Birchbox Promo Codes

[TippyAG]

Quote: Originally Posted by kawaiimeows /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  They've always done the perk for annual subs, usually several times a year. And I felt like those were always to reward long term fans and get them to commit money up front, not draw in a mass number of subs. But monthly perk codes for monthly subs didn't become commonplace until the end of 2013/beginning of 2014, is what I'm saying.
Gotcha. That makes sense.

 

[barbyechick]

Problem is a lot of people read on blogs that the code was for 200 points. I am unsubscribing to my additional boxes, mostly because I wanted to anyways but kept getting pulled back in with the codes. The lack of communication, not just saying "oh well, our bad', and giving back some people's points but not everyone was just the final straw to cancel. I'll still keep my main sub as I like getting the box, but I probably won't rave about birchbox like I used to (they have been having other issues as it is). Also what is up with them constantly being out of pick twos come on people!!

From that point of view I totally get it, if to people this is just a last straw then it's understandable. I'm annoyed at a couple of things that just can't be good for their business anyway like the changing warehouse stuff and it seems like 3 months in a row my box didn't actually get picked up till the 11/12 when they say the 10. Oh boy are there other issues lol ...but I do think the bloggers who promoted it should have been clear it was a glitch. The code was for 100 and a third party was saying it was for more. I dont think that itself is on birchbox and as such any new subber shouldn't be under the impression that BB was shady. That's all. I'm not here to say don't complain, hey I say you gotta rant somewhere haha. Just wanted to say I don't think it was shady or worth being the only reason to hate them.

 

[easybreezy]

It seems like they are trying to do too much at once and overwhelming themselves.  A warehouse move AND opening their first brick-and-mortar at the same time?  Maybe they could handle both at once if they were more experienced with the logistics of these types of issues, but obviously they (or at least the warehouse portion) were not planned very well.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kyuu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I'm wondering if they're having subscription number issues. I somewhat doubt it, but then why have they been having this, i don't know what else to call it, membership drive since February then? In Feb BB100 was active. In March, it was cases and freebie addons from Benefit and then eventually BB100 was active again. April had more BB100 and SFBB100, which has also been active for the May month. They're practically giving out the boxes for free to get people to shop their stores.... I wonder if there's something else amiss.
This article in the NY Times doesn't really explain why, but it confirms they are pushing a membership drive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/business/birchbox-seller-of-beauty-products-steps-out-from-web-with-a-store.html?_r=0

Quote:   The company has raised only $12 million so far from a variety of venture firms, though Birchbox is planning a more ambitious round of fund-raising soon.

Ms. Beauchamp and Ms. Barna will not say when or whether they will open stores in other cities. The New York location will be a laboratory of sorts. They recognize it will need a different type of employee from those who sit in front of screens in their airy Chelsea headquarters.

And they are clear that they do not expect the store to be a moneymaking operation.

“We are not focused on profitability, we are focused on hypergrowth,†Ms. Beauchamp said. “We like the idea of building a store along with the business.â€

I think someone posted another article a few months ago that mentioned something about their funding plans, but I don't remember much about it.

 

[kawaiimeows]

I sent a follow up email and they actually credited back my 100 points.

 

[jennm149]

Fourth paragraph from the end mentions "a more ambitious round of fundraising." Oh boy, I hope this isn't Julep post-fundraising all over again.

 

[kawaiimeows]

Fourth paragraph from the end mentions "a more ambitious round of fundraising." Oh boy, I hope this isn't Julep post-fundraising all over again.

Could you elaborate? I haven't followed julep in a while.

 

[Jeaniney]

Sorry if this is venturing too far off topic.. but I feel they're not necessarily making the best decision by aiming for a brick-and-mortar store(s). They have thrived as a company by engaging customers with monthly boxes, fun codes and promos, and the point system. What will set their brick-and-mortar store(s) apart from the other tons of beauty shops? I like the idea of creating your own box, but that is easy and has been successful as the pop-up shop. Obviously the pop-up shop has significantly lower overhead and can be moved around the city/country to where the beauty-related events are. Maybe I'm just not seeing their vision of the value/ROI/uniqueness of a brick and mortar store.

