FAQs about Birchbox

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Here are a few FAQs posted here on Make Up Talk in regards to Birchbox.

Q. How much does it cost?

A. $10 a month. If you purchase a yearly subscription it's $110 which is like getting one month free.

Q. When does Birchbox ship?

A. Birchbox typically ships by the 10th of each month unless there is a delay.

Q. Where are packages shipped from?

A. New Jersey.

Q. How are packages shipped?

A. Typically via ground through Streamlite. As of February 2012, Birchbox also uses UPS Mail Innovations. Some boxes may still be shipped via Streamlite.

Q. How long does shipping take?

A. Depends on your location. Those on the East Coast typically see their boxes within one business week while those on the West Coast may find their boxes take up to 15 business days to arrive.

Q. What's a business day?

A. Monday through Friday. Streamlite and UPS do not work weekends or (major) holidays.

Q. If I don't like my box what can I do?

A. Tweak your profile or cancel your subscription.

Q. How does Birchbox determine what box to send me?

A. Birchbox supposedly uses your profile to pick products you'll like but unfortunately some people still get boxes they don't like. The best thing to do is not to select everything in your profile (Trendy, Classic, Adventurous, etc) select one and work from there. It might take a few months to work it to your benefit but remember if you don't like something in your box you can always cancel your subscription or use Make Up Talk's forums to swap items with other MUT members.

Q. What are Birchbox points?

A. Birchbox points is their way to reward members for providing them feed back on the products they send you. You can also earn points by referring people through a special referral found in your account profile. (Just remember you can't use MUT to post those referral links). For each 100 Birchbox points you earn you can trade it in for $10 credit to use on any full size product sold on Birchbox. You can even stack those points for further savings! 200 pts = $20 credit, 300 pts = $30 credit, etc, etc.

Q. How do I earn Birchbox points?

A. As I mentioned you earn Birchbox points through referring people with your referral link (you earn 50 pts), review the products sent (10 pts per item reviewed) and in some cases if something happens with a product or your box they'll issue you a credit ranging from 10 pts to a 100 pts.

Q. Do the points expire?

A. Yes. Point expire within 365 days from the time it's issued.

Q. Will they take the newer or older points when I redeem the points for merchandise?

A. They take the older points.

Q. If I want to buy something that's $35 and I have 400 points ($40) will they use all 400 points or 350?

A. All 400. In my case I bought my husband the Birchbox Man box ($45) in November (2011) and used 500 points on it not realizing that I'd be "wasting" 50 points. I could have either added on something to bring the total up to $49.95 (like the Lash Card which sells for $4.95) or make the total over and pay the difference out of pocket (like I did with my December order where I paid a little over $5 out of pocket).

Q. How many products are sent out?

A. Depends on the month and on the box. They typically send between four to six items each month ranging from perfume samples to full size cosmetic products.

Q. Do they always send out full size products?

A. No. They send samples ranging from one-time-use products to deluxe size samples.

Q. Do they send out only makeup?

A. No. In fact some boxes in some months contain no makeup products at all and may contain only skin and nail care samples.

Q. Why do they send out food and other junk like coffee coasters?

A. Unfortunately Birchbox doesn't exclusively send out cosmetic products. Their philosophy is to send out products that they like and think you may like. Sometimes it's a hit and sometimes it's a bust. If you want strictly cosmetic samples there are no other services out there that ships strictly makeup, least none I'd recommend.

If you have any questions you would like me to add to this (and of course answer) please ask. :D /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
Q. How do I earn Birchbox points?

A. As I mentioned you earn Birchbox points through referring people with your referral link (you earn 50 pts), review the products sent (10 pts per item reviewed) and in some cases if something happens with a product or your box they'll issue you a credit ranging from 10 pts to a 100 pts.

I have a question on this- in My Account link it said you earn 'loyalty' points by purchasing products.. what does that mean? I guess that doesnt mean actual points to go towards your next purchase, since you didnt list it under the nswer above, correct?

 
Originally Posted by yanelib27 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Q. How do I earn Birchbox points?

A. As I mentioned you earn Birchbox points through referring people with your referral link (you earn 50 pts), review the products sent (10 pts per item reviewed) and in some cases if something happens with a product or your box they'll issue you a credit ranging from 10 pts to a 100 pts.

