Community Sound Off: Most Expensive Sub Box Items

Community Sound Off is a new weekly series that opens up the floor to the community and shares reader discussion on a range of subscription-related topics. Each week, we'll pose a new question in the MSA Forum and feature our favorite answers here.

Recently, I asked the community to share their answers to the following question:

What are some of the most expensive items you’ve ever seen in a subscription box?

Personally, some of my biggest-ticket items have been $100+ tequila, a $200 DANNIJO necklace, and even $15 marshmallows coated with edible 24 karat gold. I was curious to hear about yours, and I was not disappointed. Spoiler alert: this thread is a wild ride. Read on to see what I mean.

Let's take a look at what you all called out as the priciest subscription box items of all time.

kate.kemp says:

It seems to me that Robb Vices always had very valuable items. I could never afford the box, myself, but I loved reading the reviews on MSA.

I subscribe to Breo Box which usually (I’ve not been impressed lately) offers expensive tech toys. However, it’s an expensive box to subscribe to, so I expect to receive interesting and valuable items.

ebb girls says:

What comes to mind now is the PopSugar Neiman Marcus box with the Kim Seybert placemats. $112 for four.

Sherri says:

[Insert RZ BOS/Curateur jewelry item of choice here]

All the jewelry in her box carries such a high RV. I think a few boxes ago the chain link necklace had an RV of $350? Don’t get me wrong, I actually like most of the jewelry in her boxes, but IMHO, the RVs are extreme for what they are.

irishmatnurse says:

The Rose et Marius tumblers and velvet pouches! The tumblers were in Oui Please and Luxor got into the act after the fact… I still use my tumblers daily. I think they were over$200 each… They have updated them and they come as poured candles now.

jnd6 says:

The missoni towels from box of style come to mind. The NM popsugar boxes always had a few big ticket items.

angelatrupo says:

The Stelle Pillar from Robb Vices was pretty expensive. I swapped for that.I remember the special edition Luxor Box had a $600+ purse in it - but I did not get that one.

woodall1880 says:

Dermaflash from the New Beauty Test Tube sub. box with a retail value of $189.

But, wait just one second. The thread hit a *record scratch* when someone recalled the following:

Jessica-MSA says:

I remember Luxor box having some really big listed values for the stuff inside. Omg. Didn’t they include like a voucher for a cruise one time? But there were a ton of strings attached and it was super difficult for any human to actually use it?

Shar says:

Omg I remember that!! I was so confused as to how they could offer a cruise, lmao.

Mandi says:

I forgot about that! Did anyone get to go on the cruise?

This question caught my eye, so I thought I'd do some sleuthing. I, too, wanted to know:

1. Did Luxor Box really give away a FREE CRUISE!?
2. If so, did anyone go on it?

Well, I won't bury the lead. This actually happened. I can confirm that Luxor box did in fact include a voucher for a free cruise. In late 2017, Luxor's Limited Edition Travel Box went up for sale for a whopping $450. The box was advertised thusly:

Travel in LUXOR style this holiday season. This box will be jam packed with 12 luxurious items for ALL your travel needs. This box contains all NEW items – not repeat items from past boxes.

Liz reviewed the box in December 2017, and showed off the included bracelet, scarf, leather tote and accessories, journal, travel set, and, that's right folks, cruise voucher.

While Liz reported at the time that the company behind the voucher seemed legit, cashing it in was not easy. It had to be redeemed via snail mail, required an up front cash deposit (to be refunded after the trip), and disallowed two people traveling together on multiple vouchers. There were also additional restrictions that made redemption tricky. Peeking at the comments of Liz's post, it's clear there were a lot of unhappy campers with free cruise vouchers they couldn't use. But there must have been at least one person who was able to go on a bon voyage, right? Well, maybe not. While redemption seems like it may have been possible, I couldn't find a single report of someone successfully able to make it on board the ship. Sadly, it seems this is one of those times when something seems too good to be true... and is.

What a wild trip down subscription box memory lane!

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What do you think about these high-value items? Did any catch your eye? Let us know in the comments!