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SUBSCRIPTION BOXES: What should I know before starting one, and what tech is a must to use?
I have a subscription service that I want to start where I do fulfillment through local companies. At this point, the basic idea is that I'm building up a list of clients who have already committed to buying these business's products and then I work out a profit share agreement from each sale with the business. Slightly different than a normal subscription box where I don't have to package or ship anything, that would all be done through the other local companies.
A couple of big questions as I'm in the EARLY phases of building something to test.
#1 - Where should I build my website, I'm thinking of using Shopify, as it will mostly be about managing orders. Are there other platforms that would be good?
#2 Are their other Tech I should know about? My goal is to automate as many aspects of this thing as I can so give me the good stuff!
#3 If you've been a part of a subscription box business before what are your hot tips for me?
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Andrew Chau
Hi Brodie,
I have started a subscription box but due to COVID, it was finished.
Here are my thoughts:
1) Shopify is enough. You want low cost at the start.
2) Well, you probably shouldn't be looking at shortcuts at the start to automate everything. You should really understand every component of the business.
3) My best tip is to price your subscription box a bit higher than what you would price it. --> I priced my subscription box kinda low in order to attract people which made my margins super low. However, I realized that my customers were willing to pay at least 25% more. By the time I realized that It was too late to increase the price.
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@andrew_chau1 Thanks for the feedback I really appreciate the advice! Love the tip on pricing it more than you think you should. That is definitely one of the hardest parts of starting something good.
Hi Brodie,
I started my business as a subscription box model (bread kits) in early 2020. Until today I added regular products to my portfolio and shortly I will launch a new line.
I feel that sub.boxes are often selected as a gift and has they have high picks around holidays. Would say:
- make sure you have the perfect picture(s) of the product
- customers like 'cute' product names
- have an option to add greeting cards
- have different options for the duration
- speak clear about the shipping costs
My shop runs with WooCommerce on managed WP base. The subscription plugin is from 'Sumo' ($49 one-time). There are tons of free and really good plugins for additional tools.
Hope it helps a bit. Good luck with your idea!
-Tanja
I am the SEO Manager at clipnbox.com, a custom packaging manufacturer company in California. Its better to start with WordPress, but if you want automation features and product design service within site, then you should go with Custom Website.