Kidbox - First Box review! Winter box 2018

Kidbox - First Box review! Winter box 2018

(Review updated to reflect interaction with customer service and replacement item sent!) 
Overall: 11 17 out of 20 - Very promising! A few glitches, but overall good value and great customer service. Will be ordering a New Year's Box to try this out again!

I recently signed up through a referral code to try out Kidbox. I've researched a number of kid boxes and I was attracted to this one for a number of factors:

#1 - No styling fee! Many boxes have a styling fee, and while those fees are refunded if you buy enough items, why take the risk? If a box offers personalization according to style notes, then I shouldn't be charged if nothing in the box is my style, right?

#2 - Free shipping! Free returns! Free exchanges for size! This is huge for me. For some reason I really hate shipping fees, even if they make sense (I'm not paying gas money and don't have the hassle of traveling, after all, and it certainly costs the company to ship stuff out.) But shipping costs are often a deal breaker for me, and so a box with free shipping that also sends a prepaid label and mailer for returns and exchanges is great. It definitely lowers the risk factor of trying the box out as well, as if I decide I don't like anything and return it all I'm not out any money.

#3 - a flat box fee! This was a huge factor in why I tried Kidbox over Kidpik or other kid styling boxes. Kidbox allows you to 'keep the whole box' for a flat rate of $98 - or for $73 for your first box if you go through someone else's referral code [Mine is http://refer.kidbox.com/k-Azg if you want to try it out!] If you don't want everything in the whole box Kidbox also lets you keep individual items at a slight discount, but that discount isn't huge. Some people might like getting boxes to find 1 or 2 quality items to keep, but for me my dream box is one where I get a great deal and can keep the whole thing at a huge discount rather than just a couple items at only a slight sale price.

#4 Seasonal! Kidbox (in theory, as I will get into when discussing the box I got) provides seasonally appropriate clothing - so in winter one should see warm items, layering pieces, etc. while lighter pieces in summer. They also have a 'back to school' box.

#5 Personalized! Kidbox lets you fill out a bit of a survey and a small amount of notes (a couple sentences worth, wish it was longer) about what styles your kid wears and what styles to avoid. One can expect 6-7 items or outfits personalized to your child ('items' can be sets, such as two packs of leggings or a shirt/pant combo, so it's more counting items as individual pieces. I got 11 individual pieces in my box, counted as 7 items.)

#6 A box you can color and bonus items for the kids. This was a minor draw, but it's always cool when boxes throw in freebies or are designed with the kid in mind.

#7 A nice promo. It really helped that the box was $25 off going through a referral AND they were running a free Dream Box with purchase promo at the time! Albeit I'm not really sure how I am supposed to get my free Dream box - supposedly I will be getting a code with the payment confirmation email now that I bought my first box? Once I ordered my first box, I got a code for the free Dream Box in my email. It was very easy to put the code in on the site and drop the cost from $88 to $0! No shipping or tax or hidden fees or subscriptions. I love gift with purchase, money off, and free box deals. All the Dream boxes come with a robe, too, and my daughter wants one of her own!

#8 It's not a monthly or even an auto-sub. Kidbox generally puts out 5 boxes a year, and you can order as few or as many as you would like. You do need to turn off the auto-send option in your profile to make sure no boxes are automatically sent out, but that is easy to do. You are never charged upfront - only if you decide to keep a box or for what you keep, which you can decide within 7 days of getting the box. (Kidbox does make an authorization charge to your credit card - mine was $1.50 but the amount varies. This is not actually taken from your account! It's just to check that the card info is valid (to prevent people from signing up with fake card info.)

# 9 Nice brands! Kidbox sends out nicer brands - ones you might buy at a mall, or Dillard's, Nordstrom, etc. 7 For all Mankind, Kensie, Levis, aden & anais, etc. are just a few of the 160 brands they carry. In theory, anyway, these should be better quality or with more unique designs than one could get at Target/Carter's/Children's Place/Walmart/etc.

With all that in mind, I took the plunge and ordered my first box, How did it go?? Well...I did buy the whole box to keep, and I did find a few pieces I love. But the box wasn't a complete hit either. I'm still on the fence! I'll definitely be getting another box to try, but I'm not sure that this will be a long-term or frequent option for buying clothes for my kids. Here are the specifics!:

Shipping: Average (12/20) I ordered Nov 26th and it shipped out on the 27th. I received my box the morning of Dec 7th. It was shipped through Fed Ex surepost - where Fed Ex gets it most of the way but then it is passed off to the US post office and sits for a while for whatever reason. They say shipping is in 1-2 weeks and mine was well within that window - and again, it was free! I was a bit on pins and needles waiting for those last few days though as it made it to my city on the 4th - but then just sat there! Note: Anyone wanting a box in time for Christmas needs to put in an order by Dec 15th. The deadline to get a box by Christmas has passed.

