Sample Society May 2015 *Spoilers*

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Thanks @KDramasinPajamas for posting your email responses from Sample Society's customer service. I noticed that their site stated the program was no longer available which concerned me as well. Wasn't sure if that meant it was being canceled or what.

I'm looking forward to trying the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, I've thought about picking that up before and glad I waited. The lip gloss I just got the same shade in my Welcome box from Julep, so will give that away. But I will give everything else a try this month. I need to start using up all these hair products though, they are starting to pile up!

 
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Not accepting new subs or having waitlists is brilliant as far as customer retention. If you know you can't just get back into a sub, you're much more likely to give a bad month or two a pass rather than cancel and wait for spoilers to rejoin.

 
lraien said:
Not accepting new subs or having waitlists is brilliant as far as customer retention. If you know you can't just get back into a sub, you're much more likely to give a bad month or two a pass rather than cancel and wait for spoilers to rejoin.
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I agree, Popsugar has been selling out two months in advance since january or so and I bet their retention figures are great since people arent dumping and resigning up each month because you'll miss boxes the way they've structured it. It sucks when you're used to using coupon codes and subbing and unsubbing though, lol!

 
lraien said:
Not accepting new subs or having waitlists is brilliant as far as customer retention. If you know you can't just get back into a sub, you're much more likely to give a bad month or two a pass rather than cancel and wait for spoilers to rejoin.
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I was only going to do this for a couple of months then quit, and as soon as I saw that the program was suspended I decided to stay on, haha.  But now that I know that spots will eventually open up again I should probably go ahead and cancel (at least until my glossybox sub runs out), I have TOO MANY THINGS!

 
Got my box today, I love it! And all the samples are really big, except the lip gloss, which is still a great size (perfect for purse). The color is beautiful too. The perfume bottle is a miniature version of the full-size, which is so cute - I have a bunch of those types on my vanity & they look adorable. The fragrance is actually really nice, but a little more "autumn" for my taste, so I probably will use it up later this year.

All the other products are deluxe sample size, and will last me a while. That's good, because I have already finished all the samples from last month's tiny sizes. Regardless of the sample sizes though, this is still my favorite box every month. I love that they only use brands that are popular and good quality. I think this month was an especially good deal too.

 
I just got my box too. I totally agree with you @vespergirl. Despite my recent frustration, not being able to do a multi-month subscription.... I love Sample Society every month.

This months samples are generous sizes. I plan to try everything in the box. I am excited to try the Water sleeping mask. I just finished up my Strivectin (it was awesome!).I planned to use the este lauder I got in April's Glossybox next but I might do the water sleeping mask first. I only sample one skin product at a time. If something amazing happens, I want to know which product did it. 

I already tried the Versace. It has a light scent in the bottle. Right after I put it on, I thought ewww no. After about 10 minutes it mellowed out. I think I am smelling jasmine now. You can not always tell right away with perfumes. I will wait to see what it smells like tonight.   

Yay.  What a great box. 

 
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Here's a pic and sizes of each item

IMG_5779.JPG

John Frieda: 1 oz. I've already tried this sample from Target but I think my sister will use this so I'll give it to her.

Julep gloss in graceful; .1 oz, pretty neutral light pink, smells really good! I wish it tasted as good as it smells.

Versace parfum: .17 oz, it's in the nice deluxe sample bottle size

Avene: 1.76 oz, I think ipsy sent these out in the past, I like them for the beach, nice and refreshing

Laneige sleeping mask: .6 oz, I've also tried this from a past Target beauty box, it's nice but nothing I would repurchase, I might also give this to my sister.

Alterna multi vit heat spray: .85 oz, nice spray bottle size but I probably won't use this  since I don't heat style my hair a ton. I think I'm also giving this to my sister. She's going to luck out for her birthday this weekend.

 
I see this as one of three things that are going to happen: 1) They are trying to keep the customers that are loyal subscribers "in" and the ones who like to unsubscribe every now and then "out". The problem with this is that there are many reasons why a person might unsubscribe from the program, like what if they are moving and plan to resume once they get settled? Or what if they are having financial problems and a few months down the road they are okay again and want to resume? So it doesn't make sense and it will cause them to lose customers and money. Not good. Also, they have been around a few years. For they to all of a sudden not be "accepting new subscriptions" right now doesn't make sense. Usually you don't see that unless the box is new and they're just getting started. This tells me they've lost money. Another thing too is that it could be that they have lost too many customers lately and they don't have enough money for a whole lot of samples, meaning limited boxes. Something tells me that might be the case because we all know, judging by the comments on this board that people did not like the original box, still didn't like the new one going on now and cancelled. That isn't good. Either way it spells trouble in the long run.

