Box Monthly? Scam?

[kawaiimeows]

zadi, you are THE BEST! along with every other girl here who has stood up against scammers 

 

[MissLindaJean]

Well put ladies! We have questions and concerns regarding ANY business when red flags come up. This is a GREAT forum for being able to share opinions, ideas, reviews, and knowledge with others, be it good or bad. Buyer beware and in this day and age, that is true!

 

[zadidoll]

My boss edited my post for a detail I original wrote.

I originally wrote:
People reviewing products from beauty box companies is very popular on MakeupTalk and generates us over 1.1 million views per month. We have over 75,000 members of which we have over 2,000 users and guests per day visiting our forums - including the owners of various companies, representatives for various beauty box companies and even celebrities.

My boss updated it with this as he has the new figures: People reviewing products from beauty box companies is very popular on MakeupTalk and generates us over 1.7 million views per month. We have over 75,000 members of which we have over 27,000 users and guests per day visiting our forums - including the owners of various companies, representatives for various beauty box companies and even celebrities.

 

[hrseangel]

Lori Peters/MyHairistalking/Scriptright/Boxmonthly/Daterules/NuttyKitty.......

Since you lurk here and feel the need to defend yourself...

HOW as a consumer/former one time paid subscriber of BOXMONTHLY can I use the products provided to me by your "business" when they are (presumed) to have been RECYCLED from other subscription services & company's. Are they safe, are they expired (some have no date because some items had been removed from original packaging!)

There were OBVIOUS Birch Box items, Target Bag items, samples from Sephora, and a used plastic dirty pouch included in my July "box". The packaging is questionable being an actual product shipping box with Glossy Box packaging material.

As a consumer who PAID for a service I expect at least NEW product/samples or items. This was a paid purchase for a monthly subscription providing products from company's; NOT a box filled with recycled items from your personal stash.

So BOXMONTHLY what am I to do????Kkeep quiet and not share my experience with others...? Not likley.... I am an UNHAPPY consumer of your service. I will review it on every site I can find and post onto every OPEN INTERNET PUBLIC FORUM that I can. I will share my experiences on my FACEBOOK WALL and I will blog about them. The information I provide will be my own opinion, and experience. I believe the First Ammendment protects me in that aspect.

I actually wasn't going to comment anymore on this thread because it is my own fault I was scammed. Should have researched you better and looked into the BOXMONTHLY name. Shame on me. When you feel the need to come onto this site and start pointing fingers, throwing around legal jargon, and saying people are picking on you; you open yourself up for MORE criticism.

 

[LunaFaerie79]

Just a quick note. I called the NY State Department (and even recorded the call with my webcam to protect myself) to ask about business lic. for Lori Peters AND Box monthly. No such license exists for either Lori Peters OR Box monthly and I was encouraged to contact NY consumer protection. I am not sure if I am allowed to post the link (?) but I am calling them now to ask questions regarding b.m. and see what can be done to prevent anyone else from being the target of this whole mess.

 

[Beautymomma]

Just a quick note. I called the NY State Department (and even recorded the call with my webcam to protect myself) to ask about business lic. for Lori Peters AND Box monthly. No such license exists for either Lori Peters OR Box monthly and I was encouraged to contact NY consumer protection. I am not sure if I am allowed to post the link (?) but I am calling them now to ask questions regarding b.m. and see what can be done to prevent anyone else from being the target of this whole mess.

Awesome investigating!! Good job! I am loving this forum & I just found it recently & joined a few days ago. You ladies rock! It's awesome to know that coming here & investigating together how much can be accomplished! I wish I had joined sooner & brought this to every ones attention when I found B.M. a couple weeks ago. It's nice to know that this community exists and will help to figure out things if need be and warn people if things aren't on the up and up with a sub box. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[OiiO]

Zadi, I have a sick weapon I wish to donate to your arsenal /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

http://www.webcitation.org/ makes a permanent point-in-time archived record of any site on the internet. This will forever serve as proof of something someone had on their website at any point, and there is nothing they can do to get it deleted (because it's public information duhhhh). It's better than taking a screenshot because it acts like an actual website, it archives the entire page with all links and pictures still active so you can see what they are and where they go if you mouseover.

