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| Tucker, Chief Quality Control Officer |
One word comes to mind when describing the contents of the PetBox I just received..."thin". There are only two items in the box. Granted, they are two items that I chose myself but I was still underwhelmed after having received so many generously loaded subscription boxes lately. But let's look at the whole picture.
PetBox is a pet subscription service. When you sign up, you give your dog or cat's size, gender and age. There is a choice of four subscription plans:
Snack - $9.95 (1 snack)
Deluxe - $19.95 (2-3 items)
Premium - $39.95 (4-6 items)
Multiple Pet - $59.95 (7-12 items)
Once you have chosen a plan, you have the option of choosing the items yourself or have them surprise you. I really like this feature because I have received quite a few toys in other pet boxes that were not appropriate for my pup Tucker. Being able to customize my own box meant I could choose things that I know Tucker would enjoy. If you do choose to pick your own items, you are given a certain number of points to "spend". Then you're presented with an array of products that each have a point value assigned. If you spend more than your allocated number of points, you're charged for the difference.
There is a Groupon deal currently available that offers the following discounts on the Deluxe box:
One Month - $11.99 (40% off, save $7.96)
Three Months - $32.99 (45% off, save $26.86)
Six Months - $59.99 (50% off, save $59.71)
(If you pursue the Groupon deal, be sure to sign up through eBates and get an additional 6% discount!)
Since this is obviously a significant savings over the prices shown on their site, I opted for the three month deal at $32.99. I was given 400 points to "spend" and found out quickly that they don't go very far. I chose two items whose combined point value equaled exactly 400 points. (Of course, I'm wondering if you get more points if you sign up through their site at the higher price but you can't see those points until you've actually subscribed. If anyone can answer that question, please enlighten me!)
PetBox arrives in a pretty blue box. The contents are wrapped in black paper with a "hand packed" PetBox seal.
There is a "thank you" card showing various dogs and cats enjoying their PetBoxes.
Since Tucker likes almost all dog (and cat) treats, I chose this package of Sweet Potato Dog Treats from Scout & Zoe's. These are all natural and the ingredient label shows only sweet potatoes. There is a distinct sweet potato smell when you open the bag. Since this is a 100% vegetable treat, I wasn't sure how enthusiastically Tucker would receive them. His passion in life is chewing though and these have the consistency of rawhide treats so he was fine with them. Good choice!
The second item I chose is a collapsible food and water dish for travel since we don't have one. This one has "Alcott" embroidered on the side and is very well made. It's about 6" square when opened and folds up neatly into a 3.25"x5-3/4" rectangle. This will certainly do the job but I find it odd that the "bowl" is lined with fabric, something like acetate or nylon. That seems like a weird surface for dog food or water to me. I don't know what I expected to see....maybe plastic or vinyl? Anyway, this is a quality item and something we needed.
In going back over the cost of this box, I see that I paid only $11 for it, so my initial reaction may have been premature. I would not have been happy if I'd paid the full $19.95 and only received these two items. At just $11.00, I definitely got my money's worth, especially when you consider the shipping cost. I don't care what any vendor tells you....shipping is NEVER free!
Since I was able to choose the items in the box, we didn't end up with anything Tucker can't use. That feature really sets this box apart from other pet subscriptions that I've tried. In fact, I'm seriously considering getting the six month Groupon right now. I don't know when this deal ends but the "limited time remaining" symbol is showing on the PetBox deal page so it's probably best to grab it soon if you're interested.
If you miss the Groupon deal, try code SPLURGE20 to get a Snack size box for free, just pay shipping of $4.99. The same code will get $3.99 off a Deluxe size box for a total of $15.96 or $7.99 off a Premium box, making it $31.96.
Tucker has informed me that he is ready for another sweet potato treat. The quality of the treats he's been enjoying the last few months has really increased due to pet subscriptions. Looks like PetBoxes may be coming here for quite a while to come!
Thanks for reading,
Cheryl
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