My opinions (and defense) of foil packets in Subscription Boxes

I am waiting on my third Birch Box subscription to arrive, as well as my second Ipsy bag...and there is one thing I have noticed in watching all of the You Tube 'un boxing' videos and feedback on the respective sites---everyone hates samples that are sent out in foil packets....except me!!!  lol

Here is the most recent Birch Box I received. (November 2013)

People who received similar items in their boxes typically complained that ...

#1)  a 'beauty box' has no right sending out samples of tea (or in other boxes it was chocolate) EVEN THOUGH THE FOOD ITEMS ARE AN EXTRA ITEM AND ARE COMPLETELY FREE IN ADDITION TO THE ITEMS YOU WOULD NORMALLY RECEIVE! and

#2)   without trying the product, feeling how much is in the package or reading the measurement of contents,  looking at the retail value of the full sized item, or in simple terms giving the sample a fair chance they decide it is not a good value for an item in their bag based simply on it's packaging!?  Whatever happened to not judging a book by it's cover? 

Let's look at the "value" of the box.  So we are on the same page as to my meaning...the value is "An amount, as of goods, services, or money, considered to be a fair and suitable equivalent for something else; a fair price or return."  One way that I like to calculate the value of the sample is to take the MSRP of the full size of the sample product that is disclosed to us with our bag, and calculate how much the sample I received would cost.  For example, if the full size is 7 ounces and has an MSRP of $9.99 I know that my 1 ounce sample tube has a value of $1.43.  The same can be done with foil packets and in my opinion SHOULD be done because they do add value to the overall box.

On a little side note, when I am going through my subscription boxes/bags, I like to look at the overall cost of the item and divide it by the number of items in the box.  This months box had SIX items in it (including the tea) so my $10/month cost breaks down to roughly $1.67/item.  If you don't want to count the tea that is still $2/item....anyways,  I like to play a little game where I look at each item and ask myself if it is worth $1.67 to ME?  So far, on every item, the answer has been yes!  IN ADDITiON to that...Birchbox has an a-maz-ing points program that in my opinion is silly not to take advantage of!  Each box has 4-6 items in them.  Each item you receive is eligible for a review which is as simple as logging into your online account and giving feedback- most of which is simple check boxes!  For each review you do, you get 10 points. (or the equivalent of $1.00), for each person who you refer you get 50 points! (equivalent to $5) and finally when you do shop their store, each dollar you spend gets you one point!  Each of these doesn't sound like much on their own but think of it this way....I pay Birchbox $10/month....$5 a month to curate on average five items to send to me at $1/each....this covers their time, storage and shipping it to me.  In turn, they set $5 into my savings account to accumulate for several months-up to a year when I will select items of my choice from the store, and they will ship them to me for free!  ahhhhh it's a beautiful thing when you think of it that way isn't it?!!!   And that is just the straight up physical value- I could do a whole blog post about how they contribute to my life with respects to anticipation of the box, meeting new people on forums who share a liking for them as well, time spent watching other do unboxing, etc.  I simply count myself very lucky to be comfortable enough in my life to be able to afford such luxuries as 'beauty boxes.'  Anyways...where was I?

Let's take a closer look at the foil sample I received.   While I do this keep in mind all those who say that foil packets are 'stupid' and they would rather not get them, and those who when calculate their box go so far as to say "I do not give any value to foil packets."  (gasp)

This is a foil packet that actually contained three separate products...a cleanser, a serum and a moisturizing creme.  I LOVED that I got to sample three different products in the same line because I think they worked well together and I truly believe I got a much better idea of the skin care line than I would have got with just a single sample of one- even if in a larger size!

So here is the breakdown...
the full sized cleanser is $15.50/6 oz
the full sized serum is $29.95/2 oz
the full sized moisturizer is $29.95/2 oz

Each packet in the sample was 0.12oz. So if you calculate that out....
the cleanser was $0.31 worth of product
the serum AND the moisturizer were each $1.80 for a total sample value of $3.91!