I have a question on this- in My Account link it said you earn 'loyalty' points by purchasing products.. what does that mean? I guess that doesnt mean actual points to go towards your next purchase, since you didnt list it under the nswer above, correct?
Loyalty points are the same thing as the points earned when reviewing or referring people. For each dollar you spend, excluding any BB points you redeem, you earn 1 point. Say you buy the Benefit Benetint for $29 then you would earn 29 points but if you have 200 BB points and paid only $9 out of pocket then you would earn only 9 BB points. It's pretty similar to Sephora's point system (every $1 you spend at Sephora you earn 1 point) but unlike Sephora's point system (which can only be used to redeem items they pick) you can choose what you want to use your BB points on.

 
Thanks for the info! :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
 

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

Loyalty points are the same thing as the points earned when reviewing or referring people. For each dollar you spend, excluding any BB points you redeem, you earn 1 point. Say you buy the Benefit Benetint for $29 then you would earn 29 points but if you have 200 BB points and paid only $9 out of pocket then you would earn only 9 BB points. It's pretty similar to Sephora's point system (every $1 you spend at Sephora you earn 1 point) but unlike Sephora's point system (which can only be used to redeem items they pick) you can choose what you want to use your BB points on.


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

How do you find out what box you're getting (exp. https://www.birchbox.com/shop/birchbox-1/February-2012/February12box1)and when it'll be shipped before you actually get it, because I see a lot of people on the BB forums saying what box they're getting, and when it'll ship. I know it sounds stupid, but I'm really stumped!
Don't feel stupid because it's a common question.

There are several ways you can tell what box you're getting before actually getting your box. The first is with the tracking info. Birchbox didn't use Streamlite this month and the company they used UPS Mail Innovations which gives you a package ID including a tracking number. For example, my package ID listed on the UPS Mail Innovations site is listed as PackageID: MI12003bb1800097. Someone else figured out that the box # is right after the letters BB. So in my case according to the tracking info I'm getting BB18. I believe this is incorrect in my case because according to my Birchbox account info (which is the primary the way I look) my box is suppose to be box 12.

The second way, which is more accurate, is to look at your account AFTER the 10th of the month. At that point in time Birchbox will post what you're getting for that current month. Log into your account, click on BOX at the top of the screen then scroll down and it will your products for that month but it won't tell you which box it is. To find out exactly what box you're getting scroll down further to the box history and you'll see your current box (plus tracking # - mine is blackened out) as well as any past boxes. If you hover over the link (FEBRUARY 2012) and look down in the status window (I use FireFox 10 which shows the status on the bottom left hand of the screen) you'll see the link #. If you click on it the url will take you to that box #. In my case it's https://www.birchbox.com/shop/birchbox-1/february-2012/february12box12 .



The third way is AFTER you get your box and in case you got the box BEFORE the 10th of the month. In that case Birchbox typically lists the box # some where on the box as either AUGBB6 or BB15. This month from what I've been told it's listed in a different way but it's on the box just look for the letters BB and then a # right after.

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

How do you find out what box you're getting (exp. https://www.birchbox.com/shop/birchbox-1/February-2012/February12box1)and when it'll be shipped before you actually get it, because I see a lot of people on the BB forums saying what box they're getting, and when it'll ship. I know it sounds stupid, but I'm really stumped!
A shipping confirmation is emailed to them and then a couple days later, the website shows what box you are getting.

 
Thank you so much! Makes a lot of sense. I really appreciate the detail. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

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

Don't feel stupid because it's a common question.

There are several ways you can tell what box you're getting before actually getting your box. The first is with the tracking info. Birchbox didn't use Streamlite this month and the company they used UPS Mail Innovations which gives you a package ID including a tracking number. For example, my package ID listed on the UPS Mail Innovations site is listed as PackageID: MI12003bb1800097. Someone else figured out that the box # is right after the letters BB. So in my case according to the tracking info I'm getting BB18. I believe this is incorrect in my case because according to my Birchbox account info (which is the primary the way I look) my box is suppose to be box 12.

The second way, which is more accurate, is to look at your account AFTER the 10th of the month. At that point in time Birchbox will post what you're getting for that current month. Log into your account, click on BOX at the top of the screen then scroll down and it will your products for that month but it won't tell you which box it is. To find out exactly what box you're getting scroll down further to the box history and you'll see your current box (plus tracking # - mine is blackened out) as well as any past boxes. If you hover over the link (FEBRUARY 2012) and look down in the status window (I use FireFox 10 which shows the status on the bottom left hand of the screen) you'll see the link #. If you click on it the url will take you to that box #. In my case it's https://www.birchbox.com/shop/birchbox-1/february-2012/february12box12 .



