Something has been bugging me about Saged (the company) and the “Saged subscription boxes” for the longest time and I am just getting around to making some content about it. Bear with me as I work out my thoughts.
First off, I think Saged (as a company) is great….at email marketing. Their emails are compelling, their product photography on the website is great, and the descriptions of the ritual boxes make them sound like they are totally going to be worth it.
I’d had a bunch of ritual boxes saved in my cart for awhile and was waiting for a sale, and last summer I finally pulled the trigger on several boxes I had been wanting.
The first box I opened was (I think) the Magical Meditation Ritual Box. I say “I think” because Saged boxes (at least the ones I’ve gotten) are not labeled as to what box they actually are. This was my first disappointment in my Saged box journey, because I had ordered several boxes and couldn’t tell which one was which. Saged boxes as a whole give me a distinct “figure it out yourself” vibe that I do not like, since you get a curated box for the “complete experience” feeling.
The next thing I found off-putting was the (also generic) card that is in every single box. It says “Yay! Your ritual box is here” and then gives you a QR code to download the ritual pdf guide for your box, which sounds great in theory. Finally! You think. I’m going to get some clarity as to what this box is, what’s supposed to be in it, and what I’m supposed to do with all the stuff.
Because that’s what you want when you get a subscription box, right? A curated, special experience that feels complete and exclusive. At this point I’m a little salty because I didn’t want to have to work for the instructions, but I guess I’m feeling the environmental consciousness of putting the pdf guide online so I don’t waste a tree. I’ve just gotten my head around the guide being electronic only when I scan the QR code, only to experience the next in a series of Saged box related disappointments:
The link goes to a “general” page of ALL the guides for ALL the Saged boxes. Still no indication of which box I had, although from the contents I guess I could discern that I was looking at a meditation-themed box (see photo of contents below).
What Was In It?
Here’s what was in the box I got:
1. “Meditation” themed premium nag champa incense.
2. Incense holder.
3. Meditation bell
4. Palo santo (sage) bundle
5. Amethyst geode
6. “Meditation” themed Earths Elements essential oil roll on with frankincense, lavender, and sweet orange.
At this point I think I might be losing it, so I go back to the website to see what was actually supposed to be in the box. Again, I would like to point out that I paid for a curated meditation box to get my meditation on and foster a more Zen and relaxed state of mind in my life, not to play amateur internet detective to try to track down my purchase.
However, at this point I’m curious, so I go back to my receipt, follow the link for the “Magical Meditation Ritual Box,” and find this:
Magical Meditation Ritual Box
According to the website, here’s what was supposed to be in it:
1. Rose Oil w/ Rose Quartz
2. Citrine Sea Turmeric Scrub
3. Stress Reduction Essential Cards
4. Selenite Wand
5. Palo Santo Bundle
6. BONUS Energetic Boundaries Guide
What the HUH? This box does sound cool, but it is NOTHING like what I got. Add on to this the frustrating fact that when I contacted support about the missing/ substituted items, I never heard back.
Was it Worth It?
With discounts factored in, I paid about $40 for this particular box, and while I liked some of the pieces (like the essential oil and the geode) overall I’m going to say I did not get my money’s worth.
Just for fun, I found dupes of all the items that were included in the Magical Meditation Ritual box I received, which you can find right here. Some of the quantities are more (like the incense and the sage bundles), but I basically approximated the whole thing for about $50.
Here’s the thing: I hate to slander a small business, but Saged just feels like a disorganized mess. The description of the box does not match the actual contents, to the point where I feel like they are just filling the boxes with whatever they need to get rid of and changing the website description accordingly (just my opinion/ conspiracy/ speculation based on the experience I had with four different boxes). Overall I was left with a real “one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing” vibe from Saged, like the products and experiences I was promised in the (multiple!) emails were not reflected AT ALL in what actually arrived. The lack of follow up / follow through was also disappointing.