Enjoy! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Originally Posted by zadidoll /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Since she harps about her personal information being made public on her Box Monthly blog she wrote her name down in several areas - which she's now removed - however it's still in this blog entry: http://boxmonthly.com/2012/07/23/how-to-get-noticed-by-brands-from-she-knows-i-was-quoted/'>http://boxmonthly.com/2012/07/23/how-to-get-noticed-by-brands-from-she-knows-i-was-quoted/

Her full name is also mentioned on the Box Monthly website in these posts:

http://boxmonthly.com/2012/07/23/how-to-get-noticed-by-brands-from-she-knows-i-was-quoted/

http://boxmonthly.com/2012/07/12/i-was-quoted-about-boxmonthly-in-dunn-bradstreet/

http://boxmonthly.com/2012/07/01/lori-peters-interview-with-klutchclub-ceo-julie-bashkin/

On Box Monthly's website she has Youtube videos which of course on her Youtube channel she has her full name:

http://www.youtube.com/user/scriptright

On the youtube channel she has her other websites, twitter and facebook links posted which of course ALL HAVE HER NAME ON IT. Privacy? On public websites? Hardly. Since we've been threatened about posting her personal information I've begun to take screenshots of her websites, Twitter account, Facebook account and all the other public sites in which she posts her personal information.

Since her name is plastered all over her websites it's public information. Her personal address and phone number have NOT been posted on MUT and will NOT be per our own Terms of Service.

 

[LunaFaerie79]

Originally Posted by Beautymomma /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Awesome investigating!! Good job!

I am loving this forum & I just found it recently & joined a few days ago. You ladies rock! It's awesome to know that coming here & investigating together how much can be accomplished! I wish I had joined sooner & brought this to every ones attention when I found B.M. a couple weeks ago. It's nice to know that this community exists and will help to figure out things if need be and warn people if things aren't on the up and up with a sub box.

Aww thanks. Now I'm blushing.

 

[Boxmonthly]

I don't understand the goal of this. When will you be happy?  I have refunded money, cancelled all subscriptions.  Have no business whatsoever.  I never ever shop at Target.  Never got Glossy Box.  Those bags were bought off Birchbox website and they came sealed and were never used.  No products were expired.  No products were used.  I never peeled off any labels.  You say I should talk it out, yet when I say something it seems to make it worse.  I don't know how to make you stop torturing me. name and information.  What is it you want?  I wish I could give each one of you who write horrible things about me $1000 and maybe then you would make it stop.  you don't seem to like getting cosmetics or good hair products at least from me.   Too bad.  I had some great stuff coming for next month, but I cancelled everything, stopped companies from sending me more products and no longer want any part of this.

I have been a journalist for many years and have relationships with PR companies and beauty companies.  This is why I have been trusted.  I have written reviews for companies and products professionally and they are happy with my work. 

I gave the first person whose product leaked an immediate refund.  I really have no clue about situations with Birchbox, beauty army etc..I only just started on  here. 

I don't know what to do.  I am not hiding anything.  I have never hurt anybody.  Never intended to.  I am a good, honest person.  Really.  Please, please tell me how to get you all to become bored with this topic and move onto other things.  It's really nice that this website makes money off subscription boxes. I am very happy for you all.  I am just glad I didn't give you my money to advertise on here as that would have been a waste.

If any of you extremely intelligent, wonderful, beautiful, influential, thorough, resourceful women would give me one inkling of what I am supposed to do at this point, I would be forever grateful.  Thank you for your time.

 

[Beautymomma]

I don't understand the goal of this. When will you be happy?  I have refunded money, cancelled all subscriptions.  Have no business whatsoever.  I never ever shop at Target.  Never got Glossy Box.  Those bags were bought off Birchbox website and they came sealed and were never used.  No products were expired.  No products were used.  I never peeled off any labels.  You say I should talk it out, yet when I say something it seems to make it worse.  I don't know how to make you stop torturing me. name and information.  What is it you want?  I wish I could give each one of you who write horrible things about me $1000 and maybe then you would make it stop.  you don't seem to like getting cosmetics or good hair products at least from me.   Too bad.  I had some great stuff coming for next month, but I cancelled everything, stopped companies from sending me more products and no longer want any part of this. I have been a journalist for many years and have relationships with PR companies and beauty companies.  This is why I have been trusted.  I have written reviews for companies and products professionally and they are happy with my work.  I gave the first person whose product leaked an immediate refund.  I really have no clue about situations with Birchbox, beauty army etc..I only just started on  here.  I don't know what to do.  I am not hiding anything.  I have never hurt anybody.  Never intended to.  I am a good, honest person.  Really.  Please, please tell me how to get you all to become bored with this topic and move onto other things.  It's really nice that this website makes money off subscription boxes. I am very happy for you all.  I am just glad I didn't give you my money to advertise on here as that would have been a waste. If any of you extremely intelligent, wonderful, beautiful, influential, thorough, resourceful women would give me one inkling of what I am supposed to do at this point, I would be forever grateful.  Thank you for your time.

