New BlackBox Subscription Costs Upwards Of $152,000… Delivers ‘Mystery Gift’

Image via iVIP

If you’ve got a large surplus of income to spend money on random items you won’t see until you’ve already paid for, a new elite subscription service named Blackbox may be a great solution for you. If not, you can wish you had a large income to spend money on things you can’t see until you’ve paid for.

The UK-based luxury lifestyle box comes from the company iVIP. The “premium” box ships every two months and costs $1,800 per box.  An “infinity box” costs $152,000 a year and includes a consultation and a personal shopper, who will meet and personally deliver the box to the subscriber anywhere in the world.

Each Box will contain new, unique, exclusive, or limited edition items scoured from around the globe; hand-curated, highly-coveted items from labeled goods to literature, tablets to telescopes,” says the website.

Some gifts that may be included in the boxes are pre-released novels signed by the author, watches, original artworks, designer frames, Polaroid cameras, or limited edition wines. Some gifts will be catered to the location of the subscriber, such as tickets to an exclusive fashion show nearby or tickets to see a band play.

Everybody likes to treat themselves — and the people with most disposable income treat themselves most lavishly,” iVIP co-founder Matthew Rowe told MarketWatch.

The company’s slogan is, “Everything you never knew you wanted, delivered to your door.” Of course, some critics disagree. Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org, said, “This certainly is a niche market, appealing most to the Donald Trumps of the world,” Dworsky says. “Heck, give me $75,000 — half the price — and I will provide endless surprises to anyone you want for a year.”

If you have the funds to cover Blackbox’s asking price, there are some up and downsides. The upside is that a year’s subscription will also buy you shares in the company. The downside is that if you don’t like the gifts you’ve been given, you can’t return them. “We’re offering the eclectic, undiscovered and unknown,” says Rowe. “It would be impossible for us to manage returns per item.”

If you want some random, more affordable mysterious gifts, there are other subscription services, like My Brown Box (a beauty box geared towards women of color with a $20 monthly subscription) and BirchBox, a more versatile gift box with options for men and women, ranging from $10 to $20 in price.