# 08 - SHTF Mystery Box Subscription Review
Well today I have some good news, and some bad news.
First the good news. I decided to start reviewing the SHTF Mystery Box Subscription service. This is a monthly subscription where every month you receive a mystery box with various survival type gear in it.
There are three different monthly subscription levels. Each level increase increases the amount of gear included in the mystery box:
BASIC - $19.99
PRO - $49.99
Includes Everything In The Basic Box PLUS MORE
ELITE - $89.99
Includes Everything In The Basic And Pro Boxes PLUS MORE
How the service is supposed to work is when you subscribe, your first mystery box is shipped out to you immediately without waiting (within 1 to 2 Business Days). Then on the 15th of each month your next mystery box is shipped out to you.
That all sounds good in theory, so I decided to give it a try and see if the service was worth it or not. On August 30th I set up an Elite Subscription for $89.99 per month. I received an email (shown below) that said my first box would be shipped out within 24 to 48 business hours, "Great" I thought, just as described on their website, so it should be here just in time for the September box to be shipped out for me to do this week's review.
Now for the bad news. Today I received an email (shown below) saying that my subscription box was being shipped out to me. Now remember today os the 15th of September, so that is the normal shipping date of my subscription box.
I verified with the bank that my credit card was charged $89.99 for today's mystery box. But if you look closely in the email above, I was also charged $97.98 on August 30th for a mystery box and shipping costs which still has not arrived.
I have not received a reply to my email to them regarding the missing shipment as of this review.
Today's email was the first communication that I have received from the company since I started the subscription on the 30th.
So now I have paid for 2 mystery boxes plus the $7.99 extra shipping on the first one, and still no Mystery Box to review.
Shipping of the monthly boxes is included in the subscription, so today I looked at the September shipment and see that it was shipped via FedEx SmartPost.
SmartPost is the second slowest way possible to ship anything to Hawaii. The only slower way to ship something to Hawaii is Parcel Post which goes via cargo ship from California and takes between 8 to 12 weeks on average to arrive in Hawaii from when it is ordered.
Unfortunately, I have nothing good to be able to rate this subscription service on.
1. Their website description of how the service works when you sign up for it is apparently misleading.
2. There is no communication received letting me know that they forgot to ship my box out, but were getting it right out to me.
3. My credit card has been charged twice, yet have yet to receive anything.
So far from my experience, I can not in good conscience recommend this subscription service to anyone.
SHTF Mystery Box Subscription Service Review:
UPDATE 9-16-17
I received an email reply this morning. Apparently, they are trying to ignore the first time they charged my credit card back in August and pretend it never happened:
Dear RC, Thank you for your inquiry. Your first order was placed on 09/14/17 and the box was shipped out on 09/15/17. That also happened to be the day our monthly boxes go out. So your next box will be mailed out on 10/15/17.
Please feel free to contact us in the future for any issues you may have.
Kristie Customer Service Rep 1-800-956-1667
Previous Episode:
Coming Episodes:
In the next episode we will take at what I feel will be "The #1 Threat In An SHTF Situation".
In upcoming episodes we will also take a look at "Water Purification & Sanitization" as well as "Vacuum Sealed vs. Mylar Bagged Food Storage". We will also take a look at the shelf-life of "Home Canned Foods" and the viability of using them in our emergency supplies.
Also we will have an episode on the need for a Wilderness First Aid training even if you live in a city. We will also take a look at the need for "Sanitation After A Disaster".