So how did our foil packet rank in the actual box I received?  Let's take a look at the breakdown...
remember our sample trio was valued at $3.91
Full sized body wash is 8oz for $19.  Sample size 1 oz so a value of  $2.36
Full sized parfum is 3.4oz for $98.  Sample size was 0.06oz so a value of $1.73
Full sized Dr Jart is 1.7oz for $32.  Sample size was 0,17 so a value of $3.20
Full sized Chella pencil is $18 and we received a full size...so value of $18
although an free item I am including it in my overall value
full sized tea is 15 bags for $9.95.  Sample was 3 bags so value of $1.99

Are you surprized by these numbers at all? If I rank the items in order of value from high to low...
#1.) Chella pencil @ $18  (no surprise)
#2.) our foil packet trio @ $3.91
#3.) Dr. Jart @ $3.20
#4.) body wash @$2.36
#5.) our add on tea bags @ $1.99
and finally
#6.) parfum at $1.73 
So the box I paid only $10.00 to have shipped to my door, arrived with $31.19 worth of product inside PLUS I used the tissue paper in our birthday wrapping supplies saving me from having to buy a package at the dollar store ANNNNNND I re purposed the box and lid to act as dividers in a make up drawer to hold nail art tools and supplies saving me from walking over to Dollar General to buy a couple of those!!!  That is pretty freakin' awesome if you ask me!!!

So back to our humble foil packet sample.  How was it?  It was my favorite sample in two boxes I have received so far!  Yes you heard me correctly....fav-o-rite!  You see...I have been getting AND ENJOYING  foil samples from manufacturers for years and I've learned a couple things about them to maximize my experience.  First...I read the directions!  This sample packaging has been thrown out but I think they were to use a "dime sized" amount.  In any case, I was able to get THREE complete face washes out of this sample!!!  

I've drawn a diagram of how  I "used" these particular foil packets.  The green dotted lines represent the scored lines the manufacturer created.  I first cut off the long stripe along the top to be able to better access the samples.  They were still sealed at this point.  Then while keeping them together as a trio (because I didn't cut the bottom in any way) I pushed the product down to the bottom before I clipped a very small corner off the top of each one.  Once I dispensed the amount the manufacturer recommended I simply pinched the cut opening with my fingers, pushed the contents of that section back down towards the bottom, and then similar to how you would seal a zip lock baggie I used my fingers to "seal" the package back up.  The stickiness of the product inside is usually enough to hold it closed although sometimes a small clothes pin or clip might be necessary.


Here is my argument...when you only pay $10.00 for the whole box each month, you can't accurately NOT calculate $3.91 worth of it's value into the big picture....at least not the way I see it.  I have a tight budget and I certainly can not get away with dismissing any portion of it when it is over 33% of my total!  So why then are so many people upset with foil packet samples?  I haven't totally figured this out yet, but I am here to say that I welcome them, and while just like everyone else I do believe that more is more, I would rather have the higher valued samples sent out to me in a foil packet than to not have them at all.  
I do want to speculate a little bit here however...at the risk of offending some readers I think part of the issue is that we are over privileged and spoiled here in North America.  While we often cringe at the price tag of that bottle of shampoo when we checkout, is reading the label and only using the recommended amount really our priority in our morning shower? or are we more worried about finishing before the baby wakes up, or thinking about our presentation at work today, or what outfit we will wear when we get out?  We simply tip the bottle, pouring out a big blob and get to the task of washing our hair.  Of course I am being a little tongue and cheek here, but I have been guilty of this when measuring things around my home like...say.... laundry detergent!  Who knew that you didn't fill the cap to overflowing for each load!?  lol  Markers inside the cap with measurements for 1...2.....and 3 representing different sized loads and ALL of them are lower than the rim at the top of the lid?!  Well that's the best kept secret!  Let's face it...if we are getting a subscription box, we aren't exactly worried about IF we will have our next meal...or when.  So yes...I am going to claim if you are amongst those who are bitching and complaining endlessly about the foil samples in your box/bag then maybe you should do us all a favor and cancel it and get something that better suits your needs....or better yet, take a moment to calculate it's value, think of how fortunate you are to not "need" this sample, and begin making a donation bag of your own to compile these type of unwanted samples from your subscription boxes and donate them to someone who really would appreciate and see them for what they are worth!  Ask any battered woman in a shelter if she would enjoy this sample and I'm sure she would say yes.


So there you have my defense of the humble foil packet!  I am currently waiting on both an Ipsy and a Birchbox subscription and should I get any more of these reduced packaging/better for the environment samples I will be the first to give them the opportunity to show how great they are...and will continue to sing their praises!!!  Have I changed your mind?  Will you join me?

If you are interested in signing up for a Birchbox monthly subscription for only $10/month  please use my referral code
http://birch.ly/19Kh6mz

and for Ipsy, also only $10/month  please use http://www.ipsy.com/r/1n0o