The third way is AFTER you get your box and in case you got the box BEFORE the 10th of the month. In that case Birchbox typically lists the box # some where on the box as either AUGBB6 or BB15. This month from what I've been told it's listed in a different way but it's on the box just look for the letters BB and then a # right after.



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

Don't feel stupid because it's a common question.

There are several ways you can tell what box you're getting before actually getting your box. The first is with the tracking info. Birchbox didn't use Streamlite this month and the company they used UPS Mail Innovations which gives you a package ID including a tracking number. For example, my package ID listed on the UPS Mail Innovations site is listed as PackageID: MI12003bb1800097. Someone else figured out that the box # is right after the letters BB. So in my case according to the tracking info I'm getting BB18. I believe this is incorrect in my case because according to my Birchbox account info (which is the primary the way I look) my box is suppose to be box 12.

The second way, which is more accurate, is to look at your account AFTER the 10th of the month. At that point in time Birchbox will post what you're getting for that current month. Log into your account, click on BOX at the top of the screen then scroll down and it will your products for that month but it won't tell you which box it is. To find out exactly what box you're getting scroll down further to the box history and you'll see your current box (plus tracking # - mine is blackened out) as well as any past boxes. If you hover over the link (FEBRUARY 2012) and look down in the status window (I use FireFox 10 which shows the status on the bottom left hand of the screen) you'll see the link #. If you click on it the url will take you to that box #. In my case it's https://www.birchbox.com/shop/birchbox-1/february-2012/february12box12 .



The third way is AFTER you get your box and in case you got the box BEFORE the 10th of the month. In that case Birchbox typically lists the box # some where on the box as either AUGBB6 or BB15. This month from what I've been told it's listed in a different way but it's on the box just look for the letters BB and then a # right after.
 Thank you so much! Very clear, and I appreciate the detail :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
 

 
Hey, just joined BB two months ago. How long do the featured products stay in the store? For example, if I wanted to save up points for a couple of months before I get a higher priced item, will it still be for sale six, eight months later?

 
Features items stay on sale (that is free shipping) for 30 days. They normally don't do sales like a dollar off but the longer you stay the more chances for a promo code to be sent at three months, six months, nine months and a year.

 
Thanks! That actually cleared up another random question I had, ha, but what I was wondering was if that item will still be available for purchase? Do they rotate items out every few months or does the online store just continue expanding to include new items?

 
I have a question that I tweeted to Birchbox a few days ago but never got a response. I couldn't find any information on their site regarding this specific question either, so here goes:

What is Birchbox's return policy for products that were purchased exclusively with points?

I have 770 BB points ($70) and was planning on splurging them all on one product that costs $65, but since I haven't tried the product, I'm worried I wouldn't like it. Can we return items that were purchased exclusively with points? And if so will the points/credit be refunded?

 
If an item was paid for with points and ends up returned then points are typically refunded.

https://www.birchbox.com/faq If you are not 100% satisfied with your full-size product purchase, you can return it to Birchbox for a full refund within 90 days of the purchase date. Return shipping is free of charge to you. If you're not happy with your full-size product, for any reason, just contact us at [email protected] and we will provide you with a free return label. Once your return is received and inspected your refund will be processed and a credit will be automatically applied to your credit card or original method of payment within 7 days. Please note that depending on your credit card company, it may take an additional 2-10 business days after your credit is applied for it to post to your account. Note: Please do not send your purchase back to the manufacturer.


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


Don't feel stupid because it's a common question.

There are several ways you can tell what box you're getting before actually getting your box. The first is with the tracking info. Birchbox didn't use Streamlite this month and the company they used UPS Mail Innovations which gives you a package ID including a tracking number. For example, my package ID listed on the UPS Mail Innovations site is listed as PackageID: MI12003bb1800097. Someone else figured out that the box # is right after the letters BB. So in my case according to the tracking info I'm getting BB18. I believe this is incorrect in my case because according to my Birchbox account info (which is the primary the way I look) my box is suppose to be box 12.
Did we ever find out if this is correct? Mine says bb18. My email said it'd be a TV box though and the shipping is stuck (lame).

 

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