 

[jennm149]

Fourth paragraph from the end mentions "a more ambitious round of fundraising." Oh boy, I hope this isn't Julep post-fundraising all over again.

Could you elaborate? I haven't followed julep in a while.

Deteriorating customer service, changing warehouse locations, crummy shipping (DHL), giving old products new names and marketing them as "new" items, promos to attract new subscribers while not treating current ones well. The worst is that they took away the option to skip for new subscribers, but did it retroactively for people who had signed up within about a month of the announcement and billed it as "an exciting new benefit" under which subscribers could "earn" a skip. I certainly give Katia and Hayley a tremendous amount of respect for what they built. But there's a fine line between running a business that builds the kind of loyalty BB has from its customers and being a business that generates the kind of returns investment companies want to see. The customer experience has sometimes been so responsive even ladies here think it's too much (e.g, getting points for something minor). But to go so quickly from that to the shipping issues, taking away points with no notice, etc is going to be a tough transition for

 

[ashleygo]

I honestly thought it was strange when they introduced the aces program. I wonder if pick twos will become no more and lots of other things change as the focus on the aces program. The whole things is makings me super uneasy. I have really enjoyed my birch boxes, but I think if things keep down hill I might reconsider.

 

[deactivateduser232015]

Quote:
Originally Posted by kawaiimeows /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Could you elaborate? I haven't followed julep in a while.
Oh? What did you say?

 

[shadowcat78]

Quote: Originally Posted by alpina0560 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Not to add fuel to the fire, but yesterday when I noticed my points were gone, I immediately e-mailed Birchbox. I had been in the middle of transferring the points to gift cards, and the site was acting really funky so I could only do one gift card at a time, then check out, then go back and get another. When I was going to purchase the second gift card, the site completely froze up, so I had to restart my browser. I purchased my second gift card with no problem, then went to buy my third, when I realized the "upload error" had taken the 100 points away, so at this point I had no idea they were taking those points away from everyone, until I came on here an hour or so later! Anyway- here is my email to them, and their response: 

Spoiler

My email:   Hi Birchbox,

I am seeing an "upload error" on my account, when I look at my previous purchases. I went to purchase a gift card, and used points to do so, and it would not load to the cart so I logged out and logged back in. When I logged back in I saw that the points were deducted from my account but the gift card had not been purchased. Can you please correct this?

 
 
 
Their response:
Hi Kathy,

Thanks for being in touch! I'm so sorry for the trouble here. This was our technical error and I have added the 100 points back to your account. You are all set. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Please let me know if you need help with anything else. You can also give us a call at 877-487-7272 (9a-5p EST) and we'd be happy to assist you.

Cheers,

Brian
Discovery Specialist
So was it really a "technical error"?

I sent a message to Birchbox yesterday when I noticed the points had been removed, but I haven't received a reply back yet.

 

[jbrookeb]

Last month I had a strange round of canceling and resubbing over the course of a few hours. After I noticed three charges on my cc, it got me to thinking. Every time we cancel and resub with a new promo code, we pay them upfront for a month. If thousands of subscribers did that at once, say when a new promo code came out, they would have tens of thousands of dollars coming in immediately. Money they wouldn't have had on an ordinary day. Add to that the promo "glitch" that gave double points and suddenly subbers are opening three, four, maybe five or more accounts, which multiplies their monies coming in astronomically. Now, consider that they're taking half of the "glitch" points away, but some of us have already paid for several boxes that we may not have otherwise taken just for 100 extra points, and some have prepaid for the next month and their option to cancel is suspended. The more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel about the entire situation. I'm beginning to be convinced the "glitch" was intentionally done to bring in new/extra buyers. Why else would they let the code go on so long and then try to quietly deduct points from customers? I have a feeling, the ones that complain will get their points back but they're silently hoping most people will feel like they scammed the system and allow the point deduction to happen, almost in an, "okay, you caught me" manner.

 

[jbrookeb]

And I'd put money on their having an employee (or several) as a MuT member who scouts the boards regularly. Any good business knows to have someone on the inside of a forum to get the skinny on what's being said and done. That's just a smart business move.

