Birchbox February 2020 Sample Selection Time!

I don’t recommend Birchbox.

I signed up because I liked the idea of lower cost for smaller product sizes. Most of the Birchbox products are “deluxe sample size” so there’s less waste if you don’t like a product. And, of course, I really liked all the options you could pick from each month.

I soon discovered that the options they offer each month aren’t actually available. Even when going to the site immediately upon receiving the email that it was my turn to choose, my top choices were already gone.

I contact them about this and it took them two weeks to answer. And the answer was a bunch of fluff that added up to “Too bad.”

I then sent an email to cancel my yearlong subscription. But I was told I can’t, and that they don’t have to actually offer any of the options they advertise as… options.

I might go through PayPal. I’m pretty sure I can get my money back that way, but I don’t know if I feel like bothering with it or not.

However, I wouldn’t sign up again or recommend them. They may excuse themselves and weasel out over the fine print; I don’t know, haven’t checked it. But I just call it false advertising. They draw in a lot of customers based on all the options they say you can pick when that is not the truth.

I saw some comments on here that say those may just be “glitches,” but in my experience, no, they weren’t. I kept checking back and still couldn’t get my first choice, or, often, my second, third, fourth or fifth choice, either. They simply don’t bother supplying anywhere near enough of what they advertise to go around.

Also, with most of the boxes, you get first access by buying a yearlong subscription but on Birchbox, that is reserved for those who have first spent $300 on their site, and that goes by calendar year. So if you buy a yearlong subscription in December, that amount won’t count towards the early access amount a month later.

There are too many subscription boxes out there to put up with sloppy indifference.

What is an Ace?

Reveals are up in app! I received:
– Purlisse Charcoal + Licorice Sheet Mask
– Dr Jart Cicapair Tigergrass CC SPF 30
– Real Chemistry Serum
– Proenza Schouler Arizona EDP (choice)
– Beauty Crop Glow Milk Highlighter
– Davines MOMO shampoo + conditioner

Not really thrilled: don’t like sheet masks; would usually love Dr Jart but I’ve tried this product & it is wayyyy too yellow for me; don’t use liquid highlight; purposefully did not pick the Davines.

I asked to skip a month two weeks before it shipped. They got back to me a month later with a generic copy paste response saying they hope I loved my box? I got 2 products that I received (and hated) when I was a subscriber three years ago. Do they not change up their stock? The customer service alone was enough to make me cancel immediately.

I wonder if things are actually sold out or if their website is glitching.

Also, they are taking weeks to respond to customer service inquiries. It seems that perhaps something is “off” at Birchbox.

What happens if you didn’t choose anything? They will send whatever box?

Eh, as soon as my yearly subscription is up I’m cancelling. Poor choices, lots of repeats, choices selling out so quickly, and a few months ago they sent me a box full of broken glass from a perfume sample and instead of offering a replacement box they shipped me jut the small perfume sample in a huge shipping box by itself. It was insane. I’m so done with them and can’t wait to cut ties.

I don’t know what’s going on with Birchbox then. When I first joined years ago, every choice item seemed like it took days to go out of stock and even at the close of the choosing time, things were still available. They didn’t have curated boxes as a choice then. I can’t believe that there has been a sudden increase in Birchbox subscribers that would account for all the boxes being sold out so quickly. What’s going on Birchbox?

Every box was sold out today in the am. I have 2 boxes left and i will not resubscribe.

I am not an Ace, but I chose my selection (box 2 because I wanted the hair milk) around 7 am EST. As others have said, box 1 was sold out at that point, but all of the other boxes were still available. It sucks because it doesn’t seem reasonable that the boxes are selling out while it’s still the wee hours in the other time zones. 🙁

I’m new to Birchbox – this will be only my third month. I’m glad to see that so many others have the same issue with curated boxes being sold out, because when it happened the first time I figured I just needed to be more on top of it (I think I checked a couple days late). But today I was up at 6:00AM PST, and everything was totally sold out. It seems crazy to me that you wouldn’t have enough product to sustain a 6am wake up on the West Coast. I don’t think I’ll be continuing.

How is every single thing out of stock.

I’ve been a subscriber since 2014 and have never seen selection choices out of stock so quickly. It would be a rare occurence. It seems like something has changed.

Seriously so very disappointed with this month’s so called choices because they are not available for so many of us since they all sold out so fast before we could even make a choice. Ready to cancel. I feel jipped as I’m sure many others do. All those nice samples, boxes – gone already, that quick. Not even ONE box left. What a tease. Had to opt for a “sample.” I don’t know. So ready to cancel.

I checked literally two minutes after receiving the email, and everything was already out of stock! Seriously lame birchbox!

What am I doing wrong? Everything I wanted is gone. This is irritating. At least before this choice I didn’t feel like I missed out each month.

Perhaps they will make more boxes available like they did last month.

I really thought that they had made a mistake in picking Sunday as the ACES’s choose date but I decided to check anyway. At 10;30 am, all choices were available. I don’t know when they sold out but I don’t wait for an email anymore- I tend to look at 6:00 am EST and they are usually available. I suggest looking as early as possible on choice day if you want a particular box.

I have been a faithful subscriber to Birchbox since 2014 and I am an Ace (short for I spend WAY too much money with this company). When I went to choose for this month, ALL the curated boxes were out of stock!!! So much for choice!

I didn’t really care for the sample options.
Time to say goodbye to Birchbox!!

When I first joined, you could get a newly released book (often hardcover) as a gift with purchase for spending $50.

I’m getting increasingly annoyed with this sub. I have ended up taking the $10 point swap the past 3 months because all the curated boxes have been sold out, and I’ve had no interest in the sample choice options. Thank goodness for the $10 point swap…but still It’s really frustrating!

I accidentally forgot to Stop auto renew- so I’m in for a whole other year! They said I could not cancel- though I get charged monthly.
The choices are mostly “sold out.” Should we be worried about BB?

Ridiculous how quickly everything sold out. I’m canceling, too. I only have one choice or take the points. It’s not even 10 am CST.

Many of the add-ons are sold out, too, even ones that aren’t marked as sold out.

What time does choice open for this box? I resubbed specifically for curated box #1 and it was gone a few mins after 9.

So irritated about everything but 1 box being sold out! Just canceled.

Everything is sold out. What is wrong with this box?