Birchbox has updated their pricing structure in an altogether too-complex way. The main bonus is that subscriptions will now be paid monthly.

New Subscribers will pay $15 monthly if they commit to a month-to-month subscription. There are decreases in that price for longer term (6+ month) subscriptions.

Here’s the Birchbox Explanation

Today we shared that we’re evolving Birchbox to be better in every dimension. We’ve also decided to move to a tiered pricing structure for our subscription. This will mean a price increase for many, and it also means we can deliver an even better experience for everyone. I will explain how and why we arrived at this decision, so let’s start with some background.

How It All Began

We founded Birchbox in 2010 to create a better way to shop for beauty. It felt too hard, too expensive, and too time-intensive to navigate all the options—and we had some basic questions, like “What is a serum?” “When do you use it?” “Why do some cost more than $100?” “Is it worth it?”So we came up with Birchbox. For $10 a month you’d get a handful of personalized beauty samples delivered every month paired with information on how to use them and a place to buy full-size when you know it is something you love. A one-stop shop to discover, learn, and buy.

Everyone told us it wouldn’t work. They said no one would pay for samples. But we believed we could create an experience that was valuable to you—and we did. Before we knew it, our biggest problem was being unable to keep up with demand. As it turned out, A LOT of people were willing to pay for this.

Moving Forward

Behind the scenes, we’ve continued to come up with exciting ways to build on this, but our $10 price point was holding us back. We’ve been limited in what we could offer you because—frankly—our cost of doing business has increased. The USPS has increased shipping rates by double digits each year, just to give you one example. But this isn’t about improving our bottom line, it’s about being able to invest in your experience. No more excuses. We’re holding ourselves accountable to evolving, improving, and innovating so we can give you something we’re really proud of: starting now.

Forever Evolving

We know that experience is about a lot of things—big and little. We have a ton of ideas, big and small, and here’s just some of what we’re planning:

1) More choices: We know you love having a say in what you get. Sometimes you’re looking to be surprised with new discoveries and sometimes you’re looking for something specific, so we’re offering even more ways to control your monthly experience.

• Sample Choice: We’re focused on securing even more amazing products, allowing you to pick the things you’re most excited to try.
• Curated Boxes: We’ll offer multiple curated assortments each month, for those of you who love to have a say in all your samples.
• Swap for Points: We’re introducing something brand-new called Swap for Points (coming in June). This allows you to skip your box and convert that month’s subscription dollars into Birchbox Loyalty Points to use towards full-size products in our Shop instead.

2) Better samples: You can expect new brands, higher-value samples, never-before-sampled products, exclusive launches, and more. Our merchandising team has been hard at work to bring you new things you’ll love, and they’ve even planned for six samples in your next few boxes.
3) Improved personalization: We’ve heard you loud and clear on this one. We’re working on revamping our Beauty Profile to ask you the questions that will help us to better understand you and help our algorithm to make even better matches.
4) Faster shipping: Enough said.
5) Surprises: A lot of you say Birchbox is like a gift in the mail every month… well, we want all of you to say that, so look out for little design details and in-box extras that take the delight factor up a notch.

We are going to raise the bar every month and make sure it’s more than worthy of the extra dollars you’re paying.

Our new tiered pricing will range from $10 to $15 per month, depending on when you joined, your subscription type (monthly, six-month, etc.), and your status in our Loyalty Program. When we know you’re in a committed relationship with us, we’re able to give you the lowest price. That’s how we can build a sustainable business.

That said, we realize it can be difficult to pay for a full year (or even six months) in one lump sum, so we’re also introducing a way to make it more manageable for your monthly budget. Beginning in June, we will bill you monthly (for all types of subscriptions) instead of asking you to pay upfront. If you’ve already paid upfront for your current subscription, the monthly billing will start when your plan renews.

As excited as we are to elevate your experience, we know that asking you to pay more is a big change. We’ll be listening to your feedback to understand what new features you’re loving and which ones you’re just meh about. So… send me an email ([email protected]), chat our team, or just reach out—we want to hear from you.

Thank you for taking the time to understand the why and for being on the journey with us.

-Katia and the Birchbox team