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Warning: long comment/rant ahead about this subscription box service and other ones out there. The market it saturated with them lately and many suck big time.
It's a neat novelty deal if you live somewhere that you don't have an Asian market. The closest asian market to me is ~2 hours drive each way for me, so not particularly accessable. But this crate is meh supposedly, mainly the customer service. I had a friend who was just going to get one box. When it arrived, it was missing several items, the bigger/more expensive items. She contacted them and they were like "oh, yeah, we had some issues during import, we will put them in the next box"...she was like "ok but I was only getting one box, I wasn't planning on staying subscribed, I want the box I paid for". They wouldn't give her a partial refund or send the items, only solution they would offer is for her to pay for another box at full price to get the items she paid for in her first box. She ended up having to call her credit card company and dispute/do a charge back and her credit card gave her the money back. But it was a big hassle, took multiple calls with her credit card company after lots of email back and forth with Japan Crate trying to resolve it with them before escalating it.
It might be a rare thing to happen, but might want to put it on a credit card that has good customer service just in case.
I do a lot of subscription boxes... I'm in a semi rural area in Tennessee so I don't have as much access to a lot of this. I have come to find I really like Snack Crate. Different country every month. I've gotten some amazing snacks in there, tons of stuff I'd never heard of, and really good - the problem sometimes is I want more of some items but can't find them for purchase anywhere online (they will sell some items from boxes temporarily in their online store, but usually only from their always available stock crates, not the monthly changing ones)! I splurge on their $50/mo box. Sometimes it's a bit delayed since COVID. And they charge you, then buy and import everything, then pack and mail our boxes, usually taking about 3 weeks from payment except for their stock boxes (Hawaii, Japan, Canada, Englas, Germany, Brazil, and I think Israel?). Last month, I got Spain, right now waiting on Morocco. Japanese snacks are neat but I mean....after a while, most of it is same ol same ol. Getting a different country each month means more variety. Spain box had stuff like fried egg flavored potato chips (I stg tasted exactly like fried egg), spicy mango gummies, lots of stuff you wouldn't find in rural Tennessee. But actually good tasting things. I know I get targeted ads on FB for 50% off one box for Snack Crate all the time, so maybe go to their FB page and then wait for the targeted ads to start, lol.
I've tried a number of snack crate sorta things, and they're probably my favorite. Someone stole my delivery off my porch, Snack Crate replaced it within days AND gave me a free drink on top. I sent them a thank you email with a photo of my dog lying by the box, and they flipped saying how cute he was and sent me a package from Chewy with dog treats and toys lol.
Munch Addict has a Japan box and Korea Box with a one time coupon, I tried them for a while but their snacks were often stale, it was all cheap dollar store snacks that weren't different or special and you could get on any online asian grocery for ~$1 ea or less, and didn't really seem different (other than packaging) than stuff easily available in the USA. Very small packs, and nothing really that good that I wanted more of. Plus several times they were over month late sending my box - charged me for March box and I never got Feb - slow to reply to emails, then they promise it's going to ship soon, doesn't, then they say they'll refund you, they don't, then ignore followups trying to get the refund. Munch Addict is pretty shitty, not even worth it with discount.
TryTreats was pretty shit. Hands down some of the worst "snacks" - cheap filler, almost the whole box was rice crackers that I can get at an online asian grocery for $3 for a bag of like 30 packs of 2 of the same brand rice crackers, and 70% of the box was those. It was a $50 box. And the rest was Hichew I could get from Walmart, then a bag of preserved squid. Yuuuup. There's TONS of world snack sub boxes out there right now. Most have some sort of discount on the first box if you look, usually 50% off. Some aren't even worth it at a 50% discount. I mean, import costs are not cheap - yes, you will pay more than the items cost in the country of origin. They have to pay to ship, import fees, and make a profit. So if you live in a huge metro area with access to tons of foreign markets, these may not be for you. But if you don't, or just want to try little bits of stuff without going out shopping buying tons of bigger bags/packages of stuff you've tried, these sort of things might be a good option. But there are tons of snack box subscriptions right now, and at least half are absolutely shit, about 1/4 are just okay, and 1/4 are really actually worth it imo. I'm going to try this crate for 1 month - charging to my cc that I know I can get my money back if they screw me over like they did my friend. Like it's not just about the number of items....a lot of these boxes just send whatever is cheap. I'm up for trying new and different things, that's the point, and I know everybody like different things, but generally there are going to be items that more people like, things that are higher quality. When you send me a box full of rice crackers, plain seaweed strips, and preserved squid? Nah, f off. Snack Crate has consistently sent things that can be unique and not stuff that is like what you can find at Walmart in even more rural USA, but not stuff that is so "out there" or an acquired taste that few would like it. Like fried pumpkin chips (Thailand), the prosciutto chips and fried egg chips (Spain).