First of all you need a business license and a sellers license are first two items on the list when you start a company. Your packaging was sloppy and not professional at all. Youve subscribed to sample boxes how could you think shoving everything in a plain shipping box with a homemade printout is ok? How could you think using another companies box in the beginning was ok? Or to put on your website that you won an award for best sub box for 2012? When you had just started. To start a business with lies brings up red flags. Also invest in a good website not a free wordpress account. Clean up old accounts that you have had in the past. There is lots you could do to be successful but you didn't do any of them. If all you've said here is true about your background you should already know most of this. I don't run a business but it seems to me that you tried to start this from your livingroom which isn't a bad thing a lot of companies start small but you did it so sloppily and without going through the proper channels to start a business. That's just a start of it. I personally didn't receive a box but I would have been pissed if I had gotten a "high end" beauty/lifestyle box and ended up with some crap stuffed in a box. You know as well as we do that not every product you shipped out was new or backing you in any way. It seems you had maybe three companies and then you found extra stuff to throw in for filler to make it look like your "company" did more or better then the legit companies. Idk go to business school and learn some stuff because honestly what you've done here was not a business at all but what seems to be a fly by night make a quick buck scam.

 

[morre22]

I still have yet to get a box OR a refund... I would rather have the refund at this point.

 

[sky595]

Originally Posted by Boxmonthly /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I have been a journalist for many years and have relationships with PR companies and beauty companies.  This is why I have been trusted.  I have written reviews for companies and products professionally and they are happy with my work. 

Well, I'm not sure if you're just trying to suck up to us now, but I'd like to offer some constructive criticism. Please don't take this as an attack. I work as a consumer researcher at a major university, so perhaps something will be of worth to you.

First, obtain a business license and proper documentation for your company. While you may have had good intentions, what you were doing with Box Monthly (aside from how it came across to your customers) was illegal.

Make or continue to foster relationships with beauty companies. Many beauty bloggers work very hard to even build relationships. None of us can prove that you received your samples legitimately or not. Several red flags were raised that concerned your subscribers. Why did everyone receive different boxes? Why were some of those samples suspiciously the same as some of the samples received in other recent beauty subscriptions? Why are you using images from other companies and claiming them as your own? These are things that just didn't sit well with your subscribers, and after this debacle, probably won't sit well with the network of beauty companies that may have heard about you. Plan these relationships in advance and be patient before promising "$85 worth of products every month". From what I learned about Zadi's visit to MyGlam, these companies have boxes planned MONTHS in advance. Were you prepared for that?

Listen to your customers. They give great feedback and are inevitably the ones determining your success. Calling them out, making accusations, and simply ignoring the issue will get you nowhere and will result in nothing but bad press. IF you ever decide to open another business, perhaps seek out a market research firm to find out WHAT your potential customers want and WHO they are in order to maximize your brand equity. One issue I noticed right off the bat was that your vision, as someone else noted, seemed sort of broad. A "life improvement" box is sort of vague and does not show much focus. It essentially leaves you the leeway to throw anything into it and file it under "life improvement" based upon who gives you samples that month. If you have any sort of relationship with a college or university, approach their graduate programs for free market research studies. Graduate students are DYING to find projects to work on, and will work for cheap or free in exchange for experience.

You mentioned that you went to school for PR, have several relationships with beauty/entertainment companies, and are well-received as a journalist. A quick scan on your Facebook pages, blog, and LinkedIn show several spelling/grammatical errors. I'm not here to be the language police because I'm sure I am not perfect, but anything with YOUR NAME on it in a public setting is a reflection of your abilities. Look at it as a personal resume, even if not intended to be. Frequent spelling errors, especially when citing yourself as a "writer", would not make many view you as a true professional. I know editors and writers that spend hours scouring their own work for tiny errors because it is a reflection of their work.

In addition, as journalist/writer that is well-received, make your work available as you build your brand. What have you done? Who have you interviewed? Where have you worked? We're just curious to get to know YOU. Post some of these articles or interviews online somewhere, or send us the links. Your resume states you've blogged for AOL, Huffington Post, and Good Day LA. There must be records of these articles somewhere. Any good professional/academician knows that you showcase ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you've done to make yourself credible, reliable, experienced, and committed. 