Or 2) They are going under and the box will be no more. There might be another box or two to give to the subscribers who are still with them and then they'll get the e-mail stating that the program is no more, thanks for being loyal subscribers, etc. And then that'll be it.

Or 3) They may be doing yet another makeover for the future and they won't be taking new people until they get on their feet again. But that's still not good because this new program hasn't even lasted a year and by now they should have something going to be able to keep up and stay in business. This is going to hurt them because people will get tired of them changing stuff up and then it will cause them to lose money.

I loved this subscription the most out of all the ones I've had in the past but I'm glad I canceled after this month's box because it seems to me like they are about to go under or they will change again and create something new but they need to get their stuff together if they're going to continue to be in the subscription box business. I just don't see it happening. I'll be surprised if they last into the new year.

 
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BeautyBar has changed the wording on the Sample Society page. It no longer says "No Longer"

It now reads "We're Sorry, Memberships Aren't Available At This Time." 

I am really glad they changed it. The original wording really did sound like they planned to discontinue it.

 
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queenpans said:
I see this as one of three things that are going to happen...
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I was thinking that they might just want to keep subscriptions at a certain size because they have a hard time getting enough deluxe/full size items when membership is too big.  Last box had great brands but the sizes were microscopic and a lot of people complained.  Maybe they want to lose some subbies so they can offer higher value boxes. I have no idea how sample society ranks in membership compared to other boxes though.

 
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lauradiniwilk said:
I was thinking that they might just want to keep subscriptions at a certain size because they have a hard time getting enough deluxe/full size items when membership is too big.  Last box had great brands but the sizes were microscopic and a lot of people complained.  Maybe they want to lose some subbies so they can offer higher value boxes. I have no idea how sample society ranks in membership compared to other boxes though.
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That would be my guess as well. I think they want the experience to match up with their editorial authority, and they know no one is going to be excited over a vial of perfume and some shampoo/conditioner foils. But to get the needed quantities of deluxe samples from really nice brands, they would have to limit the amount of subscribers.

 
I thought the same thing. It might be a smart move on their part to secure bigger size samples and refine the boxes in general. Also the on and off subscribers will be eliminated that way. (I was one of those. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20"> ) I'm glad I was/am a subscriber at the time they made this change because this is making me want to be part of the program even more. Looking forward to getting my box.

 
Sample Society was one of my very first subscriptions and I have never unsubscribed in more than a year. I thought about it once but then they rebranded with some of the best boxes I've ever seen for a $15 box. That Laura Mercier highlighter is still one of my favorite things.

I think that both Allure and BeautyBar have enough clout to keep this subscription going. 

This is not a sub that allows much coupon use so I really don't think they're having a huge issue with subbing and unsubbing. I mean, it's possible but I'd be surprised.

With that said, the main issue before the rebranding was the fifty million hair products and thirty million samples of Alterna over and over. And what pops up in this box? Alterna. Again. 

So maybe they want to secure some new brand partnerships? I have no idea. 

i really hope they don't bite the dust.  I'm with them to the bitter end (if there is one) because even though I hate perfume vial samples, I appreciate the brands they are able to include.

 
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A poster on MSA (comments section for this month's box review) mentioned that Sample Society's FAQs page now states that SS is morphing into the Allure Beauty Box after the June SS box. Membership will automatically transfer over to the Allure Beauty Box but if you don't want to continue the membership you have to cancel by June 20th. So I guess this is the reason why SS is not taking on any new subscribers...

 
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Ohhhh this also explains why they stopped calling the other one the allure beauty box and are now calling it allure beauty thrills.  Same box / program, different name?

 
I wonder the same thing. I love beauty bar because of the convenience. I shop across all their sites (soap.com etc and have been a customer since they started). Maybe they just want it to be Allure only and nothing to do with Beauty Bar.

 
This month looked perfect for me! Of course though, this month my debit card did not go through and now the subscription is not taking people anymore. They sent me an email about my debit card, I went to their site and tried to fix it, then they send me another one telling me that my subscription has ended because of that just a day later after the first one was sent out! ): Hopefully Allure taking away the SS part will make these boxes later as good as it was this month (for me at least).

 

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