Subscription services have been around for a long time. Early, traditional manifestations being Newspapers, Magazines, Book, Shoe, and Wine Clubs, etc, but how many people did you know that actually had a subscription to any of those aside from the first two? Probably not an impressive figure.

In the past two or three years, Subscription Boxes have soared in popularity, and you can now find a service that caters to just about any hobby or interest. Makeup, (Birch Box) Jewelry, (Bijoux Box) Pets, (Bark Box) and Health Food, (Nature Box) to name a few.

Now it seems that another type of Subscription Box has emerged; that being, Geek and Nerd culture boxes.

I had been looking to maybe try a Subscription Box ever since watching Suzy Hanson (Mortem3r) unveil her monthly Birch Boxes on her YouTube Channel. It seemed like fun! Pay a set amount of money up front, and receive presents in the mail once a month! I love presents.

I just had to decide what kind of box I wanted. I thought about Birch Box, or another makeup/beauty related service, but there was a Sub. Box that I’d kept seeing advertised everywhere, and decided to give a try; that Sub. Box was Loot Crate.

What drew me to Loot Crate over other Nerd/Geek culture boxes, was that it has a very successful and positive following behind it. The company actually encourages users to share what they got in their monthly boxes with each other on the LC website and social media sites. This made it so much easier to see if LC would be something I was interested in.

They also have a section on the website where you can take a look at their past crates; and that’s what really got me! I didn’t see one that didn’t have things in it that I wouldn’t be in love with. Each box is advertised at having at least $40 worth of goodies in it, and two or so weeks before you receive your box, they send you an email containing the monthly theme, which can give you an idea of the types of things you’re going to get.

The sign up process was pretty straightforward and the prices were reasonable: A 1 month sub cost $19.37 including shipping, 3 months is $18.37 for each box, and 6 months is $17.67 for each box. Now, you pay for every box you are signing up to receive at checkout, which is why I was only able to sign up for the 3 month plan, which comes to $55.11 total. They usually have promo codes on the site every month that will save you a few bucks when you sign up.

Be warned: When you sign up, you will be charged the total amount every cycle, depending on which plan you signed up for, because this is a recurring subscription, which I did not like. I feel like its not trusting your fan base, and tricking them a little bit.

That leads into the one thing I wasn’t a huge fan of other than being charged for every box all at once; though I understand the need to do so, and that is that they make it a pretty convoluted process if you want to cancel your sub. You have to send a request at least 48 hours before your next charge date, and the help center is buried in the website. (In my opinion.)

In any case, I decided to try it for three months, and if I’m not hooked after that, I will contact them to cancel. If I’m in love, I will probably upgrade to a 6 month plan.

Now, on to my June 2014 Crate!

Theme: TRANSFORM!

Pretty straightforward packaging. Nice, clean, pleasing to look at. So far, so good! I was a tad surprised at the size, I was expecting it to be bigger.

Everything as packaged very neatly!

June’s LC exclusive pin.

A Series One, The Loyal Subjects X The Transformers Action Vinyl. I ended up getting Bumblebee.

This is a Transformers HexBug nano, and from what I understand, its some kind of small toy that moves using “vibration technology.” Hmmm…I also got a Bumblebee HexBug.

This is an MLG wristband, which I later found out through the cute little Zine they include in the box, stands for Major League Gaming. Its apparently an online broadcasting network for competitive gaming. The more you know.

Some MLG stickers. There was also a 1 month Game Battles access code.

Decepticon car decal! Probably the first thing I’ve been legitimately excited about. #teambadguys

At first I thought the candy was cheesy, but it’s actually pretty cute.

Transformer Name Generator! This was at the back of June’s Zine, and I thought it was pretty cute. #SteelSlinger

Definitely my favorite item so far. Super cute/clever LC limited edition shirt. Only LC subscribers who received the June 2014 box have access to this neat shirt.

Fits perfect! I have to admit I was a little worried when I gave LC my shirt size when i signed up. I chose Women’s Medium, and it’s a bit baggy, but I’d rather have that problem than have it be too small.

Now I will admit I was pretty darn disappointed with this month’s theme, especially since the last few months all had things in them that I would love: Bravest Warriors and Adventure Time stuff, Cat Bug Bow, (Heavy Breathing) Attack on Titan merch, Zelda shirt, Bat Man wallet, to name a few. So when I got the email releasing the Transform theme, I kind of had a defeated sigh moment. I had been a little reluctant to sign up for a recurring sub. box in the first place, (because I’m sporadically poor and consistently terrified of long-term commitment. To anything,) and the fact that the first one I was supposed to receive, and on my birthday month, no less, was going to be Transformers related was a bit of a let down.

That being said, I believe I got my money’s worth. I enjoyed the goodies and the shirt, in spite of not being a Transformers fan.

All in all, I was pleased, and I can’t wait for next month’s box!

LC JUNE 2014: “TRANSFORM”

5/10 Cat Bugs

Related Links:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaXZUkje800EISlsWkOFXQQ

https://www.lootcrate.com/