Anyway, that's my long rant about junk food from other countries that no one asked for. So, thanks OP, in for 1, we'll see if it's even worth the $25 or not.
Just putting it out there that most snack sub boxes have a 50% off promo for first box - some are codes, some are only from special links from targeted ads on Facebook. Go to a couple snack box subscription services pages and you'll probably start getting ads offering discounts.
P.S. Anyone tried universal yumms? I get shitloads of ads for it and heard a lot of good things, main complaint people seem to have is it's mostly chips and not enough candy VS Snack Crate that some say is too much candy and not enough chips. Universal yumms is about the only one of the big companies left I've not tried. But never got an ad with discount.
Personally not interested in the August box, due to the one review, thanks. Code ends on Aug 1, and the box sends in 2 days (31st?), so maybe I can yolo a September box?
IMO it's all the same crap... I got one for my kid.. also, In the confirmation email it says it's going to take up to 40 days for them to ship it... In their FAQ it said 3-4 days... so that's shitty...
used virtual card so I don't need to cancel...
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Beware, I just got this message so now I'm wondering how I can cancel after the first box ships but before I'm billed for the next one 🤔
"Your order is processing and should be fulfilled within 5-10 business days. However due to higher than normal order volume please allow an additional 3-4 weeks for your crate to be shipped."
Literally less than 600¥ for everything in this box at any combini. Super overpriced.
Nah it's more than that, of course. Maybe 10 yen, heh.
But the point is, anyway: People buy these boxes for the novelty of it and the ease of access via this company. If I lived in Japan, I wouldn't purchase such a box of course.
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I did this once when I saw it on slickdeals. It was a big let down. Don't waste your money. Japan had good treats somehow they found every year that sucks and sent that.
Beware, I just got this message so now I'm wondering how I can cancel after the first box ships but before I'm billed for the next one 🤔
"Your order is processing and should be fulfilled within 5-10 business days. However due to higher than normal order volume please allow an additional 3-4 weeks for your crate to be shipped."
That is a common message I have got for the past few months. COVID is very bad in Japan as is affecting the post last month they stopped the post for a few days. That and the olympics will add time
Literally less than 600¥ for everything in this box at any combini. Super overpriced.
That is true but need to add airfare. We have a Japan grocery on far side of town and these imports are like 2 to 3 bucks each. One month I did 50% off and got luck and got a Starbucks tumbler.
Beware, I just got this message so now I'm wondering how I can cancel after the first box ships but before I'm billed for the next one 🤔
"Your order is processing and should be fulfilled within 5-10 business days. However due to higher than normal order volume please allow an additional 3-4 weeks for your crate to be shipped."
Does it not let you cancel immediately? Did you try contacting them
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https://www.tofugu.com/reviews/japan-crate/
It's a neat novelty deal if you live somewhere that you don't have an Asian market. The closest asian market to me is ~2 hours drive each way for me, so not particularly accessable. But this crate is meh supposedly, mainly the customer service. I had a friend who was just going to get one box. When it arrived, it was missing several items, the bigger/more expensive items. She contacted them and they were like "oh, yeah, we had some issues during import, we will put them in the next box"...she was like "ok but I was only getting one box, I wasn't planning on staying subscribed, I want the box I paid for". They wouldn't give her a partial refund or send the items, only solution they would offer is for her to pay for another box at full price to get the items she paid for in her first box. She ended up having to call her credit card company and dispute/do a charge back and her credit card gave her the money back. But it was a big hassle, took multiple calls with her credit card company after lots of email back and forth with Japan Crate trying to resolve it with them before escalating it.
It might be a rare thing to happen, but might want to put it on a credit card that has good customer service just in case.
I do a lot of subscription boxes... I'm in a semi rural area in Tennessee so I don't have as much access to a lot of this. I have come to find I really like Snack Crate. Different country every month. I've gotten some amazing snacks in there, tons of stuff I'd never heard of, and really good - the problem sometimes is I want more of some items but can't find them for purchase anywhere online (they will sell some items from boxes temporarily in their online store, but usually only from their always available stock crates, not the monthly changing ones)! I splurge on their $50/mo box. Sometimes it's a bit delayed since COVID. And they charge you, then buy and import everything, then pack and mail our boxes, usually taking about 3 weeks from payment except for their stock boxes (Hawaii, Japan, Canada, Englas, Germany, Brazil, and I think Israel?). Last month, I got Spain, right now waiting on Morocco. Japanese snacks are neat but I mean....after a while, most of it is same ol same ol. Getting a different country each month means more variety. Spain box had stuff like fried egg flavored potato chips (I stg tasted exactly like fried egg), spicy mango gummies, lots of stuff you wouldn't find in rural Tennessee. But actually good tasting things. I know I get targeted ads on FB for 50% off one box for Snack Crate all the time, so maybe go to their FB page and then wait for the targeted ads to start, lol.