 

[LethalLesal]

It's not like they even have to actively contribute and "pretend" to be "one of us" anyways since the forum and community is open to be read by anyone at any time. I'm sure all the smart companies have people who scout forums and blogs constantly.

 

[kaybeachgirl]

I would not shop at the brick and mortar store because their brands are so limited.  No Too-Faced, Urban Decay, Clinique, Nars, OCC, and the list goes on!  I think that the points are not very valuable to me because I have found my favorite products and they either don't carry them in my color or at all!

How long is it taking you guys to hear back from customer service?  Thanks in advance /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[CheekyQ]

Last month I had a strange round of canceling and resubbing over the course of a few hours. After I noticed three charges on my cc, it got me to thinking. Every time we cancel and resub with a new promo code, we pay them upfront for a month. If thousands of subscribers did that at once, say when a new promo code came out, they would have tens of thousands of dollars coming in immediately. Money they wouldn't have had on an ordinary day. Add to that the promo "glitch" that gave double points and suddenly subbers are opening three, four, maybe five or more accounts, which multiplies their monies coming in astronomically. Now, consider that they're taking half of the "glitch" points away, but some of us have already paid for several boxes that we may not have otherwise taken just for 100 extra points, and some have prepaid for the next month and their option to cancel is suspended. The more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel about the entire situation. I'm beginning to be convinced the "glitch" was intentionally done to bring in new/extra buyers. Why else would they let the code go on so long and then try to quietly deduct points from customers? I have a feeling, the ones that complain will get their points back but they're silently hoping most people will feel like they scammed the system and allow the point deduction to happen, almost in an, "okay, you caught me" manner.

I almost feel like we're all becoming a little paranoid haha. But the more I think about it, the more I'm sure it wasn't an accident. After all, this isn't the first time there has been a 200 point glitch. The first time was the reason I went from one to three boxes. I doubt they'd make the same mistake more than once, unless they really never caught it the first time around. I'm absolutely over the whole losing my points thing since I wasn't supposed to have them anyway and I knew it. But it is interesting to wonder what's going on. Why would they want so many more people subscribing all at one time? Maybe they're using the "loan" money (huge influx of money that they'll pay back in merchandise) to make big changes!

 

[katyrn]

I emailed them yesterday about canceling my account for a refund. I only opened that account for the 200 points anyway. I don't know if the whole situation really is a conspiracy, but it does bother me that I used the sfbb100 code on a different sub on 3/26. Why did a "glitch" come about? Why was the sfbb100 code working as a 100 point code in March and then "glitched" later? Crazy confused. And kind of disappointed in Birchbox.

 

[kawaiimeows]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kyuu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Oh? What did you say?
If you're talking about the follow up email I sent to birchbox (that wasn't what was quoted) I just mentioned I thought it was misleading because I had the points for six days before they did anything, and thanked them for letting me know what was up, and then she just credited them back and said sorry for the trouble.

Honestly, I wouldn't even have cared if I got the points back or not, I'm just all about companies fixing glitches immediately if they're serious about them.

 

[Kelly Silva]

Quote: Originally Posted by kawaiimeows /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  If you're talking about the follow up email I sent to birchbox (that wasn't what was quoted) I just mentioned I thought it was misleading because I had the points for six days before they did anything, and thanked them for letting me know what was up, and then she just credited them back and said sorry for the trouble.

Honestly, I wouldn't even have cared if I got the points back or not, I'm just all about companies fixing glitches immediately if they're serious about them.
What I don't get is if it was a "glitch" that they took away 100 points, then why isn't everyone being credited them again, and why is it taking an email to CS to get them back?

 

[kawaiimeows]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kelly Silva /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  What I don't get is if it was a "glitch" that they took away 100 points, then why isn't everyone being credited them again, and why is it taking an email to CS to get them back?
I'm going to chalk it up as CS rep inconsistency. I know being a CS rep ain't easy, but I think birchbox needs to debrief their reps on common issues better so there isn't a wide variety of responses to a widespread happening.