About Loot Crate
Loot Crate was founded to delight a wide range of fans by sending its customers loot boxes filled with unique pop culture merchandise on a regular basis. The box subscription is specifically tailored to gamers and nerds, so if you belong to one of these groups, or even both, you’ve come to the right place.
Loot Crate was named America’s fastest-growing company by Inc. in 2016, but ran into trouble and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019. Since then, the company has recovered and is once again shipping its diverse loot boxes to 29 countries worldwide.
This review of the Loot Crate subscription highlights Loot Crate’s products, prices, and promotions, as well as fan opinions, to help you decide whether you should join the Loot Crate community.
Loot Crate was founded in 2012 by Chris Davis and Matthew Arevalo and began with the goal of giving fans another way to enjoy the things they love. There’s a reason this review of the Loot Crate subscription is so vague about the fandoms Loot Crate serves: there are just so many. There are 21 different boxes to choose from, many of which contain products from a variety of movie, book, TV, comic, or game series. Whatever you’re into, Loot Crate probably has it.
This process has certainly taken a lot of energy, and they need the support of their fans. So if Loot Crate appeals to you, it might be worth signing up to give them a boost. There are also some offers to entice customers.
Pros
- A unique subscription overall, including in terms of the individual items.
- It’s hard to judge the price of such a unique product, but Loot Crate usually (not always) provides a value for the crate, which is typically $10 to $15 above the price of the crate.
- Ideal for collectors.
- Fans who leave reviews for the Loot Crate subscription love the experience.
- Wide selection of crates.
- It really sounds like a lot of fun.
Cons
- If you don’t like everything in the crate, the price can quickly seem quite high.
- It’s exclusively collectibles and clothing (you don’t get the movie or the game, etc.), so it’s more of a niche product.
- At the time of bankruptcy, there were a lot of concerns about the quality of the crates and shipping delays.
- The return policy is vague at best.
How Does Loot Crate Work?
In the next section, we will take a closer look at the Loot Crate boxes, but first, here is an overview of the subscription process:
- Select the box you want.
- Select the subscription period you want (subscriptions are typically for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months and are delivered monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly, depending on your choice).
- Select your T-shirt size, shoe size, and waist size (depending on what information is required for your box).
- Enter your shipping address, pay, and complete your purchase.
- Receive your box and enjoy it.
You also have the option to skip certain boxes for a month if you are traveling or don’t particularly like that month’s box. This simply moves your billing date to the next month. You can only skip monthly boxes.
Loot Crate Boxes
Now for the interesting details. There are four categories of Loot Crate boxes:
- Pop Culture
- Film + Television
- Gaming
- Limited Edition
Within each of these categories, there are a number of options. Each Loot Box contains items that are only available in that Loot Box and cannot be purchased afterwards. This is intended to increase the anticipation of receiving the box and enhance its collector’s value.
Pop Culture
The Pop Culture Box is perhaps the riskiest, but also the biggest surprise. The term “pop culture” covers a lot of ground, and Loot Crate wants to cover as much of it as possible. Instead of focusing on a specific series or movie, each Pop Culture Box is curated around a specific theme. For example, the current box (available until September 9, 2020) is the TRAVELERS box, featuring items from Doctor Strange, Star Trek, and Back to the Future.
The only advertised product is a Forward Temporal Demodulation Coil from Back to the Future. If you’re interested in the Pop Culture Box, you probably already know much more about it than this Loot Crate subscription review, so we’ll leave this product out of consideration. In the past, there have been other items such as a mini Frodo figure in a Loot Crate Lord of the Rings edition.
The LootCrate box is the original, but the “Pop Culture” category includes other products. LootCrate DX is an expanded version of the original with more items and a different theme. Currently, it’s a mix of Venom, Black Widow, Beetlejuice, and Fallout.
LootAnime is the anime box (currently My Hero Academia). LootFright has a horror theme (currently A Clockwork Orange). Finally, there’s LootSci-Fi, currently Back to the Future, and I’m not sure, but it looks like you get a model of the Delorean!
What’s special about the pop culture category is the LootWear box, which contains only one item of clothing (the price depends on what the item is), and the LootRemix box, which contains a selection of previous items. This is the only way to get old items again, but if you’re looking for a specific item, it’s pure luck.
The prices and payment terms for the Pop Culture Box options are as follows:
- LootCrate ($25, monthly)
- LootCrate DX ($50, monthly)
- LootWear (price varies, monthly)
- LootAnime ($29, monthly)
- LootFright ($29, bimonthly)
- LootSci-Fi ($40, quarterly)
- LootRemix ($15, monthly)
The Pop Culture Box has less of a unified theme, but offers you a variety of items. The risk is slightly higher, but so is the reward. Some boxes may disappoint, while others may delight. There are also options like Loot Crate Anime and Horror that you won’t find anywhere else. On the other hand, if you love the idea of Loot Crate but aren’t sure which series you want, the Pop Culture Box is the right choice.
