Boxed offers low prices on big-sized grocery and household items with no membership fee and mostly free shipping. Clearly, Boxed is more convenient than a trip to Walmart. But can Boxed save you money, too?
Routine grocery shopping is on my all-time top five least favorite things to do.
So I was thrilled to hear about Boxed -- a company that delivers groceries and household essentials, in wholesale club sizes, to your door at tiny prices...without a membership fee.
It's not that I hate the grocery store. I enjoy planning a meal and picking up fresh meat, produce, and a bottle of wine.
But those big shopping trips to stock up for a week or two at a time? I'm rarely organized enough to remember everything. Or this happens:
Once, halfway through a Target shopping trip, after tossing a dozen items into my cart, I reached for the shopping list I had left on top.
It wasn't there.
Then, I noticed something odd. Wait...I didn't pick out a women's bathing suit. Or Tostitos. No, this was not my cart.
I sheepishly backtracked until I found my abandoned cart waiting patiently in auto care. I never saw the other shopper - I couldn't help but wonder if I caused her to mistakenly question her own sanity, too.
What brings us back to Boxed
The products from Boxed come in bigger quantities (think of membership clubs like Costco or Sam's). In addition, Boxed offers a curated selection of products. So Boxed is far from an anything-under-the-sun competitor to Amazon or your local Walmart. Instead, Boxed offers a small selection of what they consider to be the most useful and highest-quality products.
Boxed offers free shipping on your first order and on most orders thereafter. (It has modest minimum-order requirements to get free shipping, depending on where you live. For example, it's a $50 minimum order to get free shipping in New York and a $79 minimum order in many other states).
By limiting their product selection, Boxed can also keep prices low.
Here are some typical things you might find in my box:
- Clif Energy Bars (24 Count Variety Pack)
- Bounty Paper Towels (12 Super Rolls)
- Aveno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Lotion (2 x 20 oz. Bottles)
- Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (28 oz.)
- PB2 Powered Peanut Butter (16 oz.)
- Honest Co. Sunscreen Lotion (2 x 2 oz.)
- Polar 100% Natural Seltzer (24 x 12 oz. Cans Variety Pack)
- Ziploc Sandwich Bags (500 Count)
- Greenies Dental Dog Treats (130 Count)
I'll be honest: When I first heard of Boxed, I was skeptical. Although I obviously prefer online shopping, I'm already an Amazon Prime customer, and I thought that had me covered for "get anything you need with free two-day shipping."
But after seeing the stuff Boxed sent me (and experiencing my recent Target debacle), I realized: Though I could buy granola bars on Amazon, I never do. Or paper towels. Or sunscreen. That's the stuff I routinely slog through big box stores for. And, as it turns out, Amazon doesn't always have the best prices on these kinds of things anyway.
So I started to think: OK, this is cool. I could see how Boxed offers a number of advantages.
Time and gas money saved
Where I live, a simple Target run is a 25-mile round trip. That's a gallon of gas (and a dollar toll), plus an hour or two out of our precious weekend.
Boxed might not replace every big shopping trip, but it could save me from going as often and shrink my list when I am there.
I also like the "less is more" approach to the curated product selection at Boxed. I do not need to choose from 65 different kinds of shampoo! Decision fatigue is a real thing. (And, I suspect, it contributes to why I get so spacey at the store.)
No impulse purchases!
Can you get in and out of Target, Walmart, or a grocery store without buying something that wasn't on your list?
Four out of five times, I but something in a store on impulse.
To me, a real advantage to shopping for most of my essentials on Boxed is avoiding the temptations lurking in retail aisles.
Real savings on products
To my surprise, the savings were actually significant -- at least for some items.
For example: A 500 count for Ziploc sandwich bags were $9.79 on Boxed; the same item cost $16.84 on Amazon.
A 24-count box of Clif Energy Bars was $18.99 on Boxed compared to $29.11 on Amazon.
Honey Nut Cheerios on Boxed list for $7.49 of two 55-ounce boxes ($0.07 per ounce). That's half of Amazon's price for the same quantity. When I checked, Walmart didn't sell that size package, but a single 26. oz box cost $4.48 ($0.17 per ounce).
One item Lauren goes through a lot of are Neutrogena Makeup Remover Pads. Boxed sells 114 for $15.49 ($0.14 each) compared to $4.31 for 25 ($0.17 each) at Walmart and Amazon.
The 28 oz. bottle of Sriracha that was included in my Boxed shipment also sells for less on Boxed ($2.39) than at Walmart ($2.98).
The Boxed prices on some other items were still good, but not always the absolute lowest.
A 48 oz. jar of Skippy Peanut Butter was $5.99 on Boxed. Prices on Amazon ranged from $17.49 to $21.00 for a two-pack (or between $8.75 and $10.50 each). At BJ's -- a local wholesale store here on the East Coast - you can get two jars for $9.99, or about $5 a jar.
Diapers -- something we've used plenty of over the last few years -- were more competitive. Calculating the cost per diaper to account for different packaging sizes, the prices for Pampers Swaddlers on Boxed were about what we pay at BJ's. Pampers prices for general Amazon shoppers were higher, but Amazon offers Prime Members certain deals that shave a penny off the Boxed price ($0.28 vs. $0.29 per diaper).
After checking out prices for most of the items I received, I'm quite convinced that you'll score some great deals at Boxed.
While the prices of some items are on par with what you can find with a paid Amazon Prime or wholesale club membership, remember, Boxed doesn't charge a membership fee, which is a nice saving all by itself.
Remember
- Boxed provides low prices on big sizes of a curated selection of everyday items (mostly groceries, household supplies, and health and beauty items) with no membership fees.
- They provide fast and free shipping on your first order (and most subsequent orders ship free).
- Boxed features weekly deals and regular promotions to keep things interesting.
I can genuinely say that I will likely order from Boxed going forward. My wife and I have two kids, a dog, dual careers, and an older house needing TLC. This is a busy period in our lives. Saving time on weekend trips to two or more stores is enticing. If we can save money at the same time, it's a no-brainer.
Comments
Post a Comment