# out of the box, legit?



## rubato456 (May 23, 2009)

do you think this is legit??? i got a message on etsy:

it looks like you have to send a minimum of 25 products and you get some kind of advertising on tneir web site, does this make sense to do.....i don't think you get paid for the products at all.....so i'm thinking it's not that good a deal...what do y'all think? has anyone ever done this before?



by OutOfTheBoxSampler 	profile 		shop 		contact
Hello,
I recently came across your website and I just love your items! I’d like to personally invite you to participate in the Out Of The Box Sampler. We cater to finding the best candles, bath n body, jewelry, gourmet food and all kinds of other handmade etailers on the web. We put together a sample box each month in which people receive 15-17 different etailers samples all in one box. We have a huge following and sell out of our boxes within hours on the sale date. We are currently doing 150-175 sampler boxes each month. I’m contacting you, because I think your products would really add to the boxes and this would be a great advertising opportunity for you. There are many incentives for contributing and it’s a great way to get your business name more exposure and ultimately potential customers coming your way
The Out Of The Box Sampler is one of the original sample boxes and has been in business since 2006. We are a huge success and continue to grow every month. We are currently taking business signups for our July sampler boxes. We would love to promote your business in that months box or another one in the future.

There is never a fee to participate and you gain a ton of free advertising, promotion of your business for the month your are participating, and ways to continue your advertising with us even after you’ve participated. We have a high traffic blog, a forum, our own social network, the OOTBS Etsy team(if you have an etsy shoppe) we’ll soon be adding a podcast radio show and we’ve just launched two new websites to promote candles & bath n body businesses you’ll find at:
http://www.thecandlebuzz.com
http://www.thebathbuzz.com

To join us, you have to sign up on our website at http://www.outoftheboxsampler.com on the “contribute to the box” page. You will get a follow up email with all the additional information you will need.

You can read a little of what others are saying about us here: http://www.outoftheboxsampler.com/store ... .asp?ID=27

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me back at info [!at] outoftheboxsampler.com

I’m looking forward to promoting your business!

Many Blessings,
Michelle
www.outoftheboxsampler.com
www.theuglyducklingdesigns.com
23 May 2009 5:06pm EDT


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## Tabitha (May 23, 2009)

There are quite a few diff companies that offer this type of advertisment.

You send in your sampels, they sell sample boxes & ship them back out. Most of the people who buy sample boxes are the sample people who donate products to the boxes so they can see what a retunr box looks like. 

It's just a way to get your samples in the hand of consumers.

I think "The sampler" was the 1st ad group to do this & several others have followed suit. Pretty smart on their part. They make money while others donate the product.

You may want to google "the sampler" and see how theirs is set up for point of referance.


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## Dixie (May 23, 2009)

You could always ask for references.


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## Guest (May 24, 2009)

I would be curious to see if anything comes of it , if you did participate.

Kitn


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## ChrissyB (May 24, 2009)

I read a blog (can't remember which one) where the blogger had received an etsy sample box, and on their blogged they listed all the items they received with pictures, and reviewed each item. They also supplied links to each individual etsy store. Sounds like good advertising to me.


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## rubato456 (May 24, 2009)

i'm thinking about it....they are really getting a great deal on their end....getting 'free' product from the participants.... 25 bars is the minimum contribution, it might be worth it to try one time and see what happens. that would be a good sized batch of soaps for me....i may try it....if i do i'll let y'all know of the outcome....thanks for your thoughts on it.  :!:


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## Tabitha (May 24, 2009)

> 25 bars is the minimum contribution



All of them I have looked into want smaller sample sized items. Postage would be too high for boxes being sent back out if everyone sent a heavy item like a full sized bar of soap. 1 or 2oz sample sized bars w/ a biz card & a coupon would be more inline, unless this 1 is diff from all the others. If you include a coupon code you can see if you get any customers from the effort.


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## Tabitha (May 24, 2009)

Hey, I just took a look & it does say "...commit to sending your samples..." so they do not expect full size items. I did not see a max weight though like I have seen on some other similar promo sites.

They charge $22.00 to get a box & that includes shipping so even if they use the flat rate box at $10.00 shipping, they get to pocket $12.00 for their efforts.

I did notice this sampler is mostley soap/bath/body. The others I have looked at have been more of a mix. Dif types of handmade items. That may be something to think about. Do you want your item to arrive w/ 15 pieces of your direct competition but fall in the hand of people looking for soap/bath/body or would you  rather your items arrive w/ 14,15 pieces of assorted indy items in general indy buyers hands?


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## studioalamode (May 25, 2009)

My two cents...If you are accustomed to giving out samples of your product to friends and family, why not give out samples to people who might enjoy bath and body products via this service?  Yes, the "distributor" may make money off the deal, but they are coordinating, shipping, seeking the customer base.  It is no different than paying for the service of any other form paid advertising... it is just another medium.  This seems to be an even better medium because you are getting your product out there to smell, touch and try to an audience you would not otherwise come in contact with... not a bad deal.  Doesn't matter how much someone else makes if you have a chance at getting a customer for life.  Even if you got 6% (which is a mid-range return for a direct mail campaign - unsolicited), you should get at least one or two  customers out of the deal.  So what is one customer worth to you when you consider first purchase and repeat business?  Is at least one customer worth the total cost of your sample/s?   If not, then it is probably risky.  If it would be break even or profitable, then you've got nothing to lose (except potential exposure, if you don't do it).


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## Tabitha (May 25, 2009)

I did not mean to impy the people who organise this action should not get paid. I think it is a pretty cleaver business venture on their part.


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## studioalamode (May 25, 2009)

Tabitha said:
			
		

> I did not mean to impy the people who organise this action should not get paid. I think it is a pretty cleaver business venture on their part.



I didn't mean to imply anyone  thought they shouldn't make money... just that to some, it might think it was odd that you're not paid for the product you donate...


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## rubato456 (May 25, 2009)

you do get a small online ad out of it...i think they said 125 x 125 pixels....yes, i think it is a very clever business venture on their part.....i signed up to try.....and yes, the sample size they request is 2 oz.....i'll have to cut my bars to sample size but that makes it all the easier to come up with 25 bars, and as tabitha points out, cheaper for me to ship.


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## Lil Outlaws (May 26, 2009)

I participate in The Spotted Box - similar to this - and I usually do get several customers out of it, who become repeat customers later on. I also did a Great Cloth Diaper Hunt which got me a few customers, and participated in their Sponsor Pack which is also like the Spotted Box. Got some customers from that too.


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## Vinca Leaf (May 26, 2009)

That's very smart...and if you think about it, what are you out with 2oz samples x25? 3 # of soap?


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## Guest (May 27, 2009)

I hope it works well for you , rubato.

Kitn


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## kittywings (Jun 27, 2009)

I used to get "test tubes" through the "new beauty" website.  This was before I started making my own stuff.  My mother and grandmother also subscribed to it through my recommendation.  Originally we got both full and sample sized products (high-end one) and we loved it. It was $29.95 + shipping.  The only reason I stopped was because I found after a while that it was just the same products over and over again (how much Supersmile am I supposed to use?), but I will say that we did buy some of the items after trying them in the test tube.
So it can be a good idea, it had crossed my mind to get in on something like that after I cemented my packaging and website, etc.


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