I've tried a number of snack crate sorta things, and they're probably my favorite. Someone stole my delivery off my porch, Snack Crate replaced it within days AND gave me a free drink on top. I sent them a thank you email with a photo of my dog lying by the box, and they flipped saying how cute he was and sent me a package from Chewy with dog treats and toys lol.
Munch Addict has a Japan box and Korea Box with a one time coupon, I tried them for a while but their snacks were often stale, it was all cheap dollar store snacks that weren't different or special and you could get on any online asian grocery for ~$1 ea or less, and didn't really seem different (other than packaging) than stuff easily available in the USA. Very small packs, and nothing really that good that I wanted more of. Plus several times they were over month late sending my box - charged me for March box and I never got Feb - slow to reply to emails, then they promise it's going to ship soon, doesn't, then they say they'll refund you, they don't, then ignore followups trying to get the refund. Munch Addict is pretty shitty, not even worth it with discount.
TryTreats was pretty shit. Hands down some of the worst "snacks" - cheap filler, almost the whole box was rice crackers that I can get at an online asian grocery for $3 for a bag of like 30 packs of 2 of the same brand rice crackers, and 70% of the box was those. It was a $50 box. And the rest was Hichew I could get from Walmart, then a bag of preserved squid. Yuuuup. There's TONS of world snack sub boxes out there right now. Most have some sort of discount on the first box if you look, usually 50% off. Some aren't even worth it at a 50% discount. I mean, import costs are not cheap - yes, you will pay more than the items cost in the country of origin. They have to pay to ship, import fees, and make a profit. So if you live in a huge metro area with access to tons of foreign markets, these may not be for you. But if you don't, or just want to try little bits of stuff without going out shopping buying tons of bigger bags/packages of stuff you've tried, these sort of things might be a good option. But there are tons of snack box subscriptions right now, and at least half are absolutely shit, about 1/4 are just okay, and 1/4 are really actually worth it imo. I'm going to try this crate for 1 month - charging to my cc that I know I can get my money back if they screw me over like they did my friend. Like it's not just about the number of items....a lot of these boxes just send whatever is cheap. I'm up for trying new and different things, that's the point, and I know everybody like different things, but generally there are going to be items that more people like, things that are higher quality. When you send me a box full of rice crackers, plain seaweed strips, and preserved squid? Nah, f off. Snack Crate has consistently sent things that can be unique and not stuff that is like what you can find at Walmart in even more rural USA, but not stuff that is so "out there" or an acquired taste that few would like it. Like fried pumpkin chips (Thailand), the prosciutto chips and fried egg chips (Spain).
Anyway, that's my long rant about junk food from other countries that no one asked for. So, thanks OP, in for 1, we'll see if it's even worth the $25 or not.
Just putting it out there that most snack sub boxes have a 50% off promo for first box - some are codes, some are only from special links from targeted ads on Facebook. Go to a couple snack box subscription services pages and you'll probably start getting ads offering discounts.
P.S. Anyone tried universal yumms? I get shitloads of ads for it and heard a lot of good things, main complaint people seem to have is it's mostly chips and not enough candy VS Snack Crate that some say is too much candy and not enough chips. Universal yumms is about the only one of the big companies left I've not tried. But never got an ad with discount.
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used virtual card so I don't need to cancel...
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Zantra
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank MichaelP7
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank hwada
"Your order is processing and should be fulfilled within 5-10 business days. However due to higher than normal order volume please allow an additional 3-4 weeks for your crate to be shipped."
But the point is, anyway: People buy these boxes for the novelty of it and the ease of access via this company. If I lived in Japan, I wouldn't purchase such a box of course.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
"Your order is processing and should be fulfilled within 5-10 business days. However due to higher than normal order volume please allow an additional 3-4 weeks for your crate to be shipped."
"Your order is processing and should be fulfilled within 5-10 business days. However due to higher than normal order volume please allow an additional 3-4 weeks for your crate to be shipped."
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
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