Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Once Upon A Bookcase: April


Another bookish type subscription box! Can you tell I love my books and anything to do with them? I think this is one that Deb pointed out to me. She has scouted out a few of them and this one stuck out as one I desperately wanted to try. Once Upon A Bookcase is a monthly subscription that sends you once phone case and a few various themed items for $26/month plus shipping. I am a bad blogger and cannot remember the exact shipping cost and cannot seem to locate the transaction on my Paypal. I want to say it ended up being $32ish when all was said and done.


There are three options for subscribing. You can choose a Girly Girl box, Anything & Everything, or a Manly Man box. I chose Anything & Everything. My next choice would have been Manly Man. 


For my Anything & Everything box for April I ended up with a Beauty and the Beast theme. 


The box included a card listing the items (they did not state where the items originated from and that was curious, I suppose the company sources them on their own, not partnering with other indie vendors), a necklace, a hair clip, a rose and the phone case. The necklace is fun cheap costume jewelry that I am sure the girls will enjoy playing with during dress up. I am not one for statement necklaces unless there is a huge natural stone involved and real silver (yes, call me a snob). The rose quickly got snapped up by the girls too. The Belle-esque navy blue hair-bow might get some wear from me though. Honestly, the phonecase is what I came for in the end. 


And it did not disappoint. It is thin, yet well made and I have been using it for about a week now and see no immediate signs of wear. I am a *touch* meh about Beauty and the Beast, though I love the movie, I have never read the book and the artwork does not speak to me. But my love for all things bookish greatly overrides all of that.


It has a magnetic clasp and opens to hold money and credit cards which is highly convenient. The case is thin and allows easy access to all buttons and charging. I have dropped it a could times and the phone fared just well. I had cracked my screen earlier using my old case. I fell on some rocks and landed with my phone face-down, with it breaking my fall. It did not stand a chance. But the screen is fixed again and now sports a new case.


The back features more artwork and a quote. I love the art on the back and the quote is intriguing enough to make me want to read the book. I just had no idea Beauty and the Beast was a real book. I figured it was a short story or something like Cinderella. Hm.


The spine of the case. So very cool. 

Cons:
-You cannot pick your case, and that is huge. Paying $32 for a phone case I might not like is grating. I swear if I get Catcher In The Rye I am going to go berserk. I hate that book with a passion and it holds so many bad memories for me. PLEASE PLEASE give me Advanced Potion Making!!!
- This box had other items I could do without and if I had the option of not having the "extras" and pay less I totally would. Just ship me that phone case in a tiny mailer and give me a deal. 
- The extras were cheap. I realize money needs to be made but maybe one nice bookmark or keychain in lieu of three throw away items. Then again it could have just been an "off" month.

Pros: 
- LOVE the phone case.
- Creative idea and the other cases on the website have great designs that are attractive and appealing.
-Great customer service. I had a question and it quickly got answered. I have found that some of the other "book" boxes had really slow to no communication.
- Multiple options for boxes.
- You can buy past boxes.

Bottom Line: I am keeping it for a few months. I do really, really wish I could just buy outright the cases I want though. I would buy Sherlock, Advanced Potion Making, Gone With The Wind, Handbook For the Recently Deceased, Edgar Allan Poe, Pride & Prejudice (which just happened a couple month ago so won't be getting that). I do see that Gone With The Wind and Billy Shakespeare is up for buying and I may get those. We shall see. Are you into books and all things book related? What say you about this box? What are you reading? Finnikin of the Rock is my current read. Loving it.

6 comments:

  1. I love everything about this! Too $$ for me sadly, but I would have loved the phone case and necklace. The hair bow would look cute on one of your girls if they like that sort of thing. I adore how they made the packaging look exactly like a book! So whimsical. I love seeing your posts about subscription boxes; it's fun to know what sorts of unique products are out there. Have you heard of waxbox.co.uk? I'm dying to try it, but since it's UK based the shipping is a bit much for me to justify. Are you aware of any US bases wax subscriptions? LMK! Right now I just do the Target and Walmart boxes because they're so inexpensive for beauty. Last month I took the plunge and signed up for a nail polish subscription box from Native War Paints ($17.50/month.) I really enjoyed last month's box so I hope I'm able to keep it.

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    1. It is a very fun subscription!

      There did used to be one ages ago called The Melting Fairy that I used to get. You could pick a handful of scents from a list each month and then get a couple house blends of her choosing. It was neat and affordable. Deb and I have always said it would be nice to have another wax box option again.

      The polish box looks fun! My polish stash is so big. I now have to take one away for each one I add.

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  2. Ack, they had a Wizard of Oz case! I'd mow someone down to get that one, but it's not in their shop. My "Catcher in the Rye" is "Gone with the Wind." Ugh. I designed a GwtW museum exhibit a few years ago and it really put me off to the book/movie. lol.

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    1. Lol! I feel that way about the Advanced Potion Making! I can understand how GWTW would get old if you had to immerse yourself in it. I did enjoy reading the book and watching the film once. But it couldn't get fanatical about it. Hope the impending move is going well! <3

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  3. How cool! Love this! I haven't heard of this bookish subscription before! I'm still on the fence about subscription services, mostly bookish ones. I'm tempted, very tempted - I love the idea of them, but not sure about the expense (if it's worth it)! I think the case is kind of pretty, but I don't usually like that kind of style. I've always loved the Beauty & the Beast movie, but didn't realize it was a book. I always thought it was a Grimm fairy tale or something. Very interesting.

    Have you ever tried the ipsy subscription? Was it worth it? A friend sent me an email invite to for it, but I'm not sure. :)

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    1. They are spendy for sure. I will do one more maybe and then stop. It is fun though. I did have someone comment, but then delete it, that these could be bought on Etsy. They are $29. I did not think I would like this style phone case but now I do.

      I did get ipsy once (it is reviewed under subscription box label) but did not live it enough to continue. But I tend to be picky with cosmetics. If you are looking to expand your skin care/make up horizons it is a great place to start :-)

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