I'm sure many of the ladies here would be happy to give you additional advice, IF they are not already insulted by the demeaning attitude you've had towards this community. But please, most importantly, don't lie. It just makes things worse. Don't lie and don't use content/images of other companies to promote your own. That will find you in a whole heap of trouble much messier than a forum of disgruntled beauty lovers.

Best of luck to you, truly.

 

[LunaFaerie79]

Lori so far the only thing you have done is insult the panel of folks on this thread, threaten them and give out pity party invites. You have been asked legitimate questions and have yet to provide an answer to a single one. You have been asked if you have a business or sellers license in the state of NY. You did not answer. You have been asked to provide proof that you are not reselling items from other monthly subscription companies. Again, no comment from you, yet here you go yet again with another “poor me! you are mean girls!†rant. Again you tell us you are a famous PR rep and so highly sought after in NYC. Do you think none of us live close enough to NYC to check out every single thing you claim you are? Let me tell you something, I know I am not the only one to call over to New York today and ask about your background. No license in the state of NY, no mention of you on Huffington, and I called the NYC Internet Bureau and spoke with a wonderful woman who is mailing me forms to fill out about box monthly, nutty kitty, Lori Peters, etc. Want to know why I am pursuing this (your company) like a rabid dog? Because I do NOT take being threatened lightly. I do not take scams lightly. I do not lie down and accept being screwed over (or watch others get screwed over) by a person claiming to be a business thats a sham because this is freaking America and I don’t have to.

By the way, we all have sob stories or things that have made our lives hard at times. I could write a book that would literally run circles around you. The bigger part is I can back everything I say up because I tell the TRUTH. I do not post pictures on my Facebook and claim they are mine if they are not. I have not opened a business and sold or resold fake/used products to honest unsuspecting women and then blame THEM for being upset at me. I would suggest you go re-read every post made and answer people honestly and with some sense of decorum because rants and pity stories are better saved for girls’ night out or your shrink.  Good day.

 

[LunaFaerie79]

" I wish I could give each one of you who write horrible things about me $1000 and maybe then you would make it stop"

Sorry but some of us would not accept the money. My opinions and research is based on finding the truth and facts about your company. That is not something you can buy off. I would rather have my dignity and tell the truth. Maybe you should realize that if you were just honest and told the truth you would not have to go offering people money. Honesty will ALWAYS be free and priceless.

Good Day

 

[sky595]

Originally Posted by LunaFaerie79 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

" I wish I could give each one of you who write horrible things about me $1000 and maybe then you would make it stop"

Sorry but some of us would not accept the money. My opinion and research is based of finding the truth and facts about your company. That is not something you can buy off. I would rather have my dignity and tell the truth. Maybe you should realize that if you were just honest and told the truth you would not have to go offering people money. Honesty will ALWAYS be free and priceless.

Good Day

Smack dowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn.

You're completely right on all accounts though, and we ALL have a right to be angry and alarmed. I thought I would write something helpful that maybe could benefit others that are genuinely interested in starting a similar company while giving her the very slim benefit of the doubt. I think we've dug up enough evidence to prove otherwise. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, I'm sort of expecting her to "take" my advice (literally) and post it as her own "expert advice" on a blog somewhere. Whatever lady....

 

[Beautymomma]

I'm sort of expecting her to "take" my advice (literally) and post it as her own "expert advice" on a blog somewhere. Whatever lady....

Very true. I hadnt thought about that. Not that I gave our anything that normal person wouldn't realize when starting a business. Lol

 

[nelliebelle1197]

Wow.  I can't even fathom the motivations here.....

 

[calexxia]

Originally Posted by nelliebelle1197 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Wow.  I can't even fathom the motivations here.....

Profit.

 

[nelliebelle1197]

I meant more for the uhhhh..... wacky ... posts!

Originally Posted by calexxia /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Profit.

 

[calexxia]

Originally Posted by nelliebelle1197 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I meant more for the uhhhh..... wacky ... posts!

Why does a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar loudly proclaim, "I didn't do it! You're mean!"?

Same concept.

But also, by getting so virulently defensive, IF someone is inclined to sub down the road (ha) and actually finds this thread, then the protestations from the company owner could easily sway the "not too bright" into coming up off the cash.