Styling: Near hit! (18/20) Almost every item was something that, style wise, my daughter would wear or I would love her to wear. Even the one item that wasn't a hit style wise (boat neck cheetah shirt by Miki B) was only off by a little. It still will fit well into her wardrobe or for layering, she's just more into pictures of animals than animal prints.

Variety: Not so great (8/20). Average (10/20) I got *five* pairs of leggings, 4 shirts (though two were 'sweater-look',) and two dresses. That seems to be about right for dresses, but I would have liked bigger variety on the rest. Perhaps only two leggings, a skirt, and a pair of quality jeans. Perhaps just two shirts and a more substantial piece of outerwear like a sweatshirt or layering cardigan. Etc. I would have liked to see more item types - even an accessory as I mentioned she liked purses and long socks. This was a double-fail on variety as my daughter has lots of shirts and leggings already, so while the styles were cute it wasn't filling a wardrobe need.

Update: They sent a replacement style out in place of one damaged set. The replacement set was a sweatery top (unfortunately cold shoulder) with jeans - not leggings! The jeans were on the thinner side, but they still were proper pants! Since these replaced the 'jeggings' they do up the variety in the box. I'd give it a 10/20 'average' score now.

Quality: One Critical Hit (20) AND one Critical Miss (1). Overall above average (16/20) The LOSAN sweater dress was high quality, easily a quality piece that will probably last through all three of my daughters. It even came on it's own hanger in it's own little garment bag to protect from dust~! A Bebe sweater look top and legging set looks to be nice quality as well, and the Design History star dress looks very well made. But the Miki B items were just average - I guess they'll start looking ratty after a while especially on the second or third kid, and the Jessica Simpson items (while cute) were definitely fast-fashion and not designed to last. Since one of the draws of this box for me is 'nicer brands' than I would normally buy it's a bit disappointing for the quality not to be there on everything.

Let me rant for a moment about one Jessica Simpson set! The style is cute, a sweater-look top with graphic stars and a pair of jeggings with nice button detail. The quality is TERRIBLE. The button popped right off when I put the thin jeggings on my toddler (She was very sad, repeating "Button fall down!" several times.) The thin top wasn't warm on it's own so I had to layer it over a shirt. And yikes - the fabric is already fuzzy and pilling after only a half-day of normal around the house play! Loose threads on the top make me think it isn't going to like going through the wash very well at all.

So - before I buy future boxes I'll be making sure with CS that I don't get sent any Jessica Simpson items in the future, no matter how cute. This isn't the first problem I've had with the brand - she does maternity clothes too, and while I like the style the fabric ends up pilling and degrading very fast.

Update: Customer service has put notes in my file not to send any Jessica Simpson items in future! Plus, they sent out a completely different style to replace the damaged one. The replacement set was a very nice 7 For All Mankind sweater top and jeans set! Unfortunately the sweater top was cold shoulder which sort of defeats the point of warmth - but that's a minor thing :P  Yhe point is that Customer Service was very helpful and they did send out a replacement for the poor quality item, which makes me more secure about ordering boxes in the future. :)

Seasonal Appropriateness: Below Average (7/20).  Slightly below average (8/20): I received one winter-appropriate garment (LOSAN sweater dress.) Most items will work for warm days in winter but really are more spring/fall appropriate (thin long sleeve tops and thin leggings.) My second favorite item, the Design History star dress, is more of a spring design being a lightweight cotton and tulle dress with short butterfly sleeves. The winter boxes were advertised as warm/cozy but I didn't receive anything heavy duty, warm, or cozy besides the sweater dress. There weren't any layering items. For winter I would have expected fleece lined leggings or thick leggings, if any leggings at all, warm pants, or possibly jeans. I would have expected shirts to be a bit thicker. I'm not sure this is entirely the stylist's fault, two of the sets did have 'sweater look' tops so they might have looked warmer in the bag than they actually are when you feel the thin material.

For future boxes, I will likely be putting a note that I don't need/want more leggings at this point. She has enough to last her through the next size, which should be a while.

