From monthly wine packages to jigsaw puzzle drop-offs, book boxes, baby supplies and cheese clubs, more and more consumers are turning to subscription services to get goods delivered to our door while we’re in isolation.
We want to publish a round-up of some of the best subscription services currently available in Australia, and we want to hear from CHOICE members.
Do you currently subscribe to a regular goods delivery service that you can recommend?
What appeals to you about this service?
Do you think it offers you value for money? How much extra do you pay for delivery?
Are you willing to pay more to support a unique idea or local business?
Other than being a customer I have no connection with these fine people It is also generally a far better malt than one can buy in this town and also avoids the two stage Stasi-like vetting and interrogation process at the bottle shop …
Im definitely interested in this article when you come up with it! Ive been thinking lately subscription boxes could be fun…
Because FUN is a legitimate need people. If I can forget I paid for it, it’d be like a surprise present arriving at regular intervals!
Naked wines. They bill c/c $30 a month, you can have a larger amount deducted if you prefer. Then when I have 6 months worth I order a dozen of a selection of red, white, rose, sparkling dessert and fortified wines. They also throw in an free extra bottle and postage.
I’ve never felt the need to sub to any of these sorts of things, even when I was in work. Definitely not, now that I am pensioned off. I don’t drink wine, and it takes me a couple of years to get through a bottle of scotch…
Yes we do - kitty litter and cat food from one supplier and toilet paper, tissues and paper towels from another. Both are excellent and easy to deal with (especially the TP supplier during the recent shortages).
The pet supplies company offers cheaper prices than buying locally, deliver promptly and delivery is free over a limit (around $50 I think).
We started buying the paper goods because I wanted to buy TP etc without plastic wrapped around it. It comes in a cardboard box which goes into the recycling and the tissues don’t have those two bits of useless plastic at the top of the box. Also, the company donates half their profits to assist with building toilets in the developing world. A win win situation.
We started with Naked Wines before the Covid 19 outbreak just to break free a bit from the corporate monopolies. Well, they feel like monopolies, don’t they? I like supporting independent growers and co-ops, and this is one way to do it. Dan Murphy’s is cheaper, but this is more rewarding.
We used to just buy our kitty litter and food from our local store, but due to the pandemic restrictions, our local couldn’t keep up with supply so we had to look elsewhere. In the process I discovered Pet Circle, which will deliver supplies at an interval you choose (multiples of weeks). The prices are really good and so far they have been excellent to deal with. They send you a reminder a week out to let you know that your next delivery is due so that you can amend the delivery frequency if you need to. For example, I initially opted for a 5-week delivery schedule but I haven’t quite run out yet, so have amended it now to 6 weeks. This is my first time buying such goods by subscription.
I have a toilet paper and kitchen paper towel subscription with “Who Gives a Crap”. The customer service is excellent, and you get a week’s warning when your next delivery is due. If you aren’t ready, you can ask for it to be deferred for a time of your choice (eg one week, or four weeks etc). The company also donates a significant portion of its profits to charities - check it out here … https://au.whogivesacrap.org/
No physical delivered stuff for me now, however when we still had dogs we had a standing order with a pet food manufacturer for food monthly. It wasn’t exactly subscription, though that’s a good idea they should have embraced - we alone bought 180kgs of frozen meat from them ~monthly
Hehe. . o O ( wierd this comment appears attached to the wrong thread ) we used to have about 9 Aussie Shepherds. And we’d converted to only feeding B.A.R.F. which this company specialised in. No, no intruders. Tho to this day we still get daily puppy enquiries
One aspect of anything mail order these days is that Auspost is overwhelmed with volume, and since airplanes are generally not flying air freight and airmail are also impacted.
The 3 ‘courier services’ I checked can be random on their best days, at least in my area. 2 did not have any reference to COVID-19 while 1 outlined their safety and contact-less processes and noted long customer service wait times.
Bottom line is what would reliably come in 2-4 days might now be 1-2 weeks, shipper dependent, and if service is needed, maybe and maybe not timely.
It is also generally a far better malt than one can buy in this town and also avoids the two stage Stasi-like vetting and interrogation process at the bottle shop …
