An Obsession With Subscription Shopping

Until last month I had no idea what I was missing...
I had certainly heard about subscription memberships where you get a box of this or that every month for a relatively low price. It seemed kind of cool-and I totally like getting packages in the mail. But I had managed to resist up until that point.

And then this happened. Well, actually a Klout perk happened. You see, Klout was offering users a bonus item at Little Black Bag equal to the value of their Klout score. My Klout score is usually floating around in the 50s so I was guaranteed an item valued at least that in my bag. Little Black Bags are $55 by the time you figure in shipping. It seemed a little pricey so I ignored it for a while. Then I get a "last chance" email and I decided to go for it. Why not, right? I didn't have to keep it up for month after month if I didn't like it. I could get my one bag, my free item, then cancel my membership.

I took the style quiz and then decided on this BCBGeneration clutch. (I was thinking it could be a great dress bag for BlogHer parties.) Love it. It's totally adorable! It also has a suggested retail price of $78. Now I have to admit I wouldn't have paid $78 for this bag, but it is making me feel like I'm getting my money's worth.

There are a few things that make Little Black Bag different from the other subscription services. In most the entire box is either a mystery or completely known. With Little Black Bag you pick the first item and the other items are a surprise. From the time you open your bag you have 7 days to trade with everyone else for items you might want.

This owl chalkboard wall decal started life as a bottle of nail polish. I think there was a time when it was a bangle and a necklace.

The long beaded necklace from Zad was in my bag at the start. I did make a few attempts to trade it, but it actually grew on me the longer it stayed in my bag. 

And about that perk from Klout... I had a different pair of Betsey Johnson sunglasses in my bag as my Klout bonus. I traded them for this pair, which I thought would suit me better. And I've been wearing them pretty much non-stop since they arrived. Love them.

I'm really excited about Little Black Bag. I actually have my July bag open as we speak, trading away. (The trading is pretty addictive. You can ship your bag at any time but I kept my bag open the entire seven days just to see what would happen.)

So I decided fine, one splurge on a Little Black Bag a month is OK. I can swing that. Of course that was before I got my Julep Maven box this weekend. Someone told me my toes were cute today. Now I can't wait to get my next box from Julep, too! 

Please, no one tell me how awesome BirchBox and ShoeDazzle are...I'm a weak girl. I like this too much. I'm bound to give in!

I received a bonus in my first Little Black Bag thanks to a Klout Perk. The link used is my personal referral link, but I wouldn't steer you wrong...not my style! I'm also a Julep VIP Blogger, as disclosed in the linked post.