Film + TV
The “Film + TV” category includes more specialized boxes. Each box is organized around a single franchise and has a theme loosely related to that franchise. For example, the current Harry Potter Loot Crate has a “Room of Requirement” theme. The theme of the current Marvel Gear+ Goods box is the favorite in this Loot Crate subscription review. It’s called “Yellow” and—you guessed it—the products are yellow.
The categories outside of pop culture are newer, so it’s hard to say how long Loot Crate will be able to offer the more specific boxes, but the Movie + TV box options have quite broad themes. Perhaps there will be another Lord of the Rings Loot Crate in the future.
With their prices per box and shipping schedule, the options in the Movie + TV category are as follows:
- J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World ($40, bi-monthly)
- Marvel Gear + Goods ($40, bi-monthly)
- Deadpool ($40, quarterly)
- WWE Slam Crate ($35, bi-monthly)
- Hello Kitty ($40, bi-monthly)
- Rick and Morty ($40, quarterly)
The advantage of the Film + TV Box options is that you have a better idea of what you’re getting. So if you’re a big fan of one of these franchises, you can look forward to products like the Deadpool Maximum Effort Gym Bag or a scarf from one of the Hogwarts houses in the Wizarding World Loot Crate.
Loot Crate Pricing
The prices listed are for the purchase of a single box. Loot Crate offers discounts if you subscribe to multiple boxes. These discounts vary, but are generally quite small. There are no discounts for limited edition boxes.
Elsewhere, you will either receive discounts for the longest subscription or tiered discounts. Discounts range from $2 to $5 per month, and you will receive a bonus item with select longer subscriptions.
Loot Crate Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
Imagine receiving a box of collectibles for something you truly love, and that’s exactly the enthusiasm customers express on both their website and in Reddit reviews of Loot Crate. Customers love the surprise when they receive the boxes and the unique products they contain. In this review of the Loot Crate subscription, it all sounds like a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
However, there have been some concerns. In critical Loot Crate Reddit reviews, there are two main areas of complaint: shipping and quality. The shipping complaints are easy to diagnose. They come mainly from around the time Loot Crate was struggling with debt and fell behind on their shipments. Otherwise, there are still some shipping complaints but they’re rare. Loot Crate does give a wide range (10-15 days) for when shipments arrive, so if one comes at the start of the window and the next comes at the end, there could be some frustration.
The quality is a separate issue. It again starts around the time Loot Crate started struggling, but the complaint is more that the quality decreased, boxes contained fewer items than expected, and items repeated, which frustrates those who like how exclusive the items are. It seems like this has improved with Loot Crate’s finances, but it’s worth being a little cautious.
Is Loot Crate Worth It?
Overall, Loot Crate is more of a niche product. It is intended for fans who, in the words of Loot Crate, are enthusiastic about the items in the boxes. It’s not an insignificant investment, so you should be sure you like it. If you do, this review of the Loot Crate subscription concludes that it’s a great way to receive an exciting surprise every month, every two months, or every three months.
Loot Crate Sign Up
There are two ways to sign up on LootCrate.com. The checkout model:
- Add an item to your cart and proceed to checkout.
- Click “Sign Up.”
- Enter your email address and desired password.
- Enter your shipping information.
- Enter your payment information and you’re done!
And the non-checkout model:
- Click “Join” in the top right corner.
- Enter your email address and password.
FAQs for Loot Crate:
How to cancel Loot Crate
Canceling is easy. To cancel Loot Crate, go to the “Manage Account” page. Go to “Subscription Information” and then “Payment Information.” Click “Cancel Subscription” at the bottom right, which will take you to the “You can also just skip a month” page. Click “Cancel My Subscription” again on the right side of the screen.
Loot Crate shipping terms
Loot Crate ships to 29 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Canada, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, United States, United Kingdom.
Shipping costs vary depending on the destination, both in terms of delivery time and price. As a guide, shipping to the United States costs $5, and to Canada $4. International orders may be subject to additional customs duties or fees, which you will be required to pay upon delivery. When your order is shipped, you will receive an email with tracking information.
Loot Crate’s return policy
As a surprise box service, Loot Crate does not offer returns, but if there is a problem with a product, you can submit a complaint via the help form within 30 days, which will then be processed.
It is somewhat unclear what actually happens, but our team could not find any significant complaints about this.
Contact Loot Crate:
There is no phone number for Loot Crate, but you can contact the company as follows:
- Email: support@lootcrate.com
