same boat I feel like I subscribed in early Oct. and have been waiting forever for my first box… And the wait continues…..

magoosmom

I’m grateful for MSA because I did not get an email and I have an annual sub. I’m going to let them know. It’s not in my spam folder and I would have had no idea this was happening. I’m fine with them adding another box at the end.

i understand things happen but I do think they seem to be having a few issues like this lately. I hope they can get the kinks worked out 🙂

Sarah

I didn’t get an emailike either. Thanks for the update!!!

Jeannie

On a slightly related note–has anyone gotten the email with info on how to get the dip and the digital magazine from the Oct. LLB?

Dina

I didn’t get my email with my codes either so I sent them an email. I didn’t get the email regarding the late box or this latest email either. You should email them now or call them because the codes are only good until November 30.

laura

I had to email them to get the codes.

Kathy

No email for me either. Not impressed

JenJ

I also received no notice in my email or spam. This would have been my second box. The first was very underwhelming. I am regretting the annual subscription. I was really looking forward to this. Would rather have been offered a previous box than nothing. I guess I will take the refund given that I got no letter offering either option. It’s not the end of the world, but I don’t think I’ll be doing anymore annual subbing.

Kim

I still haven’t received the email about the late box. (yes i checked spam and deleted folders) I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. How do they expect customers to respond how they want to handle this if they don’t know. This is the busiest week of the year for my business and I rarely get to log in. If I didn’t find out here who knows what would have happened.

Thanks Liz and Anya.

laura

I didn’t get the email either (and yes I checked spam).

katie

I did not receive the email either.

Emily

I haven’t gotten the email yet either and I have also checked my spam folder. If I wasn’t subscribed to get these updates I would have no idea what was going on.

LMichinski

I appreciate that LLB gave me a choice of a refund or to add a box to the end of my annual subscription, which is what I did. Being in business I understand that things happen, and frankly I get so many subs that I really won’t mind waiting until January to see my next Serendipity! I really enjoy this sub as well as their regular LLB, and their customer service has always been superb. Looking forward to December’s LLB now.

AmyM

I feel like they can’t win. If they hadn’t done anything, people would be angry. If they sent a partial box with items missing, people would be angry. If they waited and sent in December, when they also have a regular LLB shipping, they would have no doubt been behind and overwhelmed and people would get angry if their boxes weren’t on time. It seems they did the most honest, expedient thing: let their customers know they wouldn’t be able to fulfill a sales agreement and offered a full refund. What more are people expecting them to do? btw, I received the email in my regular inbox without issue.

Ann

You might have a point IF I had received an email from them. I’m just now seeing this, so if MSA hadn’t posted, I wouldn’t have known anything about it.

I receive ALL my emails in my inbox. Nothing goes to spam because I enter sweeps, and I don’t want to miss anything related to that.

They’re a business, not a friendship, and as such, I expect to be notified of things like this. I understand things happen, but not receiving an email is frustrating. Also, they’ve been having a lot of problems lately, which is concerning.

Personally, I don’t understand people who defend companies so vigorously while trying to shame people who are disappointed or post their thoughts on how the business is being run, just because they themselves haven’t had a problem. I happen to appreciate the posts of others, negative or positive, as it has given me information on whether I want to to do business with a certain company.

Thank you Ann. I have cancelled completely and asked for the months that I didn’t recieve. 3 months I believe and I have heard nothing back from them but a message saying your subscription has been cancelled and you will recieve no more billing going forward and I replyed to the email and asked again about my refund and I got the same message and then I was upset and said I was going say something to readers on MSA about trying to cancel all together. You may not get boxes or your refund. That was at 11 this morning and no matter how busy they have been kate has always replyed to my emails and I have heard nothing at all. I was a huge fan of llb but I see things that bother me and I have the right to be upset and I think I also have the right for a refund that I would not be asking if they had sent out something. If something doesnt show up well you make it work because that is the service I pad for. I I didnt have the money in my account do you think they would send me out a box. Sorry to drop it like it’s 🔥 up in here….

Shiree

I totally agree with everything you wrote. Am I sad that I won’t be receiving November’s Serendipity box? Of course I am sad. But sometimes things just happen! I also received all emails without an issue.

Lauren

I received an email and was rather happy that they offered to add a box. Stuff happens that they can’t control, im glad they notified me and have been very happy with this subscription. I opted to get the box added later. I will still subscribe to them because this is the one box I look forward to.

Kim

I agree with you, this was a no win situation for them…I am kind of sad, I really enjoy this little $10 every other month surprise! I hope they do not decide to discontinue it after all this negativity. I received the email in my work account with no issues.

Briar

Couldn’t they still try to send it next month? This is an every other month box.

michelle

I’m super bummed. This was my first box of an annual subscription with these guys.. It seems I’ve already been waiting forever and a day… Wow, and they just send a letter to forgive them and refund the one box. They should (since it’s their mistake-and let down their paying customers- offer extras to make it up to us… So sad.. I wonder if I can cancel my annual sub. I’m feeling effy now about this subscription…

stef

before we go all negative on many of these sub boxes, let’s give them a little slack and be a bit forgiving. LLB is reaching out to their customers, showing their hand and giving options. yes it’s a bummer but we sub junkies know it could be so much worse. we could have not received a heads up at all, like sub have done. Let’s keep sending them good vibes while they are learning about the business, learning from their mistakes and making better choices.

Sharyn

Awwww, my comment got deleted. How sad!

Sharyn

Cancelled after their snarky comment on the election. I told them I’m totally uninterested – they are here to provide a product/service, not unnecessary opinions. Can not understand why companies feel the need to weigh in on divisive things that aren’t even remotely pertinent? People just don’t seem to grasp the idea that it’s ok not to comment on EVERYTHING.

Hey Sharyn did you call them or email because I have been trying to cancel (Nov of course but the next 2 months and they won’t even reply to me)

Sorry

well I finally just called and cancelled my last boxes on Dec 2 which I should of done from the beginning but I hate cancelling over the phone. The girl who answered was very sweet and I’m all set. To this day I have no idea why they wouldnt reply to any of my emails. i could tell when they read them because i would get an auto reply like at 9 at night. Wish them the best though. I really enjoyed their boxes but something changed in these last few months. No more posts from me here… lolololol 😊Really I am sorry Liz

Pilar

“Unfortunately, we are about to give you what we are calling the second November surprise (the first one occurred on election day)”.

I busted out laughing when I read that line, but I really feel sorry for them I hope they pick better vendors next time so that this doesn’t happen again.

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FYI Serendipity by LLB Subscriptions – November Box Canceled

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