Update: CS did put in my file not to send so many leggings! :) Also, I got a replacement for the damaged Jessica Simpson set and it was a 7 For All Mankind sweater top and jeans set. Unfortunately the sweater top is the could shoulder trend (shoulders exposed) so despite the long sleeves and sweater material it will not be that warm - it's more of a spring item. Also the jeans are lighter weight. I'd still consider it a spring/fall outfit, however it is warmer than a lot of the other items in the box so it ups the seasonal appropriateness slightly. :)

Customer Service: Critical Hit! (20) I emailed Kidbox with some feedback about my experience, as well as letting them know about the quality issue with the Jessica Simpson set. The lady who wrote back was very helpful! She put in my notes to not send any Jessica Simpson brand items or Miki B items in future. (The Miki B was 'OK' but I wasn't wowed. I think it is one of their in house brands.) She also put in a note to not send quite so many leggings, lol. She also is sending out a replacement item of a different style/brand for the falling apart Jessica Simpson set - I didn't even have to mail the damaged one back! (Even though that would have been free had I needed to, they provide the return mailers.) I haven't received it yet but my email got a note that it's on its way - very excited about that! She also explained that the reason I didn't get many warm items was as I ordered at the tail end of their Winter Box offering, so they are fairly low inventory now in actual winter stuff. It is a problem they are aware of and are working with their buyers (whoever in the company sources the clothes they then offer) to make sure more seasonally appropriate items are sourced throughout the year. Due to this I decided not to order a second winter box, so my next box will be the New Year's Box.

Update: I received the replacement item and it's a 7 For All Mankind sweater top and jeans set :) I really appreciate they didn't just send a duplicate of the Jessica Simpson set with it's poor fabric.

Price: Low value (personally, to me) if going off the individual KidPik price. Average value (personally, to me) at the flat box fee of $98 by keeping the whole box considering the quality and variety/seasonal issues. Great value when factoring in $25 discount from using a referral AND the free Dream Box I will be getting received.

If I hadn't had the referral and needed to pay $98 for this specific collection, without any free box added, I probably would have passed on getting the complete box. The only item I might have kept would be the LOSAN sweater dress (I think to keep it was $28) as it was the highest quality item, and only winter item, in the box - so it would be the only item I would consider splurging on. Most of the items I found the Kidbox price to be too high for what they were type wise and quality wise. And while I loved the Design History star dress and it was great quality,  it was even more expensive (I want to say $37, need to hunt up the invoice card!) and more than I would pay considering I could get a cute dress of reasonably equivalent quality (maybe not *quite* as nice) for around $15. Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time paying double digits for kid's clothing!

This makes me seriously consider how reasonable it is for me to get boxes in the future or as a long term plan to supplement clothing for my daughter. It's a great value for the first box with the promo and free Dream Box, but is it a great value at the normal price? I don't know yet until I order my next one. I feel like it definitely has potential, especially if the minor glitches on variety, quality, and seasonal appropriateness are ironed out. On the plus side, it's an easy risk-free box to get another one of - I just say I want a box mailed, it's styled and sent out free, and I can return everything for free if I don't find the value worth it to me. So I definitely will be giving it another try down the road by ordering a New Year's Box!

This box have might even more value for you if:
- You hate shopping for kid's clothes whether in person or online and like the idea of a curated collection styled for your child
- You are looking for a gift for a kid in your life (niece, grandkid, etc.) that is easy/quick to order
- You're current kid's clothing budget can already afford $100 for 6+ items, so the idea of nicer brands for the same price is appealing

[I'll see if I can add some pictures to this post later! My cell phone is having issues...]

Update: I got my free Dream Box!! It's hard to believe the entire box was free as a promo. Sorry I am not sure if it's a promo they are still running or not! The box came with a bonus toothbrush (nothing to write home about, very basic,) a plush red robe (my daughter will be so excited!,) three sets of pajamas (nice quality, a couple are cotton sets which are hard to find,) a book (unfortunately not a board book so a bit old for my two year old,) and a fun LalaLoopsy branded hooded poncho (or hooded towel, rather. It's the sort of terry material one would wear after a bath.) My toddler helped me 'pick' which items she wanted to be presents and chose a couple items (including the hooded towel) to go off as presents for her cousin. It can be hard to find cotton jammies and robes for kid's on any sort of decent sale, so I would consider ordering another Dream Box down the road when my toddler needs the next size up (hopefully that will be a while!) The biggest downside is you can't directly give notes, so I couldn't avoid the jammies with words on them (which like I expected, my toddler didn't care for and decided were for her cousin) nor ask for a more age appropriate book. But, I believe I should be able to email customer service with notes, so in a couple years when I need another Dream box I'll just email with my notes a week or so before ordering. :)