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A Talk With Vapebox Subscription Service
Whether you’re joining the Vapebox family to discover new vape juices, or try out new vape gear, or to simply save money on ejuice, Vapebox has you covered. Getting to know how Vapebox works, and how they are able to prosper in a field with a lot of competition, has convinced me that the right subscription service can have a big impact on the ‘Joys of Vaping’.
Spinfuel VAPE sent Julia Barnes on a fact-finding mission to talk to the powers that be at Vapebox, and bring back an interview that can help Vapers understand why Vapebox blows away the competition. Below is Julia’s interview.
Julia – What was missing with current subscription services that you wanted to address with Vapebox? Did you address them?
Vapebox – We noticed that a lot of the subscription services out there at the time were just e-juice subscriptions, and most of the time you knew what you were receiving so it wasn’t a surprise once you received your order. We wanted to create an all-in-one discovery service where vapers could add new juices and new vape flavors and hardware into to their rotations. This led to the birth of our Enthusiast plan, which comes with hardware and enough e-juice to get you through the month.
Julia – Why are Subscription Services a good idea?
Vapebox – Subscription Services are a great way to save money and discover new products, especially for the vaping community. With so many new products hitting the shelves regularly, subscription services can help vapers connect with products that fit their preferences. Then of course there is the surprise factor, we like to think of it as Christmas every month!
Julia – When did Vapebox launch?
Vapebox – We started taking our first orders back in December of 2013 and our first Vapebox shipped out in January of 2014. We had amazing feedbacks and ever since then, we haven’t stopped surprising the vaping community on a monthly basis!
Julia – Are each customer’s ‘monthly box’ configured individually or are there certain eliquids or, depending on the ‘plan’, hardware choices made for all subscribers?
Vapebox – It really depends on the plan and the preferences an individual has. We work with different e-juice companies every month, so depending on what their preferences are; we pair products that best fit the individual’s selection. The same goes for hardware, we feature at least one piece of hardware for each of the categories (RDAs, RTAs, or Tanks). For example, if a subscriber only has RDA’s selected then they are going to receive a RDA in their box, unless they change their selection. Subscribers are not limited to RDAs, RTAs, or Tanks. We also give out mods occasionally. Depending on their preference, they may receive a regulated mod, or mechanical mod.
So in a way, the Vape box is configured to the individual, but it also depends on the companies we work with for the month and what is in stock.
Julia – Do Vapebox monthly shipments ship on a certain day each month or are they based on when the subscriber signs up?
Vapebox – They are based on when the subscriber signs up. So if a subscriber signs up on March 1st then his or her billing date is preset for the 1st of every month. Subscribers have the option to change their ‘next billing date’ to whichever date they prefer in their dashboard.
Julia – How long after a person subscribes will they wait to receive their first box?
Vapebox – It typically takes 1-3 business days for an order to process. After the order is curated and picked, USPS picks up the order and can take 2-3 days to reach a customer’s doorstep, depending on location. So the whole process takes about a week or less.
Julia – If an eliquid brand wanted to use your service to reach potential new customers, how would they contact you? Do you accept any eliquid brand, or are there certain criteria a brand must meet?
Vapebox – Typically eliquid brands will contact us through our Instagram page, e-mail, or by phone; e-mail and phone are the most effective because they’re easily forwarded to our product manager. We do not accept all brands. We request samples first and have our curation team sample the flavors extensively. We will only pick up juices that we feel our subscribers will enjoy.
Julia – When is the best time for a subscriber to change their personalized ‘palate’ profile so that their next Vapebox reflects the new palate?
Vapebox – Anytime before their next billing date! If adjustments are made after a subscriber has been charged, those changes are not implemented unless they send us an e-mail so we can assure that the changes will take effect for that box.
Julia – After a subscriber has received a Vapebox or two, can they ask that they receive certain brands, or even particular brand flavors?
Vapebox – We do not have the option to request for a certain brand or a particular flavor from a brand. Sometimes the juice brand/flavor may not be in stock
Julia – Although shipping dates are ‘estimates only’, are subscribers guaranteed to receive a new Vapebox each month?
Vapebox – Yes, subscribers are guaranteed a Vapebox after payment has been received. However, there are times when a box may be returned to us. When that happens, we will contact the subscriber and let them know and the box will be reshipped back to the subscriber.
Julia – Subscribers have the opportunity to rate the eliquids and hardware they receive in their Vapebox and earn points that can be spent on your webstore. Has this point system been effective in determining what your subscribers like and dislike?
Vapebox – It has been very effective. The rating system helps Vapebox understand what our subscribers’ likes or dislikes are. Based on those reviews, we may or may not restock the products. As a “Thank you” for the review, Vapebox provides our subscribers with VPBX points for providing feedback. VPBX points could be used for discounts.
Julia – As a part of each ‘plan’ there is a “members only discounts”. Can you explain how this works?
Vapebox – Of course! All our products in our store will show a discounted price once our members are logged in to their account. Members who are subscribed to our subscription service will get a higher discounted price which is automatically reflected on their account. Members are also able to use discount codes, if any, during checkout for more savings!
Julia – The most common complaint we hear about other Subscription Services is the vape juice selected for inclusion into a subscribers ‘box’ are not very good. Much of the eliquid received with other subscription services winds up being tossed in the trash.
With your customized ‘palate finder’ (our words), your subscribers can zero in on flavors and even VG levels they prefer. However, your system takes a step further and allows for subscribers to indicate which flavors he or she dislikes, in addition to what they do like. Are subscribers guaranteed that they will not receive any flavor they have indicated as being “disliked”.
Vapebox – Yes, that is a guarantee! For each order that we get, we have a curator who manually select what goes into each box. If a subscriber has a certain flavor selected in the dislikes, like chocolate for example, our algorithm will filter out chocolate flavors during the curation process. The curator will then approve each order before the packing slip is sent to our warehouse. We don’t want our subscribers to pay for something they won’t like or throw away, so we try our very best to make our palate preferences as precise as possible
Julia – Using your Palate finder tool on the sign up page we noticed that there was no category for ‘tobacco’ flavors, nor was there an option to ‘dislike’ tobacco and menthol flavors (though subscribers can indicate a preference for Menthol). Is this intentional? Do you not include tobacco flavors in your eliquid choices purposely?
Vapebox – Yes, this was intentional. We do not include tobacco flavors in our subscription service because tobacco flavor is somewhat an ‘acquired taste’ and there are only a handful of people who likes that flavor. We wouldn’t want to have a ton of tobacco flavored juices sitting around Menthol, in the other hand, isn’t in our dislikes because if it’s not selected in their preferred section, we will know not to give menthol to them.
Julia – At the end of our interviews we like to turn the floor over to our guests, so that they can tell our readers anything they want them to know. Would you like to share anything else with our readers?
Vapebox – We would like to thank everyone who’s a part of the Vapebox family. We wouldn’t be where we are without the support from our community and our fans. We would also like to thank Spinfuel VAPE for this interview! We aim to surprise all of our subscribers with awesome vape goodies every month! Enjoy your day and happy cloud chasing!
